Which dashboard camera is best for recording while off road drive

[Hisham Masaad]

1 hour ago, Harshad Ashraf said:

@Hisham Masaadonce it is installed on windshield, can't be removed to use it with another car?

You can remove, but to fix some where else you need to have the base, which I am not sure you can buy separately @Harshad Ashraf

2 minutes ago, Hisham Masaad said:

You can remove, but to fix some where else you need to have the base, which I am not sure you can buy separately @Harshad Ashraf

@Harshad Ashraf just checked on Amazon, the base holder is sold separately as well

[M.Seidam]

Using same 70mai 

This from Sweihan drive 

 

[Looper]

Hope this helps:

Option 1: 70 Mail / Garmin or other 

Advantages: 

1. Records in 2.7k Video that one can crop without loss for 1080p videos
2. Has Decent Night Mode
3. Decent Wide Angle Video as well
4. Its your normal Dash Cam that you are re-purposing it for action cam - always present in your car and always recording. 
5. Latest Gen 70mail records GPX data as well so if you want to overlay that in your video you can do it as well
6. Heat resistant - I have never seen my camera stop because of heat (a. because of the smaller sensor, b. no battery c. the way they are made).
7. Cheaper than other video cameras (bar repurposed phones)
8. No need to remember to record anything - no planning needed

Disadvantages

1. You wont get 4k Video and not too good optics.
2. fixed place to mount - only one on the dash
3. Single purpose use.
4. Mine does not capture gpx data so I use Gaia data to overlay on my videos (if I ever do it that is)
5. Dash cams don't show the action as well as an action cam can, somehow I feel they show the video slower than they are. 

Option 2: GopPro/Sony/DJI Action Cams

Advantages

1.  Higher Resolution up to 4k
2. Better Optics & image stabilization plus upto 240 fps or timelapse recording 
3. GPX data recoding and easy to overlay on videos
4. Can be mounted on many different locations and they are generally waterproof using cases. You can use it for other than drives as well.
5. Possibility to live telecast on social media with some devices (gopro does it). 

Disadvantages

1. More expensive compared to a dash cam also you end-up buying into the whole ecosystem. 
2. Gets hot quickly and in summer it might stop working 
3. You have to remember to record and have to plan according to your drive. 

Option 3: Repurposed Phones (Jugad)

Advantages 

1. You already have it - no cost you can use your current phone as well.
2. Decent quality of video and if the phone is not too old it will do 4k, Slowmo and Timelapse as well 
3. You can live broadcast on to social media for your drive.

Disadvantage

1. If it is your daily driver you may get some unexpected calls which will stop recording (no issue if it is unused)
2. You need to securely mount it inside the car (same as dashcam) plus it will be more obstructive for the view than dashcam
3. It has batteries and they get hot soon. In summer my iPhone gets hot and stops working if it is mounted on the windscreen. 
4. You have to remember to record as well.

I have all of the above and I use all of them. My first preference still be Dash Cam for value for money and convenience point of view. They wont be the best but they are there when you need it.

The logical way to go is to use your phone first then get a dash cam and finally an action cam. 

In DashCams I prefer 70mail they are not too expensive and work well and in the newer models they record front and back.

In Action Cams - I will recommend the latest GoPro it gets refreshed every year with new features being added.  DJI has come up with a new lineup you want to check. Sony - they had good action cams but have seen a refresh in the near past. You might be able to grab a 2nd hand one if you can for all of the above as well.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Looper

[Harshad Ashraf]

On 11/4/2021 at 8:53 PM, Hisham Masaad said:

You can remove, but to fix some where else you need to have the base, which I am not sure you can buy separately @Harshad Ashraf

@Harshad Ashraf just checked on Amazon, the base holder is sold separately as well

@Hisham Masaad which base holder u have seen in Amazon. Can u paste the link to that product.

[Hisham Masaad]

25 minutes ago, Harshad Ashraf said:

@Hisham Masaad which base holder u have seen in Amazon. Can u paste the link to that product.

This one @Harshad Ashraf, hope it works

[Ilya]

The best ones are obvious - GoPro 10 and Insta 360 for 360. All other, of course, will miss some features but will be of course, cheaper.
iPhone video is also superb

I wouldn't underestimate 4K. If you plan to show your video on a large TV (from youtube), 4K will be much much sharper than full HD. Also capturing with 60fps is a must for action scenes, not 30/24 fps

[Jeetu Sharma]

I recently got a DJI Osmo Action (the first version) and it is a really good action camera and does a good job on stabilization on the dashboard. Fully agree to @Looper's assessment. My camera did get hot on some instances.

Also they are good if you want to do short bust videos (my personal preference) instead of longer videos that might need to be edited.

@Ilya agree to the point on 4K. Videos look much nicer on bigger screens. Easier to boast to friends n family  

[Varun Mehndiratta]

Been using a low budget action camera GoXtreme by Pioneer....does the work, has 4k option as well available (model I have lacks that)..wide angle is pretty good and video quality decent. I got it with my Nikon Camera in a bundle was checking online and understand it's around 250-300aed. 

If i will change will surely go for Insta 360, as miss the 360 view on this one...however apart from 360deg view i am more than happy with it's performance...comes with waterproof casing as well and multiple mounting brackets. App is easy to use.