![]() ![]() ![]() It’s also the only unit with an integral battery to speak of, although it’s still intended to be powered by the vehicle, plus it offers the highest frame rate of 60fps in 1080p, as well as 30fps in both 1440p and 720p. The Nextbase 412GW is the only one in our group test to feature a built-in screen, making it easy to achieve accurate framing or to review the recorded footage. Two of the units we tested include a Parking mode that activates the camera to record a short amount of video should it detect an impact, although one unit requires a hard-wired power connection to enable this. ![]() All the units we tested will switch on and start recording as soon as they detect power – when you turn on the ignition, for instance – and will continue recording until power is removed. Some dashcams include an internal battery, although this is generally only used for set-up or to cover brief lapses in power, as all are designed to be powered by the vehicle. Most also feature a built-in microphone to capture audio from inside the car, and many – although not all – also incorporate a GPS receiver to record the vehicle’s position and therefore its speed. Alternatively, some units can be plugged-in via USB to a PC or laptop, while others feature Wifi connectivity to allow videos to be reviewed and downloaded via your smartphone. However, should the unit detect an impact or sudden braking via a built-in G-sensor, or if the unit features a panic button you can press, the current file will be protected so as to preserve its contents.įootage is generally captured to a MicroSD card, from which it can be downloaded directly. As the memory card becomes full, the oldest file is automatically overwritten to make space for new recordings. Most dash cams record video in a series of sequentially-numbered files, with each file containing anything from one to five minutes’ of footage. We spent some time with a few of them to see how they fared. Thankfully, at the other end of the market are a number of companies offering cameras with a range of useful features and a strong focus on reliability. Tempting as it is to head on over to ebay to pick up some cheap far-eastern unit with an unpronounceable name, our experience of these devices is that they are a false economy, offering poor image quality, a limited lifespan and, on the day you really need them, a propensity to pack up altogether. Think of it as the motoring equivalent of You’ve Been Framed, with wall-to-wall dashcam footage collected from members of the public, all of whom have been unlucky enough to be caught up – usually – in someone else’s accident.Īnd that’s the thing: these days, dash cams are worth their weight in gold because they protect us from other people’s mistakes or, perhaps more likely, criminal’s attempts to scam us and the insurance industry. If you want to give yourself a good scare, watch an episode of Car Crash Britain one evening instead. ![]()
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