AUTO-VOX Cam 6 Rear Reverse Backup Camera License Plate Parking Rearview System of 170-Degree Wide Angle for Cars Truck & RV with Waterproof Night Vision

PLEASE NOTE: Review of the transmitter follows this review of the camera! :)There is obviously a lot of rebranding going in the backup camera department here on Amazon, and believe me when I say I have tried many of them. This particular Auto-Vox unit stands out in multiple ways - so much so I felt compelled to post a review to help steer people this way and hopefully avoid the disappointment I've previously experienced.First, understand this is not a $500 backup camera. That said, its low price is quite deceptive - it's better than backup cameras costing several times as much. Trust me, I tried them too. Everything about this camera is thoughtful: The bracket has a rib for ridigity that others do not. The actual mount for the camera is just a piece of metal, whereas other cameras use a hinge. At first you'd think that makes it less functional BUT those hinged models are poorly assembled and vibrate loose over time, requiring constant adjustment or sometimes removal and tightening. Once you gently bend this bracket where you need it to be, it stays. But, here is the KEY ELEMENT that makes this assembly better: Auto Vox thoughtfully provides a tiny 4-pin connector to mate this camera to its wiring harness instead of using common RCA and DC jack connectors - that means if you're drilling you only need to drill a tiny hole (1/4" IIRC) instead of some massive hole to pass an RCA connector through. THAT'S HUGE.In terms of performance, I compared this camera against another slightly more expensive color camera and a SLEW of black and white cameras equipped with both IR LEDs and white LEDs for night vision. During the day, this camera at least as good and possibly better than more expensive color cameras, and tangibly better than the B&W cameras - adding color to the mix helps you spot obstacles more easily than fishing out detail in a B&W image. B&W is great for security cameras where you're sitting still watching things happen, but for backup cameras where you are looking for obstacles rather than motion, your eye identifies color much more quickly than shape. At night, the low-light sensitivity is totally adequate, perhaps not quite as good as more expensive color cameras but absolutely equal to ALL the LED-assisted B&W cameras I tested. It's worth mentioning that my application is a 32' long motorhome - this camera is mounted up near the roof to get a view of the full width of the vehicle, and even with just reverse lights 8' away from this camera the view at night is FINE. On a car, where the camera and the reverse lights are much closer together the view would likely be great.The wide viewing angle is legit - the motorhome is over 8' wide and I can see both ends of the rear bumper. That's a big deal for me, and in fact the entire reason I bought a camera. The rear mirrors are fine for broad positioning, but I can't see the first 6' behind the bumper. This camera fully solves that issue, allowing me to back right up to a wall or a pole without fear.For what it's worth, I tried this camera on the strength of Auto Vox's wireless transmitter, which I am also using. it was so good I threw their camera into the testing mix and I have zero regrets. It's just a very nice setup, the price makes it unbeatable. I will likely pick up another one of these to use on my 22' long Cadillac limo... which is probably even worse to back up due to tiny windows and mirrors! :)UPDATE: Kind of annoying that Amazon has linked the camera and the wireless transmitter into one product, so here's the score on the transmitter to go with my review of the camera:I have to admit right away that my application for this transmitter was not as intended. Power comes from a cigarette lighter which was not useful to me, so after verifying it worked I took it apart, sawed off the end, soldered wires onto the pads, and then installed it. The upside of this was that, while apart, I had the opportunity to check out the insides. Let me just say, this setup is FAR SUPERIOR to competitively priced ones. The packaging is superior, the PCB is assembled better, and it has proper internal shielding - most of the others are just slim boxes epoxied around surface mount components. It's not even a comparison. Additionally, the transmitter in this kit uses a real antenna rather than an inch long piece of wire hanging out. Yes, it takes up more space but the results are worth it. Most of the other kits required me to mount the pieces in specific spots to get a decent picture, but across a 32' long motorhome I was not able to upset this pair. I ended up with the transmitter mounted under the bed and the receiver mounted behind the TV in front - that's a solid 28' of airspace going through wood and an LCD with zero degradation. Completely stoked about it. Although I did not need it, the receiver even has a dedicated monitor trigger to switch inputs on your display automatically. Like the camera itself, this whole package is really thoughtful. Well done Auto Vox.

I installed this camera on my 2009 Toyota Tundra that needed a new head unit. The factory stereo died, so I decided to upgrade to a touch screen Pioneer AVH-291BT and this backup camera. I followed all of the installation instructions for the camera, head unit and wiring harness closely and everything works like a charm. The picture is clear and looks about as good as the one in our 2015 Honda Pilot with factory camera and head unit. It really comes in handy for backing up and hitching to my boat trailer. The low light picture is grainy in the dark storage yard at night, but it's clear enough to do the job.Installation was relatively easy. I spliced the long red wire from the camera into the 12v reverse light wire on the back of the Tundra's seven pin trailer wire harness. The long black wire from the camera spliced into the ground wire for the seven pin harness. I ran the video cable in split loom tubing along the factory wire harness (passenger side) through one of the rubber grommets in the rear passenger floor. The included video cable was too short, so I used a female/female connector to add the required length of video cable to complete the run. I used video cable with the red 12v wire included for the backup signal. I ran the additional length of video cable up to the front of the truck and connected it to the head unit. The short piece of red wire attached to the video cable connects to the purple and white backup wire in the head unit's wiring harness.It's only been installed for one week and one rainstorm, but so far I have no complaints.

The product itself seems petty good. The instructions that came with it were barely passable, but the installation was easy enough. I was pleasantly surprised that the video cable that goes to the front of the vehicle had a second wire with it to trigger the stereo or whatever you are using to view the camera. I thought I was going to have to run a second wire from the reverse light to the new stereo that I was installing at the same time as this camera. So, I was very happy that I did not have to do that. The instructions did not say how to adjust the camera after install, but the camera is on a thin metal arm. I just bent it down to get the angle I needed. The picture ended up slightly cockeyed, but it is close enough to work just fine. The power and video cables were just barely long enough for my application (Ford Explorer size). I maybe had an extra 3 inches on the power cable and an extra 1 inch on the video cable. So, if the have a really big SUV or a longer truck be prepared to need an extension on the RCA video cable and possibly the power wires. To be fair the product description warns you that you might need to do this. I really like the way that the camera mounts such that the frame is behind the license plate and not on the front like many competing products. It looks way better that way and doesn't really block the state name at the top of the plate. My state writes tickets for blocking the state name. Overall, I am very happy with this product and it was a good value for the price.