Aftermarket rear backup camera recommendations?

[GRNSHRK]

Starting to research aftermarket rear backup camera options for the missus 5er (F10 528i) and wow, talk about a cluster out there

Once I saw installation instructions that require tapping into a 12V power source and whatnot, I realized that this could be a LOT more difficult than I first thought

But then it occurred to me, why not reach out to the Big Coupe braintrust and see what shakes out

So ladies and germs, what say ye

This "may" go under the Christmas tree this year, something she could actually use

Trust me on this one

TIA

[dwcains]

I have a $25 (shipped, no less) camera in my 350Z, and it's better in picture quality than the camera in my wife's Acura TL-S. wiring is actually simple, because the 12v supply comes from one of the backup lights, so the camera is only on when the car is in reverse. It was a bit of a pain to run the signal wire up to the front of the car, but in the last few years I've seen inexpensive wireless cameras, so maybe look for one of those?

[hornhospital]

That is exactly what I need to get for my daughter. She is a menace while backing. She's backed into (1) my '84 E24 (first dent in it since new), (2) my '87 E30 (more of a scrape than dent, but it broke the right rear side marker light fixture) and my '03 F150 (she lost that fight...). I didn't care about the truck. It was a foreman's truck at a paving company, and doesn't have a straight panel anywhere. It's made for work, and work is what it does. She also backed into a newer F150 in a parking lot, but only hit the trailer hitch. I'm tired of repairing body panels and replacing front fenders.

I told her no more parking in our front yard if you have to back up to leave, but that doesn't help with her maneuvering parking lots.

By the way, she's 31 years old, and is otherwise an excellent driver. She's been driving for half her life. Thank God a majority of it is going forward!

[GRNSHRK]

Crack me up Ken, yes good thing she drives forward most of the time

Dean, any specifics on what brand you used, model number, etc.

You didn't mention anything about the video end of the business, do you have a small screen mounted on the dash somewhere

Good idea tapping power from the reverse light circuit

Keep the ideas flowing gents

[dwcains]

Sorry I don't have any specific info on my cam that will help. It's a generic made to replace a license plate light housing on a Nissan van only made for Southeast Asia, but it also fits the 350Z. I tossed the screen and used the head unit display.



This one has little infrared LEDs around the camera lens, to assist with nighttime vision, but it's also a good idea to improve your backup lights, and LEDs are inexpensive and effective.

[GRNSHRK]

Dean, the 5er has a display, but how did you get the video to appear on it

There's lots of cameras out there, some that are license plate frames, some just attach using the license plate fasteners, so that's not "too" big of an issue

Again I like the idea of tapping in to the backup lights for power, but getting that signal to a display, hopefully wireless, has me stumped

[dwcains]

I don't know if there's a way to tap into the BMW screen. You might pull it apart and see if there is an auxiliary input. As for a wireless camera, just search Amazon for "rear view camera wireless" and you'll see a few, but they have an separate screen you need to install somewhere, There are also some that have a screen in the a replacement rear view mirror, and we bought one as a gift last year for my wife's dad. It works well, but the screen is necessarily smaller.

[baders]

Bobbo you will need to find out if the display unit will accept video input. Most modern units do in RCA type connection. Either look up the interwebs or pull the unit.

[olympia57]

We keep things simple in Ireland.............

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rearview.jpg (66.82 KiB) Viewed 3991 times

[GRNSHRK]

Funny olympia57

Found these guys, now we're talking

http://www.rearviewsafety.com/

Replacement mirrors and everything

Rather pricy, but much more of the OEM solution that I was envisioning

But I will look into seeing if the existing display has RCA jack inputs, thanks baders

[sansouci]

RCA jacks? Very old school.