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In a nutshell… A car camera sticks on your windscreen and records the road ahead of you. They connect to your car cigarette lighter (can also be hard wired to the battery) just like a sat nav. They continually record by automatically starting and stopping as you turn your car on and off which prevents the car battery from discharging. Some cameras have a battery which can record for a limited time without being connected to the car. All cameras use memory cards which fill up with your video footage. Once the card is full the camera records over the oldest video files (this is called loop recording). The larger the card the more video you’ll be able to store on it. For example, you may only get the last hour of your journey on an 8GB card compared to 2 hours for a 16GB card.
In the event of an accident you can either press a button on the camera or the camera can automatically detect an accident using an in-built g-sensor. This will then lock the video footage around the accident and prevent it from being overwritten when the card is full. This means you can carry on your journey knowing that the important footage will still be there when you get home (this is called event recording).
Car cameras, otherwise referred to as a dash cams, car DVRs or car black box recorders, are essentially small video recorders that mount onto the windscreen of your vehicle and record the road ahead in high-quality, using a wide angle lens to make as much of the road visible as possible. This footage provides a record of your activity on the road and gives irrefutable evidence if you’re unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident.
This evidence can be used to paint a comprehensive picture of the events leading up to and following any incidents, enabling you to either prosecute the guilty parties or to prove your innocence and protect your no claims bonus. Often, the money saved in being able to establish categorically that you were not to blame for the accident covers the cost of the camera meaning they are an investment that can pay for themselves.
There are key features that set dash cams apart from other types of camera. For example, many use internal G-force sensors to measure the movement of your vehicle and adjust their recording method accordingly. If a camera detects any sudden or severe movement, possibly caused by heaving braking, evasive manoeuvring or a collision, the camera produces a video file capturing the lead up to the event and the activity afterwards. Using bespoke software, supplied by most brands, you can easily review this footage to extract the details required, such as vehicle registration plate numbers, with which to support your argument or claim.
Other features include GPS tracking, the ability to take photographs and parking protection, where your camera uses motion tracking to monitor activity around your vehicle when it is parked. If it detects any significant movement it will record a short video file that can be referred to if your vehicle is ever damaged or tampered with.
Overall, car cameras are designed to offer peace-of-mind to safety conscious drivers and provide protection against less safety-minded road users. With this in mind, we have taken care to deliver a range of products that offers all the key functionality currently available and at a range of price points that makes them accessible to as many people as possible.
If you have any queries about our range of car cameras please read our guides covering their many features and benefits or browse our frequently asked questions page. Alternatively, get in touch with us and we’ll help you wherever possible. You can email us, phone us, use our live chat function or drop us a line on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
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