Search the internet and you will find innumerous [But Not Well Known] car dash cam manufacturers supplying decent quality car dvrs at reasonable prices, the big [companies have completely kept out of this segment, seems there overheads and margin expectations don't work out well for this segment. Example - Transcend and HP do have few models but they don't sell well as a] they are not camera companies b] they are too Pricey compared to their lesser known peers.
So for a product where "decent quality" options starts at 40 Dollar onwards and a "friendly neighborhood dealer" is a click away on most online portals you trust. You need to consider the following points.
1) FOV - Field of View how much broad view a camera records. While recording the front of whats passing your car please make sure its atleast 90 to 100 Degree [Horizontal] so that you dont miss out much. a BIG BUT - Companies mention the FoV as Vertical like they do in Screens so if they say "Honestly" 160 Degree - be sure it around "Real" 100 Degree.
2) Low Light Sensitivity - a fine balance makes sure that Night Recording is Great without Headlights or Tail Lights filling up your Cam Recording. You can throw in More than Look out for "WDR" capabilities in the Model.
3) Memory - Its a Pleasure to Watch a wide clear HD but that means lesser recording time on your Memory Card. For all practical purposes one would hardly review his past day driving unless there is a Accident or Incident Scene which he / she wants to retrieve. Thus even a 8 GB Memory Card with Couple of Hours of Recording can do the Job. As for HD - well most Car Cam "Manipulate" the Recording to the HD Specs meaning HD is "Interpolated by Software" to mention "HD CAR DVR" on there Packing.
A Line of caution - Our Discussion here is for "Self-Driven Vehicles" If you are looking for a Car Cam for your Other Vehicle or fleet, Sorry but nothing even close is offered at the moment in India. Reason they would cost upwards of 15k as they would require i) Two lens cams at least ii) Recording duration in days iii) GPS Logger else video footage of unknown roads wont give idea where the vehicle went iv) hidden - oh yes would beat the purpose as a possible wrongdoing will possibly be done by outsiders who will rip the cameras n your driver n your vehicle n your goods v) scores of other choices as good mic, vandal proof casing, possibilty to survive burn and high impact of accidents et cetra et cetra.
4] Battery - This is a misunderstood topic in context to a car camera. One expects them to work on there own for say couple of hours like any other personal hand held cameras, but they dont - Most Car Dash Cameras come with NOMINAL Batteries - Advance Models have capacitors. Reason 1) Car Cameras are expected to perform the entire duration of vehicle usage so they anyway have to be connected to a power source. Any Rechargeable batteries when continuous plugged in [charged n discharged] lose there life cycle exponentially fast, Even a 2000 mAh Battery would be dud in couple of months of usage 2) HEAT HEAT HEAT - Car Dash Boards are Hot - Plastic items and Bottle simply MELT. Offcourse there can be a "Industrial Grade" Battery to withstand the heat like the one under the car hood beside the Engine, but the resulting cost is not worth it in a Car Cam due to Reason 1 stated above. For Practical reasons the battery capacity is kept to a minimum. Battery Models will surely lose their ability to retain correct date and time stamping after a while in that case just set the device not to embed date and time stamp. Conclusion - Get a Capacitor Model if your budget allows Or [LATER ON] Don't time stamp the videos.
5] GPS - GSENSORS - IR Lights - Parking Mode - LDW Lane Departure Warning - All are useless cherries on a Ice Cream to make it look attractive to buy, but will be throw out to lick the main cream. Believe me we can explain why you dont need these but like cherry topped icecream you will be handed out one. Absence or Presence of these feature will impact your device usage satisfaction.
Conclusions - Just buy from a Verified Source as well as A Trusted Dealer. Any one can put up great Product Picture on websites. Car Camera Experts like us do buy 100's of Car Cams for the Love of It and 4 out of 10 goes to the bins [ Not worth gifting out to friends or family].
High Price does not ensure Quality. Lookout for Product Reviews by Individuals. Be clear what you want and what not.
Source(s):
Dear Staff Members/Moderators,
I thought Forums exist to help members to remove the confusion, to get the help from experienced member and to provide any source to read/buy.
For example: I have quoted the above answer from one group member. He explained the features of dash camera very well. But then MOST IMPORTANT part is where is such Dash Cam ? Where to find it ?
He might had included the source/buying link but it was removed in name of moderation ! So I am clueless where to find it now !
I urge to please review your spamming policy ! If some replies more than thrice "oh thx..nice article. here is link: www.xyz..." then it can be called as SPAM. But above person didn't spam ! he has just posted single message.
Same way, I have posted just 2-3 messages in this forum and staff member accusing me posting spam !
When other members, and STAFF MEMBERS too post Amazon links of their purchase, then it is perfectly Ok !
But when I or some new member post any Direct Link for buying product, it is called spam !
Please view below thread in which members have posted links to buy something. Also STaff member has posted link to buy:
1) The Complete Smartphone Buyer's Guide
2) Infinity/Edge to edge display phone ( Link Posted by One of Staff Member)
3)Suggestion for new phone ~10k
4) suggest me a best business Android mobile phone for above normal below 11,000 INR
5) Buying a New Mobile? Check Out These Sites!
6) Tempered glass for Lenovo P2?
And there are lots more !
And please note that these product link on Amazon/Ebay etc are being sold by SOME VENDORS ! So what is the problem of proving link of site of some vendor !
I know my this answer may get deleted and my account may be banned for posting ! but atleast I have saved screen shots !
