Our ultimate guide to reversing cameras
Much like dashcams, reversing cameras are becoming steadily more commonplace in modern vehicles.
Now more accessible and affordable than ever, they’re ideal for making parking and reversing easier, safer and more convenient.
They’re especially helpful for newer or less confident drivers, or those who live in busy locations like communal accommodations or on main roads.
Thinking about getting a reversing camera for your car? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is a Reversing Camera?
A typical reversing camera is mounted high on the tailgate or rear bumper of a vehicle.
It’s a compact, wide-angle lens that’s pointed slightly downward, giving a clear, unobstructed view of the area immediately behind the
car, especially the areas that aren’t covered by mirrors. This view is relayed to the driver through a live feed that’s displayed on an LCD
screen on the instrument panel. Often, they also include feature overlays, to help the driver more accurately gauge their position and angle of approach.
Some aspects of reversing cameras may vary between different models, such as the exact angle covered or the level of additional digital features, but they all
share this same basic format.
How does a reversing camera work?
It’s quite simple, to be honest. Most reversing cameras switch on automatically when you put the car into reverse.
When the reversing camera is installed, a wire is connected to the vehicle’s backup light circuit.
Therefore, when the lights activate a signal is sent to the device, triggering it to switch on automatically whenever the vehicle’s transmission is placed in reverse.
When this happens, the LCD display screen on the instrument panel should activate immediately, so that you can see exactly where you’re going.
The live feed is usually flipped so that the driver usually has the correct perception of left and right, and as we touched on above, the image generally has a feature
overlay of guidelines so that the driver can see the direction of the car based on the current steering angle and proximity to obstacles. Some reversing cameras are
also equipped with night vision, for better manoeuvring after dark.
The infrared LEDs on night-vision equipped cameras turn on automatically when the background drops to a level so low that the image sensor
can’t produce a good enough quality picture. The infrared light frequency on which the LEDs operate is beyond the ability of the human eye,
but the camera detects this light in order to keep the reversing camera useful even in pitch-black conditions.
There are some systems that require you to manually switch on the device every time you want to use the reverse camera. However, on the whole we
wouldn’t recommend those here at Car Communications. They can be inconvenient at best and unsafe at worst, so we would always recommend
driver safety aids that have an automatic function.
What are the benefits of reversing cameras?
There are multiple advantages of reversing cameras, both for experienced and new drivers alike. These include (but are not limited to):
If you’re unlucky, you may be unfortunately familiar with that heart-stopping bump that comes when you clip your car into a solid obstacle,
however slowly. In most cases, drivers are reversing slowly enough for the damage to be minimal, but if you own a particularly valuable or
expensive car it’s still not something you ever want to have to experience. Reversing cameras are great for increasing your general awareness
of proximity to obstacles, helping you to avoid colliding with solid objects like bollards or other vehicles, saving you time and money that repairs would entail.
Eliminating blindspots to increase safety for other road users and pedestrians
Even when you’re careful to check all mirrors before you begin reversing, people or objects can still wander into proximity of your car.
Reversing cameras can help you to spot these risks before they become a problem, in a way that might not have been possible otherwise.
This makes it easier to account for busy walkways and children playing in residential drives, or people moving back and forth in shopping
centres and supermarket car parks.
Notably bulky or wide vehicles can suffer from accordingly limited fields of vision, and this is where reversing cameras can be particularly
helpful in covering their larger blind spots. What’s more, these vehicles can tricky to manoeuvre because of their bulk, making reversing cameras
even more helpful for navigational purposes.
Arguably, parking can be one of the most difficult parts of modern driving, especially when backing up into a space. The guidelines on the displays
of most reversing cameras are designed to make this job even faster and easier than ever before. This is especially true if you live on a main road,
and may need to get your car in and out of your drive particularly quickly to avoid disrupting traffic.
Can I install a reversing camera myself or do I need to hire an engineer?
We stock a range of reversing cameras right here at Car Communications. You can purchase a device to try and fit it by yourself but we would always
advise you to see an expert engineer who can fully integrate it into your vehicle without causing any damage to the bodywork. We offer a UK, nationwide
fitting service in which a qualified local installer can arrange a date and time to fit your new reversing camera.
Car Communications specialise in comprehensive reversing cameras and we offer a vast collection of driver safety aids for all types of car from Skoda and Subaru to Honda and Hyundai.
We make your safety our priority. For expert advice and guidance, call 01254 694537 or fill in our quick and simple contact form here. Just give us a call on 01254 694537 for friendly, professional advice.