BlackVue DR3500-FHD (16GB)

This dash cam is seriously frustrating, I'm very disappointed and will be returning. Heres my experience with it:Item arrived quickly from Amazon, I unpacked it and noticed the SD card was missing. Contacted Amazon customer service, they applied some credit to my account for me to purchase a micro SD card, which I did - a 32GB Sandisk Ultra.So now I have a BlackVue DR3500 with a 32GB microSD card which is fully supported.Installed it in to my vehicle, quite straightforward, nice long lead to tuck around the headliner and down the A pillar, plugs in to a 12v power outlet which is active on my vehicle when you unlock the doors and 30 minutes after you lock them - perfect!The unit started up, initialised the SD card, told me it was starting standard recording and all seemed good. I let it record, made some adjustments to the angle of the camera which I noted down for when I review the footage. Basically set it at 3 different positions to see what would work best.Shut the unit down by removing the power lead, letting it turn off which it confirms with voice feedback in an american voice, the lights went off and I removed the card.I used the supplied microSD > USB adapter to plug in to my computer, an Apple Macbook.No files. Nothing on the card. So card back in the unit, I performed a format using the BlackVue which tells you its formatting and restarting and then recording. In the meantime I downloaded the viewer software for my computer.Tried again with the card back in the computer and using the BlackVue software tried to view the footage - nothing. No files. Confirmed using finder that the card was empty. Must be a mac thing I thought, software looked like it belonged to Windows anyway so I did everything again but used the Windows computer with the BlackVue software. (format, record, view on PC). No files!!So I downloaded the updated firmware from the BlackVue website, and from this point I would stick to the windows PC, loaded firmware on to the card, inserted in to BlackVue unit, it updated and restarted and recorded... Great, plugged in to the PC and there was the recording! A very clear, HD video looking out the windscreen, the viewer software worked fine and I thought it was just some buggy firmware.So in the viewer software you can adjust settings, I entered my vehicle registration and turned off the chavvy blue "security" light which flashes out of sync with the red recording light. I saved these settings, transferred the card over to the unit and it updated, restarted and recorded... The blue light was off, I thought I was done.After re-recording my positions again as the first attempt didn't work, I put the card back in the PC... No files. Nothing again :-(Tried a few more times, probably 5 or 6 times transferring the card back and forth, re-formatting (which doesn't affect settings or firmware previously loaded and is in fact recommended every week), but I never got another recording. Card empty every time.From the BlackVue website they recommend using a third party SD card formatter, they gave a link and I followed the steps as recommended. Did a full format overwrite. Still nothing. Absolutely refuses to record anything apart from on one occasion. Whats worrying is every single time it "records", it doesn't give any indication the recording is actually failing to record!! Thats simply unacceptable for a dash cam where you need it recording reliably without even thinking about it. I have no trust in this product at all.I have a RoadHawk fitted in my other vehicle, its not HD but its absolutely solid and reliable and I completely forget about it, thats what I was hoping for with this, I didn't expect to have this problem at all. I now have the feeling this BlackVue unit is simply cheap chinese tech with a large sales budget and we're paying much more than its worth.Caveat: I know its possible it could be a faulty SD card, even though it mounts correctly and transfers data, there is a small possibility its the card somehow, but would you trust a dash cam that happily "records" on to a faulty card?? No thanks.

This unit worked well for perhaps one day, then it rejected the SD card. I tried another 32GB Sandisk card from Tesco and it didn't work either. I tried a third 32GB card which was at least recognised by the unit, but still didn't work. When the unit doesn't work it repeats a voice message "check SD card" or "Error 1" or "Error 2". These messages don't stop until you power off the unit. After trying all the suggestions I found online such as reformatting the cards (full format, not the quick one) and then downloading the latest firmware etc etc I finally gave up in frustration and sent it back. I may have been unlucky, but I see there are other reviews saying similar things. When it worked, it was as good as I hoped. When it didn't work it was frustrating as hell. Overall a bad experience.One tip for mounting - watch out how close you place the unit to the mirror. My first attempt resulted in half the view blocked by the mirror mounting itself. Also, if you place it on the left of the mirror (i.e. nearer the passenger seat) then you will find it fiddly to access the SD card.

Got this as I was sick to death of people cutting me up, excellent value for money and I have mine hard wired in to switch on when the engine does, picture quality is good as I wanted a camera that didn't have screen on it, going to look at getting a rear one some point in the future

So far it is very good, very clear video, bit expensive though.

Great camera easy to fit thanks

I have this in my work van and I did not pay for it. The video quality is good and all the settings I need are in the menu. The price does seem quite high, but I do like the size of it. It stays out of the way till its needed. But when I need it getting the memory card out is difficult. I have some tweezers in my van.... once i dropped the micro card and it went onto the floor of my van, through a gap and into were the battery is. I had to remove the battery of my van to get the card back.If there was 1 feature I could change on this camera it's that the memory card is difficult to get out. With it being stuck to the windscreen and not in an easy position to fiddle around with the card is easy to drop.Im currently looking for a camera for my car..... this is not the one. But the form factor is what I want, but I also want it to be a lower price, gps built in and wifi.

Awesome product. Worth the extra you pay over the cheaper brands.Mine was rock solid for a year, then after being out of the car for a few weeks, it went faulty. Spoke to the UK supplier, and it was replaced promptly. (try that with a China shipped product!)Its basic spec, but is brilliant, now in third car under my ownership, and i would recommend to anyone.If you want a stealthy install, great software and high quality video day or night, this is your camera. Saved me twice from being out of pocket in the time I have had it installed!!

Thanks.