BMW 7 Series SideView Camera Review

Fifth Gear reviews the SideView camera system on the BMW 7 series developed by Valeo Vision Systems

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Valeo
• BMW
• Series
• Side
• View
• Camera
• Tuam

[patrykk2707]

If the cameras are so close to the ground and to the front wheels, won't they get all dirty and muddy in bad weather conditions like rain?

[draziraphale]

@patrykk2707 Rain has the benefit of removing dirt and also the cameras are outside of the direct spray zone of the wheels. The aerodynamics are also such that if the vehicle is moving forward with a sufficient speed to throw up muddy water, it is also moving past that water, i.e., it splashes up behind the camera. So it works better than one might otherwise think.

[NIMONIMONIMO333]

That would be very helpful in some areas in Erie, PA in the winter time where snow is like those hedges (a few feet high that completely blocks ur view of the incoming cars)

[LaoKyo2010]

@patrykk2707 The camera are close to the ground but orthogonal to the driving direction (so the wind blows the dirt and water drops away). Further more, the lens barrel has a special design that ease the cleaning. In fact the 2 SideView cameras are less dirty than the RearView camera after driving.

[Carmaker1]

@draziraphale

Oh yes, the technology is from Ireland. My mistake, you had mentioned that before.

[draziraphale]

@Carmaker1 This time (as with the BMW 7 Series), the Germans turned to a company in Ireland (Valeo Vision Systems in Tuam) to develop the technology. "German engineering" isn't necessarily German :-) VVS is part of the larger Valeo group.

[Carmaker1]

@draziraphale Really? Would that be included on the 2011 Porsche Cayenne since they share some parts? I remember Audi first introducing the blind spot monitor in 2003 on the Pikes Peak concept of the Q7. It seems that mainly the Germans and Japanese excel in these areas. The Germans don't rush their work, they perfect it unlike the Japanese at times. No French, Italian, or American auto companies have pioneered such technologies.

[draziraphale]

@Carmaker1 I'd strongly recommend taking a look at the new European VW Toureg; this also has a kind of SideView camera, but the approach is different again. It has 4 viewing cameras on it and birds eye views from it are nice and it has a lot of views. I'll try to generate some decent video of it in action with the cameras and complete vision system.

[Carmaker1]

@draziraphale Thanks for your time! The statement about the patent Toyota made is spot on. Toyota and Nissan didn''t implement the cameras the way BMW does. Theirs came from a single camera like you said. Honda's system on a 2005 Accord(JDM/European model) used a camera on the front left and right side positions exactly like BMW's system. That being said, I like this system, as when I visited my parents, I enjoyed using it when driving my mum's 760Li. A much better model than the E65/E66.

[draziraphale]

@Carmaker1 Automotive journalists are reluctant to let facts get in the way of a good story :-) I know that Toyota had an implementation (and I believe a patent) whereby they pointed a single camera into a prism (basically converging a view from the left and from the right). To some degree that would make it a side viewing front camera application. I'm still not sure which Japanese companies you mean for a SideView system specifically like that on the current 7-series. Thanks for the feedback!