ViewTube

@TomScottGo   shouted out my "Tiny Dam" video in his newsletter!  🤩😲

I woke up this morning and I saw a spike of traffic.  The source was a mystery at first, and then it hit me.  It's Monday morning and Tom Scott newsletter comes out.  No way....

And then...there it was!  Me?!  *Cue happy dance* 

I've been a long time fan of Tom's videos.  The storytelling and the amazing places he visits are so inspiring.  His newsletter is equally fantastic and I've had a secret goal to get mentioned on it! 

Then today!  Thanks to all my supporters who made this possible.  This isn't an award but it certainly feels like it.  Thanks Tom!  Hope to see you again 😊 

New video! How hidden dams stopped rain from destroying cities.  I travelled from Toronto to Tokyo to explore how our world has adapted to increasing amounts of rain, sometimes in weird ways.  See it  @Lam 

You might have missed this in your feed as the original thumbnail was really bad.   Thank you to the people who voted and commented in the last poll.  I think I'll squeeze my face in here somehow 

Which thumbnail would you click on?  👀

I've been working for many months on a deep dive video on the clever and hidden infrastructure that keeps cities from flooding.  I travelled from Toronto to Tokyo to get hands on with some interesting and weird structures.   The video publishes in a few days and  I'm worried that if the thumbnail sucks no one will see the video.  Your feedback is deeply appreciated.

Some title ideas:
- City vs Rain. How Engineers Fight the War on Flooding
- How Engineers Wage War Against Flooding
- How We Stopped Rain from Killing People 

Hey all, I spent a ton of time making a video on the secret and fascinating design of buildings and how you stopped dying in them.  It's a celebration of great engineering that will hopefully add some positivity to your life!  The original title & thumbnail weren’t good so it likely hasn’t landed in many of your homepages.  Hope you enjoy 🙂 

The End of Car Cam Central...

It's been a wild two weeks from being shouted out by Mark Rober and getting to the front page of Reddit with over 13K upvotes.

This unexpected success has given me the courage to move away from dashcam content. My new videos will explain the design and engineering of overlooked products that touch our lives.  I want to bring the same "I didn't know that" moments from my barrier video and dash cam reviews to other topics.  

I'm using the thousands of hours learning about management, engineering, design, business operations, manufacturing, etc, to make the content I've always wanted to see.

It's the end of Car Cam Central, but the start of something far more interesting.  The channel will be under my name "Andrew Lam" to reflect my new ambitions.

I want to thank my dedicated subscribers who comment on every video and I hope you join me on this new journey.

I have a lot to learn, the barrier video had a lot of areas I could improve even after all the work I put into it.  

Thanks you all - I'm working hard on things I hope you'll love. 

Hello dash cam users, I released a review of the Aukey DRA5 on my second channel:  https://youtu.be/K7PTzKKV0U8 

It's a $40 dash cam with amazing night video quality, two-year warranty, and heat resistance.  I highlighted it in my police dash cam video as a great cheap pick if you need a 360° rotating camera.  It's also a fantastic camera in general and will make it into my Top Dash Cam Pick list.

My second channel will allow me to be more consistent.  I can release more reviews with the same level of testing and research but less of the polish and perfection that goes into the videos for the main channel.  

For all of you who want to hear more of me, hopefully, this will fulfill your requests.  

I have the Viofo A129 DUO Plus (eMMc) version and the long needed 70Mai Pro review on the horizon.

Enjoy! 

Dash Cam Enthusiasts - next review is covering cameras to record police // road rage encounters.  I'm looking for some feedback:

My Thoughts:

These cameras are just like any dashcam except they can rotate to record the sides of your vehicles.  I also thought an adhesive mount was important to prevent it from falling down.  

Here's what I found to work:

$40 Aukey DR05: It's small, rotates well, has capacitors for heat resistance, 2-year warranty.  https://amzn.to/32FIrgF 
$110: ROVE R2-4K: 
Only true 1440P dashcam I could find that rotates under $150, has good customer service.  https://amzn.to/3jqg5wJ   Garmin 55/56 works but >$150 unless on sale (rare) or refurbed.  

$150 Aukey DR03: 
Front-back 1080P dashcam.  2-year warranty.  The only good one I could find.  VAVA's can't rotate properly.  Apeman C860 has bad rear quality.    https://amzn.to/2Bka4R7 
$130 BlueSkySea B2W
Taxi-style dash cam with independently rotating cameras.  Great build quality overall.  Lets you cover both sides of your window.  https://amzn.to/3hqliTM 
I'll also cover legal issues: how it's generally allowed to film and audio record police officers in the United States.

I'll talk about strategies to keep your camera running during a police stop (hardwiring, keeping the key in accessory mode)

 Is this topic valuable to you?  What other info should I cover? 

I hope everyone is doing well!  Sorry for the delay with content. I've been busy with client work and launching my new channel. 

The next dash cam video will be on DIYing your own front-back system using two, single-lens cameras. It should be out in two weeks.  Also Sandisk launched the "Max Endurance" cards which has better value than Samsung.  https://bit.ly/MaxEndurance   I'll be keeping an eye on it.

Productivity Therapy is my new channel and was launched early due to COVID-19.  I’ll be taking the same review style many of you like, and applying it to products and services with a wellness angle.

My first review is on Ikea’s Lidkullen stool:  https://youtu.be/P4WF_pEhKj8  It’s a $99 seat that’s great for sit-stand desks.  It helps you move more which can help with focus and creativity.  It’s also built incredibly well for the price.

My first series is on moving more on work.  From there I want to cover things like sleep, remote work tools, computer accessories, supplements, and more.  It’s all the things I’ve cobbled together to fix my issues with work. 

Hello Dash Cam Enthusiasts! I’m alive and have been focused on dual channel cameras. I’m covering budget cameras between $100 and $200 first.  Here’s my thoughts including the cameras I’ve purchased and those I’ve passed on.  

Purchased for Testing: 
  • Apeman C860: $90-100, popular brand, advanced Sony IMX335 sensors.
  • Crosstour DR900: Cheapest camera ($100) with Capacitors, good front/back 1080P and popular.  
 • VAVA VA-VD002: 30 month warranty, seems good on sale for $120. Otherwise it uses batteries and for a normal price for $150, not sure if I would get it.  

Passed:
  • Mini 0906: My previous pick in 2018. There's no one supporting it in North America.
  • Rexing V1P 3rd & Pro: Good video specs, capacitors, customer support.  Just expensive at $180 or $150 on sale.  The WiFi has terrible ratings.  
  • Thinkware X700: The rear video quality is just awful.  It’s a premium brand but I wouldn’t get it unless it’s under $120.  
  • Z-EDGE S3 & Z3D:  The offerings from Apeman, Crosstour, Aukey are better.   Limited availability outside USA.  

Coming Back
My current picks: Aukey DR02D for its 24 month warranty and Viofo A129 DUO for exceptional all around performance.  The A129 PRO I'm not planning on covering till later but it's the DUO with a better daytime camera but slightly worse at night.  

I haven't found anything good under $100 that I can recommend.

Are there any $50-$200 front-back cameras that I should review with good customer support that I'm missing? 

I'm currently writing the review script for Anker's ROAV A1.  For $50, it's packed with features, solidly made and has good warranty service.  

This is one of three cameras we're looking at including the Aukey DRA1 for a cheap/basic camera and the just released Viofo A119V3.  It's all leading up to a new and improved budget camera roundup for 2019!

If you want to see a behind the scenes look on my scripting process , it's on my facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/CarCamCentral/photos/a.640592639376708/1759640060805288/ 
This summer expect a lot more reviews!
-Andrew