Hi,

I just got my 23MY Defender last week and I'm looking for a well-integrated dash cam. Does anyone find a good dash cam that is easy to install and able to hide the wire/cables? The dash cam from the Land Rover website is $400+ and not even integrated into its own 360 cameras. Appreciate any suggestions.

 

Here is the thread you need. It mentions two popular dash cams, the LR cam and then the Blackvue. I am leaning towards the Blackvue myself. Also, you should buy the Powerful UK dash cam wire harness.

 

This is another option if you don't have Clearview (Link). Even if you do, it goes thru much of the options. Follow the PowerfulUk video to put the rear camera inside if that works better for you.

 

This is what I ordered a few days ago:

FITCAMX LINK

 

I really love my BlackVue 900 2 channel. It has worked flawlessly and it will tell you if an impact was detected while you were away.

Here's my latest Florida insanity from today. This lady was alone wearing a mask with her windows down in 93 degree heat. Stopped at a green light.

Thought the clown music was apropos.



Here's step-by-step how I did my install.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...camera-109588/

 

Timely question. I just installed a Blackvue DR900X (2 channel) this past weekend. For a quality camera that has the best detail you will want a 4K camera and they are pricier. To really protect your vehicle, you will want a camera capable of parking mode. This will allow monitoring while the vehicle is parked and you are away from it and some of the cameras will send you a push notification if there is an incident. These added features do add to the cost of a camera. The Blackvue does have these features and I believe the Thinkware U1000 does as well. If you opt for a 4K camera, you will want to upgrade the sim card to at least a 128 gb card since the files are so much larger. The standard 32 gb card will only provide about 2.5 hours of recording time before it loops back and starts to record over your previously recorded files. To record in parking mode you will either have to hardwire (harness comes with camera) the cameras to your electrical system or you can purchase a backup battery for another $160 to $400 depending how much monitoring time you need.

As for installation, the hardwire kit does take some time to do it right. This is the route I went and it took me about 6 hours though I could probably do it in 4 hours now that I know what I need to do. I followed Simon's video here You will hear him say half way through the video, "OK, this is day 2" so it does take some time. On the plus side, the only cabling you see is the first 2" of the cable from the camera and the last 2" of the cable going to the rear camera. I was very happy with my results. The much easier install would be to purchase the backup battery but you are looking at additional expenses at that point and it may be more difficult to get a neat install since the battery plugs into a cigarette lighter and the battery pack would need to be hidden. One note, if you do go with the Blackvue, the hardwire harness is not long enough to route down along the floor rails as Simon does in the above video. After routing to the A-pillar, you have to route along the side of the headliner back to the rear door and then the rest is as Simon shows in the video. Definitely order the dash cam harness from Simon. It makes the install much easier.

Good luck!

 

Likely never looks at the lights. Just saw the car making a left turn stopped and thought - "Hey, I should stop too".

 

I have the fitcamx, integration is awesome, looks amazing fully built in, no cables.
installation was ok, plastic cover needs some care to remove, and connectors are small and tight to disconnect.
app connects with WiFi, and my problem was it would automatically connect to my phone and I would drop off LTE.

now I only have it connected to my tablet for downloading videos.
video quality is good.

 

​​​​​​I think she was at her own intersection if you know what I mean. She never got above 20 and wandered half in and half out of the right turn lane after I passed her.

@Brock Samson does Fitcam record much while parked? I'm looking at it for another car for the clean integration. I know a lot of people love them but I don't want to lose out on the BlackVue's nearly continuous parking lot coverage.

 

no, it shuts down.
I don't think there is an option for that, the power it splices from auto shuts down shortly after exit.