car dash cam

This is one of the most important features. Without it, the camera might… simply not record when you need it to.

What it does:

• The camera turns on and records automatically when power is available (ACC/USB/cigarette lighter socket).
• You don't have to remember to use it.
• Minimizes the risk of the camera being off during an accident.
• Manually turning it on = people forget.
• If the camera doesn't record, everything else becomes irrelevant.
• a device that requires you to remember to use it is a bad device.

Prevents overheating, swelling, or sudden death. Battery = failure. Capacitor = reliability.

Manufacturers hype “4K” because it sounds premium. Reality: cheap 4K sensors usually perform worse at night than a good 1080p Sony Starvis sensor.

Look for:

• Sony Starvis or Starvis 2 sensor
• Good low-light performance
• Real bit rate above ~20 Mbps

Avoid no-name “4K Ultra Super Night Vision” claims.

This is what actually matters in the real world. Parking mode can work in 3 ways:

1. Buffered (best)

   • Records ~5–15 seconds before impact + after impact.
   • Only mid/high-end models do this.

2. Impact-only (basic)

   • Wakes up only when G-sensor detects a hit.
   • Cheap, but misses everything except the moment of impact.

3. Motion-triggered (mixed usefulness)

   • Very sensitive, often fills card with false positives (shadows, rain, trees).

Dash cams kill SD cards. Buy the correct type:

• Samsung PRO Endurance, or
• SanDisk High Endurance, or
• Transcend High Endurance

Avoid: “normal” SD cards. They die quickly.

Size: 128GB is sweet spot. Bigger = less overwriting = more useful.

Dash cams die from heat before they die from anything else — especially in summer.

Look for:

• Capacitor power supply (NOT lithium battery)
• Operating temp up to 60–70°C

Avoid: “battery-powered dash cams” and ultra-cheap €20–€40 no-brand units.

Wide enough to capture events, not too wide to distort plates.

Gives more readable plates in tough lighting.

Gives more readable plates in tough lighting.

• speed recording
• exact location of incidents
• more credible evidence

Not essential if you're minimizing cost.

Audio can help in disputes (e.g., road rage), but is not essential.

Useful if you park in risky areas, but not required for everyone.

• What it does:

  • Allows you to view live camera feeds or notifications on your phone when you're away from your car.
  • Some models send alerts in the event of a collision or movement.

• Pros:

  • Useful if you frequently leave your car in dangerous areas and want immediate information.
  • In theory, it provides "remote protection" for your car.

• Cons

  • Expensive data plan/SIM card

    • LTE requires a permanent connection, often with a monthly fee.
  • Free access is practically nonexistent.

  • Battery and Heat

    • LTE generates additional heat → the camera heats up faster → shortens its lifespan.
    • In a car in the summer, this is a real problem.

  • High risk of outage/range

    • LTE signal in a garage/parking lot may be weak.
    • If LTE fails, notifications won't arrive → a false sense of security.

• Not a substitute for recording

  • Even if it notifies you of a collision, if the SD card didn't record the event, you have no evidence.
• If your primary goal = recording evidence in the event of an accident → LTE is not necessary.

• LTE is an optional add-on, useful only for people who:

  • Park in high-risk areas
  • Want instant notifications
  • Can and are willing to pay a subscription

1. What it actually does

   • When pressed, marks/locks the current video clip to prevent it from being overwritten.
   • Works like a remote "EVENT/LOCK" button, except:
   • no cable
   • can be placed closer to the driver's hand

2. When it MAKES sense

   • Sudden non-impact events:

     • failing to yield
     • road rage
     • threats, gestures, "road rage"
     • dangerous maneuvers by other drivers

3. In these situations:

   • G-sensor not activated
   • Automatic event not saved
   • Manually securing footage is actually useful. Here, the button solves a real problem.

4. When it doesn't make sense

   • Collisions and accidents

     • The G-sensor will still work

   • Parking mode**

     • The driver is not in the car

   • After the incident

     • You can remove the card/protect the file later

5. Issues

   1. Bluetooth = another point of failure: In a stressful situation, you don't have time to check if the button worked

      • Dead button battery
      • Lost pairing
      • Reaction delay
      • Interference

   2. Driver behavior: In a real-life incident:

      • You brake
      • You look at the road
      • You react instinctively. Few people remember to press the button.

   3. Tape + small element

      • May fall off in heat
      • May be accidentally pressed
      • May be noticed (aesthetics/curious hands)

6. If the camera has:

   • good loop recording
   • reasonable clip length (1–3 minutes)
   • solid G-sensor

then a Bluetooth button is a luxury, not a necessity.

If you frequently encounter road rage and want to actively tag incidents → it makes sense. It's a cool gadget, but not a reason to pay extra or choose a specific model.

Most apps are slow, buggy, annoying.

• Nice to have, but don’t pay extra just for Wi-Fi.
• If you only check footage occasionally, you can pull the card manually.

Saves space, but H.264 is totally fine.

• reduces windshield reflections
• reduces dashboard glare
• makes daytime footage cleaner
• improves visibility of details in sunlight

• Why it’s NOT essential:

  • It hurts night performance (darkens image).
  • People forget to remove it at night → footage looks worse.
  • Only helps if your car has a shiny or bright dashboard.

CPL is useful for daytime drivers. Harmful for night drivers. If you do a lot of night driving → skip. If you drive mostly during the day → worth considering.

• are cheap (50–120 PLN)
• safe
• low-power
• protect the car battery
• designed for heat

Convenient, but doesn’t improve actual video clarity.

Small improvement; not big enough to justify price jumps.

In some countries/disputes, it's better not to have speed data recorded. A good feature from a legal perspective.

What it does: The camera "wakes up" and records when it detects motion in the frame.

Why it's weak:

• Reacts to:
• rain
• shadow
• people walking 10 meters away
• cars passing by
• Very often clogs the memory card with unnecessary clips.

• In uncached parking mode, it has little evidently value because:

  • it doesn't record before an event
  • it often triggers too late

Summary: Unless you have cached parking mode, motion detection is almost useless.

Looks good on paper, makes plates unreadable.

Fails in heat, swells, destroys device. Hard “no”. Always choose capacitor.

More heat, worse night clarity, useless marketing number.

Impossible to play on phones or PCs. If vendor disappears, your footage becomes unreadable.

Random firmware, weak sensors, overheating, fake specs.

subscription trap in many models

• Forward Collision Warnings
• Obstacle Warnings
• Lane Departure Warnings
• Speed ​​Camera Warnings
• Segment Speed ​​Measurements
• SOS Mode

GARBAGE MARKETING

Why:

• They perform worse than the car's built-in systems
• False Alarms
• Distracting
• They rely on a cheap camera and a weak CPU

Garbage. The phone takes better photos. The camera lacks autofocus or decent optics for taking photos.

USELESS. The dashcam is inside the car. If someone advertises it, it's a red flag.

LOW VALUE. Lags, small screen, worse than a rearview camera

More mechanics = higher failure rates Often worse optics

garbage. Makes sense only in fleets.

it's just marketing. It doesn't really improve anything for the average user.

garbage. Any smartphone + navigation does it better.