Almost EVERYONE is Wasting Money on Dash Cams.

[@MaesQb]

I spent hours researching dash cams a year or so ago and it’s almost maddening how awful, sparse and misrepresented information on dash cams is. I was totally surprised how under developed they are. This is a video that is really necessary.

[@notsocomplex9458]

I feel the same when searching for anything now a days. It's so overwhelming to find something you want and can enjoy.

[@seollenda]

What did you end up with?

[@hybrid9mm]

@@seollenda a Tesla 😂

[@SeraphX2]

I have a Rexing 1080p. it works just fine and the video is just that: clear, crisp 1080p. Everyone is reacting in the comments like just because LTT called them out a little that they are shit and nothing here is worthy of purchase because they all use the same chip. I don't need to spend 400$ on a camera solution for my car.

[@rwiersema]

Exactly the same for me. My parents wanted one for their car. And after a lot of research I ended up getting them the VIOFO A129 Pro Duo it has a 4K front camera (IMX317) and a 1080p rear camera. I'm kinda happy this video came to pretty much the same conclusion (even if they used a cheaper camera)

[@pudelz]

My #1 rule with dashcams: go off the assumption that it didn't capture the license plate so leave the audio recording on and say the license plate.

[@support2587]

Nice tip!

[@LeoLeahy]

That's actually very good advice 👌🏻

[@doodlecaboodle9298]

This!

[@MiGujack3]

In practice you will fail due to adrenaline.

[@juliocastroh.4864]

@@MiGujack3 nope

[@christopherrice4816]

THIS is the kind of content that we need. Calling out trash markets and helping people find honest answers, doing the side-by-side comparisons they can't do. Thanks for this! Glad to know the Rove R2-4K I got as a gift is not far from really the peak in the market and is "good enough" if not overpriced a bit.

[@sjain8853]

@@deadzio in the UK viofo is pretty popular still

[@kumasire4430]

@@deadzio 11:03 ??

[@HydratedBeans]

Yeah more of this please

[@anony3615]

Wish they would review the camera quality on tesla''s

[@QwadirMoran]

is your profile pic from Invent Animate?

[@briski080]

I beg to differ. Mine paid for itself within the first month when I got side swiped. I gave the video to the insurance companies and his insurance did not argue and paid for the damage. Worth every penny.

[@ninjascoob]

I had someone hit my mirror outside my house and thanks to my BlackVue I got their number plate and was able to trace them and when confronted they paid for the repairs

[@HarmonicDuality]

Soon insurance companies will start dismissing video evidence as "AI generated."

[@xtrakulgy]

anecdotal evidence does not help when most of the time its useless.

[@leandrolaporta2196]

@@briski080 same here, guy cut me off from the right, and couldn't brake fast enough, here, a right (passenger side) hit is your fault no matter what, so I give the insurance company the video and they contact me right away that I was right and the other guy will have to pay for repairs

[@haywireES]

@@xtrakulgy by that logic insurance is useless as well

[@someryebread]

We need more vids like this, the lack of reliable info about consumer electronics outside the "tech space" is maddening. Well done LMG and shout-out to the writer that helped do all the research.

[@VanquishedAgain]

There is a website that does this in depth. The big problem here is Amazon. They need to stop putting "Amazon's choice" next to obvious garbage.

[@manitverma4425]

agreed! Dash cams, drawing tablets, budget phones, headphones, etc. Stuff like this helps us decide, making it something very important for those who are looking to buy that product. These videos are things we can always count on!

[@manitverma4425]

@@VanquishedAgain yeah, the problem really is amazon's feedback system that sometimes makes bad reviews 5 stars, lets sellers merge good feedbacks with products that are obviously garbage

[@Kas_Styles]

@@VanquishedAgain what's the website?

[@revsnowfox5798]

Absolutely, if you try to find legitimate technical info or reviews on consumer electronics or home appliances, it's maddening how hard to find anything for products that are not from huge global brands or are not in the high-end price bracket.

[@TorqueTestChannel]

This is the kind of vids the world needs. Amazon reviews and specs are almost useless, something that applies to a growing number of categories of products

[@oldfrend]

agree. even the non-paid reviews are often written by idiots who don't know the technical details of why a product is good or bad. it's exhausting reading half a review just to figure out the writer is clueless. then going on and on. i almost always search for professional reviews instead.

[@kidShibuya]

Your channel is great for those, at least for flashlights. I only wish your reviews covered bicycle lights. But I think bike lights are more legit.. at least I hope.

[@CNe7532294]

Sounds like brick and mortar stores aren’t so useless after all lol. Even videos can be faked or reviews can take years to update by a reliable channel (cause you know, other topics to cover). Want quality now? Show up in person.

[@SirDragonClaw]

@@CNe7532294 Brick and mortar stores are even worse. There you get even worse suggestions by the staff who know nothing, and then you get the privilege of paying more because you have to pay the wages for the unhelpful staff. And most brick and mortar places won't let you return an item unless its broken, unlike amazon where if the video quality is crap you can just return the item, no questions asked.

[@anthonytech]

Wow didn’t think I’d see TTC comment on an LTT video. Love your channel

[@avdpost]

If there was ever a reason for LTT labs it's this kind of in depth content that I think justifies it. It's a damn awesome public service.

[@kevs1768]

Damn right it is. I’ve been thinking about getting the blackvue dashcams since a lot of people worship this dashcam but I trust Linus on this one.

[@forbiddenera]

Seriously, this is one thing that it's better to go to someone in a shop who does this all day everyday..you won't find the good ones on Amazon.. we don't even touch ones people bring from Amazon...all garbage

[@JarofMayonaise]

LTT is not a public service, it is a business that is the business of making money. They are not PBS seeking donations from the public so they can continue making content.

[@teemofie]

They cold have saved a fortune by just asking Techmoan!

[@johnsuckher3037]

I think this video is totally miss on what is important. It seems main criteria was number plate which is useful for cops and nobody else. So if the labs pick wrong criteria not much use out of them. From the audio talks it seems they will go Sony/Bose headphones best already when it seems it's more mainstream approach than comparing sound.

[@jessejames5081]

It's time to do an update on this video. It was 2 years ago and we would like to see if anything has changed on the market. Thank you!

[@Irishman8778]

Agreed

[@valteck_]

Yes please ! If anyone have 1 dash to recommanded, send it here please ! :)

[@charbo187]

@@valteck_ everyone on the dashcams subreddit recomends Viofo A119 Mini 2 because it's cheap and has the "best" image sensor Sony Starvis 2. I'm currently doing research trying to find anything better. one that I THINK might be good is nexar beam mini2 because it comes with an OBDII cable for power and parking mode. downsides is that it doesn't take an SD card so you're stuck with whatever amount of storage you get 64/128/256 and it requires a subscription for their cloud service...

[@Archfiend90210]

@charbo187 I went with Vantrue (I went with the Nexus5). Only just installed it two days ago and haven't had a chance to test it out since I haven't driven anywhere so far. However, my comment was more in regards to the obd2 option. Vantrue has an OBD2 Hardwire Kit.

[@PR-fk5yb]

Well I think this is better on AMZN. A129 Pro Duo 4K double 3840 x 2160p Ultra HD 4K. 300$ CAN... I have not tried it but the specs are different. A review of these would be nice.

[@Aerowind]

I think the problem here is that people run Dashcams for liability purposes, not to read things like license plates. People just need to see what happened. Almost every car accident devolves into a he said she said issue, and having video proof to back up that you're not at fault is worth a million words.

[@robbycheaib1719]

Exacly

[@Marc_Fuchs_1985]

True dat, but what about hit and run? Somebody may have hit you and quickly disappears. You think, no biggie, got the camera running. Only then to find out, that the plate was not readable in any frame. Just an example, but one thing is definately true: Even a bad dashcam is better than no dashcam.

[@juny1624]

​@@Marc_Fuchs_1985 yeah but you can get the description of the vehicle, color, make and model for sure

[@ZakGerraty1]

Yep as a motor insurance claims adjuster it’s an invaluable tool. Personally think it should be made a requirement of most insurance policies.

[@thegprince93]

It's still a very useful video letting us know that image quality doesn't increase with price. He's saving us $$$

[@automata.]

I wish the video explored using alternative methods like the GoPro setup mentioned. How much would it cost? How big is the quality improvement? Is it practical to setup? All of these are left unanswered other than "it should look good"

[@jasper5945]

+1

[@critical_eye1]

+2

[@bologna3048]

I'm not even sure what was so inconvenient about it, I'm not opposed to doing something a little "weird" if the end result is a higher quality. The only feature i need is visual fidelity, license plates, faces, etc. I conceal carry too so it's always a good idea to always prove you're being a legal gud boi in case god-forbid something REALLY bad goes down.

[@WarioNumberOne]

@@bologna3048 I'd say the inconveniences with a GoPro would be that you have tu turn it on and start recording manually every time you start your car, as well as having to periodically empty it yourself to free up storage

[@nickstrands]

Alternatively, I wonder if they could have dove into somewhat DIY solutions (raspberry pi with camera module perhaps?) and see if it could work in terms of expenses and real-world usage but that would perhaps be a video in itself (and take a lot of time and research)

[@M-X39462]

In a society where even reviews and ratings are fake, we need more videos like this

[@vaisakh_km]

and there are a lot of videos that are fake tooo...

[@Hackanhacker]

@@vaisakh_km Heu ... its not the same at all A texte and a known personality talking to us every week is REALLY MUCH different ! How can you base a value of an opinion of a suposed random personne somewhere that most likely doenst even know how to write a review and is just mad or what ever else or its fake. bit or created by the seller ... (a text and a username) what about a youtuber you are following for many years what about a youtuber having an expertise in what he is showing to us etcetc we see there faces behaviour there smiles and there expression and all you can say easely if someone is bullshiying just yhere for youtube money or like here someone with a passion or a good interest huh ... what about that lol !!!

[@riothero313]

That's one of the MAJOR reasons I quit buying from amazon. It was one of their best selling points early on. Seeing honest reviews from users and also gaining their knowledge of what to expect and things that might happen with the product. Once they became fake it took away a big reason I even spent money there. Oh and amazon will also remove hundreds or even thousands of real reviews of books for political motivations, so yeah there is that too.

[@ddtx4576]

A Cobra SC 200D would have beat any of those cameras in features and image quality at only $140 in 1080p mode. It can do up to 1600p without the optional back camera. I guess that's Canada redtape. I got mine as a gift purchased from the local BestBuy

[@maziasty]

You paid by Linus? Or maybe you do it for free?

[@seanjacobs4723]

I'm not as worried about hit and runs as someone lying saying the accident was my fault.

[@redeyesb.dragonite8562]

I mean, it isn't you and the other person that decide fault, it's normally the insurance company.

[@seanjacobs4723]

@redeyesb.dragonite8562 true. But if I'm by myself and then there is 2 in the at fault car, they are going to believe the 2 over me.

[@dirkhaar2243]

@@seanjacobs4723 photos, photos, photos. I had two guys and the arrving cops against me and wiped the ticket and the claims away, laughing with the judge on the phone, who said "How dare they claim your jeep pushed their Mercedes 2m over the drawn line but only have one vertical 5cm scratch where you could not have hit them?" So that turned against them and led to a legal case against them... (btw. not some crooks but consultants like I am).

[@Demonslayer20111]

​@@redeyesb.dragonite8562obviously. But camera footage doesn't lie, and you can provide said footage to the insurance

[@goofycomputer1234]

@seanjacobs4723 exactly no more he said she said..let's look at the proof

[@Smedley61]

I bought three cheap dashcams a few years ago. They paid for themselves a few months later when I was hit by someone and the officer said it appeared to be a no fault accident (on surface appearances-understandable). I sent the dashcam footage to my insurance company and got my $1000 deductible returned to me and they pursued the other party. In another instance, I witnessed an accident and it was caught on my dashcam. I left my name as a witness with the state patrol. Later when they called me, what I witnessed completely contradicted with what the at fault driver had told the officer. I sent the officer the dashcam footage. He called me back later and thanked me and said it changed the case completely.

[@parimal3506]

Nice to know your experience. Could you Pl. tell what cameras were fitted in your car? Thank you.

[@eddyvideostar]

Dear Smedley 61 The dash camera is wonderful for working with your insurance company, enhancing your credibility, and being re-embursed. ------------- But, being *an extra nose in random situations* can be a nuisance -- but good, for a *genuine* Samaritan -- if you want to be!

[@shanestacotuesdayreviews6885]

Snitch

[@Toni_Snark]

@@shanestacotuesdayreviews6885 Witness

[@shanestacotuesdayreviews6885]

@@Toni_Snark Karen

[@dlaroc]

i had someone hit me on the side and when i contacted her company, they tried saying she told them something else. i mentioned i had dashcam footage and the reps whole tone changed and she told me theyre taking care of everything. i got a whole new door and side panel, plus a rental that was nicer than my car for almost two weeks. dashcam is worth it to me.

[@Mike-nf6nf]

Bonus points if the rep got breast cancer. :)

[@cometcal2]

Unfortunately, insurance customer service reps are expected to serve their company's interests. It's important to find a good insurance agent that serves your interest.

[@aeptacon]

which would you recommend please lol

[@hebercluff1665]

​@@cometcal2I have family in insurance. Most insurance claim handles don't give a #### about company interests OR the customers. They just want to get your claim out of their hair as soon as possible.

[@cometcal2]

​@@aeptacon Long time , experienced agencies that are able to choose from a variety of carriers for you. They know the strengths and weaknesses of each company. Start by going on Yelp to see auto insurance agentcy reviews for your local area.

[@T.C]

The real question is why are car manufacturers putting so many cameras on cars but don't give people the option to use them as a dashcam

[@hrmny_]

They want to sell it to you as a subscription in the future

[@Hackanhacker]

@@hrmny_ ikr lol 😑

[@josdebakker6150]

@@hrmny_ they already do sadly enough, welcome to the Future ....

[@turkishgod5903]

Tesla and Cadillac does.

[@josdebakker6150]

Mercedes as well

[@paulmallory3401]

This is the comprehensive info I look for in all product reviews to help me make the most informed buying decisions I can. Tytyty!!

[@greent26tube]

So, so, so glad you made this. It was DESPERATELY needed. Whoever’s idea it was deserves some serious praise.

[@jkoblivion4175]

This is not only reviews. This is Public service. You guys rock.

[@longshot7590]

Please do this type of review again! You raised the awareness that most of these suck - I'm hoping some company heard that and realizes there is tons of money to be made by hitting one out of the park!

[@donniev8181]

From what I've seen the review just made companies adjust their pricing lol

[@Plasmastorm73]

Do you own a cell phone? The camera on that is already WAY better than these garbage dash cams. You can get a mount for $15 to $20 USD

[@ethanqueen]

​@Plasmastorm73_n5evv Unfortunately that isn't really an option if you want it while you're parked or such. It could actually make sense to get a dedicated phone for this purpose though, or even an old phone and power bank.

[@Demonslayer20111]

​@@Plasmastorm73the advantage of a dashcam is that it can be attached and forgotten about, if hardwired to automatically turn on when the car is. Can't do that with a phone. Most mid to high end cams also have motion sensing to turn on when needed in parking mode so the battery in your car doesn't drain. Phones don't do that. Also a mounted phone is much more likely to get your car broken into.

[@Tomthe_duck]

When I was working as an adjuster I had a claim where an insured said he had the plate for a hit and run driver (there was no police report yet). I was like, cool, did you get a good photo? And he was like "No, the damn plate fell off his car I can send it to you" 🤣

[@TheBlank8234]

Hahaha so he in fact, literally, had the plate.

[@silentkills7777]

I would absolutely LOVE if you would do something similar to this for HOME CAMERA'S!! There are so many and image quality, security, privacy, etc are all so important and make it difficult to decide! Thanks for such an informative video!

[@rezenclowd3]

I personally like Ubiquities 4k lineup. Easy, good to great quality, many reviews out there.

[@LukasTheBlue]

Or Wyze as a cheaper and simpler alternative. Ubiquity is definitely better, but you have to be willing to get your hands dirty and pay a bunch.

[@Bren-AUS]

I've tried them all and Eufy is the best by far!

[@hafeya]

They're good, but way overpriced for what they do (and what they should but don't do). I do security cameras and access control systems for a living...and while I'm all in with unifi equipment for my network, I refuse to pay $450 for a 4k camera with some of the issues they have. For just a few buck more, I could get a 4k Avigilon with advanced analytics that would put the G4 Pro to shame. The unifi 4MP ones are actually pretty sharp and work well...and the G3 flex (1080) is actually really good for only $80. But 4k? nah....absolutely not worth it.

[@mycelia_ow]

@@rezenclowd3 too bad you'd need thousands in disk space to store all that 4k footage

[@adriansolis5362]

We need more videos like this. There's so much repackaged crap from China with a "brand name" stuck on it that there needs to be more widespread information showing not only what this stuff is, but how it usually isn't worth the cost either. Excellent research on this one.

[@Ceno420]

But he linked back to cheap Chinese crap he did this for the affiliate links otherwise he would have suggested Vantrue. It's what rideshare drivers use it's what I use after going through all these cheap Chinese cameras.

[@PhonePhone-sf8te]

@@Ceno420This. I never buy through the affiliate link, they will shill whatever shit they think people will buy anyway just to make a buck.

[@astroch]

@@Ceno420 hey, stop slapping "chinese" to everything you dont like. Vantrue is chinese, and actually all good dashcams are. The Chinese market is the most developed and they have really good gems. Its just hard to get them imported.

[@Ceno420]

@@astroch my words were cheap Chinese cams I have nothing against good quality Chinese.

[@Djuntas]

its so bad now with all these mega factories. All techy products are the same like microwaves etc. Just brands putting make up on a pig. We need to have less growth and cut China off.

[@V8dadmartin]

Pro tip: if you get hit and have a camera already recording or if you can hit record on your phone fast enough, yell the plate number and any car details you can make out; color model names and makes. Even partial plates with a specific car model will be enough to catch someone 👍🏽

[@agentzapdos4960]

What about people who don't know cars at all and the best they can come up with is "blue car" or "green car"? Most people don't even know the difference between a sedan and a coupe, and a lot of people aren't able to identify most manufacturer logos, so they can't even tell if it's a Honda or a Jaguar.

[@V8dadmartin]

@@agentzapdos4960 cars have badges and names 🙂 if someone can’t stay focused enough to take a quick mental note then what can you do

[@agentzapdos4960]

@@V8dadmartin An automobile collision happens to be one of those times when people have difficulty focusing in on details.

[@Dunavitzki]

@@agentzapdos4960 what about someone who lived in the wild and only lived in civilization as a grown adult? They wouldn’t even see the car, they’d be focused on the demon light beams.

[@devinwitham5575]

@@agentzapdos4960 can probably just review the footage with somebody and point at the screen, then be like, "that one." If you cant figure out what kind of vehicle it is, someone else will.

[@MrGoodaches]

We had a warranty issue on a flat screen TV at home. It was interesting to learn that all brands of TVs use one of two brands of modules. So regardless of what the TV looks like on the outside and regardless of what the brand and model label says on the outside the electronics are from one or the other of just two brands of component makers.

[@sosasaney]

When you proved that all the manufacturers of the cameras were basically the same that LITERALLY had me shouting out aloud "nooooooooooo!" great vid!

[@gman102formyspace]

This is like, review technology mixed with like legit journalism. I basically got to the "why do they all seem the same and suck" months ago when I searched for mine, but you guys took the extra step to actually answer the "What gives?" that most of us just stop at. This video is so extremely helpful for a multitude of reasons to me, and I thank you

[@sanderhyland4616]

I feel like GoPro should just make a $150 dashcam that would literally crush everything else. That's about what the Hero Session went for in the end, right?

[@projekt95]

Sadly the Herro Session lineup died a quiet death. In the drone and MTB area cameras like the Session is worth more than gold. I still don't get it why they stopped seling them.

[@Uberragen21]

The problem with batteries in dashcams, is they bloat and fail with heat. This usually causes the dashcam to fail or in worst case scenario is to catch fire. A capacitor based dashcam is absolutely necessary. I tried a GoPro and is became insanely hot and shutdown 30 minutes into the first drive. If GoPro made a dashcam specifically with a capacitor, they would own the market hands down. But it would be $300+.

[@D3nn1s]

@@Uberragen21 first up: bon appetit. i feel like this should be easy for a big brand like gopro. Otherwise hack it together, diy go pro with heatsink coming up? :P And i feel like IF you feel its necessary to buy a dashcam it shouldnt matter too much whether it costs 100 or 300 bucks. I mean filling your gas tank is 100 bucks nowadays.

[@hubertnnn]

@@Uberragen21 You do know that capacitors also bloat and possibly explode with heat?

[@andreasvogler1875]

@@Uberragen21 Even good action cams don't have a good low light quality, because almost all of them use a small sensor and /or have a small aperture due to the small form factor. My DJI Osmo action can capture the license plates of cars zooming by during the day without problems, but during the night even slow cars are a problem. To counter that, you need to catch as much light as possible, but that means bulkier cams.

[@ryanokane1312]

I'd love an update on this video! A lot can change in 2+ years. I wonder if things have gotten better?

[@apexerman1]

Viofo still seems to provide the best image quality. Starvis 2 image sensor and responds well to various lighting conditions.

[@Demonslayer20111]

Not with dashcams. There has been zero change.

[@TheEclecticDyslexic]

This might be the best video LTT has made in years. More of this please. Like actually a whole series just on "everything in this category in online retail is garbage, but this one is the least garbage" would be excellent.

[@Narinjas]

I just wish Go-Pro could make the Insurance-PRO likeup that could include up to tesla like alarm system with 4 cameras, 2x normal angle of 90-100 degrees 1440p front and back , and 2x ultra wide 180 degrees cameras for the sides that have ultra ultra wide 1440p that is equivalent to 4k) that have smart compression of 3 decent frames followed by one picture perfect frame that is the equivalent of 6 decent frames for one singular frame , having a total of 60fps with 45fps decent + 15fps of picture perfect images. And also a console screen that acts as the tesla screen with cameras, that you can also press a button to focus on 1 or 2 or 4 cameras at once, while the screen can also have a backup ssd/SD card with the combined image of all the cameras and other usefull information/metadata.

[@Hamachingo]

Pro tip: get a piece of polarization filter foil and stick it in front of the lens. Removes glare from your own windshield, general reflections (you see the drives behind the windshield) and it helps with contrast.

[@mikelwrnc]

Good tip! Going to use this for my diy setup

[@EpicBaCkFliPz]

Yes, but what type of polarisation? Circular?

[@mikelwrnc]

@@EpicBaCkFliPz definitely linear. Linearly polarized light is going to be the main source of “noise” (bright light unrelated to what you’re interested in, throwing off auto-exposure) in a driving situation.

[@soconfused8031]

I wondered for a while if this sort of speed camera dodge could work: Step 1: Attach some horizontal polarized film to the front of the speed camera. Go when it's dark or wear a mask if you're worried about being caught. Step 2: Attach some vertical polarized film to your car's license plate. Then when you drive past the speed camera, it wouldn't be able to read your license plate? But to any bystanders or police, you'd still appear to have a regular plate. Would this work?

[@myscho]

Along with the Viofo camera, I bought a polarizing filter that attaches directly to the camera. Great thing.

[@rogerdickinson6944]

I think the real problem here is that Amazon is almost useless for buying tech now. It's a race to the bottom with unknown direct from china brands and amazon does nothing to police the descriptions or reviews.

[@godlover9096]

Doesn't help that some of these sellers will try and bribe users for positive reviews.

[@Fauxkerykes]

You've hit the nail on the head

[@lejuanca]

@@godlover9096 not anymore. i work ISS for an amazon warehouse, we make sure you'll get what you pay for and no more. "bribe" flyers are one of the many investigations assigned to us, it should be impossible to find one out in the wild anymore. OP is right tho lmao don't buy tech from Amazon, it's all cheap Chinese crud. + there's the chance someone in shipdock will toss a pristine air fryer into the gaylord immediately after your package, crushing it instantly. maybe try ebay.

[@khronin]

If your account is in good standing--simply return if they mislead you with junk.they just tested a bunch of flashlights from amazon and not one under 70 bucks put out the lumens it was quoting--in fact some quotes needed a battery pack the size of a hand vaccuum to even make what was claimed.All it is is this mass marketing crud where people get online stores and fill it with junk--I am not saying it is all junk--but there are many products on there that are and are outright lying about what they can do.also be wary of dones and night vision goggle/binoculars--same thin anything under probably 150 is junk--had to return some night vision binoculars cause not only was it junk--but it required like 8 batteries to function.

[@muhammadsyafiq1004]

@@godlover9096 mainland china seller are the worse at accepting bad reviews.. One of them literally call me and shouted at me to change my review. I don't even know that they can access my phone number from the shopping platform. I literally set my seller option to only local sellers to avoid them. But even at that some escape that shit by using local address even though they were literally not even based in my country. I don't even know that was a thing.

[@CodeGunner101]

I’ve been using Viofo A119 duo plus and was not happy in the beginning due to the power kit (the one that connects to the car’s battery) not doing what it should. But what’s surprising is their support. Even though we can’t resolve it back then (parking mode not working properly) the support I get was quite good, very responsive in fact. 4 years on and the dashcam suddenly decided to work lol after a firmware upgrade. And have helped me in an accident. I would recommend it.

[@paulwalther5237]

I’m a car insurance claim adjuster and I can say that the quality of the camera has never been an issue for me. Even a really grainy low quality video will show me what this person was doing when the impact occurred - stopped or moving, staying in their lane or changing lanes etc. of course if you spend the time to get a camera you might as well protect yourself from the hit and run idiot if you can but it happens less than you think and half the time someone does a hit and run they don’t even have insurance anyway.

[@masejoer]

This is all people should be talking about. Proving fault. Even if one had a passenger catch a photo of a vehicle while using a 50MP professional camera and telephoto lens, it doesn't usually prove that the vehicle wasn't stolen, or who was driving. A low resolution analog camera from 20 years ago will prove fault just the same.

[@domfogarty5032]

Yeah, I just got a camera to protect myself, not to post content online to show shitty driving. The camera does the job.

[@kd5nrh]

Exactly. Hell, it's not even so much about what the other vehicle is doing as showing what my car was doing at the time, whether I had a green light, etc.

[@MarcG7424]

No insurance Bad or no license Warrants Are usually the reasons I find most people take off although the occasional stolen or being used without the owners permission does pop up from time to time too

[@oni-one574]

@@MarcG7424 Best accident that ever happened to me was when I hit someone, my fault, and they took off. Lol.

[@KaworuSylph]

There's a lot of product categories that have this dynamic going on, wireless earbuds being another example (tons of superficial brand differences shelled over the underlying identical commoditized components)

[@TAP7a]

“Capitalism drives innovation”

[@lievre460]

@@TAP7a innovation halts when consumers become uninformed and lazy

[@handlemonium]

Yeah but other factors like driver tuning, battery life, ANC effectiveness, transparency/call quality, usability of tap/app controls, reliable connectivity, and latency matter a lot as well. But alas yes studying the Chi-Fi market and poking around the Hi-Fi community will tell you that almost every brand sources components from a combination of half-a-dozen suppliers & manufacterers.

[@Glockmog2007]

@@TAP7a there is no innovation thanks to copyright law.

[@wayward03]

Speakers are similar

[@BenJuan26]

I have a Thinkware dashcam and the lack of a screen was actually a feature I was looking for. I don't want a big bulky thing taking up windshield real estate when the only use for a screen is the initial mounting & aiming setup, and reviewing footage, both of which can be done through the app, and the latter can be done on a computer.

[@Drkbowers1]

Yeah unfortunately I recently chose the x1000 which has a big screen. Not sure why because it is the newer model, so I would have figured it would be more likely to have app integration. Not only does it take up windshield space, but I do worry about it making my car more of a target because of its lack of discreetness. It just happened to fit into my price point and I liked that the included rear camera was of the same quality of the front camera

[@harbirsingh7266]

I also bought the F70 for the same reason. It is tiny and easily hides behind the rearview mirror.

[@Carahan]

I bought one of the full featured Garmin GPS with dashcam and my conclusion was it was too large of a screen. I generally use via audio only rather than mount it to the windshield. I'm afraid if I did I would get pulled over and ticketed by the police for obstructed windshield view.

[@tannermccoolman4647]

It amazes me that, despite the U1000 lacking a screen, it still manages to be so much bigger than something like the Viofo. I get the benefits of not having a screen, but it's kind of negated when your dashcam is still the size of a wedge of cheese big enough to furnish a charcuterie board for a family of 4

[@seventeen9718]

​@@tannermccoolman4647🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@peaky1983]

@Linus we need an updated version of this video please

[@godwithin]

Here in the Philippines,I bought a $150 dashcam and in just 6 months, I avoided paying more than $200 worth of bullshit/fabricated traffic violations by the police/traffic enforcers because I told them I have the incident on record. It has been 4 years since and I stopped counting how much I have saved by not getting extorted by corrupt traffic enforcers and police. Probably much more than $800. Definitely worth my investment.

[@puertoricanboy100]

How are things in the Philippines? Wishing you well and safe travels

[@yupitsme7574]

@@puertoricanboy100 rn were polluted with so much corrupt government so yeah

[@ImranHossain9]

Probably saved 3 times more than that in Bangladesh. Corruption is the norm and way to go in police here, so u have to be more careful about them than being afraid of Hijackers or goons. They are government paid goons

[@jennifersierzant2152]

This is why I’m not buying one! Just got pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign (which I did) and got a $200 ticket

[@sippy-tj6xi]

@@jennifersierzant2152 well then why are you not buying one? seems counterintuitive

[@EBLovesMusic]

The deep dive into how they are all the same is super helpful. This needs to be done with more consumer items. It really helps to differentiate the differences between brands.

[@killjoycola]

That would be a good youtube channel, deep dive into consumer items across brand and spec and performance..

[@iankaris503]

@@killjoycola theres a youtuber called project farm that does a lot of comparisons

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

AMAZON - THERES YOUR PROBLEM!

[@Zomby_Woof]

The significance of commonality is going to very quite a bit. 4 rest is fluff. Other times, particularly with higher end security cams, it's all about proprietary algorithms that enable features like auto tracking, scene change, facial recognition etc. And as touched on in the video, how robust is the post processing hardware? That makes a difference in the saved quality, as poor post processing performance means dropped frames.

[@fonz-ys6xu]

Project farm Consumer reports

[@Hunter-jj9uj]

Vids like these are definitely a service for looking out for everyone to avoid buying crap and hype in dashcams. Well done in the research! Thanks LTT!

[@democracybacksliding]

Opps cap lock I WOULD JOIN YOU IN PRAISING THIS MAN... BUT HE IS REALLY SUPPORTING THE ugly Corporations more than anything. he is part of the problem....

[@nochannel1q2321]

Generally people want dashcams for the insurance discounts (which would in my experience fund 2.5x the budget mentioned here in the first year) and with the GPS speed monitor to be able to prove whether or not they were speeding. Most of the criticism Linus mentions is completely irrelevant to that. The ideal consumer camera for people buying in this market is a decent brandname, GPS encoding to show speed and precise location for each frame, continuous recording so you needn't remember to periodically download the recorded video and free up space (the shock sensor automatically tags the surrounding video to be preserved permanently and generally the cameras that come with the continuous recording will do the same and have a button the driver can push to trigger it). If clear license plates and excellent camera quality is what's desired a DIY setup with a Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Pi HQ Camera and some software will offer extremely high quality images and very easily not just make it possible to view the license plates, but have a side function of ALPR just like police cars use. This is such a weird video from a channel that's usually a lot more useful in their content.

[@bizim_eller]

@@nochannel1q2321 sounds like you know a thing or two, it would be nice if you explained how to do it👍

[@joesmith8961]

Current dashcams are perfectly fine for showing whose at fault in an accident. You will only need to be able to read a license plate for a hit and run, not the most auto insurance claim.

[@rileyowenn]

You just got a subscriber, first review I’ve seen on KZbin in years reviewing something without promoting a specific brand. Goated 🙏

[@xinixxagnix201]

haha he is a jerk

[@chomskyhonk1680]

This is my suspicion with most things honestly. A premium price doesn't ever equal quality, no matter if it's a car or an accessory or a house or anything really. The more research I do into a product or service I want, the less I want to buy whatever it is, and most of the time I just end up buying nothing because it's all a crapshoot anyway.

[@returntomonke503]

Stop buying stuff, return to monke

[@Mohegan13]

I can confirm this, it's particularly true of large electricals. I used to work in a factory making tumble dryers for the UK and Europe, we made several top named brands as well as budget ones. Price differences between brands was around 150-200 - the actual difference? The ink on the control panels. Just that and nothing else. Same parts, same assembly structure, same people.

[@spacelogic101whatif]

I have a Steelseries APW but why not make a headset that works on all platforms, PC, Android and IOS and all Consoles, but no kinda have to buy a headset for each platform why? money that's why or am i missing something?

[@FreakMeat74]

@@Mohegan13 Canned food is the same, it's all shipped unlabeled to the labeling factory where it becomes it's new brand :P This was decades ago and I can't imagine why anything would've changed.

[@brendenpischke6060]

Yes, a high price usually just means a lot of bells and whistles. Which also means more things to break.

[@EliteProductions3129]

I've been using an A119 v2 for going on 5 years now. It's been great, imo. It's captured everything I've needed it to with decent detail. The mounting system and formfactor was really my initial deciding factor when I bought it. It hides behind my review mirror so well, sometimes I forget I even have a dashcam.

[@connorPiper0]

If anyone lives in a a place with hot weather, I absolutely recommend the A119! I have had mine for 4 years now, and I have gotten out to my car in a hot parking lot when the temperature is reading over 120F in my car and it has no issues.

[@Captain.Scarlet]

@@connorPiper0 Yup even in UK had a battery expand as forgot to remove from my windscreen, don't need to worry and have a v1 A119. Capacitor > Battery if left on the windscreen

[@lucun_]

Oh god, I went down this rabbit hole over 5 years ago. Good (or bad?) to see that Linus came to the same conclusions I did. My Viofo from 5 years ago is still going strong and has just about the same image quality you guys demo'ed on the newer one. The dashcam can only do so well when it has to look through your windshield, which often gets a bit of dirty on the outside. Some dashcams have polarizing lens, which can also improve image quality. However, none of them will catch a moving license plate easily. Regarding features, they actually can be pretty important. One main feature is to make sure your dashcam has a temporary power store (prefer capacitor based, but battery based works) to finish saving the latest video clip when the input power turns off. You never know if your car power doesn't suddenly die after an accident. Also, some brands out there did have poor longevity performances based on the reviews I saw. If you're in the southern half of the US, surviving the extreme heat and cold ranges are very important.

[@miguelelmalo]

One major ommision on this video and its recommendation is the qa on each brand. Dont know for sure but it sems to me on the thinkware you can get a great device, a medium or a mediocre one equally because their qa is all over the place, while the viofo is more reliable, maybe 20 people buy 17 get a good one, 2 a meh and 1 a lemon.

[@Fine_art_aerial]

Wish there was a updated version of this video for 2024!!!

[@poisonblader]

It’s been about a year since this video came out. I think we’d all appreciate an update on new products that have hit the market and good options since last year.

[@poultrypants]

YES PLEASE

[@thomasbroker69]

Came here to say the same thing

[@johndeerekid167]

It's all the same players and same games

[@poultrypants]

@@johndeerekid167 Yes, but it might be nice to get new recommendations on which dashcams are the best value and quality now, even if it’s still the same players and the same game.

[@eduardoromaguera9707]

Came here to find the good one and order it 🙃

[@OleJanssen]

One thing to add about dashcams that upload to the cloud is that there is almost always a delay of multiple seconds before the content gets uploaded. So if your dashcam is destroyed in a crash, the last few seconds won't be saved. Also, MicroSD cards are quite robust anyways.

[@quintrapnell3605]

Mine does both and backups to phone at the same time. Nexar is king.

[@dtemp132]

Regarding robustness of MicroSD cards, given the thousands of hours that will be written and rewritten on these cards, if you don't want to discover your SD card is failing at an inopportune time, my opinion is you should get Samsung Pro Endurance cards which seem to offer the most rewriting ability.

[@jasondm]

The problem with a lot of these cameras is their choice of video container. When I got into an accident that put me at fault without footage, I struggled for a few days trying to recover the video that apparently didn't get saved properly on my viofo a119v2. I did manage to recover it enough that it proved I wasn't at fault, but the video had messed up audio and visible glitches. mp4 is convenient but it's bad for this kind of continuous recording because if the file isn't properly "closed out", you end up dealing with what I did. That said, while it was a problem, because I had similar trouble finding a replacement, I ended up just getting a viofo a129 pro duo when I got a new car.

[@FullLengthInterstates]

@@dtemp132 Endurance cards are a waste of money. Their only benefit is the manufacturer will honor the warranty if it fails, which is very rare. The max storage of endurance cards is only 256gb. For the same price you can get a 400gb sandisk ultra, which has been the backbone of my sd card "fleet' which I've put through numerous cycles recording 100mbps gopro video. sandisk ultras are also available up to 1tb, on a typical 30mbps 4k dashcam that is more than 50 hours of video

[@isakekelund6215]

getting a used gopro could be a great option. i paid about $50 for a lightly used gopro hero 7 white. if you buy them used you can get great deals and a rugged camera that can handle rough housing and water.

[@IronDruids]

Every once in a while I stumble across videos like this that remind me why traditional journalism is dying. Your team investigated and revealed the truth hidden behind almost all dash cams looking like crap and you did it in an interesting way too. That's more energy and fun than I normally see from them.

[@Bonzi_Buddy]

Journalism is activism now. If it doesn't have a political outcome, there isn't a need to go after it. Dashcams are boring, but if those dashcam companies were exposed giving money to republicans you can bet you'd see them trashed with far less investigation as you see here. Look at the 1/10 reviews for the new Harry Potter video game and you know what journalism is about.

[@davisweathers3576]

@@Bonzi_Buddy Well said.

[@edwardluth7740]

True. Journalism was never that great. But today it’s all propaganda and lies. Woke is stupidity

[@BGB17]

U sure?

[@Axodus]

@@BGB17 yes

[@dienekes4364]

I spent $500 on a motorcycle dashboard a few months ago. It has TLMS, GPS (so it records speed), has CarPlay (so I can connect it to my phone and it displays navigation), and front and rear cameras. 2 weeks ago, I had a head-on collision with a semi-truck while riding my motorcycle. The whole thing was recorded, so it proves that the truck stopped to let a pickup turn left in front of him and then turned left right in front of me. I didn't need it to record the license plate, the truck stopped and a state trooper showed up, so there is no debate on exactly what happened. That dashboard paid for itself by orders of magnitude. :D

[@joewoodchuck3824]

Dashboard or dashcam?

[@dienekes4364]

@@joewoodchuck3824 -- Dashboard. It _includes_ front and rear cameras, but it's so much more than just that. It has TPMS, GPS, and CarPlay integrated.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

@@dienekes4364 Didn't know about those.

[@dienekes4364]

@@joewoodchuck3824 -- They are new from ChiGee. Awesome product and very good customer support. My first one had a bad GPS processor. They sent me a new GPS dongle and when that didn't fix the issue, they sent me a new base unit. Highly recommend!

[@saoirsethewanderer]

You’re exactly right dash cams actually are helpful

[@Ayundaru]

One of my biggest gripes is that we are in 2022, and it isn’t a thing yet to have a discrete power source for dash cams that doesn’t require ugly cables run all over the car

[@boiledelephant]

I suspect car manufacturers are scared to establish a precedent that undermines their ability to sell integrated camera solutions in the future. They tried to tie us to integrated GPS (and failed, because everyone has a smartphone). They'll try with this too. And it'll flop once a decent dashcam app for smartphones renders it obsolete.

[@zackcollins5642]

It depends on how creative you are- I’ve got a dashcam/radar detector combo in my mustang, and it has a wiring harness that goes into my rear view- you can’t see any wires in the car, and you can’t really notice from the outside either

[@Seawolf.Gaming]

@@boiledelephant There are already plenty of decent dashcam apps

[@justingistpreuninger3447]

some of the new MG EVs have a USB port next to the rear view mirror to address this :)

[@antoinebugleboy6864]

It's pretty easy to tuck your cabling under your car's headliner and dash to keep it out of sight.

[@valoric4767]

This was a great video Linus. We need reviews and comparisons like this to actually improve the market. The market stays bad because the customers are uninformed due to the void in useful information. Thank you dude

[@Bacnow]

Well, i have just began to research DashCams for my new car! Here are some features that may affect your choices: - Choose a Super Capacitor over a Lithium battery powered unit (handles temperature extremes much better) - Try to find one that utilizes Sony STARVIS 2 / IMX 678 chipset and sensors for clearer images - Determine whether you need parking monitoring for additional security - Determine whether you need 2 channel or 3 channel (3rd channel covers interior of vehicle) - Determine whether you want/need a smaller stealthier unit as opposed to sticking a shoebox on your windshield - Stick with units that are capable of higher framerates (they capture moving items better) - Avoid 1080P (unless it’s 60 FPS or higher) and stick with 2k and 4k capable devices - If self-installing, check out whether the unit has to be hard-wired. If so, does it connect to your OBD 2 port or fuse box (is the hardwire kit included) - check out the mount. Is it suction cup or adhesive? Is the unit easily removable when needed? - Will you need GPS data imprinted on the video (recommended)? - is the GPS module built into the unit or is it separate? - Stick with 130 - 160 degree wide angle lens (170 degree lenses tend to film in the dreaded fish-eyed view) - Does sound quality matter to you? (Some people like to share their “moments” on social media) Remember, if an incident occurs then you may be faced with very real negative consequences because it’s your word against theirs! So, stay away from dirt-cheap units that may fail to record the incident or has images that’s so bad as to be deemed unusable in court (shady attorneys are going to challenge everything)! Most decent units range from $150 - $700 (Buy Once Cry Once)! There is a short list of manufacturers that have a proven track record: BlackVue, Thinkware, VIOFO, Garmin, Vantrue, Xiaomi, etc..

[@ish5104]

The fact that you added bloopers at the end made my day. Throughly enjoyed your video! Thank you so much!!!

[@datDaniki]

This is some of the best content that's come out for consumer use in months. Well done to the writer and for testing the cameras!

[@Ceno420]

But he linked back to cheap Chinese crap he did this for the affiliate links otherwise he would have suggested Vantrue. It's what rideshare drivers use it's what I use after going through all these cheap Chinese cameras.

[@tannermccoolman4647]

@@Ceno420 Vantrue is still on the top of the Amazon best sellers list. It uses very similar components to the rest. There's nothing that really makes it stand out from something like the Viofo A139 in any meaningful way

[@JordanV]

I would love if there were a certification LTT made for products. With labs coming out, I think it could be done as well as having another source of revenue for labs, and incentive for more consumer electronics to actually try and be good, vs E-waste upon arrival.

[@tannermccoolman4647]

This could quickly backfire though. Manufacturers could start using cheaper parts after launch, like those ram makers did

[@amoorsharma3968]

would introduce conflict of intrest.

[@Flaimbot]

akin to gn's "at least it's better than dell"

[@OhYNo]

@@tannermccoolman4647 true, I’d they retested after a certain period of time it’d be more reliable. Can’t remember which one but there’s another certification for home appliances that does it

[@JordanV]

@@Flaimbot lol, would love a tech jesus badge too 😉

[@harbirsingh7266]

I'm glad you made a video on dash cams. I went through a similar struggle and wondered why they all sucked. I ended up buying Thinkware F70 last year and Viofo A119 this year for my new car and I'm happy I made a decent purchase.

[@smokinMitaine]

Thanks!

[@Hotspur37]

i never figured the dashcam would be able to read license plates but it would at least show that I wasnt at fault in an accident and prevent attempts at insurance fraud

[@ViktorsJournal]

I think that's the major reason people get these and that might be why they don't upgrade the quality that much sinceit's not necessary for them. I guess.

[@jdoe7674]

That’s the biggest thing I don’t really care about trying to get someone else in trouble I have good insurance my main concern is protecting myself showing the police and my insurance that hey I don’t who they are but they hit me there was nothing I could have done to prevent it

[@wanderingmercurymarauder761]

@Jeff Karpinski Who gets the citation is irrelevant in the United States. The owner of the vehicle is liable for the damages caused by the driver of their vehicle unless it is stolen, in which case there would already be a police report and an insurance claim with their insurance company. I have had cops follow up on license plates and go to the owner of the vehicle's house to verify the damage to the vehicle, which is noted on the report for the insurance carrier to then determine fault.

[@seanbrooks2583]

@@wanderingmercurymarauder761 thats not true at all. If someone uses your car to hit someone else, the person who drove the car is liable, not the owner of the car.

[@LynxStarAuto]

@@seanbrooks2583depends if the owner can prove they were not the driver! That's the issue.

[@ExUSSailor]

The proliferation of dash cams has provided endless entertainment here on the KZbins!

[@eggman5445]

It's because of tik tok too

[@fuzzybobbles]

Most of it from Russia filmed on VHS quality gear. Still entertaining though.

[@brendanssound]

I'm pretty sure entertainment is all anyone buys them for really. Anyone with half a brain would've done the research and seen they are useless at catching license plates

[@xerothehero1704]

@@brendanssound i think they’re especially useful for people trying to commit insurance fraud

[@thespookybanana6007]

@@brendanssound You're assuming every case is a hit and run. That's not reality.

[@mzfailorlp6235]

We have a couple german dashcam youtubers and most of them recommend the Viofo A119 V3, Viofo A139 3Ch or the Vantrue N4 3. According to their testing and the recordings they showed all seem to be pretty good, plus all of them tell you to go for 30 fps so its looks better at night. Its basically pick your poison. One might have a feature, that another doesnt have but you want

[@Kiramitsuoka]

You forgot to mention that at least 2 of these German channels also recommend getting a polarization filter for the camera lens to reduce flare from oncoming headlights and mirroring from the windshield.

[@flevingfinn5885]

Viofo cams are pretty good. I got a139 3ch few months ago, and video is good enough to read licence plates. Parking recording is also nice feature. It isnt cheap but dents without evidence are neither

[@TruckBC]

I've always sworn by Vantrue Cameras. They are great!

[@twister1618]

i've used a vantrue for 2 years now and i still have zero issues with reading moving license plates etc. mine has done great. Only issue i have is the suction cup mounting loosens during the summer months and will fall off every now and then but i also live in texas so 140+ inside the car is fairly common

[@walkr7998]

I'm on a Toyota enthusiasts forum where everyone swears by Blackvue cams

[@FavoriteMovieDate]

This is great. I think my phone is spying on me because I just mentioned I needed a dashcam in a phone call and all of a sudden this video showed up in my feed! A teenage boy was deliberately riding his bike into my car. I had already slowed down before he first came at me, (the smile on his face was downright malicious!), but he kept veering into me two more times as I tried to avoid him. I realized afterwards that I would be the one held responsible if he had been hurt. This information really helps.

[@FAZman23]

I did not expect to love this video as much as I did... it epitomizes the very best of KZbin in my opinion - a well-made video with a well-constructed narrative, hosted flawlessly and provides a genuinely good service to everyone, even if they are not in the market for these products. Love your work LTT Team!

[@iworkout6912]

Especially when reading the customer comments on Amazon or other online website. How many times have you bought something on Amazon and gotten a special offer from the seller for giving them a positive review. (At least 5 stars)

[@FowlerAskew]

I work in budget consumer camera products and when most of the brands are using the same sensors and processors, the biggest thing that sets different cameras apart is how much time the companies put into working with their chip vendors and software teams to tune the image capture parameters and postprocessing. I think this why some cameras looked better and some looked worse, but ultimately there weren't that different. I would bet that the companies with the clearest images are in the sweet spot of having enough resources and market share to put a lot of effort into getting the most out of cheap parts

[@DanielLCarrier]

Does postprocessing matter? You can do whatever postprocessing you want after you've taken the video. Seems like it would be easier just to have the raw input and then if you get in a hit and run and can't read the license plate, then you can put the work in to post-process it. If that doesn't come up, it doesn't matter.

[@hwingerrr5680]

Need the enhance options used on the TV shows where they zoom in and enhance down to the smallest details caught in the pocket mirror reflection at the other end of the hallway-

[@coreyfinn5532]

@@DanielLCarrier fowler was talking about regular old cameras like those old film style digital cameras. Software can do a lot LOT more with raw input than the image you save. Why you ask? RAW DATA can have a lot more extracted from it than compressed data. The data is compressed as the user (unless they're a professional photographer) won't need every single pixel and colour in an image. The compression causes data loss because these cameras are not using lossless compression like WINZip which is a stupidly complicated piece of software and unnecessary as I said before. It's why if you open photoshop with a 480p version of the mona lisa you can't just make it nice and 720p or 1080p or 4k without putting in an assload of work or utilising a highly specialised piece of software on your computer which can only enhance picture quality but nothing else.

[@DanielLCarrier]

@@coreyfinn5532 That's what I mean. You don't need fancy filters. You need RAW output. Then you can use whatever software you want.

[@coreyfinn5532]

@@DanielLCarrier Post-processing has always mattered and these filters aren't exactly fancy, they're more there to allow you to make out any detail at all. All I wanted to say is that due to the components used there is a necessity for compression as getting a large amount of data into a small space can be very expensive if the raw data isn't crushed down. Not everyone is an experienced user of photo editing software and the rarity of the skill's usage just doesn't justify it for a regular person. There could be a market for this but also it's a pain in the ass to do image editing let alone while you're trying to get the insurance to accept your edit. There could also be questions and investigations as to what else was edited/tampered with in the video so yeah. RAW data isn't the best either as it has to be cleaned up and that could be a hindrance in and of itself. There's a better way but I'm neither a photographer with 30 years of experience or a technology engineer with great interaction with cameras so take what I said here with a heap of salt.

[@anarchangel7]

I ended up doing research and buying one a few years back and ended up with a Vantrue N2, and while I wasn't completely satisfied with the image quality it seemed to me to be better than the results shown here. Also reassuring that about half the time I get in an UBER that has a dashcam, I see that it is the same model as mine at home. Surprised you didn't seem to find them in this comparison.

[@chadderrington9983]

I'm with you. Why did they skip the VanTrue cameras?

[@Synthwave89]

Let's petition Linus for a part 2 of this video with more of the available options. This feels like an incredibly important series especially with so many similar options, obscure information, and for such an important purchase.

[@myztik5716]

Looks like they only deviated a little from their $100 price point, not enough to reach the Vantrue, and then tried a few high end models. They had to impose a cap or they would be reviewing dash cams all year

[@p0358]

They also skipped 70mai which in comparison to stuff shown on this video seem to be surprisingly decent. The cheapest model they’d offer skips the screen rather than cutting on the image quality. At least in my case I could tell the plates have been looking readable. The only disadvantage was no button to mark the video segment to save outside of the gravity sensor. You’d need to download the video with app before it gets overridden over time

[@ferinzz]

They wanted a $100 price range. The Venture is well outside of that. So after that point they went with the brand recognition, which is what a lot of people would do. After that, the most recommended from lists in google results. If vantrue wasn't on that list, they likely didn't think to look at it. Or they were running low on budget and time. Highlighting that this one is a good buy is great.

[@xXxDarkSoulxXx]

I have the Vantrue front and rear camera combo. Front is 4K rear is 1080p. I’ve had a few incidents and it’s captured the plates just fine. But I slap say the plate number out loud to the camera. My vids are crystal clear, I don’t know what cameras you have or how you set them up but the Vantrue is the real deal.

[@nickk7208]

What type exactly?

[@xXxDarkSoulxXx]

@@nickk7208 Brand is Vantrue

[@mtrest4]

​@@xXxDarkSoulxXx Which model number of Vantrue?

[@kunaak]

I had to go down this rabbit hole about a year ago. I am a photographer, and been building PC's for about 20 years now. I understand all of this sort of stuff, and I do care about little things like image sensors and FPS, ISO, and apetures. I was asked by a good friend for a good recommendation on something, and I thought "Yeah, sure, I'll look into it and see what I can find". After about a week, my only real feedback was "To me, this entire market looks like a scam, everything seems like junk to me, and no matter what vid you watch, it's underwhelming image quality, and being over hyped by a person that has little to no understanding of what they are showing you". I suspect this is old cheap junk being dumped from another market into this market.

[@MrMega200]

I trust Techmoan on the subject. He is realistic on what is good or not. It's just mainly avoiding those no names.

[@gtm624]

I’m glad you touched on the monopoly issue. People thing they have options with any product. Yet 90% is someone else’s product sold in bulk to multiple companies with different names.

[@johnmitchell2741]

Electric bikes

[@hksjoshua]

Toothpick and cardboard house's.

[@Chipchase780]

Absolutely right. You see these manufactured stories about how this unique product was invented in someone’s shed, then went global. Then you see half a dozen different unconnected stories about the same product and how it came to be. All designed and mass produced in China, not conceived in a shed in Warrington.

[@wh4t3v3rrr]

Then there's the added convenience of having dropshippers flood the marketplaces with the exact same product but now there are 300 different resellers. Feels like you have to wade through mountains of shit to find something worth buying sometimes.

[@RVH-io3dr]

So True!!

[@niccilefevre]

Honestly this is the problem with buying from most places online (especially amazon) nowadays. Soooo many ppl do the drop shipping thing where they just find a factory that builds the product then they just slap on their own brand and claim its theirs. That's why youll look for an item on amazon and a lot of them will look almost identical, because they are. This in combination with fake reviews and fake "name brand" companies makes it incredibly difficult to find quality made products anymore.

[@lecherousjester]

Agree 100%, I think a lot of these companies are playing a dangerous game with shopper loyalty going after short term profits with these garbage products and confusing marketing.

[@RUSTYDIXON-1]

Yep, they find crap on AliBabba and brand/rebrand it, then sell for 25x what they paid for it.

[@shuki1]

Agreed, and so I give Amazon's credibility decreases as time goes by.

[@ixmini2561]

This is the "Chinese market" trend of online shopping. Some years ago this was only a problem in Asia (where I live) on Asian shopping platforms (like lazada or shoppee). Here when you shop for anything online from toys to exercise equipment to tvs you'll find hundreds if not thousands of vendors selling the exact same product for different prices under different names. In the USA we've always had this problem with certain categories of products (with things like phone cases and charging wires for example) but I've noticed that the issue has become worse and Amazon now looks more and more like Lazada.

[@ixmini2561]

@@lecherousjester many of the vendors are not in the USA. They're in china and they think differently. There's little quality control and customer satisfaction is non existent The way small shops and every day people do business here isn't based on reputation or repeat customers. The high population means you can sell much and make much before people stop buying from you. And if your sales do dry up, many of the vendors are hustlers who just move on to make a new shop name and sell a different product. The pattern happens over and over again and they make a living that way. It's a totally different mentality from the West: - just make the sale any sale using any means - milk it for as long as you can - when it dries up go to the next factory pick any product which you think sells change your brand name and do it all over again.

[@darthmal]

I bought one that looks similar to that Thinkware F70 off Temu 2 years ago and I could not believe the quality compared to other I got from Amazon and had to return. AMAZING video images!! Ended up getting 3 more for each of my cars. Now they no longer carry it.

[@nathancarlk]

To a large extent it isn't about finding who hit and ran by a license plate number, but instead who actually was at fault. Numerous fender benders in parking lots where he said she said could be instantly resolved, or who failed to stop at a light or stop sign, is more the goal for most motorists.

[@caddyguy5369]

Ya. License plate also doesn't do a whole lot of good if you can't prove who was driving.

[@TWAAAAACKS]

@@caddyguy5369 I'd do a simple license plate lookup and then look up the corresponding name so you could at least get a close enough description of what the owner of the vehicle looks like. Sorry but if they won't fess up to who was driving after being caught then I don't mind incriminating the person who is responsible for what happens with their property.

[@gillo100]

@@caddyguy5369 Not sure laws in your country but where I am the registered owner of vehicle is responsible unless they can prove someone else was driving, so having the plate number is definitely worth it. Not sure why laws would be any other way tbh, registered owner should be responsible and know who is driving vehicle at all times

[@dejfcold]

@@gillo100 seems like a presumption of guilt which is unconstitutional in a lot of places. You'd probably get a hefty fine if they couldn't prove it was you, because, as you say, you are still responsible for the car, but you wouldn't get the same punishment as if you actually was driving. Usually you don't have to testify against family and close friends so in these cases knowing who was driving doesn't help anyone either.

[@LordNementon]

Exactly, they aren't made to catch license plates, that's just a weird and useless expectation

[@J1VETURKY]

I'm a digital evidence specialist and the quality has not been a big deal, though annoying to discern certain details but it's been more helpful than you think. I've processed many of these videos and it has helped on various cases in court. The only gripe that I have is that some have proprietary players to view videos and is troublesome to convert them.

[@samsantana]

Don't let the real world use practicality get in the way of the tech critics. Any of these cameras will do the job they're intended to, Linus should have used the money spent on all the review units on acting lessons. A much wiser investment, then again I'm sure his sponsors will make it worth his while.

[@ShanyeSoT]

@@samsantana acting lessons? Did you even watch the video lmao

[@samsantana]

@@ShanyeSoT yep... still can't act

[@ShanyeSoT]

@@samsantana what do you suppose he's acting for?

[@samsantana]

@@ShanyeSoT I'm glad you enjoy mediocracy. Peace.

[@EposVox]

I ran into these frustrations a few years ago, glad ti know I wasn't missing anything. We need more research breakdowns like this.

[@OttyYolf]

One word of advice is when you have a microphone-enabled model, read the license plate number out so you have it even if the video doesn't show it clear enough.

[@LooNeYlv]

It is not credible in court, if you cannot make out the lic. plate in video. Because you can of course tell any letters or words you can think of. This kind of video is just a 'youtube' material or for your own private use that is just information.. not for any legal use.

[@caddyguy5369]

@bruh "could be" sounds like reasonable doubt to me. That is no bueno.

[@anstef1485]

Good tip!

[@DarkShiftMusic]

@@LooNeYlv There is more that it allows you to do, though. If you can get the plate on voice and not video, you can submit that as evidence, along with the damage to the vehicles/property/etc. All of this together provides a much better scope, and less possible doubt.

[@Mr_jz_12]

@bruh back when i first got my licence i drove a first gen mr2, it was a known car and a custom colour. Some wanker decided to spray his car the same colour. To the point that even my family spotted it and thought it was me. Said wanker drove like a dickhead everwhere and caused SO MUCH GRIEF for me. To the point I took the car off the road.

[@MrNickT]

Seriously though, seems like a great market for gopro to enter. They would just have to change the software a little bit.

[@stefanp.7986]

I am using action cameras for years as dashcams. Perfect quality and stabilisation.

[@shake_n_bake6192]

How does it record at night?

[@darugdawg2453]

just mount your phone

[@gus473]

Their mounts come installed on some Toyota Tacomas! 👍🏼😎✌🏼

[@jeffschroeder4805]

You would just have to somehow conceal that it is a "go-pro" to avoid broken windows.

[@BobSentell]

GoPro not entering the dashcam market will forever be the most perplexing thing about that company. They already have pretty much everything they need.

[@randrei001]

Any action camera manufacturers for that matter. Not just gopro. I think it will be easier to market the action cams too if people know they can double as dashcams. They should just add a dashcam mode on their softwares

[@Bigdog1787]

It won't matter they went bankrupt so go pro camera's will be a thing of the past once stock runs out.

[@aspzx]

@@Bigdog1787 no they haven't. What are you talking about?

[@baddriversofthenorcalarea500]

@@Bigdog1787 They are selling 2.5M+ cameras per year. They arent bankrupt.

[@sm_stormzy1075]

@@Bigdog1787 lol source?

[@DarkTranqz]

It's not always about catching someone's license plate. It can mostly be helpful to prove that you were not the one at fault for insurance or legal purposes if it's going to be your word versus someone else's if no one else witnessed it.

[@lockheedload]

Last month I finally used my dashcam footage from the one facing the rear of my car. I got rear ended. Dude was nice but apparently, he told Geico a different story. The video shut down any and all questions about the incident and they paid to fix my car no problems. My advice, get one.

[@PriyaSahay-tg6hj]

Ohh! Can you tell me which dashcam you use?

[@marctorres2759]

This video is so misleading, and lame.

[@logmeindangit]

@@marctorres2759 Please explain, instead of essentially throwing mud and running.

[@marctorres2759]

@@logmeindangit well your saying it's potentially a waste of $. Tell that to people who have used it to successfully prove their innocence to the insurance carriers, and law enforcement. Tell that to Uber drivers in NYC who get an insurance discount for having a Nexar dashcam. American Transit is a TLC insurance company that offers that discount to TLC drivers. To drive as a Taxi and Uber driver in NYC, you need TLC Insurance. Obviously insurance companies, and Law enforcement find it very helpful. And it has been used in the court system as well. So if Law enforcement, the legal system, and insurance companies find it helpful, It definitely has some positive results for the consumer,driver. I drive 8 hours a day in South Florida where accidents are rampant. I won't ever drive without 1 of these dashcams. It's not perfect at all. Yeah it has flaws, it doesn't catch license plates all that clearly if the other driver flees the scene. Its also suspect in inclement weather conditions. It's not 100%, what is though? The dashcams considering where we are at technology in today's standards do underperform. But at the price of these dcams at $150, to $400, In my opinion, it's worth it. At least for a driver who drives everyday and especially for a commercial driver. In NYC, if a driver is in an accident and no injuries are reported, then you don't even need a police report. The cops are no longer required to respond at the scene. They started this after the pandemic. That means the drivers must fill out a dmv form and mail it within 10 days to DMV. Basically the drivers will have their own versions of the accident. But if you have a dashcam, and it proves your version, your insurance company will definitely ask for it. So to summarize, if Law enforcement, the legal system, and insurance companies find these dashcams useful, well I consider that a driver purchasing a dashcam in the long run is worth the $.

[@Jake-mp7ex]

You got rear-ended. That makes you in the right by default. That's likely what happened, the dashcam footage likely did nothing.

[@Random_How-tos]

Finally someone’s talking about it! We need dash cameras that can actually do their jobs.

[@jonny11bonk]

@@deadzio Bruuuh, I use a phone as a dashcam, it overheats like hell. I think the dashcams are not allowed in the Austria, but, can't confirm it.

[@MasWasThere]

I feel like this happens for every damn product these days. When I want something, I put hours and hours of research into it and just give up cause I never trust these “reviews”. For the most part I’m extremely underwhelmed with most of my decisions 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@forsakenquery]

Are you talking about your life or ... :/

[@DarkD112]

I would never trust a review from a corporation. Linus still hasn't crossed that threshold for me, so I still find him rather trustworthy. Also, there's Project Farm I think it's called. They're a youtube channel that benchmark tests tools. For computer parts, I just research specs online. Motherboards need large cache, memory needs good CAS latency.

[@CalebBOBBLEHEAD]

This was how I felt about build redux

[@transformer889]

I wonder why Amazon reviews are always 4.5 ratings

[@adammobley5011]

This is why do not typically buy anything from Amazon. I only buy from brands I know and trust, either directly (requires they actually have a website) or from an authorized reseller/retailer which I can verify through the brand's website. Also, the warranty of a product is often a better barometer of its quality than any "review."

[@jeinnerabdel]

We need an updated version of this video!

[@bkrat5144]

Bought the F70 based off of your advice. Simple, portable and comes with a card. Easy transfer between my car and motorcycle. Thanks for the great review!

[@Mike0]

Viofo a229 blows these all away now, especially night driving. Uses the starvis 2 sensor, but it is more expensive

[@NathanSpiller-g5f]

@@Mike0 im about to buy a dashcam, you really like the viofo more?

[@JimNortonsAlcoholism]

@@NathanSpiller-g5f I don't know about more but the A229 is a solid camera.

[@tjam4229]

Love it! Finally…someone actually explains WHY we are experiencing what we are experiencing, when we are trying to find the best dashcam, but they all appear to have the same image quality. Why isn’t this type of review more common??!! Bravo Linus!! 👏

[@zYxMa]

because most of dashcam reviews are sponsered by their manufacturers

[@johnh8705]

Dashcams are there to record for evidence not to make a Hollywood movie

[@swisswildpicsswp3095]

It's been almost a year since the review. Anyone got some dashcam recommendations? Or nothing has changed?

[@jakubgalinski2135]

When I was looking at the images and they looked the same I was suspecting this bs with same components different box.

[@BaldMancTwat]

@@swisswildpicsswp3095 Viofo A119 V3 or the Viofo Mini 2 are good options.

[@thekraken8him]

Excellent investigative journalism. Mystery writer nailed this project. I love it when bigger reviewers shine a light on niche tech industries that are coasting on people's ignorance. I hope yall use your lab to make more content like this.

[@saoirsethewanderer]

It’s not always about getting the license plate number. It’s about seeing the whole situation. What’s going on around the car and what’s going on in front of the car. Dash cams are great and are very helpful when it comes to Car wrecks and situations you might get in on the road

[@Flightline_]

I've had the A119 v3 for 2 years now and it still runs perfectly. Viofo is the sweet spot for dashcams. Blackvue and the other $200+ cameras are not worth the investment. One thing Linus didn't point out is BUY A HIGH ENDURANCE CARD. You are writing and deleting files every drive, you should not be putting in the cheapest SD you can find. It will fail prematurely and cause you to think the camera itself is going bad.

[@augere9620]

The SD comment is so important. I went through 2 semi expensive SD cards before realizing I was buying the wrong type for the use.

[@jebloonfiddlesticks1395]

Despite the usual high quality of Linus videos and the wealth of information already put in this one, I'm kind of surprised it wasn't at least mentioned. I mean even a quick glance at the dashcam subreddit would stress the importance of a hi performance card. This video is clearly aimed at people who don't know much about this topic and as such it should be important to inform of beginner facts

[@junjae.]

what high endurance card do you use, flightline?

[@Flightline_]

@@junjae. I use the Samsung PRO Endurance 64gb micro SD. Has worked flawlessly. I also recommend formatting the card every month or so for maximum longevity of the card.

[@DavidSharon]

A decent dashcam with the reliability of a high endurance card can easily prove 'who did what' and 'who didn't do what.' Seriously, proof of fault is 90% of what people need in after wreck and someone is LYING about what YOU did behind the wheel. Getting clear-enough shots for license plates & decent parking mode detection is the 10% where you'll get lost in $200+ cams that fail at doing everything above average.

[@Rawwhhh]

I have a Garmin Mini in all my cars, front and back. It’s just nice to have all my cameras on one app that I can view from my front room, no screens and I like the fact that 2 cameras record together and you can merge the screens in the app to show front and back footage of the same incident in the same video. It’s also got me out of a few sticky situations.

[@psedog]

For the next round give 70Mai a shot. It's been pretty good for me and I bought the front/rear combo for about $125 on a kickstarter model A800. It uses a IMX-415. Not sure how that compares, though.

[@anyrndm]

They're a big brand on aliexpress and I've been wondering how they are so I upvote this !

[@theelichtje3]

Can vouch for the 70mai series :)

[@eustache_dauger]

Using A800s and happy with it. Will replace it with the DDPAI Z50 or something similar when the lithium battery gives up on me.

[@stefaq112]

I'm also using a 70mai model and am very satisfied about the cost>quality ratio. The image quality is pretty good both during day and night.

[@thatsjimmii]

Using the 70mai lite and a500s here!

[@darwinbelliard9664]

My Recommendation is to buy Wolfbox, I've had the G900 and the G900 pro which is the one I would recommend the most, $300 for dashcam and rear camera with a very good image quality, light balance and detail. Front it 4K and rear is 2.5K. they both have a Sony sensor. Sony Starvis IMX678 for the front Camera and IMX335 for the rear. Again, try it and see reviews, it's pretty good for the price and customer service is great also.

[@shreddedWheatz]

I had my suspicions about this for a long time, thank you for finally calling this issue out. It sounds like there's a hole in the market for a truly high quality dashcam that's not Chinese crap. Hopefully some tech company sees this and swoops in. I'm tired of all these countless trash brands on Amazon with unpronounceable names.

[@yeflynne]

unpronounceable means it's a Chinese scam

[@redteddy135]

@@yeflynne my moyu rs3m begs to differ. as well as my N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine(this is a joke). Both get the job done

[@greggv8]

Viofo A129 Pro uses a newer image sensor than any reviewed in this video. That's the PRO, not the original A129 or A129 Plus. The A129 Pro Duo is the same, just packaged with the same 1080p rear camera as comes with other Viofo dashcams.

[@_w_w_]

These issues exist in every category of tech products because this is what Taiwanese to do any market. They go in, tank the price and drive out all competitors and then the innovation stops. Taiwanese are usually price leader in every category of semiconductor, through low-spec, low-quality products... You wonder why we still have wifi issues these days? The Taiwanese.... Any modern technology headaches, you can probably trace it to a Taiwanese fabless chip company around 90% of the times. In areas where technology just works and works well? Do some research and you will realize it does not involve a Taiwanese IC vendor.

[@H0n3yMonstah]

Stop buying from Amazon, problem solved

[@przmx]

Actually there are some high image quality dash cams brands being selled for cheap price (at least in Europe) for example 70mai dashcams and as I can see the SOCs they are using are newer than those in dashcams reviewed in this video

[@ILoveWomen]

70mai is a good brand. You can also find Yi dash cams for dirt cheap that do the job

[@LetsPlayBojangles]

I've been using the Viofo V2 for years which uses the xxx60 not the xxx70 of the v3 and it's got me 2 separate $500 repairs from people hitting my parked car then running. I use the anti glare polarized lens attatchment and it makes a HUGE difference in high glare situations so the sun doesn't blow out the image if it's in frame.

[@Methodical2]

Do you have a link to the polarized lens product?

[@jeremycarter]

I've been using the Viofo A129 Duo for awhile now and I love it! Video quality is pretty good and clear for daytime video. I haven't had a need to access any night time video yet. A129 for the win!

[@spud69g]

The same question I ask about all security cams to this day. Still rocking 1970s camera tech all over. All those video clips we see of stores getting robbed etc, it's like watching an old tube tv with bad tracking on your VCR.

[@HammyXs]

one of the biggest cctv brand in my country still using standard Internet Explorer to set it up through http LoL. And people sell that to customer. holyshit.

[@porkchopps]

I believe the reason for this is storage, security footage, especially for multiple cameras, is usually something people like to set and forget and only access it when necessary. In my experience, most stores have at least 4-6 cameras. Even running 6 cameras at 720p for 24 hours, is very likely to fill up whatever storage you have. I assume most systems run on an automatic delete oldest footage to make room for newest footage. If you are a franchise or chain store, I assume most companies have some type of policy on how far back your security footage must go, for a variety of reasons. If that time frame were for a week, and you have 6 cameras running 24 a day, well at 720p or 1080p, I hope your system came with a lot of storage. With that said though, I agree that they could use something much better than they do now, without taking up too much more space than is affordable for most businesses. This is just my guess as to why most places are running a camera that appears to be from 1995.

[@mclovinpo]

You try storing HD footage it takes massive drives

[@magicaarmroma]

Yeah what about Police dash cams (not body cams)? They probably haven't changed since 1996

Very good

[@LatitudeSky]

Used dashcams for over 15 years. Amazon is infected with dashcam review fraud. For example, I bought a dashcam off Amazon. It kept powering itself off. I left a negative review and the brand immediately blasted me begging to send me a new one, which arrived clearly having been a customer return. That one didn't work either. So they sent me a third one and began offering cash to get me to change my review. Then they promised free products in the future, as long as I changed that review. It was reported to Amazon. Nothing happened. If these clowns were so eager to bribe me, surely they are doing this to other reviewers. Buy one and leave a bad review and see what happens. The other issue with dashcams is that a lot of them are just rebadged. So the fact that none of them work well is because they're mostly the same cameras inside different plastic shells. And sometimes the same shell with just different logos. In the end, a camera selling for about 50 bucks is going to be sweet spot of usability but also not a total loss when it breaks in 2 years. Also important to mention, the last accident I had (lady hit me), nobody wanted to see the video. But the crash before that where a man ran a red light and hit me, he tried to sue me and my dashcam shut that down fast. His lawyer told him to be glad HE wasn't being sued. So dashcams are useful.

[@khalidacosta7133]

Wait until you launch your own company and decide to sell on Amazon. The dodgy competitors will buy your product... return it and then leave negative feedback... like it happened to me. Happens all the time. You can NOT trust Amazon feedback, even a 1 star product could be better than a 5 star product. It's utterly broken.

[@miikawilliam]

I also searched for the right one for a long time but finally landed on 70mai A800s (with the rear-view camera included) and so far it has been working perfectly, and it’s relatively small and does not stand out while driving :)

[@rodrigoflores890]

I really wanted to see the 70mai in this comparison, the reviews about it look way better than the under $100 amazon ones.

[@Anderson.T]

Had been using it for more than 1 year. The image quality is much better than the 1 show in this video 😂

[@HyakoV2]

Yeap definitly 70Mai is missing on this comparison.

[@jacobkreifels7690]

Thank you for the recommendation! Ill look into getting one

[@DudeHUN1]

Yes sir. Xiaomi 70mai is great. And cheap.

[@typesgsr]

This is a really great video. Really pulled down the curtain for all these dashcams. It's a breath of fresh air for me since I had a $500 dollar BlackVue that died at the year and a half mark. No warranty. No fixing it. Thank you for this information. For all those that care. The Thinkware F70 and VIOFO A119 V3 are both at the same price currently on amazon.

[@personyt55]

Your mistake was buying a $500 dashcam. At that point just get a iPhone or something to record.

[@BuschHawg]

Heard you guys were making this on the Wan show and was really excited. THANK YOU. PLEASE make more videos like this. Kinda like what Luke was saying, compared to pc parts, random gizmos we buy on Amazon(mics Webcams etc) are a lot harder for the average person to figure out what's good. Cheers.

[@YouTubeTechGuy]

Missing on big feature for quality. Aperture. When looking at dash cams this can help a lot as well for low light. I have the Vantrue N4, and not only does it have the Starvis sensor, but it has a better Aperture than most at F1.4. (Lower number is better). If you do LTT Labs for these products, it's something you definitely want to add.

[@jacek45]

yea the starvis is no joke

[@quinnobi42]

for better low light quality, you want as big an aperture as possible, I understand.

[@TheByQQ]

@@quinnobi42 Depends on how you define "quality". Bigger aperture only means it can gather more light in the same amount of time, so the image might be less grainy, but don't expect miracles.

[@rusparmesan]

Aperture doesn't mean much if you don't know the sensor size. 5.6 on FF is roughly equal to 2.8 on m4/3 sensor or 1.8 for 1-inch sensor (do they even do 1 inch sensor dashcams?)

[@tobin87]

I’m not sure. It seems expensive and while it might be more clear in certain situations it probably still suffers from light glare in high light.

[@bagel_deficient]

This makes me want to connect a GoPro to a Raspberry Pi and try to emulate basic dashcam features. With some work, I think that combo could blow all of these out of the water and still be convenient enough. Would obviously be more expensive though unless you already have a GoPro.

[@Darkk6969]

You could probably buy used GoPro off of ebay. Even an older model still better than we can get from the dashcams.

[@rjpearson]

If you were able to find the original osmo action or the Yi Action camera they'd probably be decent enough and cheap being older and discontinued.

[@areazaft1970]

At that point, why not use a pi camera? Even the expensive sensor camera is relatively cheap.

[@bagel_deficient]

@@__Brandon__ same thing applies to normal dashcams. (or empty McDonald's bags in my city >.> ) Have to hide it.

[@bagel_deficient]

@@areazaft1970 Still total ass compared to a GoPro. It would work though.

[@dashjunkie]

thx for run down in plain lang! as a non- tech-y grandma, watched hrs on reviews of dash cams & found ur info the MOST helpful! -thx helping me w decision & will send u my thoughts after decide whether thinkware or viofo 🤔🙂

[@brovgard]

Dashcam is not neccesarily for "catching" plates. In Poland it can be used to determine who is at fault. It's quite common here.

[@CryptiCoy]

The reason you'd want to catch license plates is in the case of hit and run, which is a pretty big problem in a lot of countries including the u.s. Here we are only required to have liability insurance so it doesn't cover your car unless you pay more so if the other person doesn't have insurance or takes off after the accident then your screwed.

[@Camelotsmoon]

@@CryptiCoy Happened to me once, my car ended up being totalled so I was screwed. I love people.

[@BBBodzio]

Chyba wszędzie w europie tak robią

[@BerserkFury89]

Almost all the higher end dash cams advertise parking mode. So if your car gets hit while you're parked, it's already obvious who was at fault, but if it doesn't record a license plate, good luck finding the culprit.

[@MrPaxio]

@@Camelotsmoon and you never pressed your insursnce to cover you via uninsured coverage? i love people