Dash cam buyer's guide

If you want to invest in a dash camera for your pride and joy but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s get into everything you need to know before getting a dash cam for your car.

Dash cams have become increasingly popular in the digital age and with so many now on offer, there’s something to suit almost every need and budget.  

You can spend as little as $30 or as much as $700+, depending on the brand, shape/size camera quality, and features.

As with anything, you get what you pay for.

If you opt for a $30-80 unit, you’ll get a simple device that does the bare minimum.

Think 1080p (pixels) and 30FPS (frames per second), which, in other words, could offer the equivalent in camera quality of an old Nokia phone; you might not be able to legibly read number plates (which could be vital for insurance purposes) and video quality mightn’t be fantastic.

Cheaper dash cams are usually chunkier and take up more space on your windscreen.

Compare that to a top-of-the-range dash cam with a 4K ultra HD camera – with features such as built-in GPS (location and speed data), enhanced night vision, motion detection, intelligent park mode (to capture car park dings even when the car is switched off), cloud connectivity, and even an app to download vision straight to your smartphone – and you start to see where your dollars are going.

You don’t need to spend hundreds on a dash cam but it’s worth considering how much time you spend on the road and what features you might use.

After all, it’s an investment that’ll likely bring you peace of mind.

Other costs include professional installation – if you choose that avenue – where prices can vary widely, depending on your vehicle and which camera you choose.

Not every dash cam comes with an SD card either, so you may need to spend extra on one of those.

The name ‘dash cam’ is rather deceiving because more often than not, a dash cam will be mounted at the very top of a car’s windscreen on the inside, next to or behind the rear-view mirror.

For most vehicles, that’s the best location as it’s the least likely to hinder your outward vision and will allow the camera to capture as much of the road as possible.

If, as the name suggests, you did mount it on the dashboard, you’d likely see more of your bonnet than the road, which isn’t very handy.

Another thing to factor in – particularly for taxi or ride-share drivers – is whether your chosen dash cam comes with a cabin-monitoring camera, which will need to be mounted slightly lower or to the side of the rear-view mirror, so the rear-facing camera isn’t obscured by the mirror.

You also want to make sure your windscreen wipers will clear the rain where your camera is mounted, to allow a clear view even in soggy weather.

A dash cam is a small camera fitted inside your car (usually mounted to the windscreen) that records anything that happens in front of your car whilst driving, and in some cases, when your vehicle is parked and unattended.

But if you want a more entertaining answer, all you have to do is search ‘Dash Cam Owners Australia’ on YouTube, to reveal an entire channel dedicated to everyday Aussies who submit their own footage capturing car crashes, red-light-runners, tailgaters, poor road etiquette, pedestrian fails, altercations with cyclists, and just plain stupidity on our roads.

Essentially, it records what happens outside your vehicle and saves the footage to an SD card. If an incident occurs, you can remove the SD card and download the footage to a computer, or depending on the system, you may be able to download the footage straight to your smartphone.

You can also get dash cams with a rear-facing camera to record passengers inside the cabin or a rear-mounted camera that gets mounted on your vehicle’s rear window.

In most cases, installing a dash cam can be done by a professional, or by yourself at home.

Having an experienced technician install your dash cam will usually mean it’s hardwired in, so you won’t have unsightly cables floating around and it’ll be discreetly positioned.

It also means that if you decide to sell your car and want to keep the dash cam, you’ll likely need to pay to have it removed and then installed in your new car.

The other option is DIY.

Some newer vehicles now come with a USB port located within the interior rear-view mirror shrouding so you can plug in straight in and avoid having to run a cable from the camera to a power outlet (USB or 12-volt socket).

Start by finding a suitable location for your camera and ensure the windscreen is clean. Before attaching the camera – usually either via suction mount or double-sided tape – clean the section of glass you’re about to use with wax and grease remover.

If you have to run the cable to a power source, try feeding around the windscreen, behind the A-pillar, and into or behind the dash, so it doesn’t end up becoming a safety hazard.

You may also want to purchase a hard wire kit so your dash cam is hooked up to constant power.

There are plenty of YouTube videos if you get stuck.

A dash cam will need to be hard-wired (connected to constant power) to operate when your car isn’t running.

When hard-wired (in most cases) the dash cam will automatically turn off when the vehicle is switched off, however, being hooked up to constant power means features such as motion detection will still work while the car is off, because the dash cam can access power from the vehicle’s battery.

It’s worth noting, that incorrect installation could cause the dash cam to drain your car battery if it doesn’t automatically switch off with the car.  

What’s more, if you plan on leaving your car parked for an extended period (like a holiday), a dash cam may also drain your battery over time, particularly if you’ve left it in a densely populated area where the motion detection feature may be constantly set off, causing the camera to power up.  

Some dash cams with overly sensitive gravity sensors can also be set off by a gust of wind, which is something you’ll want to think about if you often park outside.

To combat this, many dash cam brands offer a back-up power/battery pack to provide power, instead of relying only on the car battery.

Related: The weirdest footage caught on dash cam from Aussie roads

Related: This could be the smartest dash cam yet

Related: ANCAP wants your dashcam footage