Hey,
it’s Andrew with Car Cam Central
We’re going to talk about about the features and hardware
you need to consider when buying your next dash camera
We want to separate what’s important from marketing Jazz
So let’s get into it
[intro music]
There are three types of dash cameras
which are a combination two of the following qualities:
Cheap
Reliable and
High performance which is great video quality, features and ease of use
Here’s what I mean
The A118C costs $80 and has great video and build quality
but the failure rate is much higher
The Transcend 200 is reliable and cheap, priced around $90
It has great long term reviews, it’s heat resistant
and has an outstanding 2-year warranty
Unfortunately the video quality is bad at night compared to most cameras
Finally you can get performance and reliability
but now the cameras cost a lot more
I love the Blackvue DR650
it has great design and features but it costs $350
Many people think it’s not worth the price and I can understand why
Keeping these top level categories in mind
let's move on and talk about my three most important features
First up is notifications
These are the messages and sounds that let you know
when your camera is working and when there are problems
For me notifications are more important than video quality
Many manufacturers do a poor job letting drivers
know when their camera has failed
Their audible notifications can trick you
into thinking your camera is working
They have warning messages that quickly disappear
and are difficult to see
Better cameras have persistent and highly visible written messages
They can also use audible warnings
[Please check the SD Card]
Your camera will eventually fail as it’s an electronic item
which is exposed to rapidly changing temperatures and humidity
Your SD card which saves your videos eventually wears out
some sooner than others
When the inevitable happens you want to find out
before you get into an accident
To get more details about notifications see the link in the description
Next let’s get into video quality which is the sharpness
and clarity of the recorded video
Getting a camera with higher video quality improves your protection
You have a better chance to capture details
like license plates or a driver’s face after a hit and run or assault
Video quality isn’t a simple matter of spending more
For example the $100 Dome D201 has some of the best quality
we’ve seen while more expensive cameras can fall behind
Starting with day quality, most cameras do a good job
Generally cameras are fairly similar except
where the bitrate has been drastically lowered
You can see this in this video clip
the A118 has 2½ times the bitrate
and has much better details in the trees and license plates
compared to the Blackvue DR650GW
At night, the difference in quality is more noticeable
Better hardware is more expensive and harder to implement
I look closely at two factors
One is the legibility while moving
Better cameras can capture license plates
where other cameras are blurry
The other is dynamic range which is how well
a camera captures a scene with widely contrasting light
One benefit is to capture dimly lit pedestrians
which could be missed by poorer performing cameras
It’s important if there’s an accident
to show the entirety of what happened
Next let’s talk about lithium ion batteries and capacitors
They provide energy to save videos
after your camera loses power from your vehicle
Lithium ion batteries are used in the majority
of budget cameras because they are cheaper
They store a larger charge which can
typically give you 15 minutes of use
Great for recording police encounters or
accident scenes if you don’t have a smartphone
Unfortunately they are prone to failing
under hot weather and can swell or leak
damaging the camera
Capacitors are this guy here
They are far more heat resistant and generally last several times longer
than lithium ion batteries
The downside is the added cost and they last only
long enough to shut down your camera
think seconds not minutes
In general we prefer capacitor cameras
but that may limit your options for budget units
So those were our major three features
we look at when reviewing a camera
but there are many other important features
such as video hardware which turns light into video files
Let’s begin with the lens which focuses light
and is critical for a sharp image
Better lenses are made of glass not plastic
The f-number represents the size of the aperture
A lower number means a wider aperture
This lets in more light and improves clarity
Inside the camera there are two components
that greatly matter for video quality one is the Image Processor
the other is the image Sensor
The image sensor collects light
and turns it into a digital signal for the processor
Better sensors are clearer under low light situations
You may see Sony Exmor or
Omnivision sensors advertised for their clarity
The image processor takes the digital information
from the sensor and turns it into a video file
As of June 2016 you’ll often see
Ambarella A7 or A12 chips mentioned
which record in resolutions above 1080P
Next let's look at the overall appearance
specifically its discreteness
Many users are concerned that a
large and colorful camera could attract thieves
We look at three attributes
It’s size, shape and colour
A smaller camera is harder to see
The matchbox sized mobius camera is difficult to spot
compared to the much larger MG380
Next, shape
If it looks like a point and shoot camera like the Yi Smart Cam
it will be more tempting to steal compared
to the wedge shaped A118 which could be
confused for a rain sensor
Lastly, colour
We find anything other than black is noticeable
even the pale grey on the Yi
Lighter colours do reflect more heat which
could increase reliability over time
Some manufacturers will add metallic accents
which sparkle and attract attention
We think a more discreet camera is better
but go with what you enjoy
Some people want something flashier
or they want a cooler design
You can also put away your camera in worse parts of town
Since we’re handling the mount lets talk about its installation
There are two general categories
one type attaches to your rear view mirror
More commonly your camera is attached to your windshield
using an adhesive or suction mount
Adhesive mounts use a tape pad to keep your camera in place
They are secure and reduce vibration compared to suction mounts
They are also more compact
The downside is that they aren’t reusable
You’ll have to use a new pad if you’re moving to another vehicle
Suction mounts use vacuum to hold your camera in place
and are easily reusable
The downside is that they may fall off
when the weather changes or the rubber hardens
Vibration is also increased
on some weaker designs the shaking quite noticeable
If there’s an option I prefer using a tape mount
it’s a hassle free solution
You can always buy a second mount
Looking closer at their freedom of movement
some mounts can turn and film the side windows
This is useful if you need to film a police interaction
or if something interesting happens on the side of the road
The cameras that attach to your rear-view mirror come in three distinct styles
The first straps or clips onto your existing rear view mirror
with the camera poking out from the bottom
This will completely cover your mirror so you will lose any anti-glare functionality
Personally I’m not a fan of the style but some people love them
There is another design from Papago
where the mount grips the top and bottom
of your rear view mirror and hangs out on the back
The last design clamps onto your mirror arm
and the dash camera hangs below it
I’ve only seen this as an optional accessory
So I’ve heard two reasons why someone
would use a mirror attachment camera
One is that they don’t want anything hanging on their windshield
A second reason is they think the design is stealthier
Moving forward some models have a second camera
This can be internal like the Transcend 520
or is a remote unit connected using a coaxial or USB cable
Remote cameras are generally mounted
on your rear windshield
and adds context to what the front camera captured
If someone was aggressively tailgating or swerving
before causing an accident you’ll have additional evidence
that their actions affected your driving
Due to the complexities of a dual camera system
video quality is often sacrificed
If you prioritize video quality
you may want to go with installing two separate cameras
but that can be more difficult to install and maintain
The other dual camera style
has a camera which faces inside your passenger cabin
They will often have infrared lights for night vision
This is useful if you are a professional driver
to capture any problems that may come up
If you’re a regular driver it’s often more a liability than help
Do you drive with perfect focus?
Speaking of Infrared lights
if it points towards your windshield it’s useless
On older cameras it was used as a night vision feature
but all it did was increase glare as it reflected off the windshield
Next we look at setup
When you first receive your camera in most cases
you can install it right away and it’ll work
But many drivers want to customize settings
like the time and date first
Most cameras have a LCD screen and buttons
While we like to see something intuitive
like the on screen descriptions and a clear menu
it’s not necessary as it’s often something you do only once
Others cameras like the Blackvue DR650 have no LCD screen
You’ll need a smartphone or computer app to change options
If it doesn’t have WiFi you’ll probably need to pull out
the microSD and load a computer program to change settings
Some cameras like the Mobius require
you to connect it directly to your computer
Another popular feature is WiFi which
you can connect directly to your smartphone through an app
You can often stream and download recorded videos
This can be useful if you get into an accident
You can discreetly preview your video
without making it obvious that a dash camera is installed
You can then make a more informed decision on how to proceed
Some cameras like the Yi have a one touch connection
and can detect and update the firmware over the air for convenience
WiFi is a useful feature for drivers with a smartphone
but not all apps are as good as the ones shown today
Moving on GPS is another frequently advertised feature
It's used to to log your speed and position
not to give you instructions on where to go
This data can be seen in a special app
where you can visualize your route, speed and more
Many drivers hope this can be used in
court to prove they weren’t speeding
I haven’t seen a successful case yet
You could be the first
If you have teenagers, employees, or lend your vehicle
you can use this information to check if your vehicle was properly used
Personally I think GPS isn’t as useful as everyone thinks
except in a few situations
As well if you are in court you may need an expert
to testify that your GPS unit is accurate
Alright, so let’s talk about the stuff you’ll use day to day
Now the G-Sensor is one popular item
which is a way to detect forces and movement
Now many manufacturers sell it as something
where you can detect an accident
and lock the file to prevent it from being overwritten
The reality is much different
First off it’s not a perfect system
In most dash cameras you can adjust
how much force is required to lock a file
It it's too sensitive, driving over a bump
can trigger the G-Sensor and eventually
fill your memory card with locked files
Too low and it doesn’t do anything
So far, I haven’t seen any manufacturer get it right
Besides, after an accident
you’ll have hours before the moment is lost
Are you really going to forget?
Moving to parked recording
this is a special setting which only records
when movement or sometimes a shock is detected
This is used to save space on your memory card
as you don’t want to record when nothing is happening
Now, many people want to use this to catch
hit and runs or vandalism in the parking lot
Some cameras will also record the 5-10 seconds
once the system is triggered
This can be called buffered parked recording
and helps you capture not only the event
but the seconds leading up to it
In cheaper cameras you have to manually enable
parked recording through the menu
It’s not practical and if you forget to disable it
you can lose footage while driving
as the motion algorithm is not perfect
Better cameras automatically activate parked recording
using a combination of GPS
and the G-Sensor to detect if you have moved
[Parking Mode Enabled]
Keep in mind parked recording can require additional installation
You will need to connect your camera
to your vehicle’s battery most often through the fuse box
if the socket isn’t constantly powered
There are also dash cam battery solutions
like the celllink but they can be expensive
If you are recording while parked in even mild weather
you need a heat resistant camera
due to the greenhouse effect
I would first prioritize a capacitor camera
next a higher operational temperature limit
Most cameras are rated for 60°C
The Transcend 200 is rated for 65°C
and other cameras all the way up to 80°C
but you really shouldn’t be recording
anywhere close to that temperature
These manufacturer specs aren’t third party verified
but it’s not a bad indicator of their confidence in their designs
Next let’s look at the emergency lock button
When pressed it locks the current video from being overwritten
This is helpful if you have accident footage
or need to save an interesting scene for later
Ideally it creates a new video file
that’s distinct both in the App and the filename
As well it should record the time before
and after the button was pressed
not just whatever is currently recording
I use the emergency lock quite frequently
I’m looking a button that’s easy to find
even in the dark and located away from important features
I don’t want to accidently turn off recording
like I have with other cameras
Moving on, a microphone is included
on nearly every dash camera
and helps pick up conversations or sounds
which can be used for evidence
In every camera
I’ve seen you can disable the microphone in the menu
Some have a hardware button to make it easy to turn off
We recommend all users look up their local laws
as some jurisdictions prohibit audio recordings
or require the consent of all involved parties
We also have ADAS which stands for
advanced driving assistance systems
This is tech to help drivers stay safe
You’ll often see lane departure and forward collision
warning systems in dash cams
Ideally these should help prevent accidents
but in regular use it produces a lot of
false alarms and annoys more than it helps
[Keep a Safe Distance Please]
In the current state of development
ADAS for dash cameras is not a useful feature to consider
In fact most cameras require you
to lower the resolution before activating
Now let’s look at some video processing settings
which are supposed to improve video quality but are useless at best
Let’s start with 60 Frames a Second or 60FPS
this is marketed to reduce motion blur
by doubling the video frames captured from 30 to 60 per second
However you’ll have to greatly reduce the resolution
which dramatically lowers video quality
As well this doesn’t improve blurriness at all
that’s determined by shutter speed
One of most marketed features
is High Dynamic Range processing or HDR
It’s a processing algorithm
that’s used to improve clarity under contrasting light
You have to manually enable this feature in the settings
Well just like 60FPS,
it needs more processing power so you lose video quality
As well HDR doesn’t significantly improve clarity
it’s best to just leave it off
So we left our some features and hardware
and we didn’t go in depth in others
But good news we wrote up an awesome article
that you can check out
Now with that, that’s the end of the this guide
I hope you found it useful
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Thanks