While driving, the most important thing that you need to ensure is the safety of yourself and all those who are in the car. There is a wide assortment of devices and tools available to ensure the safety of the driver and riders, but the one I’m going to focus on today is a ‘Dash Cam’. A dash cam will help record any crash, which can then be used as crucial evidence while making an insurance claim or pressing charges against the driver of another vehicle who was responsible for the accident. A dash cam gives to the ability to provide concrete evidence to the law enforcement unit handling your case without relying on eyewitnesses who could turn hostile.
Now, if you want to know as to which dash cam is the best, i.e., record things while driving in the best quality, then I have shortlisted five products. Check out dash cam reviews consumer reports in the section below in order to determine the dash cam you think would suit you.
Reviews Of 5 Best Dash Cams
1. Vantrue N2 Pro Dual Dash Cam
This dash cam is one of the top contenders for the best dual dash cam because allows you to record all the activities that are being carried out on the road through the windshield. You can place the dash cam on the rear windshield as well, especially when you are mostly hit from the backside.
When it comes to features, this dash cam has no end to it. This dash cam will get you 2.5K quality if the front and the rear lens is placed at 170 degrees and 140 degrees respectively. While installing the dash came at an odd place, cables may dangle a bit, which can easily cut and result in the stoppage of the device.
The dash comes with a night vision that is equipped with a sensor developed by Sony along with four Infrared LED lights, which will make sure that you get a clear picture even at night. Even in the darkest of the nights, this dash cam will be able to take the best pictures. The addition of G-Sensor and parking mode beef up the safety and ensure that the vehicle responsible for all the damage inflicted upon you and your car gets the befitting punishment.
The dash cam also has an incredible ‘time-lapse’ feature, which will definitely be a point of interest for vloggers and filmmakers. The only drawback of the unit is the less storage capacity of around 64GB, which can be consumed quickly.
2. Rexing V1 Car Dash Cam
Rexing V1 dash cam is crafted by an artisan because it is so beautiful that you would completely forget that the device is meant to protect you by providing recordings of the accidents on the road. This dash cam creates a camouflage, i.e., nobody will be able to detect if you have installed a dash cam in your vehicle, thus keeping the evidence of the crash safe.
This is a smart dash cam, which automatically replaces the older videos with new ones. You can choose 5 minutes or 3 ½ minute time blocks that you want to record instead of a continuous loop. The device supports up to 128 GB of storage in the form of an SD card but doesn’t come with any, so you will have to purchase an SD card for sure.
Talking about the features of this dash cam, then you will see a G-sensor, HD recording, six-layer lenses, and 170-degree viewing ability. The only drawback of this unit is that it records videos in 30fps, which means, video recordings of a speedy car will not be as clear as in other dash cams.
3. TOGUARD Backup Camera 7 Inches Mirror Dash Cam
Awarded as the ‘Best-Seller’ on Amazon for a reason. This dash cam can be used as a backup camera and a rear-view mirror apart from being used as a dash cam. The dash cam comes with two cameras, with the front-facing one recording videos in 1080p and the rear-facing camera recording at 480p. You can easily get used to this camera, as it comes with a touchscreen display similar to your smartphone and tablet.
You will really like the unique and elegant looks of this dash cam. When it comes to features, this dash cam is packed with many excellent ones such as G-sensor, parking monitor, anti-glare screen surface, on-screen parking guides and lots of wiring for installation. If your vehicle already has an inside rear-view mirror, then you can keep it intact, as this dash cam clips on that mirror.
When it comes to the drawbacks of this unit, then there is just one, i.e., 32 GB of memory, so after a certain period of time, you will have to either move the footage to a hard disk (if it is important) or you will have to delete it.
4. KDLINKS GPS Enabled Full HD Car Dash Cam
KDLINKS Car Dash Cam is a product when you need all features in one package. Despite being a feature-packed product, this dash cam will be light on your wallet. The video recording is done in HD quality, i.e., 1920x1080p, thus giving you clear details of the surroundings.
The recordings can be viewed on a 2.7-inch screen of the dash cam. For storage, an 8GB SD card has been included within the package. The dash cam is proficient in recording clear pictures during the night as well, courtesy of the night vision that is installed in the product.
The built-in GPS function will prove to be very useful, as you can track your movements on Google Maps through it. The only less attractive thing about this dash cam is the 8GB SD card, which is going to store nothing big, plus formatting the card to be used in another device is a tedious job.
5. WheelWitness HD Pro Dash Cam
In this dash cam, you are getting a three-way mounting feature along with a mind-blowing video resolution of the recorded footage. The resolution, which is 2306x1296p is better than any dash cam, let it be of any brand. With the ability to capture minute to superfast movements, this dash cam is all you need.
You can adjust your preferred view by swiveling the camera up to 170 degrees. Even during the night, the recordings you get are way better than recordings of any other dash cam because of the perfectly balanced exposure. When it comes to mounting, the company provides you with three different ways, but mounting is not that easy.
Besides that, everything is amazing in the unit, as you get GPS functionality and a 16 GB SD card in which the new data is automatically rewritten over the old data.
Why Do You Need A Dash Cam?
Things like dash cam or a radar detector are for your own benefit. While a dash cam will help you present concrete evidence of the accidents that you, unfortunately, meet with, whereas a radar detector will notify you regarding any radar systems used by police in the proximity to track your speed so that you can lower the speed of your vehicle in order to avoid getting a speed ticket.
While a dash cam will not offer protection against the accident you meet with, but the recordings done by the dash cam will come in handy at the time when you need to present proofs of your absolution in the whole predicament. Dash cams will record each and everything, including the accidents you, unfortunately, become a part of.
Therefore, the recordings will help you get the money of your accidental insurance rather quickly. So, you must get a dash cam and install it in your vehicle to get out of legal hassles that emerge after an accident.
Factors To Consider While Choosing A Dash Cam
You will find a huge price disparity between costly and economical dash cams, which is why it becomes important to know as to what features to look for while buying a dash cam.
Below are the top features that you should consider:
Image Quality: With the majority of dash cams recording at HD quality, you must go for the one that records at 1080p instead of 720p because the higher the resolution, the more detail you will be able to see.
Field Of View: The ability of the dash cam to cover the surrounding horizontally is known as the field of view. The large the field of view, the more you can see of the surroundings. A normal dash cam offers 120-140 degree FoV, but some offer up to 240 degrees as well.
Night Vision & Low-Light Conditions: Road accidents don’t come with warnings, so when you’re on the road, you have to stay put. Things become even worse during the night because our eyes don’t work as efficiently at night as they do during the daytime.
Therefore, having a dash cam that has exemplary night vision will capture excellent images during the night, which can be presented as proofs just in case anything happens. Most dash cams have low-light feature, which maximized exposure through the dynamic aperture.
Loop Recording: Since dash cams are recording in HD quality, the videos will consume a lot of space. With most dash cams coming with built-in storage, a feature named ‘loop recording’ would be of great advantage. This feature will allow automatic replacement of older video files with the new ones. You can adjust the settings of the dash cam to store the film clips permanently.
Automatic & Manual Recording: To record scenic drives, you don’t need to set the dash cam for impact detection or record in a loop. All you need to check is that the dashcam has an automatic/manual recording setting through which, you can record everything and save to the storage.
Impact Detection: The majority of dash cams are equipped with G-Sensors that detect in case the vehicle meets with an accident. That sensor sends a signal to the camera that it needs to start recording, which really helps.
Driver Awareness Warnings: Many dash cams alert drivers with different warnings such as driver fatigue warnings, front collision warnings, lane drifting and speed warnings. Dash cams that are equipped with GPS technology also warn drivers about red light and speed cameras. So, check for these features before making your final decision.
Motion Detection: A dash cam having this functionality will automatically turn on and begin recording as soon as it detects motion. Dash cams with dual camera setup will create a protective perimeter, alerting you against break-ins.
GPS: All expensive dash cams come with a GPS system, but some economical units also have it. A GPS system will record certain information such as date, time, speed, location and direction, which help in determining the fault in a mishap.
Wi-Fi: A feature exclusive to high-end dash cams, the role of Wi-Fi is to transfer the recorded video on the smartphone or tablet for easy access. A dash cam with no display having a Wi-Fi functionality makes more sense because then, everything can be seen on the smart device.
Final Verdict
The type of dash cam you choose to buy needs to be compatible with the existing hardware in your vehicle. I would suggest that you should have a good budget for a dash cam because investing in a quality dash cam will provide you with HD recordings, which you can present to the police with confidence. Moreover, they will also consider those recordings as concrete proof of your innocence in the accident. Go through the best dash cam reviews consumer reports and pick the product you think would blend well with the hardware of your vehicle.
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