Hey everyone
let's talk about dash cams that are great for not only car accidents
but also when you get pulled over by the police
and for road raging drivers
I picked four cameras after many hours of testing
All four have everything I think is important
which includes great video quality
functionality
and can rotate to face any direction in your vehicle
unlike many which can only look ahead
When you turn on your vehicle
your dash cam starts recording
and unlike your cell phone
you'll have evidence of what happened
before an accident or a police traffic stop
That’s better than just using your smartphone
to record your conversation
You’ll also be less stressed knowing you already have a camera recording
You can then take your time to get your phone setup
It's also a great backup in case your phone gets seized, stolen or lost
Here’s more ways it can save you time, money and frustration
Pause this video if you want to read it
My recommendations are split into four groups:
My cheap pick is the $40 USD Aukey DRA5
which delivers decent 1080P video quality
and heat resistance in a small body
At $110, the ROVE R2 has sharper 1440P
videos to capture more details and WiFi
to send videos to your phone
The $150 Aukey DR03 has a second
rear camera letting you record behind your vehicle
Finally the $130 BlueSkySea B2W
lets you record outside and inside your vehicle
so you can fight false tickets for not wearing your seatbelt
or for talking on the phone
Hi, it’s Andrew
let’s talk about what camera is best for you
and the legalities of recording police officers
and other drivers
I’ve also bought all my cameras since 2017
This is not a sponsored review
Lets look at my camera recommendations
starting with the $40 Aukey DRA5 as my cheap pick
I think its uniquely great
for it’s combination of small size, amazing night video quality
heat-resistance and a 2-year warranty
The DRA5 is one of the smallest cameras on the market
It’s hard to notice
making it a less tempting target
for people to steal or seize
It’s also sturdy and surprisingly well made
Going through the settings
I found the menu easy to navigate
The 1080P video quality is mixed
During the day it falls behind nearly
all my other picks
you lose details but to me this good enough
At night it does an excellent job
matching even $170 cameras using the better Sony Starvis Sensors
If we compare it against my top budget pick the $50 ROAV A1
you can see it’s not as sharp
but that’s fine given the DRA5’s lower price
Moving to night quality
against a more expensive camera with superior hardware
the DRA5 looks amazing
You’ll be very happy with the its video quality overall
If you have to rotate the camera
I found the DRA5 easily turns due to the mount and cable design
On other cameras with a short mount and a top power port
the cable can get snagged on the windshield
During the day
the DRA5 is clear and wide enough
to capture anyone walking up to your vehicle
At night with the dome lights turned on
you’ll get good clarity of what's happening
The DRA5 supports a maximum of a 128GB microSD card
That’s 32 hours of recording at the best resolution
This audio is recorded on the DRA5’s microphone
The quality like our other dash cam picks
isn’t amazing
but it's good enough to pick up a conversation
Looking at its construction
Aukey uses capacitors not lithium-ion batteries
for better reliability, heat and cold resistance
Here some competitors I found during my research and testing phase
There are some decent alternatives
but they had one or two shortcomings versus the DRA5
Overall
this Aukey camera is the only rotating camera
that’s cheap, well-built and has warranty support
I’ll do a full review of this camera in the future
and those links will be in the description
along with places you can get this camera
As a sidenote
you will need to buy a microSD card
which is where your video files are saved
I recommend the 64GB Sandisk High Endurance or Samsung Pro Endurance
as they are more reliable
I have a full review explaining more if you’re interested
Once your dash cam is installed
it's hands free as it automatically turns on
and starts recording when it receives power
In most vehicles that’s when you turn the ignition key
It’ll also overwrite the oldest files
so you don’t need to delete videos when it fills up
As well, installation is easy and requires no tools
You attach your camera using adhesive pads
and run a power cable from your 12V outlet
By the way
all my police dash cam recommendations
use a tape mount which is more secure
than a suction mount
which can fall off easier
Moving up is the ROVE R2-4K for $100
It's our pick if you’re looking for
sharper video quality WiFI, GPS
and an extra user-friendly setup
over what the DRA5 offers
Starting with the body while larger than the Aukey camera
it’s about the same size as most dash cams on the market
Due to the well-written documentation and customized user interface
I found the ROVE R2-4K especially easy to setup and use
You also have WiFi which lets you change settings
and more importantly download saved videos
While I thought the app was good
there were many reported connection issues
from other Android and iOS users
My advice is to disable data
which is how most app-related issues are fixed
I would also change the default resolution from
1080p 60fps to 1440p which improves video quality
I’m using the new 2020 version of the ROVE camera
which upgrades the image sensor
to the Sony IMX335, which is the best 1440P sensor
I’ve seen so far
When compared with the $40 DRA5
the ROVE R2 is much better during daylight
as it picks up more details
At dusk it’s still better
again you can read more of the signs and license plates
Nighttime is disappointing
This camera should be much clearer
I’m hoping for a firmware update in the future
Overall the video quality is better
but it’s not at the level of the other
1440P dash cams I’ve tested
If you have to turn the camera
it’s a bit stiff but otherwise it works just fine
The field of view is about the same as the DRA5
it’s wide enough to cover the driver and their windshield
This is a sample the ROVE’s R2-4Ks
audio quality
The recording time is much less than the DRA5
as the ROVE camera uses a higher bitrate for better video quality
Inside
the ROVE R2 uses lithium-ion batteries
which can swell and damage the camera
especially in hot weather
While this battery can power the camera
it won’t last more than 5 minutes at 1440P
If it does die
the warranty is only one year, but that's standard
Good thing users have reported
excellent customer service in the United States
But overseas
you'll have to ship your camera to the States for warranty service
Still, this is the best I could find
Most of the other 1440P dash cams
were either overpriced or couldn’t rotate
By the way the Rove R2 has fake 4K resolution
as the image sensor is too small
If you’re looking for real 4K
those start at $200 and in my opinion aren't worth it
While the day video quality is better
the night footage isn't as good as 1440P cameras
Next up
is the $150 Aukey DR03
which records the front and rear of your vehicle in 1080P
The rear camera attaches using adhesive pads
It sends video to the front camera through a cable
with an easy plug and play connection
Otherwise this camera is quite basic
there's no Wi-Fi, Parking Mode and GPS is an optional add-on
Still
you do get a 2-year warranty from Aukey
and it uses capacitors not lithium-ion batteries for heat resistance
Adding a rear camera is a big upgrade
as it adds context to a traffic stop or road rage incident
It also gives you another chance
to grab license plates in a hit and run accident
The only downside is the rear camera
does take more time to install
as you have to run and hide the cable
The video quality is close to the best
I would expect for 1080P dash cams
It’s better than the Aukey DRA5
but nowhere close to a good 1440P dash cam
This is a sample of the DR03's audio quality
Both the front and rear cameras have the same level of quality
For the price, that’s fantastic
especially as there were many discounts
at the time of this video
Overall the Aukey DR03 is a great value
when it drops to $125 or less for a front-back camera
See my review of the DR02 as it uses the same video hardware and accessories
with a few minor differences
Finally we have the BlueSkySea B2W
It’s a uniquely designed dash cam
where you find two independently swivelling lenses
below the main body
Each lens rotates 180° and lets you position them exactly where you need
like covering both sides of your vehicle
Normally these are used by Uber and Taxi drivers to record passengers
but they can also be used to show
if you were falsely accused for talking on the phone
or not wearing your seatbelt
If that’s important to you the B2W
is my pick because of its
performance and functionality
which no other taxi camera has
The video quality is quite good both inside and out
It’s sharp and near the top of
what I would expect from a good 1080P dash cam
both day and night
Here’s the audio quality from the B2W
The left
inside facing camera has infrared lights
which are invisible to human eyes
but picked up by the camera and lights up passengers
or people outside your vehicle at night
Normally this reduces color accuracy during the day
but the B2W is the only camera
to have a mechanical Infrared filter that fixes that issue
The B2W has WiFi and while the third-party app
they used in the manual is terrible
their B1MCAM designed for their motorcycle cameras
works better
and requires no intrusive permissions
Overall the B2W is the best blend of functionality
with its rotating lenses and sharp 1080P video quality
Other dash cams focus on recording passengers
and aren’t designed to rotate to the side windows
So let's talk briefly about legal issues with using a dash cam
As a disclaimer
This is meant for your general information and to help you with research
I’m not a lawyer
Starting with the United States
you have a first amendment right
to openly record the police both audio and video
while they are performing their duty in a public place
if you are not obstructing them
You can also record audio and video
of any pedestrians or drivers
while you're in a public space
there's no expectation of privacy
However audio recordings of your passengers and other passerbys
may require everyone’s consent in 12 states
Again
this is for general information only
you can check out places like the ACLU
for more information
Your specific situation may differ
By the way that’s American law
Here’s the laws from other countries
that you can pause and read
Alright
let’s go over tips to use your dash cam
Once installed
you want to check everything is working
It's also good to keep a spare card as a backup
if your main card suddenly dies
If you’re pulled over by the police
you’ll want to keep your dash cam running
even when you turn off your vehicle
That requires accessory mode in most cases
so your 12-volt outlet doesn't lose power
But some officers will place your keys
on the roof
That can be a problem unless your car’s 12V port is always on
Some people will switch to a lithium-ion battery
to power the camera
To me it’s dangerous to keep one in the car
especially in hot weather as it can cause a fire
You can hardwire your camera to a constant source of power
but I think it’s overly complicated or expensive for most people
Still
even if your dash cam is turned off
you can still use your cell phone and you’re better off
as your dash cam will have evidence of what happened before
With that
that’s the end of this review
Hope you enjoyed it
If you think someone could use this information
share this video with them
I’ll put links to resources below like legal info
other reviews
and where you can get my recommended cameras
if you don't need a camera that rotates
check out my video of the top five budget cameras
Thanks for watching