There’s no denying the many reasons why it makes sense to buy a dash cam, but it becomes a bit more complicated when you’re trying to select a model that comes with all the features you need and at a price point that you’re comfortable with.
In this guide, we’re going to give you some handy tips and advice that’ll make your life somewhat easier when you’re planning to buy the best dash cam, so let’s get started.
Tip 1 – Check the storage capacity
One of the most important aspects of choosing a dash cam is making sure it actually has the ability to store your footage adequately. After all, the evidence you might collect on your dash cam is all for nothing if you don’t have a way to download it or store it later on.
Furthermore, some high-quality dash cams can create surprisingly large file sizes that will soon fill up the average SD card, so you’ll want to make sure you have a way to store the files it creates in a reliable and convenient way.
Tip 2 – Think about the video quality
Despite the importance of considering the storage aspect of dash cam ownership, you’ll also want to think about the kind of video quality you’d like to gather.
In most cases, it’s wise to have something that’ll accommodate HD footage, as this will give you much better playback along with picking up the all-important details that can make dash cam footage so valuable. Some dash cams may be able to gather footage that’s up to 4k quality, while others may be limited to 1080p or 720p. But regardless of your choice, it’s smart to pick something that will give you clear and accurate footage that you can later rely on when you need it.
Ultimately, you will need a reasonable quality in order to pick up key details such as people’s physical appearances, or perhaps even the number plates of surrounding cars and other vehicles.
Tip 3 – Can it gather nighttime footage?
In many cases, accidents will occur in the night time, or at least during low lighting periods. Again, having a dash cam that can’t handle low lighting can be next to useless, so it’s a good idea to select a model that comes with some night vision abilities.
Even though this could mean the dash cam costs a little extra, most people would agree that it’s money well spent when it comes to ensuring the dash cam serves a practical use rather than gathering dust in your car.
Tip 4 – Check the viewing angle
Another easy to overlook feature is the viewing angle that your dash cam offers. In most situations, it’s important to ensure it has at least 140 degrees of vision, which is roughly equal to that of a human’s eye.
However, the best dash cam models will have viewing angles of 180 degrees, and this can make all the difference when it comes to picking up important details that other dash cams might miss out on entirely.
