2020-04-01 TechLife

(singke) #1

FEATURE


Best Dashcams for Australian drivers

limited in terms of resolution.
Free, Apple App Store

Smart Dash Cam is the top-rated (4.7
Stars) free iPhone App. Like its
Android counterpart, it’s super simple
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nifty features.
One of them is the ability to add a
small navigation map in the corner of
the phone’s screen or even
superimpose a translucent overlay on
top of the video footage being
recorded. You can also choose speed
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screen. A small banner ad sticks to the
bottom of the screen and can be a little
intrusive with its frequent updating
but it’s otherwise free. Video can be
uploaded to the cloud in just a few taps
(whether that’s Google Drive, iCloud,
Dropbox, or YouTube). It’s simple to
set maximum capacities of video
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that they won’t be overwritten. Our
only issue is that footage is only 720p,
but the iPhone’s camera at least makes
this good quality. Nonetheless, you’ll
struggle to view some
number plates.

st
issues, performs its core
functions well.
$200, http://www.uniden.com.au

Uniden is a company with a wide variety
of mid-range dashcams. The iGO CAM
60 has a sticker mounting (that houses a
GPS) meaning it can’t be easily moved. It
might not look very sophisticated but
the footage it records is generally good
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However, picture quality can struggle
when contrast is high, with highlights
blowing out and detail getting lost in
shadows. Nonetheless, speed, time and
location information is well-
superimposed onto the footage. There
are plenty of driver assist monitors
which work well to varying degrees.
These include speed, red-light, speed
camera and lane-departure warnings.
However, turning them all on will drive
you nuts and likely distract you from the
road. A small battery is included which
will keep the camera in hibernation
mode when not being used – ready to
activate should it register a bump while
parked. At $200 it’s not cheap but it’s a
solid all-round performer that performs
its core functions well.

# Uniden iGO CAM 85R
A great all-rounder with
some nifty features and
a reasonable price tag.
$340, http://www.uniden.com.au

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and greatest dashcam. While its
(sticker-mounted) operation feels
similar to its 60-monikered sibling, it
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rear camera and additional
enhancements to the mix.
One of them is called Wide Dynamic
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contrast issues that blighted the 60.
However, this only stretches to the
front camera: the Full HD rear camera
can still blow-out and lose detail in
highlights and shadows when the
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It can send footage to a smartphone
via Wi-Fi but can also output directly
to a screen via an HDMI port (which is
potentially very useful for some). We
liked the fact that the rear camera
cable has the ability to be wired into
the car and used as a reversing camera


  • although you’re advised to let a
    professional install this.
    At $340, while not perfect, it
    performs very well and represents
    very good value.


(^6) Smart Dash Cam # Uid iGOCAM85R
iOS App
A great free appbut it’s
limitedintermsofresolution
(^7) Uniden iGO CAM 60
Looks unsophisti ated
but despite some contras
issues performs its core
OCAM60
6
7



2020
EDITOR
APPROVED
It’s simple to set
maximum capacities of
video recording and lock
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Free download pdf