Need Advice On What Dashcam to Purchase

[footageraw]

I'm looking to get a Dashcam, there are so many choices. Help would be greatly appreciated.

Budget is about $200-$300. Best bang for the buck preferred.

I would like a dashcam that has the following:

1. Records in 1080p, preferably 60FPS if possible.
2. Does not need to be hardwired.
3. Excellent day recording.
4. Excellent night recording.
5. Ability to distinguish plates at freeway speeds if necessary.
6. Can endure hot summers 90+ Fahrenheit and colder temperatures about 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Discreet or inconspicuos.
8. Records audio.
9. Continuous loop recording.

It does NOT have to have:

1. Parking recording.
2. Rear facing camera.

I've looked at some of the cameras on the front page, but I'm unsure if they are still the best ones to get, or if someone has a better idea of what would suit my needs.

 

[Viking]

Welcome to DCT @footageraw

I see you put a middle high budget, so I would take a look on SG9665gc.
@Street Guardian USA is here on the forum and will take good care of you.
There service level is in top. Take a look in the forum and you will get confirmed.

4. Excellent night recording.
5. Ability to distinguish plates at freeway speeds if necessary.

Lower light mean less good quality for video recording and so does higher speed and it does not matter which brand you choose.

 

[Daleg]

I concur. Good cam, very discreet.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to DCT @footageraw. The SG9665GC is a solid performer.

 

[DT MI]

Welcome to DCT. As has already been mentioned #4 and #5 are pretty much out of the picture for any commercial dash cam so scratch them off your list.

#6 will require a capacitor based (versus battery) camera as it will likely be a 'safer' choice in hot climates. Not to say a battery based camera will go belly up the first time temps go over 90 but for long term reliability a capacitor will be the better choice.

 

[SawMaster]

While SG products are always a good choice, you also mentioned wanting the best "bang for the buck" which I believe you'll get more of with the Viofo A119, or if your decision is more weighted towards night-time performance the A119S does better there. The SG9665 does not significantly out-perform the A119 series cams mostly due to it being an older design. SG's newer products are another matter altogether for their newest designs do offer significantly better performance. In considering the A119's, get only the V2 versions as they are a much improved product.

It is well-known that plate capture is hit-or-miss with any of the current cams at speed. None can do this well, but some do this poorly. One of my favorite cams is a loser in that department but in my usage of it I do not need that as much as I do its other strong points. Maybe better here are the cams which do at least 1080P60fps but that is not the only factor involved. It's something you have to decide for yourself and since you are looking for a primary cam, just avoid the bad ones and you will do OK.

You definitely need a capacitor-powered cam in the heat you mention. There are now plenty of those being made, a large consumer improvement from only a few years ago. There are other good cam choices too; the Thinkware F50 is but one of those in your price range. Do stay with recommended sellers or buy through Amazon to gain some protection against fraud or other problems. You can certainly get cheaper prices elsewhere but those come with a risk you shouldn't take with your first cam (if ever). Once you've narrowed your choices down (or to do that) check out the forums for each cam and see what problems other owners have had and whether they were adequately resolved. No cam is perfect and every one has strong and weak points. The vast user-experiences you find here on DCT is one of he greatest assets of this wevsite so put them to work for you

And welcome to DCT
Phil

 

[kamkar]

Dont focus too much on those plate captures, if you do you will be bummed out with any camera you get, cuz even the best ones still need pretty optimal conditions to be able to do that.

1080/60 Vs 1080/30 i have tested for a while, and i dident really see any reason it was better, okay you have 2 X the chances to get that illusive capture with 60 FPS, but the 30 FPS camera also pretty much always also got that capture.
And in low light for true 60 FPS footage your camera will also have to maintain a higher minimum exposure timing, and today what give good bright low light footage are the cameras dropping down to 1:30 second exposure timings and that's 2 X longer time than the 1:60 second exposure time.
That difference do not equate to the 60 FPS footage then being 2 X darker,,,, by no means, but it will limit low light performance, and even with a 2 X faster exposure timing of 60 FPS you will not see notifiable lesser motion blur in low light footage.