I have the BlackVue 400. Had it for a few years now. Was in my old car & just hardwired it to the G. Spliced into the wiring for my V1 going to the rear view mirror wires.
Works great. Video has been clear as long as I have used it. Got some great POV vids from the track on my old car.

 

I'm planning on getting the 0803 also when I have time for this next project. Already ordered a cheap 12V to USB wire from eBay.

 

I did eventually get one and it works great in my car. I was going to order another one for the girlfriend, but BlackBoxed.ca is out of stock right now.

Apparently they are getting improved ones that run cooler and withstands higher temperatures. If you're looking to get one, make sure you get one of the new ones.

I didn't have any issues with mines, but it's always better to get the newest model.

 

I got a cheap $100 One from ebay, been 2 yrs and it's holding up great. I do remove it when car is parked in sun.

 

Hi MeloB,

This is Kelvin from BlackBoxed.ca. Thank you for ordering with us and mentioning us here! Glad to hear you are enjoying your Mini 0803.

We just recently got the shipment for the new Mini 0803s which fixed the problems the old ones had, for example, the loose mount and running a bit warmer than expected. These new ones are in stock and ready to ship any time.

If you guys are interested in the Mini 0803 or anything related to dash cams and have any questions, let me know and I'll answer them for you.

Kelvin

 

how does the mini compare? pros and cons?

 

Mini 0803

Pros:

- small sleek size to hide right behind your rearview mirror and is not very noticable to people walking by your car unless they really look for it
- adhesive mount (suction cup mounts tend to fall off once in a while)
- excellent night video quality
- plug in and forget until you need the files
- easily upgradable firmware
- can be hardwired into the car to hide all of the wires
- firmware updates released quite frequently
- lots of support online for this popular camera

Cons:

- used to run slightly warm + had a slightly loose mount, but has been fixed with the recent updates to the hardware (new heatsink added and new mold for the mount housing)
- fussy with what Micro SD card it uses (likes Class 4 or Class 6 Micro SD cards, which can also be a Pro since they're cheaper)
- does not have a dedicated parking mode like $200+ dash cams

Kelvin

 

for an average user what do you think is best? and what micro SD cards have you seen that are less 'fussy' with the mini?

 

Is there any way to tell whether it is the "new version"? I just received one from China a week or so ago.

I bought this one which is class 10 and will see how it does:

 

There really isn't a "best" for the average user. How I would like to think of it is: "How obsessed you are with your car?"

The Mini 0803 is our most popular option because of its price point. However, the more expensive ones like our Lukas LK7900 ACE come with an automatic parking mode, only recording if it sees motion when you're parked, so if someone hits your car in a parking lot, you'll have their license plate recorded and you can report it to your insurance company.

You won't have this option with the Mini 0803. There is a motion detection feature on it, but you need to turn it on and off manually. The Mini 0803 isn't made to be run 24/7 like the Lukas LK7900 ACE.

Any brand name (Kingston/Samsung/Sandisk) Class 4 or 6 Micro SD cards will work with no problems.

One way to check is to see if your mount looks like the new one:



If your's doesn't, it might still have a heat sink. On the outside, there aren't any other markings to show if there is a heat sink installed.

That Micro SD card can still work. It really is random, which is why we recommend our customers to use a Class 4 or 6 card.

Kelvin

 

the gps thing on the 0803 kinda scares me because it can track speed.. lol. so if i was involved in an accident and was going a bit over the speed limit how would that hold against the law.. lol im leaning towards the 0801

 

Thanks for the info, I'll check mine later.

It is available without GPS, although I didn't see the non-GPS mount sold by itself. Anyway, you can turn off GPS in the menu.

 

The GPS data is separate from the video file. Also, like bri said, you can always turn the GPS off.

With a dash cam, it can only help you, never harm you. It is entirely your choice whether or not to give it to the police/insurance company in an accident.

I drive a 2009 G37x myself, so I understand that it might be hard not to speed a little.

Kelvin

 

Re: http://www.blackboxed.ca/pages/installation-guide

Is there any issue with tapping power for the camera off of the rear view mirror?

 

There shouldn't be any issues with it. I haven't tried it myself since I plug mines into the fuse box, but any power source from the car that turns on and off with the car will work (if done correctly ). Plugging into the fuse box is easy and you're still able to hide all of the wires by tucking it around the windshield. You can take it right back out when needed without any permanent mods to the car.

Kelvin