Review: K1S - The First Front & Rear 1080p Hidden Recorder Car Dash Cam | The Compost Bin | Forums

KVR said
thanks, been thinking of getting one

Me too. This is the first I've found with such a setup. It's the closest to what I've been looking for. Just wish it took a 128GB card, did 4 cameras to cover front, back, and sides, wish it had a battery expansion, and wish it had a "power off" recording feature beyond motion detection so it could be set to record continuously for the next hour following a detected collision. It should also have better mics.

It's easily the best I've found. Techmoan has become my go-to source for such things. Not checked in a while till someone made me think of it.

easytapper said
I would like to get one too.  This is out of my price range though.  Also, is the recorder really hidden if it's connected by wires?  Wish it was bluetooth or wifi.

Wires are better, especially the heavier gauge wires used by this product. Higher data throughput and more reliable. Also more secure than wifi or bluetooth. Those transmit signals that can be intercepted and potentially hacked, though for a product such as this, that's irrelevant. Hidden is a relevant term here. The cameras are very small which makes them less conspicuous. The control unit can be hidden out of sight, so that is truly hidden, and you can take the control unit with you if you choose, though that is rather excessive. The wires are as hidden as you take the time and effort to make them so, you can run them loose if you're lazy about it, you can run them along seems, joint, and corners if you're meticulous, or you can remove body panels and completely conceal them if you're over-the-top paranoid.

There are other options out there that are less expensive. Use this link to do a Youtube search of Techmoan's dash cam reviews. His channel's focus is on inexpensive lesser known products that give good value for the least money. Many are from Chinese companies, at least one of whom began working directly with him resulting in vastly improved products (The 808 series and related products). He has multiple product reviews that are in the $70 to $160 price range which should get you something quite good, but would likely have only 1 camera. The best quality/price ratio you can get will be a 720p "808 #16 keychain camera" for $50. I personally bought one several years ago as a helmet cam and it absolutely lived up to it's Techmoan review. I bought one without wide-angle or fisheye because I did not want any distortion, while the field of view is not as wide, a normal lens is better at catching license plate numbers which is crucial (in my opinion) for a dash cam. That said, to best catch license plates, higher resolution is better so you should strongly consider no less than 1080p resolution. The 808 #26 keychain camera and the mobius action camera (an 808 #26 with a few modifications) are both 1080p.

So there ARE less expensive options. Seriously just watch Techmoan's  dash cam reviews, action cam reviews, and spy cam reviews. You'll find something that will work for you.

People do modifications on their cameras too. For example:

If I was okay with only 1 camera, the solution above would work nicely. I would use all the mods except I might not get the wide angle lens, and I would do some research to see if it could handle more than one extension cable to put more distance between the lens and unit. At the end of the video, the wide angle has minimal distortion and I am able to see the license plate is #DM59XFA. But as you can tell, UK plates use much larger numbers and letters. In the US, plates are more difficult to get a decent image of which is why my preference is for no less than 1080p with a standard lens.

I personally tried a mod for my 808 #16 helmet cam. The mod required soldering and I'd never soldered before. I managed to de-solder the mic off, but failed to solder the new mic on. The video still works, but unless somebody else solders it for me, mine is now video only.

https://youtu.be/TVjmO1XIAQY

Project pics