How do you rate a good dashcam?

[RickyC]

At the home page of DCT, I can see this statement:

Welcome to DashCamTalk.
Our reviews reflect the input from our members and their real user experiences.
The ratings are based on 4 primary criteria: Video Quality, Reliability, Price and Size.

I really like those 4 primary criteria.
It will be easier to check out video quality, pricing and size.
It is sometimes hard to know reliability of a dashcam.

the most important thing is that, no matter when and what happens, your dashcam should always have incident video for you.

 

[DrekiTech]

For me personally, reliability is the most important metric.

Video quality gets all the hype, because it's one of the first things that people see when they are looking at reviews. And it is the easiest to compare online with side by side videos. But in the long run, the video quality does not matter if the camera has issues writing to a memory card or overheating.

At my work we are developing processes to test reliability. Heat is one of the biggest factors in dashcam failures and we want to push some cameras to their maximum in a consistent way to measure if they fail, and at what point. But right now if we just blast a camera with the heat gun it is not fair as in we may be a different ambient temp, or we may be a different distance, or whatever else could change the factors.

 

[TonyM]

I agree that reliability ought to be the most important criteria in a dashcam. It can be difficult to appraise though, since each user's setup may be different. Ambient temperature, choice of memory card, quality of power supply can all vary, never mind the array of setup combinations with high and low bitrate & resolution, wifi on/off, parking modes etc.

 

[RickyC]

For me personally, reliability is the most important metric.

Video quality gets all the hype, because it's one of the first things that people see when they are looking at reviews. And it is the easiest to compare online with side by side videos. But in the long run, the video quality does not matter if the camera has issues writing to a memory card or overheating.

At my work we are developing processes to test reliability. Heat is one of the biggest factors in dashcam failures and we want to push some cameras to their maximum in a consistent way to measure if they fail, and at what point. But right now if we just blast a camera with the heat gun it is not fair as in we may be a different ambient temp, or we may be a different distance, or whatever else could change the factors.

Very Interesting.

 

[RickyC]

I agree that reliability ought to be the most important criteria in a dashcam. It can be difficult to appraise though, since each user's setup may be different. Ambient temperature, choice of memory card, quality of power supply can all vary, never mind the array of setup combinations with high and low bitrate & resolution, wifi on/off, parking modes etc.

So true. the memory card should be the first thing to check. don't save money on it.

 

[SawMaster]

1- Reliability above everything else- an unreliable cam isn't worth having no matter what else it does.

2- These are for gathering evidence, so good vid quality day and night with good detail capture. This has to be balanced against resolution; you can't expect a 1080p cam to deliver 4K vids, so I have given top scores to less than top cams with that understanding being clearly noted.

3- Not just size but entire form-factor including the mount. It's not just a cam but a system which is used together so it must be rated together. I highly value stealthiness when installed.

4- User interface, specifically ease of use first then functions. Few people want a cam that you have to check the owners manual anytime you want to do something with it.

5- How well the features work, and how well thought out they are. No cam does everything perfectly, all cams have faults. What matters most is what the faults are and how much that will matter to the average owner.

6- Price: not so much the cost of the cam, but whether it's a good value at that price. You don't get what you don't pay for, but you should always get your money's worth.

Phil

 

[Kremmen]

For me, from experience, I will never buy another dashcam that is mounted to the screen via a ball joint.

Every time you unmount/remount the dashcam the alignment moves. Plus, the ones I've had, over less than perfect roads, you can see vibration.

 

[lacibaci]

1. Reliability
2. Continuous software support.