Recommendations needed please - 4K front, 1080p rear

[chrisszzyy]

I've recently bought a MK7 Golf and am now on the look out for a proper dash cam setup. I'm looking for the following:

• Integrated 2-channel recording system consisting of:
  • 4K front-facing camera,
  • 1080p (or higher) rear-facing camera,
• Proven reliability,
• Audio recording,
• WiFi/Bluetooth,
• Great nightvision,
• Great in UK weather,
• (Ideally) Support for a 256GB SD Card
• Hardwire kit with selectable voltage cut-off, suitable for my AGM battery

The most important aspect is that it's reliable. I originally had my eyes set on the Nextbase 622GW bundle but I've seen some reports of it freezing, which has totally put me off having previously had an unreliable camera.

Budget wise I'm looking at between £300-£400.

Recommendations please? Thanks in advance.

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum Chrisszzy.

Well parking guard on those rare ( for us ) summer days, can trigger a thermal shut down if you are parked in the sun, sadly most dashcams to my knowledge do not resume parking guard duties when things have cooled down.
As i understand with AGM batteries you can use lower cut off values than with lead / acid batteries, so that is great for long parking guard sessions, but these still have to be matches with drive / charge sessions to make the setup sustainable.

I have no experience with the 4K systems, i am getting one in May i think, and it is even 4K in the back too, but the dride 4K are a kickstarter / indigogo camera, and so for now not tested in any way, it also work with a memory card in each camera, so it is kind of a bastard dual channel system.

Some systems deploy ( most often a accesspory ) radar to extend parking guard durations substantially, this do however mean that in parking guard mode, the system are in a very deep sleet state mode if the radar have not triggered, and so the smart options of these cameras are not there as they are cut out to save power.

 

[thomas-dash]

I think Viofo meets most of those requirements, but I've had issues with WIFI stop working after a firmware update and I'm not impressed with video quality at night. I haven't really messed around with the exposure settings to see if I can improve the video at night.

 

[StrayCam]

I've recently bought a MK7 Golf and am now on the look out for a proper dash cam setup. I'm looking for the following:

• Integrated 2-channel recording system consisting of:
  • 4K front-facing camera,
  • 1080p (or higher) rear-facing camera,
• Proven reliability,
• Audio recording,
• WiFi/Bluetooth,
• Great nightvision,
• Great in UK weather,
• (Ideally) Support for a 256GB SD Card
• Hardwire kit with selectable voltage cut-off, suitable for my AGM battery

The most important aspect is that it's reliable. I originally had my eyes set on the Nextbase 622GW bundle but I've seen some reports of it freezing, which has totally put me off having previously had an unreliable camera.

Budget wise I'm looking at between £300-£400.

Recommendations please? Thanks in advance.

One thing you may not be aware of, and for some reason very few people will mention, is that 4k dashcams run much hotter than non-4k dashcams. Consequently, they are more apt to shut down in hot temps.

In addition 4k dashcams are less effective in low-light (night) situations.

And of course 4k cameras will gobble-up space on your SD card.

Many informed contributors on this forum have mentioned that 1440-resolution dashcams are the "sweet-spot" for dashcams.

Hopefully this information helps you in selecting your new dashcam. - Good luck!

 

[kamkar]

4K cameras are challenged as they put in the number of pixels needed to capture that resolution on a sensor the same size as a 1080p sensor, and so each pixel have to be smaller to accommodate the larger number, and a smaller pixel are not as good at capture light as a big pixel are.
It is for the same reason modern phones in night mode will bin 4 pixels into one, and your 64mpix daytime photos will shrink to 12 mpix night photos.
Or with even larger sensors 9 pixels into one, in order to provide acceptable low light video and photos.

Still i dont think the current 4K cameras ( often using the IMX 415 sensor ) are garbage, cuz they still document pretty good everything you do with your car, which can fend of many claims against you.
But true little details they will not be able to resolve, but neither would the best 1080p sensor with larger pixels, or for that matter your kick ass gopro 10 black action camera.

you can get +4 X larger sensors ( physical size ) that do accommodate large pixels to make up a 4K image, but then the price of your dashcam will be all together different, and so they will probably sell in very few numbers, so no one make dashcams like that.
Also the ability to bin several smaller pixels to make a larger one, i have not yes seen that in a dashcam, it would however be nice to have nice 4K daytime footage, and then at night the camera would change to 4 in 1 bin for better low light footage but then only 1080p resolution.

Even if you have the best low light performing sensor ( 1080p ) and you make a night recording, if you go frame by frame you will notice that still the footage are not that nice, VS if you playback the video the footage look better, but thats just the result of our good brain being good to extrapolate on the meager eyesight humans have.
But looked at live video the low light cameras do look a lot better and brighter, but it will still only have minute influence on small detail capture.

 

[StrayCam]

4K cameras are challenged as they put in the number of pixels needed to capture that resolution on a sensor the same size as a 1080p sensor, and so each pixel have to be smaller to accommodate the larger number, and a smaller pixel are not as good at capture light as a big pixel are.
It is for the same reason modern phones in night mode will bin 4 pixels into one, and your 64mpix daytime photos will shrink to 12 mpix night photos.
Or with even larger sensors 9 pixels into one, in order to provide acceptable low light video and photos.

Still i dont think the current 4K cameras ( often using the IMX 415 sensor ) are garbage, cuz they still document pretty good everything you do with your car, which can fend of many claims against you.
But true little details they will not be able to resolve, but neither would the best 1080p sensor with larger pixels, or for that matter your kick ass gopro 10 black action camera.

you can get +4 X larger sensors ( physical size ) that do accommodate large pixels to make up a 4K image, but then the price of your dashcam will be all together different, and so they will probably sell in very few numbers, so no one make dashcams like that.
Also the ability to bin several smaller pixels to make a larger one, i have not yes seen that in a dashcam, it would however be nice to have nice 4K daytime footage, and then at night the camera would change to 4 in 1 bin for better low light footage but then only 1080p resolution.

Even if you have the best low light performing sensor ( 1080p ) and you make a night recording, if you go frame by frame you will notice that still the footage are not that nice, VS if you playback the video the footage look better, but thats just the result of our good brain being good to extrapolate on the meager eyesight humans have.
But looked at live video the low light cameras do look a lot better and brighter, but it will still only have minute influence on small detail capture.

If your 4k camera will not work because of temperatures, you may as well not have a dash cam! - - if you live in a region where "temperature is not a factor", then the temperature sensitivities of 4K cameras will not be an issue.

Once again, most people are not providing this information to new users such as the original poster. And who knows, perhaps he/she was already aware of the weaknesses of 4k cameras. - Btw these weaknesses are exactly the reason why most informed users on this forum would say 1440 dash cams are the sweet-spot for dashcams in most instances.

Edit: Just as important as a good quality dashcam is "good quality customer service"! Many people feel they are getting a great deal by buying a less expensive camera without considering the "after-purchase-service"; they end up learning the hard way that customer service is very important.

 

[kamkar]

I think for regular use there are no problems, at least i have not heard of it, but when doing parking guard it might well have a negative impact.
In general i dont use parking guard, if i do it is just for 1 hour on the timer, but a few days a year Denmark will be hot enough to probably make it a no go.

There are many examples of bad and also none existing support, there are many 100 brands of dashcams out there you will be wise to ignore, most of these wont even do true 4K but rather extrapolated 4K from a lesser resolution sensor.

 

[LateralNW]

If your 4k camera will not work because of temperatures, you may as well not have a dash cam! - - if you live in a region where "temperature is not a factor", then the temperature sensitivities of 4K cameras will not be an issue.

Viofo website says if you are having heat problems there are configuration changes you can make to reduce heat.

So your 4k camera can still work by turning off unnecessary features like wifi, parking etc.

 

[StrayCam]

Viofo website says if you are having heat problems there are configuration changes you can make to reduce heat.

So your 4k camera can still work by turning off unnecessary features like wifi, parking etc.

One of "the most important" features desired by dashcam consumers is "parking mode" (referred to as parking surveillance by Thinkware), and yet you/Viofo refer to it as an unnecessary feature...

So, yes turn off useful features and limp along with a "dashcam" (edited) that costs way more than the "dashcam" (edited) that informed users on this forum recommend as the "sweet spot" for dashcams... 1440 Resolution. - - And please note that I have not recommended any particular brand of dashcam.

And yes for newbees, you got that right... save money by avoiding a 4k dashcam that is more prone to overheating, doesn't work as well in dark conditions (night) and uses considerably more sd card space... And btw when a dashcam overheats, it remains off for quite a while.

And if the above factors are not important to you, by all means consider a 4k dashcam!

 

[LateralNW]

One of "the most important" features desired by dashcam consumers is "parking mode"

The most important feature is a reliable Dash cam while leading up to and in a collision.
For me the next feature would be cloud but the one I want to use not the companies locked in contract type.
Parking mode seems to let many down. This happens on cars with the battery getting old or only driving the car once a week or the hard wire kit having issues.

So, yes turn off useful features and limp along with a phone that costs way more than the phone that informed users on this forum recommend as the "sweet spot" for dashcams... 1440 Resolution.

I've missed what you are saying here.
How is a phone involved?

What I previously posted wasn't my view but Viofo advice. I only mentioned some of their suggestions and parking was down their list.
You jumped to an incorrect conclusion.
Here's the link.

Why is the camera so hot to touch? Can Dashcams withstand heat?

Yes, It is normal for the camera to get hot during recording, so you can try to avoid touching it. What high temperature can it withstand? Our cameras are equipped with supercapacitors inside and are relatively more heat-resistant. They are ab...

support.viofo.com

The site dashcamtalk is supposed to be to help and have different opinions and not to bully individuals in what you think is the only answer.
Having passion is good but it is a fine line sometimes.

Surprisingly we are not all perfect or all knowing no matter how hard I try.

 

[StrayCam]

The most important feature is a reliable Dash cam while leading up to and in a collision.
For me the next feature would be cloud but the one I want to use not the companies locked in contract type.
Parking mode seems to let many down. This happens on cars with the battery getting old or only driving the car once a week or the hard wire kit having issues.



I've missed what you are saying here.
How is a phone involved?

What I previously posted wasn't my view but Viofo advice. I only mentioned some of their suggestions and parking was down their list.
You jumped to an incorrect conclusion.
Here's the link.

Why is the camera so hot to touch? Can Dashcams withstand heat?

Yes, It is normal for the camera to get hot during recording, so you can try to avoid touching it. What high temperature can it withstand? Our cameras are equipped with supercapacitors inside and are relatively more heat-resistant. They are ab...

support.viofo.com

The site dashcamtalk is supposed to be to help and have different opinions and not to bully individuals in what you think is the only answer.
Having passion is good but it is a fine line sometimes.

Surprisingly we are not all perfect or all knowing no matter how hard I try.

Sorry about mentioning "phones" ... I have no clue how that got there. Maybe late night brain cells colliding...? I edited/fixed those sentences...

All I do on this site is state what I believe to be facts and try to be helpful to others. And I do not bully anyone! But I am amazed at how many people do not bring up the shortcomings of 4K dashcams.

So, if the subject of 4k dashcams comes up with a new user, I will bring it up if no one else does... Why not? People need to be informed.

I personally could care less about video of driving accidents as the odds of me being in an accident are extremely low. One of the main reasons (not the only reason) for me having a dashcam is to be alerted to damage to my car while it's parked. And I like to be informed "if and when" any damage happens to my car via cloud features. I don't care to be surprised hours or days later about damage to my car! It seems many consumers have the same concerns as me as to what's important in a dashcam.

I personally chose a Blackvue cloud dashcam with a great parking mode. And yes, I paid a bit more for BV (but not as much as for a 4k dashcam). And my parking mode has not let me down at all. - - Of course BV and Thinkware are supposed to have top notch parking mode.

And I'm not at all surprised that Viofo doesn't consider parking mode to be important... the parking mode in their cameras reflect that thinking.

In closing, everyone should buy whatever dashcam seems best for them after doing their research. - - If any of the above strikes you as bullying, I apologize... but please let me know if I bullied anyone as that is not my intention. - - Thanks!