I had my first dashcam installed 2-3 year ago. It was a Mio Mivue 618 and the place installing it supplied it. I just asked for a dash cam.
Overall it was an ok camera but i had my complaints about it. The colouring was pretty yellowy/orangey in daylight i thought but i suppose i could live with that. The image quality was reasonable but I wanted better. What my main issue was was i didn't think it picked up registration plates as good as i would like. If i'm behind one at traffic then no problems. If we're at slow speeds then no problems but if someone hits me and does a runner, i'd like to be able to pop the card in my PC, go frame by frame and read what the plate was.
I recently picked up a new (to me) car and thought well Nextbase are a big name so i'll 'upgrade'. I saw a Nextbase 522GW for a good price (the 622GW was too much) and made the purchase, especially after Googling search terms such as "best dash cam 2020" brought up articles putting the 522GW in top spot or if not top spot then somewhere near.
Holy crap, how terrible this dash cam is. Such a grainy image. It's worse than the Mio Mivue I had. I've tried all 3 resolutions available and everything about the imagery is just appalling. Day time is poor even in good daylight. Forget night time and when it comes to reading a registration plate which is what I was really looking for out of a camera then unless you're behind them at the lights then you've no chance. I watched a video back and I had to get fairly close to the car in front at crawling speed and then i could read it. I have no idea where it gets its good reviews from because after this i looked in to it some more and saw some images from other peoples 522GW units as i thought maybe something was wrong with mine - turns out no, that's how they seem to be. How anyone can think it is good quality is beyond me but as i say, maybe i'm looking for something that doesn't exist yet? Without buying every dash cam in the game and trying them all out, i've no idea.
What i'm looking for is really good clarity at speed, not just when stationary. I'm not talking about when passing each other at 200mph but normal everyday driving - what you'd expect in 90% of the time. Good clarity in daylight and at night time. I appreciate night time wont be crystal clear but something decent is a start.
And i don't know what feature is needed in a dash cam to be able to pick up a registration plate when you're passing each other but i want it to be able to do this. There was a car coming over a hill, slightly on my side of the road and he swerved out of the way at the last second. Had he hit me, when i put the video file on my PC i couldn't detect the registration plate. I've tried out 1080ps in 30fps and 60fps without joy.
The option of a rear camera would be nice. I've been without one all this time. I'd prefer to have one as it gives a fuller picture. It's not as important as the 2 criteria above but it would be helpful to have.
Screen would be nice although isn't necessarily vital. I'd prefer a screen to the dash cam but if this was at the expense of a quality unit then i'd let it go.
What should i be looking at?
Overall it was an ok camera but i had my complaints about it. The colouring was pretty yellowy/orangey in daylight i thought but i suppose i could live with that. The image quality was reasonable but I wanted better. What my main issue was was i didn't think it picked up registration plates as good as i would like. If i'm behind one at traffic then no problems. If we're at slow speeds then no problems but if someone hits me and does a runner, i'd like to be able to pop the card in my PC, go frame by frame and read what the plate was.
I recently picked up a new (to me) car and thought well Nextbase are a big name so i'll 'upgrade'. I saw a Nextbase 522GW for a good price (the 622GW was too much) and made the purchase, especially after Googling search terms such as "best dash cam 2020" brought up articles putting the 522GW in top spot or if not top spot then somewhere near.
Holy crap, how terrible this dash cam is. Such a grainy image. It's worse than the Mio Mivue I had. I've tried all 3 resolutions available and everything about the imagery is just appalling. Day time is poor even in good daylight. Forget night time and when it comes to reading a registration plate which is what I was really looking for out of a camera then unless you're behind them at the lights then you've no chance. I watched a video back and I had to get fairly close to the car in front at crawling speed and then i could read it. I have no idea where it gets its good reviews from because after this i looked in to it some more and saw some images from other peoples 522GW units as i thought maybe something was wrong with mine - turns out no, that's how they seem to be. How anyone can think it is good quality is beyond me but as i say, maybe i'm looking for something that doesn't exist yet? Without buying every dash cam in the game and trying them all out, i've no idea.
What i'm looking for is really good clarity at speed, not just when stationary. I'm not talking about when passing each other at 200mph but normal everyday driving - what you'd expect in 90% of the time. Good clarity in daylight and at night time. I appreciate night time wont be crystal clear but something decent is a start.
And i don't know what feature is needed in a dash cam to be able to pick up a registration plate when you're passing each other but i want it to be able to do this. There was a car coming over a hill, slightly on my side of the road and he swerved out of the way at the last second. Had he hit me, when i put the video file on my PC i couldn't detect the registration plate. I've tried out 1080ps in 30fps and 60fps without joy.
The option of a rear camera would be nice. I've been without one all this time. I'd prefer to have one as it gives a fuller picture. It's not as important as the 2 criteria above but it would be helpful to have.
Screen would be nice although isn't necessarily vital. I'd prefer a screen to the dash cam but if this was at the expense of a quality unit then i'd let it go.
What should i be looking at?