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  • by Kristin Shaw
  • May 10th, 2017

Want to Record Your Driving? Here’s a Rundown of Some of the Best Dash Cams

Dash cameras are wildly popular in Europe and are gaining in popularity in the US. Whether you want to record your drives for insurance purposes in the event of a collision, or to show off your superior driving skills on the road or around the track, there are plenty of options ranging in price from $48 to $250. Or, if you want to shell out some serious cash, you can spring for the new Jaguar F-Type 18MY sports car equipped with ReRun through a partnership with GoPro. Here’s the rundown on some of the best dash cams and more on that Jaguar.

Here’s How Dash Cams Work

Most dash cams attach to your windshield using a suction cup. Loop recording keeps you from having to manually erase hours of footage you don’t want or need. They’re designed to record over existing footage when the memory is full. Most dash cams have a sensor that detects sharp turns, rapid braking, and other signs of collision and then saves that footage automatically.

Dash cams are equipped with wide-angle lenses which help capture and record more of the areas surrounding the car. They’re also equipped with built-in microphones to capture audio along with video. Most are able to capture 30 frames per second (fps) but some can capture 60fps for fast action footage.

Five of the Most Popular Dash Cams

The world’s best-selling dash cam just happens to be the least expensive at $48. The Novatek G1W comes ready to use right out of the box and includes a windshield mount, car adapter, Mini-USB cable, and HDMI cable. The G1W is equipped with a 2.7-inch LCD screen with easy to adjust settings. It also includes a G-sensor that detects if the car has been in a collision and automatically saves that footage. It’s an excellent choice for someone just getting started using dash cams and provides great video quality.

If you’re looking for something extremely compact, the Mobius Action Cam has you covered. Priced at $80, this action cam is small enough to fit on your keychain and can be attached to remote control planes, cars and drones. It can also be attached to helmets and bicycle handlebars—you’ll catch all the action. Its compact size requires a few sacrifices like the G-sensor, GPS and a built-in screen. Its primary function is that of an action cam, but it can be configured into a reliable dash cam using a Windows PC.

If you want to go big, go with the Papago P2 Pro. This dash cam owes its bigger size to all the features it provides. In addition to the G-sensor, the Papago PS Pro offers safety features including lane departure warning and a driver fatigue alarm. It also lets you know when you need to turn on your lights, if you’re entering stop and go driving conditions and when a collision is imminent. At $145 it’s a good choice for a professional driver or someone who spends a lot of time on the road.

The Cobra Drive HD CDR 900 dash cam isn’t just about having video footage in case of an accident—it’s also about entertainment. The Drive HD CDR 900 is Wi-Fi-enabled allowing users to transfer videos to their smartphones using a free Drive HD app for iOS and Android devices. Then the videos can be uploaded to social media to entertain all your friends with your road trip antics. Priced at $250, the CDR 900 can be used as a dedicated dash cam or an action camera using the standard suction-cup vehicle mount or a special lanyard attachment.

Garmin is getting in on the dash cam manufacturing action with its Dash Cam 20. Priced at $250, the Dash Cam 20 is about simplicity. The 2.3” LCD display is bright and offers easy-to-navigate menus for adjusting the camera settings and reviewing video footage. It’s an attractive discreet all black camera that can easily be set up in less than five minutes. It’s also powered by a rechargeable battery instead of a power cord making it possible to use the camera outside of your vehicle for documenting collision damage.

About that Jaguar

If you’re looking to document your superior driving skills, you’ll be happy to know that Jaguar has teamed up with GoPro to produce ReRun, an app designed to record high-quality video with real-time performance data while you’re operating the newly announce F-Type 18MY sports cars.

This luxury sports vehicle’s technology connects to a GoPro camera placed on the dash to create a series of video clips from your drive. It also provides overlaid data like speed, throttle, gear selection and steering wheel angle. The new F-Type starts at around $62,000 and goes up to $134,000 for the fully loaded top-of-the-line model. But just think how impressive your driving footage will be!

About the Author

Kristin Shaw is a writer, blogger, and marketing professional based in Austin, Texas. She was named a BlogHer Voice Of The Year in 2014 and 2015, and her work has been featured nationally at sites like The Huffington Post and The Washington Post. Her experience includes 20 years in marketing with technology and telecommunications companies, the last 10 in aviation IT. She has a deep love for automobiles passed down from her father and has a penchant for high-end sports cars and 1950s-era sedans.

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