Best dash cams 2021: The top road monitoring cameras for your car

(Pocket-lint) - Dash cams are a large upgrade to your car setup. They adhd bid of caput portion you're connected the road, with an other brace of (digital) eyes moving arsenic a witnesser should you ever beryllium successful an accident. 

They're besides utile for different things. Some car security companies connection discounts connected your premium if you person a dash cam installed for example. Alternatively, they tin beryllium utilized to study motoring offences oregon simply forestall others from making malicious mendacious claims against you. 

If you're aft a dash cam, past you've astir apt noticed determination are rather a fig to take from. At a glance, it's hard to cognize which is the close 1 for you. To chopped down connected the fuss, we've been investigating retired a fig of antithetic dash cams to bring you the low-down connected the champion cameras to bargain for your car.

We've been moving these dash cams during our regular drive, investigating them retired successful a assortment of conditions, time and night, rainfall and shine, to find which connection the champion features and results. 

The pursuing is our round-up of the champion dash cams you tin bargain immoderate your fund oregon seizure goals. 

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Our Top Pick is presently the Viofo A139 3 transmission dashcam. There are others worthy considering excessively though, including the Nextbase 622GW dash cam, the Nextbase 222 dash cam, the Mio MiVue 798 Dash Cam and the Zenfox T3-3CH triple transmission dash cam.

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Our Top Pick

Viofo A139 3 transmission dashcam

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For

• Simple intelligent design 
• Easy installation process
• Super seizure quality

Against

• No built-in show for real-time review
• Pricier than different options

On the look of it, the Viofo A139 is easy 1 of the champion dash cam systems wealth tin buy. It mightiness not beryllium arsenic affordable arsenic different dash cams connected this list, but it is 1 of the astir feature-packed cameras available. 

As you mightiness person gathered from the name, this is simply a triple camera dashcam system. It's designed to seizure each utile space of the car and beryllium utilized by families, rideshare drivers and more. 

It has 1 camera for the front, a 2nd for the rear and a 3rd interior camera for bid of mind.

The front-facing camera is susceptible of capturing video successful 2K (2560 x 1440p30FPS) portion the rear and interior cameras grounds HD footage (1920 x 1080P 30FPS).

You can, of course, take to tweak settings connected the camera and wrong the app. This includes assorted signaling modes, timelapse and parking mode too.  The parking mode intelligently detects bumps and events automatically and everything is designed to beryllium convenient.  

One happening we truly similar astir this dashcam bundle is the attraction to detail. The strategy uses a ace slim coaxial cablegram to link the front, rear and interior cameras. This makes it a batch easier to instal and ensures cables don't get successful the mode with regular usage and are overmuch easier to hide.

The beforehand camera tin besides beryllium rotated 300 degrees, truthful you tin easy presumption the lens facing the close mode and there's an optional polarising lens to artifact excessive prima glare too. It's these small touches that marque the Viofo A139 a joyousness to use. 

There's an accompanying app that allows you to entree footage and download it straight to your telephone alternatively than having to transportation it to your PC first. Ideal if you request it successful a hurry. 

There's an casual entree fastener to unafraid footage connected this camera should you witnesser oregon beryllium progressive successful an accident. It besides has a "G-sensor" exertion to observe crashes, collisions oregon adjacent misses. Those recordings are "locked" truthful they can't get deleted arsenic mostly the recordings are done connected a rolling basis, truthful erstwhile the paper gets afloat it gets overwritten. 

The effect is simply a debased maintenance, feature-rich dash cam that's susceptible of not lone capturing large footage, but besides tin prevention your bacon if you hap to get rear-ended. 

Other dash cams we recommend

There are a fig of different dash cams worthy looking astatine that we've tested - present are each the details. 

Nextbase 622GW dash cam

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For

• Simple mounting system
• Convenient speedy release 
• Support for Amazon Alexa
• Upgradable system

Against

• Not arsenic feature-rich arsenic different systems

If you're looking for thing that's casual to manage, with a elemental interface and precise small fuss past we'd suggest the Nextbase 622GW is the reply to your quest. 

This dash cam has a fig of fantastic features that see a ample 3-inch touchscreen display, the quality to seizure up to 4K footage astatine 30 FPS and a elemental mounting design. 

This dash cam boasts a speedy merchandise drawback which means you tin easy instrumentality it retired of the car erstwhile not successful usage if you're disquieted astir theft. There's besides a suction cupful equine arsenic an alternate installation option. Like the different cameras connected this list, this dash cam has a trim instrumentality for casual installation too. 

This dash cam has a rolling video seizure capableness and a ample fastener to support important footage from being overwritten. A speedy pat connected the interaction surface besides snaps a inactive photograph should the request arise. You tin past usage this touchscreen to scroll done and replay captured footage without moving it to different device. 

The Nextbase 622GW is an updated mentation of the company's precise champion dash cam with galore superb features including creaseless representation stabilisation, enhanced nighttime vision, ace dilatory mode, utmost upwind seizure and what3words capabilities. That past diagnostic tin beryllium utilized to assistance exigency services find your nonstop determination with easiness if you're successful an accident. 

It's besides worthy noting that Nextbase besides has a strategy to assistance you easily taxable footage to section constabulary forces with ease, which is beauteous neat. 

The Nextbase 622GW is simply a superb dash cam, that's convenient, casual to usage and packed afloat of large features for a precise tenable price. 

Nextbase 222 dash cam

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For

• Incredibly affordable design
• Simple click and spell mounting system
• Excellent seizure prime for the money

Against

• Not arsenic almighty arsenic different models

If you're buying connected a budget, but inactive privation thing reliable and capable to seizure utile footage, past look nary further than the Nextbase 222.

This camera is fundamentally the cheaper, little feature-packed member of the 522GW. It mightiness not person the touchscreen, the Amazon Alexa compatibility oregon the quality to seizure 1440p footage, but that doesn't mean it should beryllium overlooked. 

The Nextbase 222 is an casual to usage dash cam that's elemental to install, convenient to usage and is susceptible of capturing up to 1080p footage arsenic well.

Alongside the modular road-facing footage capture, this camera besides has an Intelligent Parking Mode. This tin beryllium utilized to support an oculus connected your car erstwhile you're not successful it.

Park successful a car parkland and nip disconnected to the shops and the camera volition automatically power into this mode - lone signaling if it senses a bump oregon shunt. Meaning if idiosyncratic reverses into your car portion you're distant and makes disconnected without leaving a enactment you'll person footage to beryllium it. 

This strategy is disposable connected different dash cams too, but having the diagnostic connected specified an affordable camera is surely a bonus. Other highlights see a elemental mounting strategy that makes it casual to instrumentality the camera down and into the location with you if you privation to support it harmless oregon cheque the recorded footage. 

All told, the 222 is simply a fantastic camera for the wealth and does not disappoint. 

Mio MiVue 798 Dash Cam

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For

• Clever alert systems
• Lets you cognize astir velocity cameras
• Can seizure up to 2.5K QHD 1600p 

Against

• Pricey for a azygous camera

If you request much from your dash cam and privation thing that does much than conscionable seizure footage past however astir 1 that besides spots velocity cameras and helps guarantee your information connected the road?

The Mio MiVue 798 seemingly has it all. It sports Sony's premium STARVIS CMOS sensor, on with a 150-degree wide-angle lens that's susceptible of capturing up to 2.5K footage astatine 25 FPS. 

It besides boasts respective intelligent features that see astute alerts for fatigue warnings, headlight reminders, lane departure warnings and more.

One of these alerts is simply a "safety camera warning" strategy that volition fto you cognize erstwhile you're approaching a velocity camera and item your existent velocity truthful you don't get immoderate unnecessary/accidental tickets. 

The others are intended to assistance trim the chances of you getting into an mishap by drifting into different lanes oregon overdoing it. 

The Mio MiVue 798 has a G sensor for signaling "events" similar high-speed driving, assertive braking, crashes and more. The footage it captures is fantastic too. All told, this is simply a fantastic camera for the wealth and a large prime if you hap to person a dense close foot. 

Zenfox T3-3CH triple transmission dash cam

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For

• Clever camera for information wrong and out
• Works for everyone
• Superb Sony STARVIS sensors

Against

• Not a subtle installation

The Zenfox T3-3CH is an fantabulous enactment for those who not lone request eyes connected the roadworthy but an wrong presumption of the conveyance too.

Whether for information involvement oregon for bid of mind, taxi drivers oregon Uber drivers oregon those progressive successful assistance sharing volition admit this triple camera setup.

Not lone does this camera grounds some a beforehand and backmost view, but besides a bully wide-angle presumption of the wrong of the conveyance too. 

The main camera tin seizure 1440p footage portion the wrong and rear seizure astatine 1080p. Sony STARVIS sensors and Wide Dynamic Range tech and IR LEDs mean you get a large presumption from each camera immoderate the conditions. 

This 1 is casual to set too, with cameras that tin beryllium moved to the cleanable presumption with ease. All this from a azygous powerfulness root arsenic well. Fantastic. 

As you'd expect, the Zenfox T3-3CH has a built-in G-sensor supporting adaptable sensitivity, truthful it'll automatically seizure and prevention footage successful the lawsuit of an accident. You tin besides support important clips with a click of a fastener too. Other highlights see built-in GPS accurately records the driving route, location, velocity and clip too, but for us, it's the usability of this triple camera setup that makes it appealing. 

How to take a dash cam

There are a fewer things to see erstwhile purchasing a dash cam. Not conscionable the seizure prime and however bully that volition look if you ever request to reappraisal it oregon taxable it to the constabulary oregon different bureau but besides the features.

If your car spends a batch of clip parked successful nationalist car parks erstwhile you're distant from it past intelligent parking features connected immoderate of these cameras marque them much valuable. 

If you're sharing rides with others oregon if your occupation involves regularly driving radical (or things) from spot to place, past 1 of the multi-camera systems would beryllium a bully choice. These dash cams not lone support an oculus connected the extracurricular of your vehicle, but springiness the indispensable sum for everyone wrong too. 

We've looked astatine the champion dash cams which connection a bully scope of features, elemental installation and large seizure quality. As you'll see, immoderate of those connected this database volition beryllium a bully prime to purchase. 

More astir this story

There are a fig of factors we see erstwhile looking astatine recommending products, and each dash cam successful this database has been thoroughly tried and tested successful real-life situations.

We've driven with them installed during the time and nighttime and done each sorts of weather. We've tried retired the parking modes, we've saved footage randomly and utilizing the hard braking systems to seizure it too. We've reviewed seizure footage for prime and dependable and checked they each performed good nether pressure. 

With the multi-camera systems, we've besides checked connected what tin beryllium seen and heard of the passengers and however good that footage could beryllium used. We've checked the apps and the usability of the dash cams to guarantee you're getting a large acquisition erstwhile you buy. 

We've tested these truthful we tin beryllium definite they present the champion quality. What we aren't funny successful is pointless fig crunching oregon extraneous details - we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize reappraisal that gives you an thought of what it's going to beryllium similar to use.

We’ve been covering tech since 2003, and, successful galore cases, person not lone reviewed the merchandise successful question, but the erstwhile generations, excessively - close backmost to the archetypal exemplary connected the market.

There are besides plentifulness of models we've considered that didn't marque the chopped successful each of our buyer's guides.

Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 4 March 2020.