Aftermarket Back-up camera Head unit SetUps
 

Hey guys, i am in the market for looking for an aftermarket Head unit and back-up camera for my 2010 370z. can you guys post what set-up you guys have? and answer these specific questions? I don't have nav BTW.
1. what brand(s)
2. Steering wheel controls work?
3. Pricing
4. Overall satisfaction with back-up camera?
*ALSO i would be interested in knowing if it would be possible to drive the car with the reverse camera on and if your unit will allow this.*
I have seen some aftermarket HU and back up camera reviews in several member profiles, but i think it would be best if you can post in one thread, thanks!

I've been thinking more about this lately, still on the fence but since you started the thread I'm subscribed to see how it goes.

Also wondering, with the 6spd is the reverse camera automatically turned on or would it need to be done manually?

I'm in mid-install. Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD. Audiovox CMOS2 camera. The camera can be powered from any switched 12v line, including the reverse lights. The Pioneer (and every other HU I looked at) has a line that goes to the reverse lamps circuit to automatically switch to rear view when in reverse. The 6MT poses no extra problems compared to the auto trans. As for selecting the rear view when NOT in reverse, well, I can't see myself using that function, so I did not check. I'll update when the install is finished (~ 2 weeks, dang those family holidays!)

I've got a Kenwood DNX9960 + Kenwood CMOS300 backup camera. I'm very happy with both. I have to adjust the camera because I mounted it too far up under the license area lip. These are both the top-end of what Kenwood has. The 9960 has voice activation, which works very well. The navigation has 3D views plus lane assist. The lane assist is nice if you're on a busy highway in an unfamilar area. It will show you what lane or lanes you need to be in at an intersection on your route.

You can drive with the camera on at all times if you want. I just hold down my "aud" button and it turns the camera on. You can even turn on a split screen when in the nav mode and turn the camera on. The camera definitely helps me in parking lots. Especially the angular kind. I can't see anything out of the back when trying to back out of an angle. The camera helps see if anyone is coming. The CMOS300 has a 190 degree viewing angle, which of course is a little odd because you can't see past 180, but it sounds neat anyway.

I am using the steering wheel controls having installed the Metra Axxess ASWC unit. I works great. I have that one and used to have the PAC unit and the PAC unit is a POS. It's extremely slow and pretty cheaply made IMO.

If you're interested, PM WickedCAS and tell Nazar that I sent you (Brian Murphy). I've bought a few units from him and he'll hook you up.
Here's the whole poop on the 9960:

Kenwood - DNX9960

Here's a bunch of pics I took of the unit.

http://www.the370z.com/audio-video/1...tml#post584394

Wow, thanks for both posts so far! Digging your setup treesemdyzee!Oh ya and pics of the setup would be nice!

:facepalm: Guess that was a dumb question, I was thinking about some sort of gear sensor and forgot all about simply triggering off the lights :rofl2: The phone buttons won't work with that metra adapter though right?

If you buy a HU that has Bluetooth, the steering wheel buttons become secondary. On the 9960 and most of the Kenwood Bluetooth units, there is an auto-answer setting for the phone. Plus there are monstrous buttons on the HU itself.

yeah I knew the radio would have it's own controls, probably better ones. I just don't like the idea of my brand new car having buttons that don't work if I can avoid it you know. I guess I'm going to have to start looking at these more closely, looks like I am leaning towards kenwoods now :tiphat: But just to be clear you are saying the bluetooth buttons on the steering wheel will work in combination with the whatever is integrated into the radio then right?

Thanks :tup:

No. You'll probably lose the use of the buttons. Unless you are a wiring wizard. The 9960 has an external button for the voice commans, so I guess there is probably a way to use the steering wheel button in place of that button. You'd have to REALLY know what you are doing with wiring.

Well that actually sounds like it might be doable then, maybe even reasonably easy... if I could get the schematics, which of course is always the hard part :facepalm:

Any progress here, Hated1 find any great deals today? :icon17:

Anyway I was wondering if I would be able to reuse me OEM antenna with Sirius satellite rather then that crappy XM that I have now? I really don't want to stick on another antenna or run the wire for it :rofl2:

Didn't find any deals today :(, im actually just waiting for forums members to post their set-up and go from there.

I have the Pioneer AVIC-X920BT as well as the Pioneer ND-BC20PA Rear View Camera with Visual DSP and I love my setup! I got a great deal on the back-up camera from my installer because I was already spending thousands on my system and they have a hard time moving that particular product because of it's price. The camera comes with a commander for adjusting viewing angles, making lens corrections and other functions. With my head-unit it is possible to keep the back-up camera activated while driving and it comes up as a small box on the corner of the screen during navigation.

i have a pioneer x920bt with a custom sourced ccd backup camera w/reverse guidelines:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i/IMG_0064.jpg

fits directly in the license plate light. existing light fits right into it. no drilling, no taping, nothing. direct replacement :)

do you have any pics of it installed?

here ya go..crappy pic from my blackberry with pics from my actual camera:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v404/chopsu3i/1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i/IMG_9726.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i/IMG_9725.jpg

lighting may not look uniform, but in the dark, the lights are completely uniform..with neither side looking darker or brighter than the other

Nice, it makes more sense now after seeing it. So from a normal standing height, walking up to the car, etc can you even see the camera's there? Are those lines pretty accurate, when something is in the red how far from the car is it?
Just curious, could you have put it on the other side or does it only fit there?

Where did you get it anyway?

Thanks

you can honestly HARDLY tell its there. i had to squat down to take the pics...else you cant really see it since it blends into the shadows pretty well.

as for the lines, yes they are pretty damn accurate; i had my friend walk upto it while i was sitting inside to judge the distance. red was about 1foot away from his legs while yellow was a few feet. all you need to know is that red is about a foot away to judge things though.

they actually sell these cameras on ebay but they are way overpriced, shipped in a few weeks from china (i found it on my350z.com and people said it took upto a month to receive) and dont have guidelines with the CCD sensor. i actually found a chinese manufacturer to customize it for me. it has a 1/3 sony CCD sensor, rear guidelines and is NTSC compatible. CMOS sensors overheat relatively quickly, so if you were to leave it on while driving, (as the pioneer nav's allow) it would overheat and become useless after 30min or so. also, night vision is pretty damn good compared to a CMOS sensor. it is comparable to my the is250's stock rear camera (only other car in my garage i can compare it to).

if there was enough interest i could possibly pay the forum fee and start a group buy, but otherwise it was hard enough to get the company to customize and ship me just one unit :tiphat:

Cool. I've got some research to do but I think I am gonna get a Kenwood, sounds like I should probably just stick with their camera though since this one is so hard to get.

I could be in for a group buy though if the timing works out

I've got the Kenwood CMOS300. Scroll down.
http://www.the370z.com/audio-video/1...tml#post584394

Thanks, I saw those before but this time I was paying attention since I've decided I am getting one :D

I thought that square plug under the license plate was for a camera, or is that where the recovery point is on the back of the car?

Well, update and review of my 'budget' setup. I know some will scoff at my lo-buck selections, but i am on a budget. Did I mention 'budget'?

HU: Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD ($425)
Camera: Audiovox CMOS2 ($40)
Speakers: Alpine Type-S SPS-600C ($62)
Subwoofer: Boss Audio D10F 10-Inch 4-Ohm Diablo Flat ($40)
Sub Box: DIY fiberglass spare tire (~$40)
Sub Amp: Polk PA 880 ($60 on Craigslist)
Scosche adapter, Metra console panel, axxess Steering wheel control, etc

Result: Front speakers and HU sound great. Great imaging. I ended up bi-amping (tweets on front channel amps, door speakers on rear channel amps). Glad I did, because it is a little too bright with the fader set to 'zero'. Could have used the EQ to fix it, but I like having the extra control. Plus all my home systems have been bi-amped since the 80's. Seems like the right thing to do for a variety of reasons..

Rear view camera has good PQ and color, but has nowhere near the claimed 170 degree field of view. Jury is still out whether I keep it or not.

I finally figured out your question. Couldn't figure out what "square plug" you were talking about.
You can put a camera there. I had thought about it, but the manual for my camera said to mount it higher. There is a thread on here where someone did that.

I don't know what the square plug is for. The parts diagram calls it a 'bumper cover'. There are no tow-hook threads behind it. Just a hole in the styrofoam so you can see the aluminum bumper beam. Works fine for a camera, but only if the camera diameter is under ~ 3/4 inch. That's where mine is.

Thanks guys, I had seen someone on here put it there that's why I was wondering. I figured if that was the OEM intended place then it would probably be best but I guess it would depend on the camera/ lens so I'll just go with whatever they recommend.

I've gotta get on this though, I scratched my ******* bumper tonight cuz I can't see **** out of the back of my car on a sunny day. Tonight was dark and icy and my friend put those stupid driveway lights in that you can't ******* see...

i think it would be a great idea if one of the forum sponsors put together a package deal with all the features and things required to just buy and have someone install. I for one would be in.

if anyone is interested in the same rear camera that i posted above, shoot me a PM and we can chat over email or AIM about getting you a camera. a few of you have shown some interest, and i have a way to help ya'll out!

I'm in the market for buying a BU camera. Also for a HU. I leaning twords the Kenwood 9960. I was hoping something would go on sale after Christmas. Let me know what you can do for us with the BU camera. Thanks.

hm.. are you guys talking about the euro fog light location?

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...BlueLED002.jpg

i remember someone on the forum installed a rear view camera in here. i was thinking of trying that out, but i understand it might be a bit too low.

^ No. There is a plastic plug in the bumper right above the fog light and under the license plate.

That's it. When I was searching them again I did find a few pictures of someones camera they put in there (I'm not sure where though, but it was blue :rofl2:) It looked like a good place if you have a round flush mount style camera.

Seems most of them are square though and were intended to just be attached to the bumper or something, never in it.

Mine:
http://bwb6qq.bay.livefilestore.com/...cam.JPG?psid=1

And the image it gives:
http://bwb6qq.bay.livefilestore.com/...age.JPG?psid=1