Mini 0803 Dashcam

I’ve been a fan of dashcam for a while.  There is something appealing knowing whatever in front of my car is record, whether it be an accident (hopefully not involving me, my car, or anyone else driving it) or some funny incidents, or even a UFO in the sky. My last cam is a mirror cam.

It has 2 spring clamps that clamped onto the existing rear view mirror (yes, covering it up).  Its own silver surface serves as a larger replacement mirror while the camera assembly (behind it, off to the side of the car’s rear view mirror) faced forward.

My problem with this one is that the camera lens movement is limited and it never aimed dead center forward.  Also, whenever the mirror is adjusted to accommodate different driving positions (3 drivers drove the car, including myself), the aim is thrown off.

Recently Mat from Techmoan tested the new Mini 0803 (http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2014/6/15/mini-0803-probably-the-best-mini-dashcam-with-a-screen.html) so I decided to give it a shot.

At first, I was planning to use a dash bean-bag mount but it created a rather disturbing looking structure that is quite ugly.

I then thought I’d use the sticky header that comes with the camera.  It has a really small profile and looked really good from outside the car. However, it isn’t adjustable.  If I stick it on wrong or if I want it in a different position, there is no way to adjust it.

 

After messing around in the car for a couple of hours deciding how to mount it, this is the result:

The suction cup part came from a typical mount assembly (there are dozens of brand just on Amazon alone).  After disassembling the rather long and adjustable arm and reattaching a shorter section, I zipped tied the camera to it. The suction cup is just under the rear view mirror arm.  It isn’t a small assembly so we’ll see if I can get used to it.