New Dash Camera Recomendations

voyagerxp

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Hi guys i'm Steve & i'm new to this forum hoping to get some help on buying a new dash cam. Ive been using a NextBase 512GW and the rear 12GWRC since they were released but now the front camera doesn't hold a charge and the other day when i returned to my car the front dash can had come off the screen and after sticking it back on the rear cam won't even show up anymore, not sure if its the cable or the socket. So i've been thinking of getting a new front and back but not sure on what to get.
 
If you haven't seen this section of the site it's a good starting point for narrowing down your choices:

 
If you haven't seen this section of the site it's a good starting point for narrowing down your choices:

This is a good list to check but I see it hasn't been updated since early January, making it nearly 9 months old. Surely there's at least one or two good new dashcams that have been released since then?

Right now, looking at all the various videos I'm thinking about getting a Yi Compact Dash cam which is on Aliexpress for 32 dollars at the moment. But any better option would be preferred as I feel like it will most likely just die after a few months just like my previous Xiaomi dashcam.
 
This is a good list to check but I see it hasn't been updated since early January, making it nearly 9 months old. Surely there's at least one or two good new dashcams that have been released since then?
Normally at this time of year I complain that the list is out of date, but this year, partly due to covid, it is still a fine list.

The Viofo A129+ (Dual channel 2K + 1080) is about to go on sale which will change things a bit for the dual cameras if it proves problem free, there is a Zenfox T3 to add to the taxi cams, the Nextbase 622 has arrived, but despite good image quality I wouldn't expect it to go in the list due to having a battery and general unreliability from Nextbase, I would add the Viofo MT1 as a dual motorcycle camera, maybe Streetguardian SG9663DR Dual Remote in a new category.

There are some more cameras coming soonish, so the list will go out of date, but cameras do need a little time to prove themselves before they get added, so it is not time to add any of the above yet!
 
Right now, looking at all the various videos I'm thinking about getting a Yi Compact Dash cam which is on Aliexpress for 32 dollars at the moment. But any better option would be preferred as I feel like it will most likely just die after a few months just like my previous Xiaomi dashcam.
It is not worth going too cheap, you must have something reliable otherwise it is wasted money. For most people a dashcam is part of their insurance budget, if it works then it is worth more than the cost of a tank of fuel, and potentially far more, especially if it is a long term investment, which the cheap cameras never are!
 
It is not worth going too cheap, you must have something reliable otherwise it is wasted money. For most people a dashcam is part of their insurance budget, if it works then it is worth more than the cost of a tank of fuel, and potentially far more, especially if it is a long term investment, which the cheap cameras never are!
For sure, wholly agree with you although 'expensive' does not necessarily equal good quality it seems, had recently traded in my 50 euro Xiaomi Mijia Dashcam (which is somewhat similar to the Yi) for a Wimius 2.5k dashcam which was around 110 euros on Amazon. After acquiring it someone ran a red light and hit my car during the night and later noted you could barely make out anything on the footage. Thus I'm looking for something that at least makes nearby license plates legible at night.

Anyway long story short, I've been reviewing a lot of footage, also from the more expensive models recommend here and now by you but either they are not available here in the Netherlands or I'm not convinced by the recording quality at night.

However, what do you think about the new 70Mai A800 4K dashcam? The previous model is available here so maybe that's worth checking out once it releases (So I can get a warranty which isn't the case with i.e. the BlackVue models or some of the Viofo models)?
 
However, what do you think about the new 70Mai A800 4K dashcam? The previous model is available here so maybe that's worth checking out once it releases (So I can get a warranty which isn't the case with i.e. the BlackVue models or some of the Viofo models)?
I've not seen it to give a review, I will point out that the sensor it is using is good for daylight, it is not going to be the best at night being quite a small 4K sensor, and given your story I would instead go with the list and suggest a 2K camera such as the Viofo A119 V3 or A129 (preferably + model) if you want the dual channel. Viofo give a decent factory warranty, I would expect it to be warranted through Amazon, although you would want to make sure it comes from an official source and fulfilled by Amazon, not sure what the official source is for your country, here it is MycrocamUK, they might be an issue for long term warranty in EU though!
 
They're getting some good results from the 70mai Pro with modified firmware but ut's single-channel. The A119v3 is another good single channel. Dual-channel cams can't yet offer the same level of vid performance due to processor limitations, but of them the A129 Duo (not 'pro' or '+') seems to be the most reliable. When you get into the top-spec 2-channel cams you begin encountering issues, so you have to learn what they are and decide if you can live with them.

As always, do your research well, and don't count on there being improvements coming as they may not happen. It's the norm for dashcams and doubly true for newer models.

Phil
 
Thanks for your replies Nigel and SawMaster, your messages were helpful. Seems like this is a pretty nice forum
 
The Vava mount is not very solid, the cam is large and draws attention to it by it's odd shape, the performance is only average for cams today, and it doesn't use supercaps. Maybe not a bad cam, but not one worth choosing today. Many better choices than the Vava.

The biggest problem with 'crowd-sourced' devices is that if the funding doesn't happen quickly, by the time it's there the product will be equaled or surpassed by the devices already being marketed by established companies. Oftentimes there's not enough money for future support or upgrades. And more often than not, the inventor doesn't know and understand the business they're going into well enough to be competitive enough to stay alive. Of all the new cam companies I've seen who started on a limited budget or were crowdsourced, only one has become solidly established and they address only one specialized 'niche market' which nobody else addresses well because of the market size limitations. Dashcams seem simple until you find the problems in development which even well-established large manufacturers sometimes struggle with.

That's also why I won't recommend new models or new companies until they've been tested and developed well enough for me to believe they're not going to give a new buyer problems. The A129+ is probably OK but we haven't seen enough of it yet for my vote of confidence. The A129 is well established and all the issues seem to have been found and addressed reasonably well or better.

Phil
 
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