Why is the NextBase 522GW so highly rated?

[Steevo25]

Hi All,

First time on here.

I have never really been in to Dash Cams per se, but after being bought one for Xmas I am a bit perplexed.

I got a new car just before Xmas (well new to me anyway) and my wife bought me a NextBase 522GW bundle for Xmas. This included the 522GW, rear camera addon and a hardwire kit. She purchased it based on all the excellent, professional reviews she had seen.

In my old car I had a Garmin which was installed quite a while ago and was just left to do it's thing and has just worked and never been touched since installation.

On Boxing Day I installed the camera (just the front for now), but I just cannot understand what makes this a great camera. It is big and bulky, only accepts a 128gb SD card maximum, is pretty much featureless, and the images are no better or worse than my previous Garmin. Although it is advertised as full of features, it only really has Alexa and Emergency SOS. Emergency SOS is a subscription service that you have to pay extra for (and my car has built in Emergency Assistance for free) and I really can't find a use for the Alexa side of things. At least with my old Garmin it had some useful features such as speed camera warnings and was about a third of the size and has a much more useful parking mode function.

Obviously, I cannot return the camera as it was bought as a present based on excellent reviews and I would start hurting feelings if I did. But I do struggle to see why this camera is so highly rated. Even parking mode only records from the point of impact and not any footage of just before.

This really does seem to take up a lot of windscreen space and I had absolutely no chance of getting it behind the rear view mirror.

The reviews went on about how good the mount is and since the mount receives the power, you don't need to unplug anything from the camera to remove. This is only true until you add the rear camera which has to be physically plugged in to the camera. I have not done the rear camera yet as upon testing it, the magnet on the mount is not very strong so everytime I shut the tailgate, the camera moves.

I guess I am just a bit disappointed as the professional reviews really commend it. I just cannot understand why they have commended it so highly. To me it just seems an average, run of the mill camera that does what every other Dash Cam manages to do and nothing more.

Unless I am missing something here?

 

[DT MI]

...Unless I am missing something here?

Are you familiar with the term 'marketing hype'? In many cases it explains, if not everything, a lot.

Edit: Disclaimer - I do not now, nor have I ever owned an NB product.

 

[kamkar]

You can not really go buy user reviews on sites like ebay / amazon and what not, there is a whole industry selling good reviews, and nothing seem to be done about it.
There is also reviewers on youtube and other social platforms that are highly questionable, and if they them self dont do it, then brands with X product will push them in the direction they want.
Also it is not uncommon at least for people with 0 experience in dashcams to have inflated hopes for what a dashcam will do for them, and then they feel let down once they have had a little time with the camera.

And that are just image quality, then come the smart stuff in some brands cameras, which open up another bucket of worms, which to me is just more things that can go wrong.
Personally when i see the word smart in relation to anything i get highly apprehensive.

 

[Steevo25]

That's all very true. Usually when I buy something, I go and physically look and kind of try before I buy. But obviously my wife doesn't know anything about Dash Cams so just scoured the review sites to see what would be a good buy and has basically got drawn in to what she thought was an excellent product.

I would not have bought this just based on the size alone. A massive 3 inch screen that is of no use at all as the last thing you want to see when driving is a screen on. And day to day, these things should just be left alone unless you have a reason to view footage.

The parking mode function is totally useless. All it shows you is a car driving away with no physical proof it actually hit you. My other camera shows you about 10 seconds before the incident so there is indisputable proof they hit you.

 

[Nigel]

NextBase 522GW

What is that? Can't find NextBase listed:

Best Dash Cams of 2021 - DashCamTalk

The best dash cams available to purchase in 2021.

dashcamtalk.com

Of course there is a subforum by that name on this website, but you might be happier not reading that!

A massive 3 inch screen

People have different desires, to some a 3" screen is a sales feature, while others demand no screen at all.

The parking mode function is totally useless. All it shows you is a car driving away with no physical proof it actually hit you. My other camera shows you about 10 seconds before the incident so there is indisputable proof they hit you.

That does have the advantage that it can use very little power while sleeping, until it is hit. The ones that record before being woken up have to use significant power all the time and do drain your batteries. Again different people want different things.

But the lesson is, don't believe the review sites, or magazines, find some people who actually use the devices - a forum where you can have a sensible discussion.

Welcome

 

[Ukraine Visitor]

"Obviously, I cannot return the camera as it was bought as a present based on excellent reviews and I would start hurting feelings if I did."

No, it's not obvious. You can be yourself, return the camera, and get something you really like. "Hurting feelings"? 50% of men choose to be "themselves" as shown by divorce stats. So, hold your ground, be yourself and be happy. To answer your question, this is what you're missing here. Cheers.

 

[Steevo25]

Totally agree. What is great for one person is useless to someone. It's all about needs and wants.

I would say the parking mode is no use at all. It might save power but at the expense that it doesn't serve it's purpose. I tested it by heavily rocking the front of the car. All it recorded was me walking away from the car. If that was real life the footage wouldn't have proved anything. I could have just turned around and said 'It wasn't me guv' and nothing could prove it was. On my old one, the footage showed me walking up to the car, rocking it and then walking away. Can't get away with that one.

 

[kamkar]

I have only now been able to test parking guard in a camera, and i like it but would not use it for longer than the 1 hour on the timer i use, and this cover all my parking while shopping.
He say just having his car broken into a few days ago, and so having ordered a expensive CCTV camera so he can again have a camera like that on his parked car at night.

But the using parking mode all the time, thats just too big a toll on the power of the car, at least with my amount of driving, so thats never going to happen for me unless i strike it big in the lottery.

 

[Steevo25]

My Garmin runs in parking mode all the time. It spent 2 weeks in an airport car park and car started straight away.

 

[Kremmen]

I had 3 Nextbase dashcams 402, 412, 380, and I was never really happy with any of them.

I looked at the series 2 specs and I could see potential problems which have been borne out here with posted problems.

I found a new manufacturer and design and I couldn't be happier.

 

[WeedeaterDM]

But obviously my wife doesn't know anything about Dash Cams so just scoured the review sites to see what would be a good buy and has basically got drawn in to what she thought was an excellent product.

I know the feeling when opening a present and then slumping down and shaking my head slightly asking myself why did she get this for me. It's not hard telling her not to buy stuff for me, but doesn't seem to stop her either.

 

[SawMaster]

I know the feeling when opening a present and then slumping down and shaking my head slightly asking myself why did she get this for me. It's not hard telling her not to buy stuff for me, but doesn't seem to stop her either.

Something every man has to figure out for himself. As long as "Mom" is happy and smiling you've done the job successfully

Phil