Dashcam Archives - Page 2 of 2

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

Monitor your kids behind the wheel

If you’re a parent, handing the keys to your precious car over to your 17 year old son or daughter can be a tough decision – especially if you love your car.. and your child!

We all know that statistically drivers under 25 are at a higher risk of being involved in a car accident. There are many reasons for this including lack of experience and attention, excessive speed, poorly maintained cars, night-time driving, and perhaps a false sense of confidence.

You obviously want your child to be safe and to reduce the likelihood of them being involved in an accident, whether this be a small bump in a car park or a serious high-speed crash. We’ve found that many parents are turning to car cameras as a way to help improve their children’s driving and reduce the risk of an accident.

Aside from saving on car insurance and providing irrefutable evidence in case of an accident, it has been proven that having a car camera actually makes you a more safety conscious and better driver – ideal for young drivers. Of course, if they do have an accident you’ll have video evidence of exactly what happened to help with the insurance claim. Young drivers are vulnerable so this evidence could prove vital in determining the party at fault in an accident.

It’s up to the parent on how they introduce the dash cam but many parents offer their car (or buy a car) providing they use a car camera which can be viewed at any time. As the parent, you can view the footage of their driving and even see their speed and location on a map, providing your camera comes equipped with GPS. You can also see the g-forces being applied so you can identify quick and dangerous moves on the road! Quite a powerful tool for a parent!

You could argue that this is all rather big brother but if you love your kids and want them to be safe, this is a very effective way to ensure they drive safely and reduce the risk of having an accident.

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

10 tips for getting the best dash cam footage

Congratulations on owning a car camera! You’re now fully enjoying the benefits they bring and probably can’t live without it any more? Now you’ve got your camera, you need to make sure you’re getting the most out of it and record the best quality footage you can. We’ve put a simple list of 10 things you can do to improve the video quality and get the most out of owning a car camera.

1. Position the camera in the centre of the screen

It may sound obvious, but we’ve seen plenty of videos where the camera is mounted in the corner which tends to distort the footage making for a less clear picture, especially when driving at night. The camera should be positioned in the centre of the windscreen near the top, ideally behind the rear view mirror.

2. Reduce the amount of sky in the picture

Everyone loves the sky but, unless you’re trying to capture the next meteorite landing, you should limit the amount of sky you capture as you drive. The more sky you have the more sunlight you get which results in more glare, reducing the quality of the video. The camera will also try to compensate for the brightness of the sky, darkening the video, which can make the detail on other vehicles harder to make out. It doesn’t matter if you record more of the car dashboard – as long as you capture the road ahead.

3. Adjust g-sensor sensitivity settings

Many car cameras equipped with a g-sensor automatically lock a video clip if it detects an accident. Sometimes, the camera will lock a file by mistake when you go over a bump or take a sharp turn. You can usually tweak the sensitivity of the g-sensors to prevent your memory card filling up with locked files. Adjust to a setting which works well for you – some cars, particularly performance cars, require a less sensitive g-sensor.

4. Mute/unmute the audio

This is down to preference of whether you want to record sound. Personally, I prefer to mute the sound so I don’t record my dreadful singing or telephone calls on the video. The important thing is the video so sound is an added bonus.

5. Clean your windscreen

It’s vital that you keep your windscreen clean. Aside from being able to see where you’re driving, you’ll have clearer footage should you be involved in an accident. Try and clean the inside with window cleaner every month and make sure you keep your windscreen washer fluid topped up – especially in the Winter.

When driving in the rain or wet conditions make sure to use your wipers to not only see where you’re going (very important!) but to clear the windscreen for the camera. If you have muck or light drizzle on the windscreen the quality of the video footage will be significantly worse.

6. Adjust video quality and frame rate

All cameras provide the option to change the resolution (Full HD, HD, VGA etc.) and possibly the frame rate. Generally speaking, there is no real need for 60fps for a car camera and we recommend the highest resolution possible. When we get a new camera we always experiment with the different resolutions and frame rates to see which works best during the days and equally at night.

When it comes to night time driving, many cameras come equipped with a WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) mode. This mode improve the light for night time driving but does tend to add noise to the footage which can reduce the quality of day-time footage. Generally speaking, if you drive a lot at night then it’s worth using, otherwise, leave it off. Try the settings and see what works for you.

2. Reduce the amount of sky in the picture

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

Mini 0801 Car Camera Review

We’ve been road testing the Black Bullet Mini 0801 car camera for some time now. Putting it through its paces and seeing how it fairs over an extended period of time. So often dash cams are reviewed after only a brief test, but we feel that to give a truly informed opinion you need to use a camera for a significant period.

Key Features

Full HD quality video (1920 x 1080) at 30fps.
135° wide angle lens.
1.5″ LCD screen.
GPS maps for speed and location tracking (optional).
Photo mode.
G-shock sensor to detect sudden and severe movement.
Parking mode for protection when parked.
Adhesive windscreen mount.
Micro SD cards up to 32GB.

The first thing that impressed us about this car camera was the size. At just 2.8″ wide it’s ultra compact, but it’s bullet design ensures that it makes use of the space well; squeezing a 1.5″ LCD screen in along with the regular features such as the lens, a speaker, a microphone, a status LED and the usual controls. Build quality might not be to the same level as some of the more premium cameras, such as the BlackVue DR550GW-HD, but it’s perfectly acceptable given the cost. A power button on the end of the camera has a distinctly plasticky feel to it, but continues to work perfectly.

Once installed, it’s hidden completely behind the rear view mirror and remains very discrete when viewed through the windscreen, which offers peace of mind when leaving it mounted in your vehicle. The mount is another pleasant surprise; not only is it very small, but the power cable plugs directly into it, meaning that if the camera is ever removed from the car, as we choose to do sometimes, the power cable remains neatly attached to the mount, rather than dangling aimlessly.

The mount houses the GPS unit (optional), which brings us to the first issue we’ve had while testing the Mini 0801. Sometimes the GPS unit either doesn’t record our location or registers it incorrectly. However, this could be due to the heated windscreen in our test vehicle. This can sometimes impact a dash cams ability to locate a strong GPS signal.

The screen, while small, enables you to manage the camera easily and view your videos and photos. While you might not be able to make out the finer details on this size screen, it’s often enough to give you on indication that you captured the incident you’d hoped to. From this point it can easily be viewed on a computer using the software provided. The quality is impressive and at full HD 1080p it delivers sharp, crisp video which captures details such as registration plates well.

In low light conditions it struggles slightly, but in built-up areas with adequate street lighting, it still picks up a good level of detail.

The menus are easy to navigate but aren’t immediately intuitive and the manual supplied gives instructions in the most basic form. But, given that this is a budget camera, supplied from the Far East, it’s better than most that fall into this price bracket. With only three buttons to control the camera, it makes use of single and extended button presses to navigate various options that might not be as obvious as they could be. Having said that, we had our camera set up as we wanted in no time at all. We had to tweak the G-sensor sensitivity a few times to find the desired level but that is the case for all dash cams we’ve tested.

Overall, it’s easy to see why this camera proves to be so popular. It’s compact yet fully functional, delivers full HD video and, available from just £89.99, makes a great entry-level car camera. It’s not without its faults, and is lacking slightly in terms a build quality, but these issues can easily be overlooked for the cost.

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

Mi-Witness HD – Product of the Year 2013

Mi-Witness HD - Product of the Year 2013

This month, the popular Mi-Witness HD car camera won Product of the Year at the inaugural 2013 Vehicle Electronics Professional (VEP) awards. The awards, hosted by Pollyanna Woodward of The Gadget Show took place on the 19th November and is a ceremony that marks the achievements of the vehicle electronics industry.

The Mi-Witness dash cam is one of our most popular cameras, partly due to the range of options available from a 2nd rear camera, WIFI, case, and integrated smart power.

We’re currently running a Winter Special on the Mi-Witness camera which includes the camera, additional 2nd camera, soft case, smart power, and the WIFI dongle – all for £299.99 (saving you £64.99).

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

Does the GoPro make a good car camera?

The GoPro is arguably the best known action camera in the UK and has quickly established itself as one of the most popular on the market. With a range of different cameras and accessories available, it has become synonymous with extreme sports the world over and its high quality videos capture everything from skateboarding to scuba-diving.

So, if the GoPro is that good, does it also make a good car camera? We took our trusty GoPro Hero 3 for a road trip around the hills of Italy to find out!

Firstly, there’s no denying the quality of the video that the GoPro captures. We initially captured footage in full 1080p at 30 frames per second but eventually settled on 720p with an impressive 60 frames per second to give a smoother picture. Image quality was sharp and number plates were largely visible on the videos we took, which is important if you later rely on them as evidence.

Secondly, the GoPro app worked faultlessly and enabled us to position the camera each morning as we were removing it from our hire car overnight. It also offered easy access to the cameras settings and, thanks to the recent update, allowed us to view and manage recorded video files via our iPhone and iPad.

So, the GoPro records great video and is easy to manage. That means its a great car camera right? Unfortunately not. During our tests we identified some fundamental issues which limit the GoPro’s effectiveness as a dash cam.

Aside from the fact that when mounted on the suction cup mount it takes up a significant amount of space, the first issue that we encountered was battery life. While car cameras plug into your vehicles cigarette lighter and draw power whenever your ignition is turned on, the GoPro runs from an internal battery. In our tests, a full charge lasted around 1 hour 45 minutes which was suitable for most of our journeys, but did mean that the battery needed to be charged every evening. That was fine for the purposes of our test, but isn’t a long-term solution for anyone looking for the day-to-day protection of a car camera. It is possible to power the GoPro via a USB cable plugged into cars cigarette lighter but this requires the purchase of several additional accessories, which can be expensive.

The GoPro also breaks long videos up into manageable files of 17.35 minutes, seamlessly ending one video file and beginning the next. Dedicated car cameras use much smaller segments, usually just a few minutes in length, which help when your memory card is full and the camera employs ‘loop recording’ to overwrite old files that are no longer required. While the GoPro offers loop recording, the large video files don’t lend themselves to it as effectively as dash cams.

As well as this, the GoPro lacks some fundamental features that make car cameras as effective as they are. Most importantly, GPS, G-force sensors and a time/date stamp.

GPS allows a car camera to plot your precise location on a map and, using this information, can also measure your speed – a crucial factor in determining the events leading up to any incident and proving your innocence.

Internal G-force sensors enable car cameras to detect sudden and significant movement of your vehicle which could indicate an incident, such as a collision, sudden braking or evasive manoeuvring. Once it detects such activity, a car camera can protect the video file that was being recorded at that time, meaning that it can’t be recorded over accidentally, which guarantees your video evidence is kept safe.

Other more minor issues that we encountered included overheating (possibly due to the GoPros plastic casing amplifying the heat of the sun through the windscreen) and difficulty in managing the camera without the app as the LCD screen faces forwards. Also, with its wide, 170 degree lens, the GoPro has an impressive field-of-view, but the image suffers from distortion at the edge of the frame. This isn’t an issue if you’re filming extreme sports, but if the video from your car camera is to by relied on as evidence, you need to be confident that what’s recorded is clearly legible. As a comparison, the newly released BlackVue DR550 has a 137 degree lens, which seems to be a good compromise between capturing as much detail as possible and ensuring that it’s crystal clear across the entire picture.

So, in summary, while the GoPro is great for capturing a vast array of activities, it is unfortunately limited when being used as a car camera. Dash cams are purpose built to offer the ultimate peace-of-mind whenever you’re behind the wheel and to do this with the minimum amount of effort required on your part after installation. The GoPro may be sufficient for a one-off journey, but it’s not a long-term solution.

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

How dash cams recorded the Russian meteorite

Whilst recording the rare natural wonder of a meteorite crashing through the Earth’s atmosphere at 100,000 mph isn’t exactly on the top of the list of reasons to buy a dash camera, they do certainly provide amazing footage of something we’ve never seen on this scale before.

Whilst these are very rare events, they do in fact happen several times every year. So what was different this time? Well, mainly the fact that it was caught on camera by thousands of people across the region and immediately published online for the world to see.

Back in February this year an asteroid crashed into the Earth over Russia – named the Chelyabinsk meteor. This awe inspiring sight was travelling at an estimated 40,000 mph which lit up the morning sky creating dark shadows across the large Russian region.

Never before has there been such an abundance of footage of such an event which is instantly viewable by people across the world. This was made possible by the popularity of dash cams and car cameras across Russia. Dash cams are popular to help combat insurance fraud and
corruption, so much so, that almost every car is equipped with one of these tiny little cameras.

The footage not only provided us with incredible video to watch on the news and on YouTube, it also provided scientists with high quality video evidence from almost every angle. With these multiple angles and video timestamps it allows scientists to piece together detailed information about the direction, size, and speed of this meteorite – for the first time!

Take a moment to think about this. According to latest estimates there are over 1 billion cars on our planet. If every car was equipped with a car camera we would have video evidence for every second of the day, in every direction, across the whole planet – you will either find that exciting to see what things we’ll capture or equally scary that someone is always watching!

Personally, I’m excited at the possibility of being able to capture even more wonderful things than the Chelyabinsk meteor. So, grab one of these car cameras today – you never know what you might capture!

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

New iPixi range of car cameras

We’re excited to announce that we’ve introduced two excellent new dash cams to our website from UK-based manufacturer, iPixi. We make sure we only add the best quality cameras to our site and their Winycam range offer some unique features that certainly made them stand out from many of the other’s we’ve looked at.

Firstly, we really like the rotating barrel design of the iPixi X100FHD. This is great for passenger carrying users, particularly taxi drivers, who can quickly switch the camera from recording the road ahead, to pointing inwards, recording passenger activity. With many taxi drivers reporting issues of rude, abusive and even violent passengers, we think the ability to quickly capture HD video evidence will offer some peace-of-mind.

While there are several dual lens cameras that perform a similar function, such as the RoadHawk RH-2 and the X-3000, this is a new and innovative solution to the problem. The image being recorded automatically flips as the lens is rotated, so the video remains the right way up. Clever eh?!

Secondly, the iPixi V200HD features a smart 3″ LCD touch screen which we think is great! Not only does it mean that you can view videos clearly, but it makes accessing the menus, and navigating the cameras various settings, a breeze. Also, as the camera features a small second camera that mounts in the rear window of your vehicle, we particularly like the picture-in-picture viewing option which lets you see what’s happening on the road in front and behind you at the same time. The rear camera also means that this camera acts as a reversing aid too!

We hope you like these cameras as much as we do and if you have any questions about them please contact us here

Posted on July 14, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers

Flash for Cash Scams

As featured in today’s media, incidents of a worrying new twist on the ‘crash for cash’ scams are being reported, where drivers waiting to exit junctions or driveways are flashed, signalling that they are safe to proceed, before they are deliberately crashed into. Dubbed ‘flash for cash’ these scams are engineered to place the blame on the innocent party and are generally followed by a substantial, and often grossly inflated, insurance claim. Read more on how this type of crash for cash scam is engineered.

So, is this the beginning of the end for common courtesy on UK roads? These incidents are thankfully isolated, but they have been reported widely in the media, including the BBC, and will be on the minds of drivers up and down the country. The next time you are flashed before exiting a junction or merging onto a busy, but slow-moving carriage way, will you think twice?

We sincerely hope that in defiance of this type of unsociable behaviour, drivers will remain courteous on the roads and help to make UK highways a calmer and safer place to be. However, if you’re looking for some additional protection against ‘crash for cash’ and ‘flash for cash’ scams, a car camera installed in your vehicle will record activity on the road around you to provide irrefutable evidence if you’re involved in an incident. Our range of dash cams offer HD video recording, multiple lenses and wide-angle lenses to help you capture as much detail as possible.

Posted on June 29, 2021January 24, 2023 by Eric Rogers — Leave a comment

New Release: The Nextbase 122 Dash Cam

As part of the brand new series of Nextbase dash cameras, the Nextbase 122 dash cam is a clear winner as a highly practical and functional car camera. HD recording, parking mode, and more, all for a very low cost make it an ideal choice for younger, or new drivers.

Recording Quality

The Nextbase 122 records in an impressive 720p HD at 30 frames per second – enough to clearly capture road incidents in detail. Its 5-layer f1.6 lens provides a viewing angle of 120° to ensure that the whole road is covered with video footage in order to provide court admissible evidence instantly. The vehicle camera is completely compatible with a polarising filter, giving you to option to improve your recording quality through reducing or completely removing glare and reflections from your vehicles windscreen. These are some seriously impressive specs when compared against the price tag of this camera.

Design

The Nextbase 122 has the classic look and feel of a Nextbase camera, meaning a discreet installation which doesn’t distract you while driving is very possible. The newly designed mount uses a lower profile design and high strength neodymium magnets allowing you to easily place and remove the dash cam with just one hand. A standard 3m adhesive pad is used for fitting, and a suction pad is included. The power cable goes directly into the mount itself, leaving the car camera completely free from wires.

Nextbase 122 Features

Video Quality

The Nextbase video quality is sufficient for recording the road ahead of you in enough detail to use your footage as evidence. 720p @ 30fps HD Recording, alongside a 120° wide viewing angle ensure that your journey is covered.

Display

The Nextbase 122 uses a bright and clear high-resolution screen for easy menu navigation and playback. The display is 2″ in size which is slightly smaller than some of the previous models. This provides enough size to see the menu and recording screen while allowing the camera to have a slightly more discreet design.

Capacity

This dash cam will support up to a 32GB Micro SD card, for 4 hours of footage. Once this storage becomes full, it will automatically begin to overwrite the oldest footage to provide you with constant recording.

Footage which you don’t want to be overwritten can be saved as a manual recording.

Parking Mode

The Nextbase 122 features a new and improved intelligent parking mode which will automatically begin recording when motion or movement is detected around your parked vehicle.

This makes use of their new high precision G sensor to make sure that all possible events are recorded and locked away from being overwritten.

Free Cloud Access

Another feature new to the Nextbase range is their completely free MyNextbaseCloud service. This allows footage to be easily saved, viewed and shared online without taking up storage space on your SD card or computer.

What's in the box

122 Nextbase Dash Cam
Fitting tool
Adhesive mount
Suction mount
Usb cable
Car power cable
Quick start guide