Everybody gets a laugh out of the "crazy Russian Roads" videos online-----but they do show the advantages of having a dash cam. After getting caught up in an accident back in June, I am going to add one to the truck. The police wrote it up totally wrong---they had it as a 10 vehicle chain reaction rear ending; when I was 3 lanes over. Luckily, I took photos of the damage---they didn't even do that.

Anybody have a dash cam ? There are hundreds on ebay, but it is hard to figure out the best value and features.

I've had one that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, and I've got some suggestions:

1) Find a system that is hardwired into the car
2) That has both forward and rear facing cameras
3) saves automatically every x minutes
4) saves automatically in case of g-shock
5) saves filenames in sequential order (believe it or not, this is an issue) & includes timestamp in the filename
6) has easily removable memory media, so you can pop it into your laptop/computer to retrieve files (for which #5 is particularly important_
7) ... I think that covers it.

It won't be cheap, but it'll be worth it.

Booksmart, be rear facing camera, do you mean one that faces behind the vehicle, or one that's on the driver?

I'll have a 16 year old in just over 6 months; looking into a dash cam for that reason.

Having a third camera that's angled so as to catch a view of the driver, the drivers side window, and the speedometer might not be a bad idea. Can disprove accusations of phone use while driving, speeding, turn signals on/off, and conduct  of and with whomever approaches the drivers side of the vehicle. 

These days I'm even starting to consider a body cam....

Behind the vehicle. 

Although the prospect of having a duckfacing selfie critiqued by Dad should be sufficient to curb that idea.

Rear camera doesn't have to spectacular - it's mostly sacrificial in event of a rear-ending.

"And right here is where you see the defendant lock his brakes... aaaaaaand... impact."

Or in the event of road rage/tailgating...

"It was while the defendant was making this gesture that I called the police and reported him as roadrage... as you can see, neither hand is on the wheel..."

In the ceiling/roof (whatever it's called inside a car) between the driver and front seat passenger.

But we're venturing into the realm of some not insignificant wiring jobs - even if you Bluetooth the cameras to talk to each other, they still need power.

I'd check out what NASCAR uses for all those in-car cam shots they show on TV and then work backwards to something I could afford.  A lot of the newer heavy duty trucks have more camera angles than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot and can show you anything on either side of and behind a trailer you are towing.   Somebody has got to make an aftermarket system like that - I just don't know who.   

https://www.roadhawkusa.com/product/roadhawk-e10/  up to 4 cameras

tl,dr;  A 360° real-time monitor adds a lot of utility in day to day use to a video system.

 A few months ago I sold my truck.  Home remodel was done, and being a city dweller I could no longer justify a 1 ton diesel with a lift that gets 14 mpg on a good day.

I ended up finding a barely used Mercedes GL350 Bluetech.  It checked lots of boxes, including diesel, better mpg than my truck or the suburban my wife drove, and enough seats for the family 99.9% of the time.  Since it was a suitable replacement for the Suburban, it would allow my wife to get something that was less of a "Utah-mom" car, which she was anxious for after nearly 20 years of minivans and suburbans.

I would say "long story short" but clearly that ship has sailed.

The GL350 has four cameras:  Rear, front and each side.  The camera's are all fish-eye to one degree of another, but the video software presents them in a split screen that front or rear (depending on "drive" or "reverse") as well as a top down 360° view. I thought it was a gimmick, but as turned out to be incredibly useful.

For instance, backing into the garage for the first time, before I had hung a golf ball to hit the back glass when I am just far enough in....Turns out you can see when you clear the little line on the garage floor the garage door makes.  Just last night I was up in the mountains at a camp navigating an over-subscribed parking lot and it helped me squeeze through a spot where some cars double parked.

It is a feature I miss now when I drive my wife's car.  I don't know if aftermarket, multi-camera systems have this kind of feature, but it would add a bunch of day to day utility.

I need to figure out if I can add recording to my system.

Federal Law mandates a backup camera at this point.

And the camera's themselves are cheap:

https://www.banggood.com/600TVL-8_0MP-14-2_8mm-CMOS-FPV-170-Degree-Wide-Anlge-Lens-Camera-PALNTSC-p-984345.html

Buying in bulk would make them cheaper still.

A cheap 8 channel DVR can be had under $50.  Since the Fed makes them put the camera/screen/basic video system in place, seems like good marketing for the car company to spend another $100 to make the system work with several camera's and a DVR.

Of course, that doesn't help this thread about DIY and dash cam reviews.

Well, retro-fitting is sort of like figure skating for mechanics - if you do it right you can also get points for artistic merit .  .  .