Dash Cams are abbreviations for Dashboard Cameras. Also known as event data recorders, car digital video recorders, and driving recorders. They’re designed for and mounted on your car’s dashboard or windscreen to capture what you see upfront.
In other words, they act as backup observers to what your eyes see while in the car. The majority of the Dash Cams also come with a cabin camera that records the interior of your car. In this case, it sees what’s going on in your car that you’re not aware of.
Dash cams have one major role, enabling you to record events of what happens around you while you drive. Just in case everyone you met on the road had good intentions, then we would hardly need dash cams. This brings us to the significance of having a dashboard camera.
The Importance of Dash Cams
There are several justifications why you require a dashcam in your car. And they include the ones below.
1. Silent Witness
Your dash cam keep a record of what transpired, whenever an incident or accident occurs while you driving. With a dash cam you don’t have to scream so much, whereas when it comes to an argument you have to shout louder.it becomes a game whose voice is louder.
After an incident, you just have to take out the camera and playback the incident to get the whole problem is solved. Whoever was on the wrong will be easily identified. Hence, the dash cam will have acted as a silent witness for you.
2. Protection Against Fraud
Some of us have witnessed and heard of insurance fraud on our roads and there are lots of YouTube Videos that proves the same issue. Some people might just walk into your running car and claim you ran over them. In case you haven’t mounted a dashboard camera, it becomes a heated argument between the two of you.
However,, with a dash cam mounted, you will simply playback the record to the relevant authority. And you’ll be protected against the person intending to unlawfully take advantage of legal law. Hence, dash cams can surely safeguard you from fraud while while using your car.
3. Your security guard
Dash cams are basically security guards. Try to figure out this, how often do you know what happens at the back of your car or when you park it somewhere? You will simply record what occurs inside and outside your car while driving or away. So that you’ll be able to hold accountable someone for what transpired.
Why do you need a dashcam?
You need it because it:
- Serves as a witness to incidents and accident.
- Reveals records of what happened inside and around your car.
- Protects against insurance fraud.
- Is easy to install.
- Is relatively cheap.
- Helps you get insurance for your damaged car (when someone damaged your car and is claiming innocence).
The Cost of a New Dash Cam
The dash cam prices varies from $50 to $300. U.S residents can check out the prices of dash cams on Rexing USA. You can also benefit from the free shipping on orders worth $99 and over within the U.S.
Can You Leave DashCam on Overnight?
Most drivers with dash cams in their cars always inquire whether it is advisable to leave their dash cams on overnight or not. Given dash cams are becoming a famous road safety appliance, below are the main considerations for leaving a dashcam on.
Parking mode
The major justification why proficient dash camera users will leave their appliances on overnight in their car isn’t because of laziness but rather, due to the parking mode feature.
The feature enables the dash camera to stay powered on and record after the engine is turned off and the driver has left the vehicle.
Not only does this make for a tidier finish, as you have no trailing wires in the cabin, but it also enables for the parking mode functionality to be active. But, the dashcam must be hardwired to have this function.
Not all dash camera have parking mode but almost all that come with it, require you to have the device hardwired into the fuse box so that it can draw power from the vehicle’s battery, even after the ignition is switched off upon car parking.
Nonparking mode
In case you own a dash camera without parking mode, leaving it in the car overnight may only attract undesirable attention. Under such circumstances, it’s worth removing it from the windscreen or dashboard whenever possible.
Keeping it in the glove box away from visibility is always enough to prevent undesirable attention. Buying a protective pouch or carry case can also make sure that the dashcam doesn’t get hurt.
How Long Does a DashCam Recording Last?
According to the SCobra, the number of hours that a dash cam can record depends on the size of the SD memory card, the video resolution you’re recording at, how many views you’re recording (some dash cams allow 2 or even 3 views to be captured simultaneously) and how many video files you have saved or locked on the device.
When using loop recording, a dashcam will record continuously, as long as the camera has power and is turned on. The number of saved hours of video that a dash cam can record will vary by device and recording quality, among other factors, but here are some general estimates for different capacity SD cards recording at 1080P resolution with a single view:
- 8 GB – 55 minutes
- 16 GB – 110 minutes (1.8 hours)
- 32 GB – 220 minutes (3.6 hours)
Dashcams usually record videos in clips of a few minutes long. Having individual clips rather than one long recording allows you more flexibility in saving specific videos, exporting them directly from the SD card or via WiFi or Bluetooth®, or deleting them if they aren’t needed. If the video was saved as one long recording, you would need to manually edit the file if you only wanted to keep a portion of the video.
What is Loop Recording on DashCam?
According to the SCobra loop recording on a dashcam is the process of recording video by overwriting older video with new footage. This allows the camera to keep recording even if the installed SD memory card is full, helping to ensure that the device never misses a minute of your drive..Loop recording is standard on most modern dash cams, but you may be able to adjust this setting, depending on the device. There are a few reasons why continuous loop recording may not function as expected, including if too many videos on the SD card have been locked to prevent them from being overwritten.
How Does Dash Cam Loop Recording Work?
When you first begin using your dashcam, the video will be recorded up to the capacity of the installed memory card. Some dash cams, but not all, will include a memory card so you don’t have to purchase one. Keep in mind that different dash cams have different maximum file capacities for the largest memory card they will accept. Once the memory card has reached its recording limit, dashcam loop recording works by overwriting the oldest files with a new video.
In case you plan to take a long drive and are concerned about losing footage from parts of your road trip, you’ll want to make sure that you have a high-capacity SD card and that you’re immediately locking the video clips you want to save. Dashcams typically save video files in increments from 1 to 5 minutes, and you may be able to adjust the length of the clip time in your camera’s settings.
Most dash cams record video to an SD card (more commonly a Micro SD card), a type of removable memory for portable devices. SD cards can be read by any compatible card reader; many laptop computers have card readers, for example, which makes viewing and saving dashcam recordings on your computer simply a matter of removing the SD card from the camera and putting it into the laptop card reader.
The memory capacity of your SD card will depend on which type of card is used in your dashcam, but sizes between 8 GB to 64 GB are common. A Wi-Fi or Bluetooth® enabled dash cam with cloud video management and storage will also allow you to view, save, and delete videos without the need to remove the SD card.
According to the DashCam Store, these are the commonly asked questions about DashCam.
Why is it called a dashcam?
Dashcams, or dashboard video cameras, got their name due to originally being mounted on the dashboard of vehicles (mostly police cars). Now, most dashcams mount to a car’s windshield with a secure and easy-to-use suction cup mount or strong adhesive pad.
Are there different kinds of dashcams?
Yes, there are several types of dashcams, and while they come in all shapes and sizes, they may be classified into a few distinct categories (click on any category link below to open a new browser window to that category of dashcam):
- Single-lens dashcams
- Dual-lens dashcams (for front + rear recording)
- Dual-lens dashcams (for front + inside recording)
- Rear-view mirror style dashcams and professional dashcams
- Single-lens dashcams are the most basic type of dashcams. These record from a single camera lens, like a normal camcorder. Typically people mount these dashcams on their front windshield to record what is happening in front of the car.
Dual-lens dashcams are a bit more complex. These dashcams can record from more than one camera lens at a time. Typically they utilize one forward-facing lens to record what is happening in front of the vehicle, and one inside-facing lens to record what is happening inside the vehicle. These are particularly useful for fleet or commercial vehicles where typically the driver of the vehicle is not the owner of the vehicle.
There are also dual-lens dashcams for front + rear such as the BlackVue DR750S-2CH that record in front of the vehicle like a single-lens model, but also use the input from a smaller remote camera (a camera mounted in the back of the vehicle – on the rear windshield) to record what is happening behind the vehicle as well.
Rear-view mirror style dashcams are a special type of dashcam. This clip is secure to the back of your existing rear-view mirror and provides video from a small forward-facing lens. This style of dashcam is great for those wanting a less-conspicuous solution.
Professional dashcams are commercial-grade models designed for business use (fleet vehicles, taxis/Uber/Lyft drivers, delivery trucks, etc) or another commercial, municipal, or government purposes. These high-reliability units are also desirable to those individuals seeking the added peace of mind that comes from using a professional-level device in their vehicle.
Which dash cam is the best?
Unfortunately, this is not an easy question to answer. Since dashcams all have different qualities, the best dashcam is the one that suits *you* best. The Dashcam Store™ has created a Buyer’s Guide to help you get started picking out the right dashcam for your needs.
Keep in mind that while there are a wide variety of dashcams available on the internet, many of which are cheap and unreliable, you can rest assured that we only sell those cameras which we research and which pass our internal quality tests.
How do I use a dashcam?
Once you have purchased a dashcam (preferably from The Dashcam Store smiley face ), in most cases this is all you need to do to be up and running:
- Insert a memory card.
- Attach the suction-cup mount to your windshield.
- Plug the power cord into the power source (cigarette lighter or other).
Done! Since recording is automatic, just drive your vehicle like you normally would, and enjoy the fact that you are now “protected by dashcam”! See more on our How-Tos page.
What are they good for?
Dashcams have many applications, but most importantly, they act as an impartial witness in case of an accident. Sadly, there are dishonest people in the world, and a dashcam provides irrefutable evidence of what happened before, during, and after an incident. No more “your word against theirs” – rest assured you will always have the truth on your side.
Many dashcam models provide GPS data logging as well. These camera units, along with the video, will provide a record of your position and speed at all times. This information, again, proves the facts such as your whereabouts at a particular time, and can also be used to prove (or perhaps more importantly: disprove) your speed. This GPS data can be overlaid on a Google-type map during video playback on your home computer.
What else are dashcams good for?
You have undoubtedly watched footage recorded on a dashcam at some point on the news or the internet. Remember the Russian meteorite event? Since dashcams are always recording, they capture amazing, interesting, or even just plain funny events that occur every day around the world. Check out our videos page for examples.
Dashcam footage can help others as well. If you capture an accident on film, it is almost certain that the other drivers will be happy to know you (and your dashcam) were there as witnesses. We’ve seen plenty of clips like this on YouTube, including some hit-and-run incidents where only the dashcam saw what occurred, and the innocent victim would be left to pay the bill if not for the license plate captured by someone else’s dashcam.
So you have the answers to what dash cams are and other dash cam faqs.
