In the minds of many, dash cams are uniform products used for a single purpose. Yet, while being a relatively new piece of tech, dash cams now come in various formats, thus complicating the selection of the right model for novice users. In 2022, there are three main types of dash cams that you need to wrap your head around and this mini guide will help you do just that before the actual purchase.
Regular Dash Cams
When a device is described as a dash cam, this model is what usually comes to people’s minds. These devices are easy to mount and configure and, most importantly, won’t blow a hole in your monthly budget. They are placed on the dashboard or a windshield and it’s from here that they will record everything that goes on in front of your vehicle. These devices are usually activated when you start your vehicle, meaning that you do not have to pay attention to them while you are driving.
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They won’t require much attention in terms of maintenance as well and will be happy with having access to just a decent charging system. Bear in mind that they can be connected with an in-car socket or run on lithium-ion batteries.
The recording is done based on a loop system, i.e. at one moment, your camera will have to overwrite old recordings to make space for the new ones. You can postpone this moment by either expanding their storage capacity or by using the removable storage feature to transfer the recordings to another platform.
That’s it, basically, these no-frills dash cams will get the job done for the majority of users who prefer affordability to more advanced features.
Advanced Dash Cams
Advanced dash cams are more complex devices than their regular counterparts. This means that they come with a set of bells and whistles whose usefulness to you will largely depend on your use cases and, obviously, available budget.
Just like regular dash cams, these will also record footage of what happens in front of your vehicles, but you will also have to pay a higher price for their more advanced features.
The audio recording feature will, for instance, allow you to record sounds that are produced inside your vehicle. This can have its uses if your vehicle is used for shared driving or taxi services, but bear in mind that the legality of recording people in this manner needs to be checked for privacy regulations in force in your area.
Speed sensors and accelerometers can be desirable in the situation in which an accident you were involved with needs to be corroborated with the data on the speed of your or another person’s vehicle.
GPS logging provides you with visual information on the physical location of your vehicle. This can be useful if you have a hard time tracking your vehicle after an accident.
Finally, an uninterruptible power supply helps your vehicle record footage even after you stop your car for whatever reason.
Dual Dash Cams
These are usually the most expensive models as they allow you to capture footage of what happens both in front of your vehicle and inside it. Despite carrying a heftier price tag, these models do not always include the more advanced features described above.
Still, their main selling point, the ability to keep an eye on the vehicle interior is particularly useful if you want to keep an eye on the driving habits of other users of your vehicle (your kids, for instance) or if you want to acquire valuable evidence in case of a vehicle break-in.
Conclusion
If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to get yourself a dash cam, you are lucky that you will be doing it in 2022. The selection of models and features on offer will meet everyone’s needs as long as you keep in mind the basic idea behind each dash cam profile in the market.