Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Information about video cameras in place of outside mirrors

thatguitarguy · 12-10-2009, 01:43 PM

A couple of things to think about:

I would suggest placing the cameras higher than the bumper. For one thing, I've heard that it rains sometimes in England

You might end up never being able to see anything if there is a constant stream of water trailing across your lens. And down low, like a bumper, there will be road grime kicked up by your wheels and passing vehicles. In short I think keeping the lens clean will be a problem.

My experience, and Neil's as well from what I've read, is that the angle of view on these cameras is quite wide. If you were to mount a camera on the A pillar, you would be able to see what is beside you, as well as what is behind you. This is the purpose of having a convex mirror on the side of the vehicle. And the angle of view is wide enough, that if you placed 2 cameras at the rear of your vehicle, there would be enough overlap in the images as to just being virtually the same image in both monitors. If you place a camera at the rear of your car, I would just use a single one, and I would place it up high.

Another thing is that a lot of these monitors have 2 A/V inputs. In this case, I think you could input both cameras into one monitor and switch back and forth between them with the touch of a button. This takes a little getting used to, but not much.

My experience comes from driving camera equipped buses, and I have found that cameras are much more useful when having to back a bus, than are mirrors. And the image is much clearer in the night than what you would see in a mirror.

12-10-2009, 01:43 PM	#28 (permalink)
thatguitarguy Master EcoModder Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Leadville, CO Posts: 509 Maroon Ballon - '98 Chrysler Town & Country LXI 90 day: 26.42 mpg (US) MaEsTRO - '95 Geo Metro 5spd hatch, 3 cyl Thanks: 47 Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts	A couple of things to think about: I would suggest placing the cameras higher than the bumper. For one thing, I've heard that it rains sometimes in England You might end up never being able to see anything if there is a constant stream of water trailing across your lens. And down low, like a bumper, there will be road grime kicked up by your wheels and passing vehicles. In short I think keeping the lens clean will be a problem. My experience, and Neil's as well from what I've read, is that the angle of view on these cameras is quite wide. If you were to mount a camera on the A pillar, you would be able to see what is beside you, as well as what is behind you. This is the purpose of having a convex mirror on the side of the vehicle. And the angle of view is wide enough, that if you placed 2 cameras at the rear of your vehicle, there would be enough overlap in the images as to just being virtually the same image in both monitors. If you place a camera at the rear of your car, I would just use a single one, and I would place it up high. Another thing is that a lot of these monitors have 2 A/V inputs. In this case, I think you could input both cameras into one monitor and switch back and forth between them with the touch of a button. This takes a little getting used to, but not much. My experience comes from driving camera equipped buses, and I have found that cameras are much more useful when having to back a bus, than are mirrors. And the image is much clearer in the night than what you would see in a mirror.