Reversing Camera - Gimmick Or Not?

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Just been reading thro' the A3/S3 brochure and the reversing camera caught my eye

The Audi brochure blurb -
Reversing camera. Shows camera image of area behind the vehicle shown on the MMI display, with dynamic display modes highlighting the calculated path (steer-angle dependent). Includes auxiliary lines and guidelines, and identification of the point at which to apply opposite lock when parallel parking. The rear-view camera is integrated discreetly in the handle strip of the luggage compartment lid. Only in combination with Audi parking system plus, front and rear with selective display (7X2), Audi parking system plus, with park assist (7X5) or Driver assistance package (PCE)
Click to expand...

For £275 I'm just wondering whether its a gimmick or not? :think:

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/reversing-camera-vs-reverse-rear-acoustic-parking.200458/

imageuploadedbytapatalk1381304393-112575-jpg.21788


imageuploadedbytapatalk1381304430-845654-jpg.21789
 
Got one on my Lexus and as such it was a must have when I spec' my S3. If you've never had one, you won't miss it, but once you have, they are brilliant.
 
oh dear..... did i make a mistake? lol
I had the rear reverse cam in my A4 b8.5 before I sold it, quite liked the idea and found it useful sometimes

To those people who say if you rely on one you can't drive, that's true, but for the ones who can drive without one but has one it definitely makes life easier (reversing into short posts, running over little kids... etc)
 
Liquidfusion-S3 said:
oh dear..... did i make a mistake? lol
I had the rear reverse cam in my A4 b8.5 before I sold it, quite liked the idea and found it useful sometimes
Click to expand...
Don't worry too much LF I didn't spec it either. You got to stop somewhere with the options! lol
 
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Bristle Hound said:
Don't worry too much LF I didn't spec it either. You got to stop somewhere with the options! lol
Click to expand...

oh but I did spec it! that's how we're gonna tell the difference between ours unless you collect yours early lol

that and the privacy glass
 
Liquidfusion-S3 said:
oh but I did spec it! that's how we're gonna tell the difference between ours unless you collect yours early lol

that and the privacy glass
Click to expand...
Ah! So at collection time i've just got to look out for someone looking near the number plate lights on new sepango bleu S3 saloons then :) :laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
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I've got a reversing camera on my current car and have specced it on my S3 order. I don't really use it very much to be honest and I would be fine without it, i tend to reverse park the traditional way by looking back out the windows and using the passenger wing mirror to keep an eye on the kurbs/wheels. One thing it does come in useful for is judging exactly how close u are to a wall or other cars or lines on the floor etc because i find that the reversing sensors go into the continuous beep when I actually have loads of room left so a quick glance at the cam screen and i can judge it to about 1cm, good for reversing into my garage because any further away than say 2 or 3cm from the back wall I can't shut the garage door (small garage)!! Also if I'm sat in the car waiting for the mrs or something, I can flick it into reverse for a second and spy on people lol even when reverse is disengaged the cam still shows on the screen for a few minutes unless I drive forwards. Not sure how the cam on the S3 will compare but for £250 I thought yeah why not.
 
I've opted for it, i'm such a geek I couldn't resist. I've been told i'm a cross between Roy Cropper & Daniel Craig...

Anyhoo, had it not had the dynamic bendy lines i'd not bother, as i'd moved a friends Toyota with just a fisheye cam and it was pants. Then with seeing @Cruiser89 's retrofit I'm so glad I didn't close the order list. I live on such a tight street with inconsiderate neighbours it's added peace of mind, especially for the wifey.
 
I had one on my last car and it was useful when hitching up the caravan. But other than that I really didn't use it. And with the A3 I decided against it as the front/rear parking system with visual display is better IMHO.
 
I have it and being totally honest don't use it much at all.

Front and rear sensors are a must have, but the beeps are plenty enough IMHO.

That said, it is geeky and cool! ;-)
 
Modern cars don't have a great deal of visibility out the back of them so a camera is a big help, and it's also a help in the dark to glance at when you can't see much behind you. There's a lot you can't see when you're just looking out the back window. I have parking sensors, but to be honest I don't use them as much as I thought I would.

Overall it's been a much bigger help than I thought it would be and I'd initially dismissed it as a gimmick.
 
Got it in the Q7 and use it possibly about 4 times a year. Plus considering how bad the image quality is (it's almost 2015) I'd rather have £275 towards some Vpower :)
 
For £275 it's a gimmick to rip you off when for around £20 on ebay is the same thing.
 
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Helifella said:
I've opted for it, i'm such a geek I couldn't resist. I've been told i'm a cross between Roy Cropper & Daniel Craig...

Anyhoo, had it not had the dynamic bendy lines i'd not bother, as i'd moved a friends Toyota with just a fisheye cam and it was pants. Then with seeing @Cruiser89 's retrofit I'm so glad I didn't close the order list. I live on such a tight street with inconsiderate neighbours it's added peace of mind, especially for the wifey.
Click to expand...

NO self respecting geek would ever use comic ****** sans in their signature!!

As for the question... absolutely 100% not a gimmick. Excellent addition to the car for real convenience and easy parking. This whole "You can't drive unless you are doing it without aids" is just jealously from those who don't have it, or just plain stupidity. Some people even feel their masculinity is threatened by a parking aid!
 
Do they link in to your steering to show you where you are going to steer into? Image quality is also crap, they usually don't hook into reverse gear to come on automatically, and on a crap secondary display you have to find somewhere for as well.
 
Well for around £20 from ebay , it's great picture quality , even if it was worse you'd still be able to see stuff.

Comes on with reverse gear selected and a touch screen button manual select at anytime from the Home screen.

3 Zooms , picture adjust and aspect ratio.

For less than £275 I bought a brand new 7" AV HU and what it does would fill around 16 sides of A4 .

They don't call 'em stealers for nothing.
 
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Well I'm glad I specced mine. It's a good quality image, even at night. Much better than my friend's Mitsubishi.
And the active lines linked to the steering are a real help. I really like it. I do look out the back window as well though!!
 
Specced it on the S3. It had came on my previous cars as standard for years. Like cruise control I initially thought it was unnecessary but now see it as a must-have.
The Audi implantation, with the bendy lines, the jury is still out on. I tried reverse parking into a space with it yesterday and it was a bit of a pain. It looks to be useful, though for general manoeuvring.
And at least it comes on automatically when you select reverse, unlike the fronts which need to be switched on....:audibash:.....rant over.
 
DickiePhitt said:
Specced it on the S3. It had came on my previous cars as standard for years. Like cruise control I initially thought it was unnecessary but now see it as a must-have.
The Audi implantation, with the bendy lines, the jury is still out on. I tried reverse parking into a space with it yesterday and it was a bit of a pain. It looks to be useful, though for general manoeuvring.
And at least it comes on automatically when you select reverse, unlike the fronts which need to be switched on....:audibash:.....rant over.
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow the "have to turn the fronts on". Assume you mean the sensors and graphic representation. Front and rear sensors come on when you select reverse.
 
It's a good extra to have. 99% of the time I use the old fashioned mirror. But saved my rear bumper once when backing up in a dark car park (tree stump) so for me has paid for itself! Like most options, do you really need it day to day? No! Are you grateful the one time it does what it's supposed to do? Yup!
 
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Gazwould said:
Well for around £20 from ebay , it's great picture quality , even if it was worse you'd still be able to see stuff.

Comes on with reverse gear selected and a touch screen button manual select at anytime from the Home screen.

3 Zooms , picture adjust and aspect ratio.

For less than £275 I bought a brand new 7" AV HU and what it does would fill around 16 sides of A4 .

They don't call 'em stealers for nothing.
Click to expand...

So as I said then, apart from the auto on with reverse gear. You being happy with a worse image quality is entirely separate to the fact that it IS worse!
 
Lol , alrighty then .

I will take picks as #1 and post up and show you what a £20 ebay camera can do .

How ripped off are you.
 
Because it makes obvious sense to drop £30-40k on a new A3/S3 and then stick £20 worth of eBay camera on it...
 
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It's the equivalent of saving the cost of the black finish and buying a can of Matt black spray paint. Sorry, but can't get my head around such a compromise on a car like this.
 
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Who says it costs anymore to produce however with an audi stamped on it then an extra £200 is added...
 
By all means spec a £275 Audi reversing camera if your spending 30-40k, as a stand alone item it's a rip off.

I've posted the pics because cemerson has rubbished the image quality of a cheap eBay reversing camera.
 
I wouldn't say it is a gimmick. I think they can be very useful. I paid a lot to have the full 369!degree version on our Mercedes GL.

For me on the size of an A3 I don't think it is essential though. Especially not with s good audible and visual parking sensor system. Ultimate is is a small car and one can easily do without it.
 
I've specced it on mine, although I've not had one previously, nor any experience of them. I have to park in a lot of awkward areas when out gigging with the band, so will come in handy. Plus I felt on my test drive that rear visibility wasn't great and it's not too expensive to add.
 
Tony1982 said:
I've got a reversing camera on my current car and have specced it on my S3 order. I don't really use it very much to be honest and I would be fine without it, i tend to reverse park the traditional way by looking back out the windows and using the passenger wing mirror to keep an eye on the kurbs/wheels. One thing it does come in useful for is judging exactly how close u are to a wall or other cars or lines on the floor etc because i find that the reversing sensors go into the continuous beep when I actually have loads of room left so a quick glance at the cam screen and i can judge it to about 1cm, good for reversing into my garage because any further away than say 2 or 3cm from the back wall I can't shut the garage door (small garage)!! Also if I'm sat in the car waiting for the mrs or something, I can flick it into reverse for a second and spy on people lol even when reverse is disengaged the cam still shows on the screen for a few minutes unless I drive forwards. Not sure how the cam on the S3 will compare but for £250 I thought yeah why not.
Click to expand...
You should attach a piece of wood (2x4 or similar) to the floor in your garage as a rear tyre stop, then you won't accidentally reverse into the wall; just reverse until the tyres hit the wood.

I don't have the reversing cam myself, the rear sensors do me fine.
 
Flibble said:
You should attach a piece of wood (2x4 or similar) to the floor in your garage as a rear tyre stop, then you won't accidentally reverse into the wall; just reverse until the tyres hit the wood.

I don't have the reversing cam myself, the rear sensors do me fine.
Click to expand...

Then how do I spy on folk? lol
 
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Gazwould said:
By all means spec a £275 Audi reversing camera if your spending 30-40k, as a stand alone item it's a rip off.

I've posted the pics because cemerson has rubbished the image quality of a cheap eBay reversing camera.
Click to expand...

And you've proved me right! It's almost pointing at your numberplate!! Those distance lines are useless, I'm guessing they don't move with the steering, and it doesn't even look like it's in an A3 looking at the heating controls, so where do you plan to mount it in that exactly?
 
I must say, I agree with cemerson. That looks pish. Plus it would take more money and time to get that on the MMI screen.

It's cheaper to have a passenger and get them to marshal you into a space!
 
The bumper is in view because of the Aspect , which I have Regular , Full , and Panorama .

As soon as I use 1 of the 3 Zooms the bumper and number plate disappear so I have the option.

The bumper is cool anyhow as you can precisely see the limit.

I'm not going to hit anything.

Next your going to tell me the image quality is rubbish :blink:
 
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