There are dozens of reasons to purchase and install a dashcam in your car, but we’ll go ahead and assume you know them already. What you want to know is what to look for in a dashcam so that you get the best value for your buck. Luckily, there aren’t too many factors that go into determining the best dashcam on the market, but each of the factors is extremely important.

As long as you know what to look for, you really can’t go wrong when buying a dashcam.

Dash Cam Buying Guide

To help you get a better handle and understanding of what you need in a dash cam, we’ve put together this dash cam buying guide. Use this when looking through dash cam reviews to select the right one for your automobile.

Video Quality 

This is the most important feature in a dashcam as a grainy video is no help to anyone if no one knows what is going on. The sharper the image, the more likely you will capture exact license plates, numbers, makes, models, cars, and even faces. The bare minimum for a good dash cam is 720p to 1080p.

If it is marked lower than this, don’t even consider it. That means staying far away from VGA resolution (640×480). We recommend going with 1280×720 pixels, also known as HD—this is a 1080p dash cam. Keep in mind you can go all the way up to 2304×1296 pixels, at a 30fps frame rate. This is the top of the line dash cam resolution right now.

Night Video

Closely related to video resolution is night video quality. Since there is no given when your accident will happen or when you need your dash cam, you want it to be able to record in high quality at the night. This separates the good dash cams from the great dash cams.

Don’t think that your headlights will always be on—parking lot accidents require a fairly legit night vision function to be recordable.

Size Of The Dash Cam

While most modern dashcams are pretty tiny, you certainly want to check the size so it doesn’t obstruct your view in any way. While this might not seem like an important feature at first, considering the fact that obstructions and distractions can cause deadly accidents on the road, we think it’s pretty darn important.

If you are concerned with others being able to see the dashcam, go with one that is very small.

Memory

Most every dash cam will come with a built-in SD card slot. Go for a dash cam that holds at least 64 GB of data so that it won’t start recording over previously recorded footage when you run out. If you plan on checking and dumping the data more frequently, you can go lower, but try not to dip down into single digits. Remember, once the data is gone, it’s gone for good.

GPS

GPS is critical in court cases because it can be used to check fraudulent claims and dispute speeding tickets. Generally speaking, there is no point in avoiding a GPS feature on your dash cam and every reason to get one, especially if you can disable it should you want to fly “under the radar.”

Loop Recording 

As mentioned above in the Memory feature, loop recording will start recording over your older data once the memory is full. This means indefinite recording, but also that you’ll need to dump your data if you want to preserve it. That’s why higher memory cards are better since they give you more time, but loop memory is essential since, without it, your dash cam runs the risk of not recording when your memory is full.

G-Sensor

A great feature to have is the motion detector feature called the G-sensor. This sensor detects any impact and automatically “saves” the footage, even if you have a loop recording. This means your accidents won’t be accidentally erased, even if you forget to dump the data.

Automatic On And Off

This is an amazing feature that is great for those who are forgetful. This simply turns the dash cam on when you start the car and turn it off when you turn the car off.

Parking Mode

Parking mode is great because it automatically turns your dash cam on when an accident occurs in your absence. If someone hits you in the parking lot, the dash cam will jump to life and record the aftermath of the incident, even if you have the auto-off feature enabled.

Time Stamp

It’s essential to the court evidence that your footage is stamped with the correct date and time on your dash cam. This feature allows you to do just that.

Optional Features

There are a number of optional features that can come in handy on your dash cam. Things like a screen will help you see what your camera recorded. A multi-channel dash cam records both in front and in back of you.

Avoid LED Lights and Gaps

LED lights do not help night recording and will even cause a glare, despite what vendors tell you. You also don’t want to see any gaps between your video files since that is wasted space. To find some of these features on the best dash cam brands and models currently on the market, click Dash cam right now.