[4AD]

Do any of you have spycam setups in your car to catch jealous angry people who want to key/ding your car?

And if so,

1. Have you been successful in getting back the cost of repair through this evidence?
2. What spycam did you buy, how much was it, and where can I buy it?

[Zooks527]

No on using it for that, however, I use a Lukas LK-7200 camera ($170 at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/LK-7200-CUTY-D.../dp/B00NZ3LZGM) that can be hardwired to an always-on point. It has an internal voltage cutoff so it doesn't run your battery down. It can be set to record 5 seconds before to 30 seconds after whenever it sees movement or detects an impact to your parked car. 64GB is good for 8 hours of recording.

Details and cost of my full setup in a post at the other guys: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=10


Some example videos from mine. The first one also includes video from my rear camera (you'll need 2 if you want to cover both approaches to your car). My rear camera is not a Lukas, as I only run them when the car is in motion, and the front camera covers all the GPS data functions.

[4AD]

Nice videos! Very clear picture and audio.

But yeah, like you suggested, I think I would want to have at least 2 small inconspicuous cameras (1 on the dash facing the rear, 1 on the back sill facing the front - so that way I get 2 wide angles which includes the sides as well since that's usually the fav spots for most ding and key attacks). Optimally I'd want the motion sensor activation, long recording time (8hrs+), day & night modes, remote access to video recordings online maybe via cloud, and decent audio pickup.

Yeah I know, not asking for much am I? lol

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by 4AD

Optimally I'd want the motion sensor activation, long recording time (8hrs+), day & night modes, remote access to video recordings online maybe via cloud, and decent audio pickup.

Yeah I know, not asking for much am I? lol

The Lukas LK cameras give you everything you're looking for except for the remote access. The LK-7900 supposedly does much better on night lighting. You know what they say about half a loaf.

Mind you, your description of placement will show you and anyone in your car full time. My family occasionally gets creeped out from the audio pickup on mine. God help me if they were on-screen as well!

One other point: placed as you say, you may have a hard time picking up plates on cars that tap you while parked. You would need to mount the camera very high to get a clean shot of license plates through the fairly narrow FOV shooting through the length of the car. It is the only way you'll get people beside your car, though.