Rear Parking Sensors VS Rear View Camera

I have had both - camera on a motorhome (since sold the rig) and backup sensors
on the Merc.

I liked the camera for finding the trailer hitch and for backing into tight places
so I could see objects that are close. It did work at night - albeit not spectacular,
but well enough to work. Also great to make sure the cat or a kid wasn't right
behind me where I couldn't see. I never once parallel parked the motorhome, so
it would have not been an asset there like the sensors on the Merc.

The Merc sensors are great for parallel parking and backing up close to a building.
But if there were a kid back there or animal, it likely wouldn't trigger.

I'd say they're similar but just have different uses. I would consider ideal to have
both systems for the reasons given.

Jedi

 

I was recently in an Audi Q5 that had the rear view camera -- works equally well at night. Actually it was impressive, and had guides to show you where the vehicle was going as you moved the steering wheel. Not sure if Ferrari uses the same gizmo.

In a Ferrari, I prefer a loud engine and a manual gearbox.

 

I rented a Prius and it had one. The image is distorted in wide angle so I really couldn't trust it. It works but only to a point. Back up sensors are more accurate and you can hear the sensors will still looking rearward (which you cannot do in a back up camera).

 

Forgot that point - having to watch a TV while backing up blind just slows
everything down. Ditto too on the wide-angle distortion bit.... not great.

I'm sure MODERN camera systems (as mentioned above) are vastly better in
all regards (except having to look at the monitor!)

Jedi

 

I prefer neither.

 

My wife's BMW has both backup camera and front and rear sensors. They both have their pros and cons. The camera is great when backing into a tight space (like parallel parking) because you can really see that there is a gap between your rear bumper and the front bumper of the car parked behind you. The sensors (ours has audio tone as well as a visual green, yellow, red bands / zones on the navigation screen) are good because they sense at 6 different locations (3 front and 3 rear) and give you an immediate audio warning if you are backing up and a child or animal walks behind the car in range of the sensors whereas with the camera, there is no audio warning and you would have to actually be looking at the screen to see the obstruction and only if is directly behind you. The sensors read out at 45 degrees from the corners of the bumpers. The sensors are not as good when parallel parking because the tone / red zone is activated when within 12 inches or so, meaning you don't know if you have 1 inch or 12 inches of space to deal with.

 

Sensors, once you're familiar with their sensitivity and alerts no sight is necessary. Audible is much faster and your field of vision while you're parking is much better. By that I mean you aren't looking down, focused on a small screen in the middle of your dash. You're looking around and at much more.

The outside sensors on a four sensor rear system gives a much wider field of sensitivity also, usually extending perpendicular from the side.

 

Passenger-side rear view mirror pointed down. I've used cameras but prefer sensors over cameras.

 

Have a camera and love it.
It has a neat virtual grid that comes on the screen that helps you judge where your turning circle will be when you back up and turn at the same time.

 

I use the reverse cameras in the machines we have underground many times on a daily basis.

Id take reverse parking sensors over a reverse camera ANYDAY of the week!

The actual truck drivers LOVE the camera!! That is all the have to reverse park those big units to dump their load.

I prefer the parking sensors. The wife's car has them. I just look in the side mirrors when backing up. I dont look behind me because the little beeper will tell me when something is close.

 

I have a Lexus 460L that has both parking sensors and camera. I use them both and the car uses them both to park itself, which is does perfectly everytime. But that is another story.

Since I use both parking sensors and backup camera and would recommend both, it would be hard to choose one over the other, but the camera has an advantage that can not be overlooked (pun intended) and here is why.

When you are backing out of an angled or straight in parking slot on to an active street, it is not possible to see cars coming toward you from the drivers position if there are cars parked next to you, especially if a big pickup or SUV is parked right next to your car. Your view up the street is totally blocked. But with a back up camera, which has a wide angle lense, you can easily see cars coming down the street toward your position, because the camera lense is on the license plate and from that position you can see past the cars parked next to you.

Likewise when you are backing up you can clearly see parking poles or posts that would be missed by a parking sensor. And finally, a animal, child or some other odd shaped object is visible via the backup camera and unless it is placed perfectly in line with the sensor you may not get a warning from the sensor or you may get a warning and it would sadly be too late.

For these reasons, I would pick the camera over the sensors if I had to choose, but now that I have a car with both, given the option of getting both I would certainly do that again.

In over 55,000 miles on the Lexus I have yet to bump into or be hit by anything from behind and I owe it to the great camera and parking sensors on the car.

 

Just added an MB 450 GL for the wife. Has both sensors and camera. Works fine rain, snow and sunshine. Problem with the rear camera is actually letting myself trust it. I still find myself twisting my neck to look behind me from time to time. On the whole now that I actually have this system I wouldn't want to be without it.

 

Usually the lense is covered by an overhang at the top of the rear license plate, so it is covered from rain, snow, sleet, whatever. However, after driving for some time in snow, mud, etc. you do get some splash up on to the lense, so after being parked it is a good idea to wipe the lense before driving again. But all in all do to it's position, it works quite well.

 

Most cars that come with rear view cameras also have rear parking sensors...I know my wife's Honda Odyssey has both as well as the Audi S5 I have on order...

 

+1, I agree both is the best

 

Agree with jackmb1 post above, 100%. Camera on my Bimmer has the option of directional lines that project on the screen depending on the vectors of your angle of steering. I have found these lines to be so accurate that I could do a slalom course backwards clean at decent speed, let alone parallel parking in the hill streets of San Francisco. In conjunction with the parking sensors you can measure distance within a few inches, maximizing your parking efficiency. When my buddy ordered his cayenne I told him to order the parking camera and sensors, he did not follow my advice, and on one occasion hit a metal object backing into his garage as well as a guardpole while backing up at a gas station car wash.

 

rear view of course

 

I put the "Reverse Guard" system on both the 355 and the 550. Works well.

http://americanroadproductsinc.com/product_line.htm

 

I have both. Camera is awesome, but sensors in front and back help too... well, almost. I parked in a parking lot that had a space that wasn't facing the wall, rather just the open lot. Unfortunately I forgot there was a massive parking block in front still. Sensor wasn't as fast as my foot haha.

R8, and new Audi's I imagine, have a really nice backup cam that shows you lines that indicate the sides of the car and they bend as you turn the wheel to show where you'll be going. Also has a parallel parking mode, though I never tried it.

Rear camera makes tight parking very easy and quick though, which helps on streets with traffic.