Buy Consumer feature: shopping for a dashcam
Shopping for a dashcam? Here are the most important things to consider …
As virtually any South African motorist can attest to, the country’s highways and byways are seldom short of drama. Whether it’s a gut-churning crash or simply oblivious motorists behaving badly, there’s often something remarkable happening on the tarmac right in front of you.
Rather than whipping out your smartphone (which you most certainly shouldn’t do behind the wheel) to film that road-rage brawl or catch that crooked traffic cop red-handed, you might consider investing in a dashcam. It may end up paying for itself if you are ever involved in a collision.
There are basic front-facing items, setups that record the cabin environment (best suited for fleet owners who wish to monitor driver behaviour), and more comprehensive systems that include both front- and rear-facing cameras. The thing is, shopping for a dashcam isn’t as straightforward as you might expect, thanks to the multitude of options on offer.
A cursory Google search brings up a variety of onboard surveillance equipment designed for vehicles, some from reputable brands and some from companies you’ve likely never heard of. Prices range from R249 (we’d steer well clear) to north of R5 000 for systems with all the bells and whistles. The shopping process can be pretty intimidating, so here’s what you should look out for.
1. VIDEO QUALITY
The most important consideration is video quality. We’ve sampled cheap dashcams that claim to record in high definition yet, in reality, produce video files in frustratingly low resolution. There’s little point in capturing blurry footage of an incident if the protagonist’s number plate is entirely illegible. We’d recommend full HD with a resolution of 1 080 p (1 920 x 1 080 pixels), although, it’s best to view sample footage from the dashcam in question. Head over to Google or search the product name on Youtube to see real-world examples of the video quality. Try to find night recordings to see how the image sensor copes with low-light conditions. Of course, the higher the resolution, the larger the memory card required which is often a separate purchase. Thankfully, storage is seldom a problem since most dashcams work on a loop recording system. It will overwrite the oldest (three- or five-minute) files only once the card has reached its capacity.
2. LENS ANGLE
What sort of lens angle is best? That’s a tough question to answer, though bear in mind, wider isn’t necessarily better. While an ultrawide-angle lens equals a broader field of view – and increases the chances of your dashcam capturing an incident that’s not directly in front of your vehicle – the trade-off is a certain degree of distortion and reduced resolution. Also, remember that excessively wide angles effectively make everything appear much further away, so an incident you see clearly just a couple of car-lengths ahead might end up just a few pixels wide once you review the footage. As a general rule of thumb, we’d consider a viewing angle of 140° as the best compromise. Interestingly, some models feature adjustable lens angles, should you feel inclined to tinker.
3. CABLE LENGTH
Although the product specifications you’ll find online seldom list the cable length, it’s worth investigating if you plan on installing the dashcam neatly. A lengthy cable can be tucked away under the interior trim, running inconspicuously around the cabin to the chosen power outlet (some draw power from a 12 V outlet; others use USB). Short cables don’t allow such a luxury. A more discreet yet costlier alternative is to hardwire the dashcam to the vehicle.
4. EXTRA FEATURES
Which features will you need and which ones are mere gimmicks? Well, the answer may vary according to your needs and budget, but a G-sensor is indispensable. Thanks to a built-in three-axis accelerometer, a dashcam equipped with a sensor can detect an impact, locking the potentially valuable video file and preventing it from being overwritten. A Gps-tracking feature is useful to pinpoint the location of an incident and record the vehicle’s speed; and Wi-fi capability is great for transferring files to your smartphone for quick and hassle-free viewing. Some dashcams offer seemingly high-end driver assistance features, such as lane-departure warning and speed-limit sign recognition, though these functions rarely perform reliably. They shouldn’t put you off a purchase as they can often be disabled; however, we’d advise against spending extra cash just for these additional features.