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发帖数: 2469 | 1 They record what's ahead. Sometimes they record what's behind. Most mark it
with GPS (or what's the point?). This is exactly what you need on the mean
streets of modern life.
dashcam hub Rob Schultz/IDG
Jon L. Jacobi By Jon L. Jacobi
Freelance contributor, PCWorld | AUG 15, 2019 1:21 AM PT
Dash cams are already essential in many countries because of scam artists
who try to create accidents so they can sue you. They’ve also proven useful
for catching cars flying into buildings, or the occasional meteor, as
happened in Thailand and in Russia, all thanks to dash cams in the right
place at the right time.
But while auto con artists aren’t as common here, recording your excursions
is a reasonable precaution to take—especially if you’re driving
professionally. And even if you’re not, you may unexpectedly appreciate
using it and embedded GPS to chronicle and map your travels—or tap into
your smart home, as we recently tested with an Alexa-enabled dash cam, the
Garmin Speak Plus (available on Amazon).
DASH CAM CHEAT SHEET
Our quick-hit recommendations:
Best front dash cam:Vantrue N1 Pro dash cam[amazon.com]
Best front/rear dash cam:422GW modular dual-channel dash cam[amazon.com]
Best budget front/rear dash cam:Viofo A129 Duo[amazon.com]
Best front/interior dash cam:F1 Front/Interior Dash Cam[amazon.com]
August 15, 2019: We just tested Roav's DashCam Duo (available on Amazon). It
could have been a contender for a top spot with a larger supercapacitor and
a bit better infrared coverage. Still, it's a good choice for those who
want an front/rear camera with excellent captures that's easy to use. Read
our full review.
We have a new top pick for best front/rear dash cam. Nextbase's 422GW (
available on Amazon) is a modular system that accepts multiple camera types
and features Alexa support, a touch display, and GPS. Aside from the lack of
interior infrared, it's the near-perfect dash cam. Read our full review.
We also liked the Z-Edge F1 dash cam (available on Amazon) so much, we
started a new "best" category for it. Boasting 1440p front video, 1080p
front/interior video, good night and low-light captures, and GPS, it’s
almost the total package—once you figure out how the heck to use it. Read
our full review.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best front dash cam
Best front/rear dash cam
Best budget front/rear dash cam
Best front/interior dash cam
What to look for in a dash cam
SHOW MORE
Best front dash cam
Vantrue N1 Pro dash cam
Read PCWorld's review
$79.99See Iton Amazon
Small, easy to use, and with absolutely sterling day and night captures,
this is one of, if not the best budget dash cams we've tested. It even has a
real battery to capture events if the 12-volt is interrupted. Great stuff,
but spend the extra $22 for the GPS mount. You'll thank us in the long run.
The Vantrue OnDash N1 Pro (available on Amazon) is our new favorite low-cost
dash cam. It’s compact, light, relatively inexpensive, takes good video
under all conditions, and has a real battery to keep running if the 12-volt
fails. Because we recommend GPS for legal and travelogue reasons, I’m going
to talk about it as if the $22 optional GPS mount were part of the deal. If
you’re smart, it will be. Read our full review.
Runner-up
Garmin Speak Plus
Read PCWorld's review
$169.95See Iton Amazon
With Alexa, a dash cam, and a constant eye on the road, the Garmin Speak
Plus has enough bells and whistles to justify its $200 price tag.
Garmin’s Speak Plus dash cam (available on Amazon) deserves mention because
it’s the only dash cam (other than its predecessor, the Garmin Speak) that
can be controlled using Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant. You can also, of
course, ask Alexa to do other things around your home while you’re in the
car. You’ll need to keep your smartphone handy to enjoy all the features,
though. Read our full review.
Best front/rear dash cam
422GW modular dual-channel dash cam
Read PCWorld's review
$228.99See Iton Amazon
Nextbase’s GW modular series (available on Amazon) has raised the bar for
dual-channel dash cams. They’re pricey, but feature an HDMI port that,
besides outputting video, accepts any one of three rear camera options.
Beyond that, there’s phone connectivity, Alexa, GPS, and a touchscreen. If
it weren’t for the lack of infrared lighting for interior night captures,
the 422GW would be pretty darn perfect. For my purposes it still is, but if
you’re driving a taxi or patrol car at night, the unit’s interior captures
aren’t going to cut it. Read our full review.
Best budget front/rear dash cam
Viofo A129 Duo
Read PCWorld's review
$169.90See Iton Amazon
The Viofo A129 Duo dual-camera system produces high-quality day, night, and
low-light video from both its front and rear cameras, and it does so for a
good price. Better still, its supercapacitor will take video for 2-3 seconds
after a power failure. Aside from an overly thick cable to the rear camera,
we have no complaints.
The A129 Duo is easily our favorite budget dual-camera dash cam (available
on Amazon), with superior 1080p day and night video from both the front and
rear cameras. It holds its own against far more expensive competitors. Aside
from the somewhat unwieldy rear cam cable, it’s all goodness, all the time
. Read our full review.
Best front/interior dash cam
F1 Front/Interior Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review
$139.99See Iton Amazon
The Z-Edge F1 takes great video and comes with GPS integrated into the mount
, plus GPS info is watermarked and embedded in the video to be played back
with the downloadable map player. Its button interface is initially a very
frustrating experience, but it's still one of our favorite dash cams.
The Z-Edge F1 (available on Amazon) ticks nearly all the boxes a front/
interior dash cam should tick, especially for professional and rideshare
drivers. Boasting 1440p front video, 1080p front/interior video, good night
and low-light captures, and GPS, it’s almost the total package—once you
figure out how the heck to use it. Read our full review.
What to look for in a dash cam
12-volt power: I was certain that all the dash cam companies would switch to
OBD-style power connections this year, but Garmin and most others seem to
be sticking with the auxiliary 12-volt power socket (also known as the
cigarette lighter) and USB cables. But that power disappears when you turn
off the car. Outliers like the Owl and PureCam use the OBD-II connector for
constant 12-volt power, and OBD-II-to-USB power cables are now available
separately (as an alternative to hardwiring kits that draw constant 12-volt
power from the wiring harness). I recommend one with a USB Type A port,
which will accommodate any dash cam. Most of those with captive cables I’ve
seen are mini-USB.
Battery (or super-capacitor) power: A battery that will keep the camera
recording after an accident is important if you want to be sure you record
an entire incident when 12-volt power is lost. If run time is sufficient, it
also allows you to record for a while with the car turned off. Super-
capacitors, while offering improvements in the number of times you can
recharge them and a wider operating temperature range, don’t record for
very long should 12-volt power be disrupted in a crash, and sometimes not at
all.
Incident recording triggered by impact (G) sensors, or when in parking mode
(see below), by motion detection.
Continuous loop recording to minimize storage requirements. Video is
recorded then immediately overwritten at a specified interval unless saved.
Video is saved (protected from overwriting) automatically when an incident
is detected. Most dash cams will overwrite older recordings when they run
out of space.
Cloud storage is available with some dash cams. Uploading to the cloud in
real time is a nice hedge against damage and theft. Assuming the thief isn't
smart enough to kill the dash cam immediately.
Self-powered recording when power fails so that you can be sure to capture
all of an incident. This requires a battery or large super-capacitor (See
above). The camera should have a setting that allows you to set how long the
camera runs off 12-volt before shutting down.
A decently wide field of view: You’ll see cameras with as little as 90
degrees’ field of view, but you’ll catch more of what’s around you if you
go for 120 to 140 degrees. Some cameras offer 160 to 180 degree lenses.
Note that the wider the field of view, the more fish-eye distortion there is
, and more processing is involved to compensate.
Day and night video recording (night quality is a big variant)
Infrared lighting is important if you want to assure good captures of events
inside the cabin of your vehicle.
MicroSD card storage. Pricier dash cams bundle a storage card. Some come
with larger cards, and some budget models come without. There are often
bundles available with the card. One camera we're aware of, the Owl, opts
for hard-wired internal storage.
GPS: This feature could be the tipping point if you use your captured video
to resolve a dispute. Watermarking the video is common, but when embedded
into the video GPS info is also immensely useful for mapping your travels.
GPS will also automatically set the time in better cameras.
Parking monitoring: This can mean two things. Running the dash cam
continuously in low frame rate mode to save card space and battery, or
running in standby mode and awakening when motion or g-forces are detected.
We/ve reviewed cameras (VaVa) that have a battery large enough to monitor
the car with the 12-volt turned off for several days, but most cameras
require a constant 12-volt source. (See above).
Dual-channel support: This is what you’ll need if you want to run both
front and rear, or interior (cabin-view) cameras. Interior cameras are
generally situated on the dash cam, but rear cameras are separate and
require additional cabling.
HDR (high dynamic range) isn't necessary, but does make for more detailed
video because of better contrast. It also generally indicates richer color
which is part of the movement, if not strictly related.
Phone connectivity is not essential, but can make offloading video and
configuring the dash cam easier.
How we test dash cams
Few people are as well situated geographically as I am to test dash cams.
Within two blocks there are major four- and six-lane thoroughfares, numerous
bike lanes, joggers, dog walkers, oblivious ear-budded pedestrians, and a
major bus nexus serving both public and private coaches. The opportunities
for near-accident are endless.
For every dash cam, I mount it in my car, judging the ease and convenience
of doing so. Tip: Many dash cams rely on adhesive for mounting to your
windshield. Hot conditions can make it next to impossible to remove the film
that protects the adhesive. Remove the film in a cool environment, or place
it in the fridge for a minute or two before installing it.
I put each dash cam through several days’ and nights’ worth of driving,
recording video and judging the image quality. All the dash cams I’ve
reviewed in the last couple of years take good daytime video. However, night
video is often plagued by murky shadows and headlight flare. That said,
quality is improving rapidly with the introduction of new sensors. Take a
close look at the night shots in each review.
I try all the features: Buttons, display controls, apps. Aside from rear-
view support and GPS, the most salient differences between the products are
the interface controls and extra features, such as the lane departure and
collision warnings that you get with some models. I try them...and I turn
them off. In practice, they usually tell me I’m changing lanes, in heavy
traffic, or have just been cut off. Additionally, the collision warnings
generally come too late to do anything but distract you at exactly the wrong
time.
Note that the one thing I can't relate to you is longevity, as my testing
occurs over a relatively short amount of time. Please check user reviews on
various sights and pay attention to the warranty.
What’s next in dash cams
Dash cams have plenty of room to evolve. As nice as dual-channel is, there’
s talk about true 360-degree video. Check out TechHive’s review of PowerDVD
16’s 3D playback to see how compelling that can be.
All our dash cam reviews
See the list below for details on dash cams we’re reviewed that are
currently available, and check back for reviews of new products in this ever
-expanding category.
AT A GLANCE
422GW modular dual-channel dash cam
Read PCWorld's review $228.99 See Iton Amazon
Viofo A129 Duo
Read PCWorld's review $169.90 See Iton Amazon
Vantrue N1 Pro dash cam
Read PCWorld's review $79.99 See Iton Amazon
VAVA Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review See Iton Amazon
F1 Front/Interior Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review $139.99 See Iton Amazon
Z-Edge T4 Dash Cam combo
$169.99 See Iton Amazon
Nextbase 612GW Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review See Iton Amazon
VaVa Dash Cam 2K
Read PCWorld's review $149.99 See Iton Amazon
Garmin Speak Plus
Read PCWorld's review $169.95 See Iton Amazon
Dash Cam 65W
Read PCWorld's review $239.95 See Iton Amazon
Thinkware F800 Pro Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review $199.00 See Iton Amazon
Z-Edge Z4 Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review $93.40 See Iton Amazon
DR750S-2CH Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review $384.99 See Iton Amazon
Cobra CDR 895 D Drive HD
Read PCWorld's review $145.00 See Iton Amazon
Apeman C550 Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review See Iton Amazon
Drive HD DASH 2316D
Read PCWorld's review $199.95 See Iton Amazon
Transcend DrivePro 520
Read PCWorld's review $178.77 See Iton Amazon
KDLinks X1
Read PCWorld's review $169.95 See Iton Amazon
Rexing V1
Read PCWorld's review $99.99 See Iton Amazon
Garmin Dash Cam 45
Read PCWorld's review $149.99 See Iton Amazon
Viofo A119
Read PCWorld's review $85.99 See Iton Amazon
Yada Dash Road Cam HD
Read PCWorld's review $24.99 See Iton Amazon
Aukey DR01 Dash Cam
Read PCWorld's review $59.99 See Iton Amazon
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