Single-cam models

The Garmin Dash Cam 56, which is the successor to our previous top pick, the Garmin 55, performed very well in our testing. Its 1440p video, with a 140-degree FOV, was almost as sharp as that of the Nextbase 522GW and 422GW, and it had good overall color and night imagery, although not quite as crisp as that of the Nextbase models. Measuring only 2¼ by 1½ inches, it’s a compact dash cam so it doesn’t draw attention to itself. The 56’s controls aren’t as easy to use as the Nextbase’s touchscreens, but voice control can help with some basic functions, such as manually saving a section of video. Like the Nextbase models, the 56 uses a magnetic mount (attached to the windshield with adhesive), which makes it easy to pop on and off, but you do have to plug in or unplug the cord each time.

The Garmin Dash Cam 66W is virtually identical to the Garmin 56, except it has a super-wide, 180-degree FOV. This captures more of the scene in front of the car, but it makes things look farther away, so details are harder to see. We also noticed that the 66W’s wide-angle lens made it seem as if there were more room between our car and one in front. So when a driver cut in front of us on the highway, the video didn’t look as much like the close call that it actually was.

Our previous top pick, the 1440p Garmin Dash Cam 55, and its wider-angle sibling, the 1080p Garmin Dash Cam 65W (with a 180-degree FOV), have been discontinued, but they are still available from some retailers at discounted prices. Their controls, dimensions, and windshield mounts are the same as those on the Garmin 56 and 66W, above.

The Nextbase 322GW is very similar to the Nextbase 422GW, but it records in 1080p video instead of 1440p, and it doesn’t work with Amazon’s Alexa app. The 322GW’s video is very good, but not quite as crisp as that of its more expensive siblings. Still, if you want Nextbase features and ease of use at a lower price, this model is worth considering. For tight budgets, the Nextbase 222 is an even less expensive, barebones version of the 322GW, with no connectivity features.

With its 1296p resolution, the image quality of the Papago GoSafe 550, our previous budget pick, is sharper than that of many models we’ve tested. It has a bright, 2.7-inch display, and its controls are reasonably easy to use, although the video-lock button is in the unit’s upper-right corner, farther from the driver. The 550 is also fairly basic, without a GPS receiver, Wi-Fi, or a compatible smartphone app.

Anker’s Roav DashCam C1 Pro is a budget model with 1080p resolution and built-in Wi-Fi. But even though its footage was fairly sharp and had good color, there was also a lot of video noise. And in footage taken at night, a high level of contrast produced glare in lit areas and a lack of detail in darker ones.

The Rexing V1 Gen 3 records at 2160p (4K) resolution, but its 24 frames per second isn’t as smooth as the usual 30 fps, and the video, with muted colors and excessive glare, wasn’t as crisp as the Nextbase 522GW’s and 422GW’s. In night video, the footage was contrasty and grainy. We also found it hard to adjust the lens position or connect the app.

The Vantrue X3’s 1440p video wasn’t as crisp as that of the 1440p Nextbase 522GW and 422GW, and its night video had a lot of contrast. The buttons on the rear are easy to access, but the labeling is difficult to read. And though the power cord connects directly to the mount, the camera doesn’t slide in and out of the mount smoothly. Also, the app is basic, and we had trouble connecting it to the X3.

The GEKO S200 Starlit wasn’t as sharp as you might expect, considering its 1296p resolution. This compact unit has a cheap, plasticky feel, with small buttons that tend to wiggle when pressed, and a black-on-black design with minimal labeling that’s hard to read at a glance. The S200 lacks GPS, Wi-Fi, and a smartphone app.

The Thinkware X350 is an older model with worse video quality than that of our picks, and its optional plug-in GPS receiver is less convenient. It uses a capacitor instead of a lithium-ion battery.

The Rexing V1, one of the least expensive dash cams we tested, has a 1080p max resolution and a wide, 170-degree field of view. In our tests, the V1’s video was not as good as that of our picks, with too much contrast, especially at night.

The inexpensive Papago GoSafe 228 had the worst image quality of any model we’ve tested and a fairly narrow, 120-degree FOV.

Dual-cam models

The BlackVue DR900S-2CH has a super-high, 2160p (4K) resolution that delivers excellent sharpness and wide dynamic range. The front and rear cameras both shoot very good night video, but we also saw more glare than in the Nextbase models’ video. The unit has no display and minimal physical controls, so all settings—even camera alignment—require an app, which had connection issues in our tests.

BlackVue’s DR490L-2CH is one of the better dual-camera models we tested, and its 3½-inch touchscreen, with large on-screen buttons, is easy to operate. The dealbreaker: There’s no video-lock button to manually save footage. The mount also has no side-to-side adjustment, limiting your ability to precisely aim the camera where you want.

Cobra’s DASH2316D can link to Cobra’s iRadar app to alert you to the locations of speed and red-light cameras, as well as live police locations. But the 1080p front video lacked sharpness and was too contrasty, which we found resulted in too much glare at night and a lack of detail in darker areas. The 720p rear camera’s video was worse. The 2316D runs on a capacitor for extra insurance in extreme temperatures. It also includes forward-collision and lane-departure alerts, but we found them to be annoyingly sensitive and switched them off.

We found the video quality of the Rexing V1P Gen 3 to be average, with a lot of contrast and excessive glare. Its buttons illuminate when pressed, but unless you touch one, they’re invisible at night. You can adjust the lens in any direction by physically moving it, but this is difficult when the unit is mounted on the windshield.

Designed to record a vehicle’s interior, the Rexing V2 lacks infrared LEDs, so its night interior video is almost totally black without ambient light. The cameras rotate about 180 degrees vertically, but not side to side, so it’s hard to get both aligned properly. The V2 is about 5 inches wide by 3½ inches high, so it takes up a lot of real estate on the windshield.

The Papago GoSafe S780’s rear camera mounts on the rear window (to record behind the car) or on the windshield (to record the interior). But its rear camera is only so-so, and if there’s no ambient light, the interior image is almost totally black. We had a difficult time tightening the mount’s plastic locking nut without the cam going crooked.

The Papago GoSafe 760 doesn’t stand out against its competitors, with weaker video, especially at night, from the 1080p front and rear cameras. The rear camera has a narrow, 120-degree field of view, and in our tests at night it lacked detail in darker areas, with glare that made license plates hard to read.

The BlackVue DR490-2CH’s front and rear cams provided good contrast and dynamic range, and its capacitor power supply adds reliability in extreme temperatures. But it lacks a display, and without Wi-Fi or a smartphone app, you must play all footage back on a computer.

The Transcend DrivePro 520 can record a car’s interior, but the rear camera has a very narrow, 110-degree field of view, and we found that seeing people in the rear seat at night was harder than with the Vantrue N2 Pro.

Multifunction models

The PureGear PureCam offers many of the same features as the Owlcam, including 24-hour monitoring, live streaming through a smartphone app, and dual cameras that record a vehicle’s front view and interior. The PureCam also provides a hotspot for connecting up to three devices. This camera connects through a car’s OBD-II port for continuous power in parking mode, and it requires a data plan for the full services. The 1080p front cam provided reasonably sharp video in our tests, but it was very dark out of the box, and night video was grainy. The 4-inch display was easy to view. But the PureCam is a large device, and we had difficulty finding a location on the windshield where we could properly aim both cameras without the device being too prominent. We also found its small buttons hard to navigate; they’re positioned on the right side, out of the driver’s sight, and have no tactile feel.

The Cobra Road Scout is basically a radar detector with an integrated dash cam. With 1080p resolution and a reasonable 154-degree FOV, the Road Scout captures decent video, although it’s not as sharp as that of the 1440p Nextbase and Garmin models we tested. A strong magnetic mount makes it easy to pop the Scout on and off the windshield. But at about 4 by 4 inches, the Road Scout is large by dash-cam standards, and it’s one of the most expensive models we’ve tested. You also can’t review video on its small radar-detector display; you have to use the phone app. Still, the Road Scout could be a good choice if you want the advantages of a radar detector and a dash cam, but you don’t want separate devices on your dash.

The Garmin Speak Plus is a unique, voice-activated device that includes a 1080p dash cam, Garmin navigation, and Amazon’s Alexa capability. It’s effective for navigation, but if you primarily want a dash cam, there are better choices. It has a very narrow, 82-degree field of view, the compact display does not show dash-cam video, and the unit needs to pair to your phone via Bluetooth to function at all.

The Raven, by Klashwerks, is a large device with a dash cam, navigation, 24-hour monitoring, and car-tracking features. But its shortcomings outweigh its positives. Photo: Rik Paul

The Cobra Road Scout is basically a radar detector with a dash cam grafted in, and it could be a good option if you want the functionality of both without needing separate devices on your dash. Photo: Rik Paul

PureGear’s PureCam provides 24-hour monitoring and dual cameras for recording in front of and inside the car, but this model isn’t as easy to use as the similar Owlcam. Photo: Rik Paul

The Garmin Speak Plus is a unique device that combines a dash cam, navigation, and Alexa capability—but as a dash cam, it’s pretty weak. Photo: Rik Paul

The Waylens Secure360 uses a single camera to record a 360-degree scene of the area in front of and inside your car. But this camera lacks a display, it’s difficult to install, and the image’s wide field of view lacks detail. Photo: Rik Paul

The Raven, by Klashwerks, is a large device with a dash cam, navigation, 24-hour monitoring, and car-tracking features. But its shortcomings outweigh its positives. Photo: Rik Paul

The Cobra Road Scout is basically a radar detector with a dash cam grafted in, and it could be a good option if you want the functionality of both without needing separate devices on your dash. Photo: Rik Paul 1 of 5

The Waylens Secure360 monitors a parked vehicle, and like the Owlcam, its LTE connection saves video of incidents (or shows live video) on its app (iOS, Android). (The Wi-Fi version records to a microSD card.) Its 360-degree lens records in front of the car and in the interior, but in our tests its ultra-wide-angle view made details hard to see. It also lacks a display and requires that you purchase a data plan. The more expensive, 4K version can plug into a car’s OBD-II port for continuous power, but the standard version needs to be hardwired into a car’s fuse box.

The Klashwerks Raven combines a dual-cam setup with navigation, security, and vehicle tracking. But it’s hard to get both cameras aligned, and it’s difficult to consistently save video using this model’s gesture controls. In hot weather, the adhesive mount had trouble holding the large, 7-inch device on our windshield. We tested an early unit (in the summer of 2018), and Klashwerks has released a number of updates since our test, so we may take another look at it in the future.