The 12 mm lens i use might be showing in a tiny bit more than what i would see with my own eyes, but they are also old tired eyes by now.
But in my experiments i have tried ti read plates with my own eyes and call out the plate for the camera to record, and then at home on the PC look at the footage and there i was also able to read the plate.
a 8 mm lens might be more true or maybe it will under perform, but both sizes do feel more natural in distance in the footage.
The lenses are same mount as in action cameras, and cheap CCTV cameras, so it is a 12 mm fine thread, or in CCTV speak S mount i think it is called.
On youtube you will find lots of threads about how to replace lenses on action cameras ASO, it is much the same, the lens are most often secured to the mount with some form of glue, so peel / scratch off what you can, maybe heat up the lens / socket with hair dryer, and then unscrew ( some times pliers can be needed, use something in between it and then lens to increase friction so you dont have to clamp down too hard on the lens )
So you can pretty much just replace the lens in your old camera, and get a new better for the wide perspective, CUZ none of us that have a "zoom" camera in the car would just have that and nothing else.
The camera i used back them was the Joovuu X cam, but it are no longer made and are also old hardware or sensor at least, i am currently using a mobius maxi for the same job, but it too dont have a super sensor, but it is also not garbage for sure.
The advantage with the mobius cameras is their lens are secured with a grub screw, so when it is loosened the lens should screw out with no effort VS the glued in lenses that can be a bit annoying.
The lens are focused by screwing in the lens more or less, and the sweet spot are small so dont secure lens before you are 100% sure the focus are good ( use a mild glue to secure lens not CA glue as its fumes can ruin lens coatings )
Nail polish or something like that should also be fine, maybe even a dab of some paint, just something to fill up the thread so the lens can not slide.
On my current camera i am actually using plumbers tape / teflon tape, to make sure the thread are firm, otherwise 12 mm thread like any can be quite loose and move with mechanical forces like vibrations.
But as i say all dashcams use the same mounting solution, the only problem is if you get a lens that are not meant for use with the size of your sensor size, in that case you can see a little vignetting at the edge of the frame.
Popular places we shop after market lenses are these 2 stores, make sure the lens you select are for megapixel use ( 2 at least ) and have a IR cut filter installed, if the one you fancy dont have it both stores will glue one on for free i think, just need to tell them that is needed in that case.
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There are also some variable lenses, some use these too as it can have say 8 - 12 mm and adjustable focus ring, but i prefer the smaller fixed focus lenses.
Many that play airsoft also have a zoom camera on their rifle, but they tend to use much more zoom lenses to they can film what they are shooting, but then its like 40 - 80 mm lenses, way more then what we need as a dashcam user, but the cameras are often the same ( mobius )
Just have to make sure the camera if you go with another one than the one you have are dashcam compatible, meaning they can start and stop recording with power on.
If the camera you swap lens on have wifi it will make it much more easy to set the focus looking at your phone screen VS a tiny screen on the camera, or in the case of mobius no screen at all.
The focus sweet spot are just within a few degrees on the circumfrence of the lens, so take very little to be in focus or off focus.
Here i am filming out of my #2 floor kitchen window at my little red Suzuki that is parked under 20 M away, so IRL no problem reading the plate out the window and also no problem on the camera though here the focus are not super good.
