Hi to all,
After an unfortunate accident, when somebody bumped into my car's back bumper while it was parked in a public lot and left without leaving a trace, I decided it was time to get a dashcam.
I've spent many hours researching the web, including this site that looks like an awesome source. Managed to narrow my choices to a few models, but now I'm stuck at that. It looks like most of the dashcam reviews on the web don't take into consideration what is really important, like functionality or reliability.
I don't need anything fancy. Not sure I'll ever use stuff like ADAS or even GPS, and don't care much about the video quality, as long as it's possible to discern the number on the license plate of a car that bumps into mine . Basically, that's the main or the only reason I'm looking for a dashcam. And in all likelihood I'll only use it when the car is parked in public spaces, not when the car is at home.
I guess I need a dual cam, just in case that someone bumps into my car's behind again. And I guess Uber-like cams won't help in this case. So I concentrated on front + rear cams. All the models above, Viofo A129 Duo, Viofo A129 Duo Plus, Anker Roav DashCam Duo, 70mai A800, Vantrue S1, 70mai A800, Bluesky B2W look good. I see that Bluesky B2W is a front + interior cam, but if the lenses are fully rotatable, that means it can cover front and rear, right?
I can get Anker Roav Duo really cheap, but the review here says the video quality is pretty poor. The question is should it be a dealbreaker, keeping the above in mind? And the 70mai A800 looks really good on paper, but it has a battery instead of a capacitor, and someone said that its parking mode is not effective because it only starts recording after a bump is detected. Again, I'm not really sure about the practical implications of that.
Viofo seems to get the best reviews, but isn't its hardware (particularly the optical sensors) a bit outdated now? And I couldn't find any useful reviews for Viofo A129 Duo Plus, that at least on paper seems preferable, and costs not much more. And then there is Vantrue S1, that also looks good, and can be a bit cheaper than Viofo.
I also don't quite get the thing with the hardwiring kit. I understand it's used to plug the cam to the car's battery, but is that the only way to use the cam in parking mode, like to capture any event when your care is damaged while parking?
Sorry for the multitude of questions, but as the title says, I'm pretty confused. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
After an unfortunate accident, when somebody bumped into my car's back bumper while it was parked in a public lot and left without leaving a trace, I decided it was time to get a dashcam.
I've spent many hours researching the web, including this site that looks like an awesome source. Managed to narrow my choices to a few models, but now I'm stuck at that. It looks like most of the dashcam reviews on the web don't take into consideration what is really important, like functionality or reliability.
I don't need anything fancy. Not sure I'll ever use stuff like ADAS or even GPS, and don't care much about the video quality, as long as it's possible to discern the number on the license plate of a car that bumps into mine . Basically, that's the main or the only reason I'm looking for a dashcam. And in all likelihood I'll only use it when the car is parked in public spaces, not when the car is at home.
I guess I need a dual cam, just in case that someone bumps into my car's behind again. And I guess Uber-like cams won't help in this case. So I concentrated on front + rear cams. All the models above, Viofo A129 Duo, Viofo A129 Duo Plus, Anker Roav DashCam Duo, 70mai A800, Vantrue S1, 70mai A800, Bluesky B2W look good. I see that Bluesky B2W is a front + interior cam, but if the lenses are fully rotatable, that means it can cover front and rear, right?
I can get Anker Roav Duo really cheap, but the review here says the video quality is pretty poor. The question is should it be a dealbreaker, keeping the above in mind? And the 70mai A800 looks really good on paper, but it has a battery instead of a capacitor, and someone said that its parking mode is not effective because it only starts recording after a bump is detected. Again, I'm not really sure about the practical implications of that.
Viofo seems to get the best reviews, but isn't its hardware (particularly the optical sensors) a bit outdated now? And I couldn't find any useful reviews for Viofo A129 Duo Plus, that at least on paper seems preferable, and costs not much more. And then there is Vantrue S1, that also looks good, and can be a bit cheaper than Viofo.
I also don't quite get the thing with the hardwiring kit. I understand it's used to plug the cam to the car's battery, but is that the only way to use the cam in parking mode, like to capture any event when your care is damaged while parking?
Sorry for the multitude of questions, but as the title says, I'm pretty confused. Any feedback would be much appreciated.