Hey it’s Andrew from Car Cam Central
and we review dash cameras
These are our top five picks for 2016 so far
Compared to other websites or “best ofs"
we reviewed each one of these cameras ourselves
You can see the full review on our YouTube channel
or go to our website for more
Let’s get this video started
[intro music]
First up we have the XiaoYi Yi dash camera
This is the best value camera at $70 on the market
Starting with video quality it records in a gorgeous 1296P
It’s crystal clear day or night, even in low light conditions
For example in capturing dimly lit pedestrians running onto the street
Second it has good notifications
If your SD card fails there will be a
high contrast warning screen you can’t miss
Unlike other budget cameras
this message stays on the screen
so you can fix the problem
Build quality is great
It has a f/1.8 6-element glass lens on the front
On the back you’ll find a large and bright 2.7” screen
The parent company is XiaoMi
who makes devices with great value and reliability
This lends added assurances on quality control and manufacturing
The Yi is also easy to use
Menus are simple and intuitive
It can also connect using WiFi
to your phone to review videos, settings and more
Now, on the downside
It’s not very stealthy
It comes in two colours gold and grey,
but even the grey model is noticeable
compared to other cameras
The Yi uses a lithium ion battery
so if you live somewhere hot this camera can die sooner
For most people who live in more pleasant environments
you’ll love this camera
Get the international version
if you want the menu to be in English
or see our video on flashing English firmware
onto the Chinese model
Number two is the Transcend 200
For $100 it’s a great budget reliable and heat resistant camera
Unlike the Yi it uses capacitors which have better reliability
in hot weather and has a higher 65°C / 149°F temperature limit
It comes with a two year warranty
and it’s track record since being released
in mid 2014 has been excellent
It’s the #1 reviewed camera in the UK
In America, users have few issues even in hot environments
Notifications are also done well
They stick around and are easy to see
It has WiFi to view and transfer files but it's not as good as the Yi
The major downside is the video quality
During the day fine details disappear
and license plates are harder to read
At night it’s even worse
The transcend 200 has much lower sharpness and clarity
compared to the G1W, our $45 cheap pick
You can’t have everything unfortunately
If you want better video quality and heat resistance
you would have to pay around double the price
As well, the suction mount isn’t very good
It kept falling off my vehicle
Purchase the version which
includes the adhesive mount instead
Number three is our premium camera pick
the Blackvue DR650 two channel edition
At $350 it’s not a cheap camera, however we think it's worth it
First off it has two cameras
a front and a rear facing camera
It uses a thin coaxial cable to connect
it to the main front camera
Easy to install
just takes more time
The DR650 has an attractive design
and it’ll look great in any vehicle
As well it’ll completely hide behind
your rear view mirror for a clean look
It has spoken notifications which keep your camera running
When it starts-up
“Blackvue for your safe driving"
"Starting normal recording”
And when there’s a problem
“Please check the SD card”
A lot of drivers find this reassuring
Don’t like it?
Completely customizable,
chop off the length
or disable specific messages altogether
It has a great app which allows you to transfer files
over WiFi or the internet with a mobile hotspot
It’s the only camera which you can view and send videos
while the camera is recording
Great if you get into an accident
If you’re looking to record while parked
it conveniently uses a G-Sensor and GPS
to automatically enable motion detection
This saves space and it automatically
disables it once you start moving
OK so what’s bad
First off the video quality isn’t very good for the price
The low bitrate reduces details
and makes reading license plates harder while moving
At night you see a similar reduction in quality
but light sensitivity is good
In this video you can pick up dimly lit objects
such as pedestrians compared to the cheaper camera
The rear camera is much worse but it does the job
which is to add context to the situation
You can show that the other driver’s
erratic behaviour caused your own actions to change
Even with the lackluster video quality
there is no other camera like it on the market
We love the style and functionality
Most drivers will be happy and better protected
with the Blackvue DR650GW-2CH
Number 5 is the G1W
You get good video quality and value for $40
It’s the cheapest camera we’ll recommend
If you spend less, video quality significantly drops
If you look at the $13 DVR-027 the video quality is horrible
Looking back to the G1W, it’s noticeably better
Day video is fairly sharp and is much less grainy
At night, video quality is good
It’s far more usable than older cameras
You can see the leap in quality
Be aware that the mount’s adjustability isn’t as good
Depending on your vehicle you could lose some coverage
We also noticed vibrations in the recorded video
This can be fixed with a little tape
If you are interested in the G1W
there are a few variations
The cheapest is the original G1W
but it’s more noticeable
The G1WH is the blacked out version
The cameras on the side with the -C
come with a capacitor with better heat resistance
Unless you are on a tight budget
we recommend spending a little bit more money on our next pick
Number 5 is the A118-C
For $50 shipped from Taiwan
or $80 from an American company
You get a budget, reliable and stealthy camera
It used to be our overall budget pick
but we think the XiaoYi Yi will do a better job for most people
When setup with the wire hider it looks like a factory installed unit
Few know it's a camera
Holding the A118 the body is sturdy and the lens locks nicely
in place
The video quality is a little lower than the G1W
but is still quite acceptable
My own accident was captured on this camera
Unfortunately light sensitivity isn't as good
Lots of dark shadows where you can't make out any details
It doesn’t compare to the Xiaoyi
but has the benefits of avoiding being noticed
and being equipped with a capacitor
for better heat tolerance
OK so that’s our top five cameras so far of 2016
So you may be wondering,
what about other premium camera categories
Well, we haven't reviewed them yet
but you can check see some of the promising cameras
we've researched on our website
As well you can look forward to an update
To this video in the future
But for now, that’s it
If you liked this video please give it a thumbs up
As well you can leave me a comment
in the section below
if you any questions or suggestions
Thank You.