Who would have guessed the first factory installed reversing or back up camera was on a 1956/ 57 Buick Centurion which had a monitor in place of a rear view mirror and a television camera in the trunk of the vehicle.
Unfortunately, it never made it to the production stage and it is not known if the camera worked or not.
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Rear View Camera System Or Back up Camera
Depending where on the planet you live as to whether or not it is a reversing camera or a back up camera.
They are the same thing. Are they worth it? Rhetorical question, of course they are.
As evidenced by the engineers back in the day at Buick, back up cameras were always going to play a part in automobile manufacture.
It was only a question of when.
Back up Camera for Cars
While most new(er) cars now usually come with built-in rear view cameras, older models tend to not include this luxury.
Fortunately, we live in the age of technology, and with a little digging, you can find easy-to-install car cameras to help navigate through any type of terrain.
Nearly 14 years after the back up camera’s first public appearance, the idea of reversing cameras surfaced again.
This time at the Geneva Motor Show when Volvo showed its Experimental Safety Car (VESC).
Back-up cameras and cameras on the front of cars as well as Dashcams, not only make driving more manageable, but they also make it safer.
By giving drivers a clear view of their front, back and blind spots.
These cameras will provide you with a sense of calm and awareness you might not otherwise have.
Pulling into tight spaces no longer requires the capabilities of an extraordinary taxi driver, with high-quality waterproof cameras, providing a bright and detailed look at your surroundings.
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Japanese Technology
In 1991 Toyota produced the Soarer limited sedan with a reversing camera. However it was only ever available in Japan. Its American counterpart, the Lexus SC was produced without the camera.
This all came to a halt in 1997. The reasons are not given but it could be assumed Toyota wanted more suitable technology to carry across their models.
Then in 2000 Nissan Infiniti luxury division introduced their version of a back up camera at the New York Motor Show. This camera had an in dash LCD 7 inch screen, which showed colored distance grid lines on the screen.
In 2002, Nissan offered this option on its Primera models out side of Japan and North America.
Government Legislation
From 2002 other some other marques offered a reversing camera as an option on their more up market vehicles and SUVs.
Reversing related deaths led to calls on governments by “consumer groups” and Individuals for governments to mandate back up cameras on all vehicles.
It became mandatory for all cars built in the United States from May 2018. Canada issued a similar mandate about the same time.
Since the introduction of Nissan’s reversing cameras in 2000 the advancements in technology have increased exponentially.
Blind Spots, one of the biggest causes of accidents (minor and serious), parking sensors, lane changing warning systems, intelligent parking assistance and more vehicle camera technology has been developed since 2000.
Which is the Best Back up Camera
This is debatable. Car manufacturers install according to the design of the car.
A reversing camera for a Toyota Corolla will have a different set of attributes to one for say, a Range Rover
So which is best? which ever one suits the purpose you have for it.
There are many available all at different price points. Most of the WiFi ones I see are only set for 2.4G.
I prefer to have it as part of the electrical circuit of the car. It is no that difficult to run a couple of small cables. But that is my choice. Anyway…
As I mentioned on this page, if you are buying on price beware of cheap imitations and the package contents or how it is advertised.
Sometimes those $30.00, not very waterproof cameras don’t cut it.
Many of the aftermarket cameras are not difficult to fit, your average apprentice could do one quite quickly.
With a WiFi connection between camera and monitor, installation is even easier.