best dash cam?

What's the best 2nd gen dash cam?

Top 3 on Amazon are now
-Rove
-Vantrue N2 Pro, $150
-VIOFO, $250

Never heard of Rove. Heard of many people happy with Vantrue and Viofo.
Viofo I think has 2 cameras; one per glass (front, rear), and might stick on.
Vantrue I think is just one, and $100 cheaper. Front glass suction cup.

That does not sound very good. Seems more important to have a rear facing dash cam as well, rather than the Vantue with a wide angle view of your interior.
That serves nothing more than to watch you sing along to music, and see the look on your face of shitting your pants when an impact happens.

I'm more concerned with front view. Rear view? Well, you tell insurance "I got rear ended". You have a mark on your rear bumper. Their car has a front mark because they hit you. Open and shut case, Johnson.
Front, not so much. All kinds of shit can happen. They can try to deny fault.
"I didn't hit him, he hit me!" he said she said with nothing more than words to go off of and no witnesses.
Another one I've heard; they roll back into you, then claim you rear-ended them

So far it's just been close calls. But plenty to get annoying and want a dash cam.
They say it should have a capacitor to prevent overheating as opposed to battery-powered.

Had a few times already, person backing out their park spot in a blindfold.
Or today, person just straight up merging into me lol.
I pull up next to them after head turned sideways, just because I want to see what stupid looks like
and they're just there, not a care in the world, phone in the left hand talking on it; that explains it

I hit the brakes that time
But I don't think it will be so lucky every time
Not to mention, it's not expected. Say they merge into you. You hit the brakes. Guy behind you isn't looking. Guess what? He's rear-ending you.

Blackvue is very established name brand but it's also very expensive
dash cams seem very popular in Russia and South Korea
maybe I can ask them what they use

 

Of those I would get the Viofo, I have a Viofo A129 and it's pretty decent, I had a ROAV C1(IIRC) they're made by Anker, and while the picture quality was great the mandatory app and encryption of the SD card along with wifi transfer and app only viewing which requires and account and is slow AF pissed me off to no end. Would never buy another Roav unless they make it so you can pull the SD card out of the camera and pop it right into a phone or PC like I can with my Viofo.

Only reason I could see wanting those security "features" would be for a fleet vehicle where you're concerned about the driver messing with or deleting recordings.

Both cams have "parking mode" both were so sensitive I just turned off parking mode because even with the lowest sensitivity a car idling by in the parking garage or even a stiff breeze would set it off and next thing you know the battery is dead and there's 100 locked files on the SD card jamming it up completely that need to be deleted one by one.

I just hardwired mine and put a 128gb SD card in it it stores approx 16hrs of footage before looping in my dual cam A129.

If I suspect something happened while I was away I can just pull the card and review the footage without locked mini snip files, besides the one time parking mode may have caught something it turned on and started recording too late to matter.

I have to replace the SD roughly annual as it gets worn out from read/write cycles 24/7/365.

 

I have to replace the SD roughly annual as it gets worn out fromread/write cycles 24/7/365

I never even thought about that. Ive had the same sd card in mine for 2 years and it still works when I need to check it.

 

Your cam should say "SD CARD NEEDS FORMATTED" or "SD CARD CORRUPTION DETECTED" or something to that effect when it happens, typically you'll lose your data too when it does reach its life so be aware if you have something important saved.

I imagine someone who doesn't leave their camera running 100% of the time like I do will have a much longer life from their card but it's still probably worth replacing for cheap insurance (no pun intended) semi annually in your case.

 

I work nights and have found great success with the Thinkware Q800 Pro front/rear.

They are clear even through my tinted rear window.

I can read license plates and make out faces even if I'm parked.

Plus it shows my speed and GPS location.

App kinda sucks though won't lie.

 

I have a Viofo A129 Duo and would highly recommend it. I've had it installed for a few years with minimal complaints. Ran the rear USB cable in the headliner to reach my rear driver window. You should also check out dashcamtalk, they have stickies comparing the latest models, I'm pretty sure Viofo has 4k or higher bandwidth options now

Edit: the A129 Duo has front/rear cameras at 1080p, powered by supercaps and supports parking modes. I live in Phoenix and it's held up fine over a few summers so far

 

Definitely leaning towards Viofo A129 Duo.
If wiring behind headliner is required, I need to get in there anyway to put sound deadening.

Hopefully it can see through my cheap crappy dark black window tint that doesn't offer much heat rejection. It's probably 10 years old.
Have thought about getting something new but haven't figured out what percentage is best.
Would probably have to be lighter than a street car to handle backing up a truck in parking at night, use with a topper, and being able to see on trail at night.
Maybe something light on the windshield.

In that case, if re-mounting the Viofo to change tint, it looks like the 3M adhesive is available separately in new parts Viofo sells, or as a roll.

 

APEMAN...reliable and affordable