If you’ve spent any time on Australia’s
roads, you won’t need convincing about the
value of a dashcam. Whether it’s hoons,
suicidal wildlife, general road debris,
morons, insurance fraudsters, or decent
people making honest (but very serious)
mistakes, there are many threats that can
cause damage to your vehicle or injuries to
you and others. In many instances, you’ll
end up talking to police and an insurance
company and, without a dashcam, it will be
your word versus someone else’s. This is
not a position you want to be in when
you’re suffering from
shock and some shyster
is spinning a yarn about
how it’s all your fault.
But the world of
dashcams can be
confusing. There are
many models at widely
varying prices from
many different
manufacturers and the
differences in features
can be miniscule or
vast. Consequently, this
month we’ve looked at some of the newer,
most-representative dashcams on the
market to give you an idea of what’s most
important. However, you may find that our
Buyer’s Guide (over the page) is more
instructive as you won’t want to be paying
a great deal for features that you won’t use
or, in some cases, that you can’t use
because you don’t have the required
equipment.
We’ve also included two of the top-rated
Apple and Android App Store dashcam apps
to see how they compare to the dedicated
units. Not so long ago, smartphones
decimated the thriving SatNav market by
performing the same functions, even
better and for free. Is the same about to
happen with Dashcams? Modern phones
are essentially much-more powerful
versions of the same thing, after all.
We’ve included a variety of models that
cost between $800 and $150 so there’s
something to suit most budgets. All of our
models have a high enough definition to
capture number plates of other drivers (to
varying degrees) and all function in low
light. They also all feature GPS location
recording which
simultaneously records
speed. There’s little
point in buying a
low-resolution unit
unless you really do only
want to establish which
pixelated mess pulled
out in front of the
other, first.
We also recognise that
many dashcam owners
will be very proud of
their cars and won’t
want some cheap device spoiling their
interior lines. Consequently, we’ve included
two, high-end ‘Barrel’ models which
eschew a cheap plastic chassis (and screen)
for sharper, svelte looks. However, you’ll
still need to think about wire management
as main units come with a lot of cabling for
power connection to your car’s cigarette
lighter and, in many cases connection to a
rear camera. It’s enough to make us
wonder, when many cars are already
equipped with multiple cameras and
sensors, why aren’t dashcams already
built-in to them in the first place!In many instances,
you’ll end up talking to
police and an insurance
company and, without
a dashcam, it will be
your word versus
someone else’s.