I'm looking at getting a rearview camera, and I'd like some feedback from other members who have installed one. Is the Pioneer camera really worth the $180 or so it costs? It has lower resolution that a lot of other ones that cost half that. How about mounting? I can't find any pictures of the way the Pioneer mounts. Would somebody mind snapping a couple pics of their camera install?

I see these for sale. I don't see why they would not work. I mean, how clear of a picture do you really need to see behind you? Just enough to see no little ones or toys. Unless you really need the details.
http://cgi.ebay.com/REAR-WIDE-VIEW-BACK ... dZViewItem

Stay away from the Pioneer camera, myself and another member installed it and both are failing already after 2 months.

I looked at those cameras on ebay. It's a wonder they work being that cheap. I'm just trying to stay away from drilling holes in my car. I saw these, but they look really cheesy. http://cgi.ebay.com/License-Plate-Backu ... dZViewItem

I don't have to have a DVD quality picture or anything, but I want it to be legible.

That sucks about the Pioneer camera. It looks like it's pretty small and would be easier to mount.

edrock200 said:

Stay away from the Pioneer camera, myself and another member installed it and both are failing already after 2 months.

edrock,

How is the Pioneer camera "failing?" I have been thinking about getting it to, the specs seem good....

Thanks,

CHemi

I'm curious how the Z1 handles the back up camera issue. Does it automatically switch to that input when it detects a signal on the composite connector, or do you make a connection in the wiring harness to a backup lead?

I just ordered the first camera above, so I'll report on how it works once I get my Z1 (6Ave is saying it will ship next week). I would like to be able to make use of the tow view feature, and I'm worried that won't work if the camera isn't energized all the time.

CHemi: The specs on the camera are great, the viewing angle is amazing, the only downside (when it's working) is it doesn't handle direct light very well. You get a huge solar flare on the screen. However mine is failing by fading in and out. The night view is grainy but the reverse lights give the cam just enough light for the cam to give a good image. When the reverse lights are off (in tow mode) the pic is a little dark but still usable.

I now believe the problem to be related to water as the problem began when we started having severe storms a few weeks ago and now that the weather is dryer no problems at all. I've checked my connections again and they are all solid and not in a position to get wet, which leads me to believe that the weather housing on the case is faulty.

skicrave: The HU needs a backup lead from the car to auto switch when reversing. Power your camera off of a switched positive, not the reverse wire positive, if you want to use the cam when towing. There is a nav view that shows the reverse cam that works as advertised.

Hmm, so it requires a hard trigger to enable the camera, I'm surprised by that. From an integration standpoint it would be a lot better if the backup view was automatically enabled when shifting into reverse, but then could be called up at anytime through the menu for towing.

skicrave said:

Hmm, so it requires a hard trigger to enable the camera, I'm surprised by that. From an integration standpoint it would be a lot better if the backup view was automatically enabled when shifting into reverse, but then could be called up at anytime through the menu for towing.

Actually it's exactly how you describe:

skicrave said:

it would be a lot better if the backup view was automatically enabled when shifting into reverse, but then could be called up at anytime through the menu for towing.

That's exactly how the stock pioneer works. Why the power is tapped off the 12V switched and the signal to automatically enable when in revers is tapped off the reverse lights.

Okay, so the camera is essentially always on based on switched 12v power, and you can either call it up manually, or set it to switch to that input automatically if a reverse lead is connected to the harness.

That makes perfect sense, and get me even more excited to have this thing installed!

The crimestopper rear view camera works great in the day or night. It is full license plate with the camera hidden at the top. On my acura rl if I didn't tell you it was there you wouldn't see it. The picture quality is superb during the day and average at night. the only time its grainy is if its totally pitch black but even then i can still see. I recommend that one over any drilling or the pioneer. The map/rear view mode is great but yes it has to have a constant 12v going to it and when you go in reverse the z1 overides any picture on the screen and switches to the full rear view mode. look up the crimestopper, its about 200 bucks but it looks great, not that obvious and at night is ideal for it not to have infared

Thanks for the feedback, I'm looking for something that is completely hidden though, so I ordered one of the $40 slim line cameras on eBay. I figure if it fails I can still replace a it a few times before I've spent what I would have for a high quality camera.

Hey guys...if you're having issues with your rear camera cutting out on you...especially after wet weather, you may want to look at this link. It's from an Acura site and they seem to have recognized a problem with this. I'm not sure how this camera will compare to the Pioneer, but if it's similar, they may have the solution for you:

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137415

Scroll to post # 15. I thought this might help you guys out.

Good point, the Pioneer camera looks very similar to Wendy's camera that they're all using. I'm just getting ready to tackle my camera install, so we'll see what happens, but it looks pretty water resistant right now.

03Aviator said:

Hey guys...if you're having issues with your rear camera cutting out on you...especially after wet weather, you may want to look at this link. It's from an Acura site and they seem to have recognized a problem with this. I'm not sure how this camera will compare to the Pioneer, but if it's similar, they may have the solution for you:

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137415

Scroll to post # 15. I thought this might help you guys out.

Appreciate this...I will put some on my Pioneer Camera, as a preventitive I just had my install done , so hopefully this will work.

Jake

03Aviator said:

Hey guys...if you're having issues with your rear camera cutting out on you...especially after wet weather, you may want to look at this link. It's from an Acura site and they seem to have recognized a problem with this. I'm not sure how this camera will compare to the Pioneer, but if it's similar, they may have the solution for you:

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137415

Scroll to post # 15. I thought this might help you guys out.

Appreciate this...I will put some on my Pioneer Camera, as a preventitive I just had my install done , so hopefully this will work.

Jake

03Aviator said:

Hey guys...if you're having issues with your rear camera cutting out on you...especially after wet weather, you may want to look at this link. It's from an Acura site and they seem to have recognized a problem with this. I'm not sure how this camera will compare to the Pioneer, but if it's similar, they may have the solution for you:

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137415

Scroll to post # 15. I thought this might help you guys out.

Appreciate this...I will put some on my Pioneer Camera, as a preventitive I just had my install done , so hopefully this will work.

Jake

Here is a camera solution that i have been looking at:

http://www.simplycheap.com/mito20-hmit00.html

It is made by Mito, the link is for the chevy tahoe camera (they are designed to fit your exact car/truck)

Hope this helps, and this is a great board!!

Zig

That's actually a pretty cool idea if you can stomach what they charge. Let us know how it turns out when you get it installed.

edrock200 said:

CHemi: The specs on the camera are great, the viewing angle is amazing, the only downside (when it's working) is it doesn't handle direct light very well. You get a huge solar flare on the screen.

To my knowledge, there isn't any camera on the market that "handles direct light well," whether it is $200 or $8000. The only thing that blocks out sun glare (direct light) is a filter (and that is minimal). To give you an analogy, look directly at the sun with your bare eyes, can't see can you? Put sunglasses on and you can see a little better. It is the same principle. When I get my Pioneer cam, I will tinker with it and let you know. Also, when I install the AVIC-1, I will test it with multiple cams, as I have access to literally hundreds of them.

On a side note, the only way you will not see a grainy picture at night (aside from light on your subject), would be adding IR lighting, or getting a cam with Sony's Ex-view chip.