On-Dash Cameras 3 Lens, Sendowtek FHD 1080P Dashboard Camera Car Dash Cam with Wide Angle, 4 Inch Display Screen, G-Sensor, Loop Recording, Parking Monitor, WDR

First, if you haven't used a dashcam before, it is a really good idea. Disputes over the cause of a car accident don't happen very often but they do eventually happen to all of us who drive and they are extremely stressful, especially when the other person lies. A dashcam gives a fantastic advantage in that situation. I have had tried two dashcams before this one and they have several problems which this one overcomes.The most obvious advantage is that this one doesn't use up real estate on your windscreen. Siting the cam on the windscreen can be a problem if you want to mount a phone or satnav as well. More importantly, I used my first dashcam for a year before I needed it and then I couldn't get the numberplate of the other vehicle because the cam was mounted outside the windscreenwiper zone and a few raindrops blurred the view.Dashcams are notorious for dreadful instructions and complicated menus that are difficult to use. This one will take some effort but is less confusing than my previous experiences. At least it is set up to start working automatically as soon as you start the engine so you can get by without looking at the instructions or the menus though at some stage you will want to explore the settings. It also has touch screen capability, making the menus generally much easier.The build quality is good and it is reasonably priced. the picture quality is good and it has all the features you want such as crash detection, looping, automatically freeing up memory, sound recording and an optional reverse camera (which requires more complicated wiring). There are a few points to bear in mind:You will lose the ability to tilt the mirror to reduce glare at night. The reflection is roughly half way in between the two options on a normal mirror, which means the image is a bit dark during the day.You need to run the cable along the top of the windscreen to the side, then down and back to the centre of the car in order to get power. To do this you will need to find some way of securing it to the panelling or it will hang down in front of you. The illustration shows the cable running to the right so that it goes on the driver side but the USB socket is the other way round so the cable is directed to the left. If you want to be lazy, or struggle to secure the cable, you can just drop it straight down to the power socket. It's ugly but short and simple.It doesn't come with an SD card. You will need to buy it separately. They don't cost much nowadays but don't forget to add that to your budget.It requires power from your cigarette lighter so, if you use any other devices in your car which draw power you will also need to buy an adapter. I have one with two cigarette lighter sockets and several USB charging sockets and it works very well (and reports on the status of my car battery).It doesn't require any tools or complicated operations to mount it on the mirror but you will fiddle with the rubber bands for a few minutes. It is best to hook the bands on the top before mounting the mirror, and don't plug in the cable until after.When it first switches on you can see what it is recording in the mirror. This makes it almost impossible to use the mirror. To correct this you need to go to settings - brightness - 1 minute. The image will then switch off after 1 minute (though for that time you will barely be able to use the mirror). The photos show the mirror in normal operation when it works as a mirror, and what it looks like when the image is on. The third image is the reverse camera (which is less useful and I haven't installed it).

For the price this camera is fine if you don't mind a few things that are not quite right or annoying.I would advise you measure the gap between your sun visors when both are in the down position. If the gap is under 12 inches the chances are the visors will knock the mirror cam.The front camera mounted in the mirror is designed for the continent and left hand drive roads. In the UK the camera covers a lot of the kerb and sky. It does however record three lanes of a motorway when in lane one.The most annoying feature is the start up and shut down tones it emits. Very loud and no way of turning them off.The glass screen comes with a protective film which can be difficult to peel off. If you can see small air bubbles in the mirror then you probably haven't removed the film. Using a large piece of sellotape may make it easier to lift off. The camera lens on the mirror also has a plastic film that should be peeled off before use.The cabling is straight forward using the cigarette lighter socket and the camera switches off about 10 seconds after turning off the ignition.The instructions were better than expected and the touch screen menus easy to navigate around. Having an option to format the sd card whilst fitted in the mirror is a bonus.The instructions have no indication of how to fit the rear camera but it's straight forward enough and there is plenty of cable for a normal saloon car.The red wire needs to be connected to the live wire of the reversing light. When connected the mirror will show the rear view in full screen with a grid image to assist reversing. The image you see will be reversed, like a reflection in the mirror.By using the touch screen icon you can select full forward view, full rear view, small rear picture in the forward image or small forward picture in the rear image.The time the image is displayed in the mirror can be adjusted in the Settings menu. The lowest time is one minute but you can force the image to clear straight away by briefly pressing the centre button at the bottom of the mirror.It's not a NextBase but at 3 times cheaper it is a useful item for those on a budget.