More than a million people die every year due to road traffic collisions. In the US, the number of deadly accidents has increased by 16%, amounting to 42,795 car crashes in 2022 from 36,835 in 2018. Installing a dashboard camera can reduce the risk of accidents as it monitors and records the road before and behind you.
The best dashcam prepares you for unexpected scenarios like a hit-and-run or an incoming collision. You have a second pair of eyes that can capture license plates and traffic signs in crisp quality, so you have a trustworthy witness on your commute. With exceptional image quality and built-in GPS, you can navigate the various challenges on the road.
Read further to learn about the five of the best dashcams in 2024. Learn the reasons why you should consider or avoid them.
#1 Nextbase 622 GW
Overview
Nextbase 622GW boasts exceptional image quality and stabilization. It can provide a clear picture on rough roads, in the dark, and in bad weather. This dashcam also offers comprehensive coverage with dual-channel support. It has multi-layered glass lenses to capture wide angles and minimize distortions.
The 622GW also supports voice commands, which let users control the dashcam through Alexa to check the weather, place calls, or play music. It also operates on 5GHz, ensuring fast footage downloads from the camera to the phone.
The Nextbase 622GW excels in road safety and vehicle protection with advanced dashcam functions that can help provide insurance against uncertainties like Emergency SOS and super slow-motion playback. The dashcam also offers a dedicated mobile app where users can notify their insurance companies with a few taps.
Features
4K Ultra HD Recording
The Nextbase 622GW records are of exceptional 4K quality. It can produce footage close to the resolution of high-end TVs and professional cameras. It uses a resolution of 2840 x 2160 @ 30FPS and provides contrast and color range superior to HD footage. (Note: The rear camera records full HD quality of 1080p @ 30FPS.)
Through dual channel support, the 622GW provides comprehensive coverage to the driver. It can document its surroundings from multiple angles, which reduces the risk of road accidents and increases the driver's road safety awareness.
Image Stabilization
The Nextbase dashcam ensures clear and steady recordings through its advanced image stabilization. 622GW can minimize the impact of vibrations and road bumps on the footage, which obscure its details, making it harder to identify objects on the road, including potential suspects of hit-and-run and other traffic offenses.
Defogging
The Nextbase 622GW boasts a defogging capability that ensures the visibility of foggy areas and the safety of navigation. The dash cam provides a clear picture in low visibility conditions, which is critical when driving under heavy rains or during a snowstorm.
Enhanced Night Vision
The Nextbase car camera can also perform well in low-light conditions. With enhanced night vision, the 622GW can record critical details on the darkest roads, as its larger pixels can capture more light and detect light levels automatically.
Emergency SOS
Nextbase can alert emergency services when a driver is unresponsive and potentially in danger. Its emergency SOS system goes through an anti-false-positive process to confirm the driver's safety. If left unanswered or the phone remains still, the emergency alert gets sent detailing the GPS location, destination, medical history, blood type, and allergies.
Emergency SOS saves drivers and other passengers in times of accidents, which renders them incapable of calling for help. The 622GW is the ideal dashcam for those who frequently travel far distances alone. Even when there's no data, emergency services can still locate the vehicle thanks to the embedded precision location technology.
Intelligent Parking Mode
The 622GW provides an extra layer of protection through its intelligent parking mode. The car camera records any bump or physical movement made to the vehicle while it is parked. It boasts a G Force sensor that registers movement and triggers an auto-recording to capture the event.
Reasons to consider:
High-quality recordings
24/7 protection
Emergency SOS response
Reasons to avoid:
Pricey
Limited built-in memory
#2 70mai Dash Cam A510
Overview
The 70mai Dash Cam A510 stands out for its vehicle surveillance capabilities, driver assistance system, and visual excellence. It can capture clear images of road signs and license plates in 1994p quality, along with 60 frames per second (FPS) for excellent stability during recordings. It has dual channel support and impressive night vision capabilities, allowing it to record the front and rear of the vehicle even in challenging lighting conditions.
With 4G connectivity, the A510 ensures uninterrupted communication between drivers and their vehicles, providing instant alerts for any suspicious incidents. 70mai offers a dedicated mobile app for its dashcam, allowing users to monitor their vehicle remotely and locate it in crowded parking areas.
The 70mai Dash Cam A510 also contains a G-sensor for collision detection, which triggers the recording of a half-minute video, ensuring the incident scene is captured to protect users from biased accusations. It can safeguard users from financial losses and legal complications.
From its superior night vision and high dynamic range to its built-in GPS, the 70mai dashcam possesses advanced functionalities that give drivers confidence and protection on and off the road. The dashcam covers many aspects of road safety, such as lane change assistance, crash prevention, road departure warning, etc., to maintain the best riding experience possible for everyone on board.
Features
Dual Channel Recording
The 70mai Dash Cam is capable of recording the view in front and behind the vehicle. It can also display both channels simultaneously using picture-in-picture mode. This dual-channel recording feature increases drivers' awareness, helping them navigate the road without bumping or colliding with other vehicles.
STARVIS 2 IMX 675 Sensor
Enabled by the advanced Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 sensor, the A510 captures a wide range of road activities with remarkable clarity. The videos produced by the 70mai dashcam are sharp, clear, and visually appealing, especially with its high frame rate of 60FPS. It ensures that distant objects remain visible and provides smooth footage, even when the vehicle is in motion.
HDR & MaiColor Vivid+ Solution
The 70mai dashcam can produce more natural images with HDR. It balances highlights and shadows, keeping details clear even in low-light settings. Additionally, HDR suppresses strong lights and high beams, ensuring that no vehicle or object gets obscured by excessive brightness. With the MaiColor Vivid+ solution, the dashcam identifies and enhances crucial elements such as license plates and road signs.
ADAS & Built-in GPS
The A510 also helps drivers navigate the road more efficiently through its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and built-in GPS. The dashcam provides real-time voice alerts of potential safety problems such as lane departure and forward collision. It tracks the route the vehicle takes and logs trip details like speed, time, and precise coordinates.
Other Smart Functions
The 70mai Dash Cam A510 offers other smart functions through its dedicated mobile app, where users can modify camera settings and access the live stream of their vehicle's surroundings. The device can also initiate an emergency recording when a collision occurs or capture continuous footage at 1FPS during parking mode, ensuring 24/7 surveillance for vehicle protection.
Reasons to consider:
Seamless app control
Rear-view support
Image enhancement algorithms
Night vision capability
Affordable
Reasons to avoid:
The hardware kit for parking monitoring is sold separately. Check the 70mai Amazon store for more details.
1080P HDR rear cam is sold separately.
#3 Viofo A119
Overview
The Viofo A119 v3 stands out for its affordable pricing and superb quad HD video quality. It only supports one channel but its camera has a 140-degree wide viewing angle to provide coverage for the interior and back of the vehicle.
This car camera also boasts three parking modes, ensuring vehicle protection and surveillance. It can record automatically when objects are detected and automatically lock the video when it detects shaking or collision.
The A119 v3 also endures strong weather conditions. While it lacks a defogging capability, the Viofo dashcam promises good-quality recordings on or off the road for only $119.99 (additional charges may apply for overseas orders).
Features
Superb Quad HD Video Quality
The A119 v3 supports 2K QHD at 60 FPS. This dashcam can provide clear vibrant colors with sharp video quality, even in low lighting conditions. It leverages multiple exposure technology which solves exposure issues at night that obscure details on the road to capture license plate numbers and road traffic signs.
140-degree Angle and Rotatable Lens
What it lacks in rear view support, the A119 v3 makes up for its rotatable lens. This dashcam offers a 140-degree viewing angle to expand its shooting coverage. Even with minimal edge-to-edge distortion, the recordings boast good quality to make objects appear visible and identifiable.
Automatic Emergency Lock
The Viofo dashcam can also prevent important files from being overwritten during loop recording through its automatic emergency lock. The A113 v3 has a built-in G-sensor that triggers the lock when it detects shaking or collision.
Super Capacitor
The Viofo A113 v3 can withstand a huge temperature range thanks to its super capacitor. It can endure the most frigid cold and intense heat unlike dashcams powered by lithium batteries.
Reasons to consider:
Can withstand harsh temperatures
Three parking modes
Affordable
Reasons to avoid:
No Wifi support and mobile app
No microSD card included
#4 MiVue 812
Overview
MiVue 812 provides crystal clear videos even at high speeds. It produces recordings made with 1440p WQHD in 140-degree wide-angle viewing. This dashcam also possesses night vision for capturing objects in low-light conditions. Like other car cameras, it has a smart parking mode that collects evidence upon sensing impacts or motion from its surroundings.
Features
Full HD 1080P at 60 FPS with Night Vision
The MiVue dashcam provides full HD 1080 footage at 60 FPS. Even when moving at high speeds, the 812 eliminates motion blur and captures any nearby license plates clearly. (Note: Only the footage displayed on its support is in 1440p WQHD.)
Equipped with a large aperture F1.8, the MiVue 812 overcomes challenging light conditions. It can capture sharper and brighter videos, unlike other car cameras with a higher lens aperture number. It also has a 4:6 ratio of the sky to ground, which means drivers have sufficient coverage to monitor any road activity.
Average Speedcam Alert
The MiVue 812 can calculate the remaining time and distance between the vehicle's location and destination. It also provides the speed limit and average speed of the interval to keep drivers from being pulled over by a police officer and getting a speeding ticket.
Smart Parking Mode
The MiVue 812 can automatically switch to smart parking mode when the engine is turned off. This feature requires the Smartbox III, which is sold separately from the device. The dashcam records its surroundings when its sensor detects motions or impacts near the front of the vehicle.
Reasons to consider:
Good low-light performance
High-quality image processing algorithm
Built-in speed cam alert
Reasons to avoid:
Smartbox III for smart parking mode is sold separately.
No rearview support
#5 Garmin Dash Cam 56
Overview
The Garmin Dash Cam 56 stands out for its compactness and road safety functions. It supports 1440p HD video with a 140-degree field of view. It automatically records once plugged into a vehicle's power source and syncs with a dedicated mobile app, making it easier to view and share footage of memorable travels and traffic incidents.
Features
Incident Detection with GPS
The Garmin pocket-size dashcam automatically saves footage when it detects an incident like a collision or a car crash. It has a built-in GPS that logs when and where the events occurred. The car camera can provide crucial evidence to protect drivers against biased accusations.
Road Safety Warnings
The Garmin Dash Cam 56 also encourages safe driving through warnings. It notifies drivers when they're driving too close to the vehicle in front or drifting off the road. It can signal them to go when stopped traffic has started to move or alert them of nearby red lights and speed cameras, preventing financial losses and legal complications related to disobeying traffic rules.
Voice Control
The Garmin car camera keeps human intervention with voice commands at a minimum. Drivers can leverage voice control to save videos, start audio recordings, and more, so they keep their hands on the wheel and focus on navigating the road with full attention.
Reasons to consider:
Proactive alert system
Voice command support
Dedicated mobile app
Reasons to avoid:
Memory card is sold separately.
No rear-view support
Conclusion
A reliable dashcam eliminates the worries of unexpected incidents that could potentially endanger you and damage your vehicle on the road. Prioritize your safety by investing in the best devices that keep you alert and protect your vehicle, off and on the road.
Having increased awareness of the road may potentially save your life. Choose from the top 5 best dash cams in 2024 and expect visual excellence and smart navigation assistance for your everyday travels.
