Budget Dash-Cam Review

It is estimated that 2.9 million motorists have a fitted dash-cam (Guardian, 2015). Some insurers now offer a discounted premium if the insured has a dash-cam, as it is easier to prove who is at fault in the event of an accident. It seems a lot of motorists invest in a dash-cam to avoid becoming a victim of the rise in “crash for cash” fraud.

The price of a dash-cam is so broad; from less than a tenner to more than £200. Some sat-nav units now come with in-built cameras and there are mobile phone apps that turn your phone into a dash-cam. Others come with GPS to confirm time and location of the accident.

We’ve bought four dash-cams for less than £30 to review the quality of the footage and how easy they are to get up and going.

All the dash-cams we purchased have the same, if not similar, user interfaces. All the instructions have been translated (not very well) from Chinese, but it didn’t take very long for us to get our heads around the interfaces and which button does what.

All of the dash-cams have built-in rechargeable batteries, however they are designed to ensure user settings, such as date and time, are not lost and reset, and not to run off the battery, so they should always be plugged in. Many garages can hardwire dash-cams to your car, to ensure the wiring is not intrusive, for a small fee.

Now we’ve figured out how our dash-cams work, let’s check out the footage we got from them:

LUJII® Professional Full HD Car Black Box Car Dvr Car Camera Car Recorder 1080P with Wide Angle Lens Support G-sensor Motion Detection Loop Recorder HDMI Output (2.0" 1080P FHD)

Footage is quite grainy, but adequate. It’s just over the £30 budget at £32, but at least it’s aesthetically pleasing compared to the other dash-cams reviewed.

UKayed 32GB 2.0 Car Dash Cam 1080p HD Driving Vehicle Video Recorder

We’re not sure if a battery exists in this device, as the time reset on the second run! Despite this, the footage is quite impressive compared to the LUJII.

Stoga Full HD G1W 2.7" LCD Car DVR Vehicle Dash Vision Video Recorder Camera

Our pick of the bunch, cheaper than the previous two devices and the footage is of superior quality. The camera can be rotated to face inside the cabin, so is ideal for taxi drivers for security.

Super Legend HD Video Car Dash Vehicle Recorder

What can we say? For less than a tenner, you get what you pay for, we guess. Shame, as it showed great potential. Don’t get us wrong, though, the footage should be adequate, in the event of an accident, providing you take photos to back up the video footage.

We recommend that you refer to our blog on what to do, in the event of an accident, to ensure you do everything right should the worst happen.