Linus Tech Tips says Almost EVERYONE is Wasting Money on Dash Cams. [youtube]

[Kat]

 

[The Shadow]

Some great research here.

I personally run a dashcam in my truck, and I've had a few over the years, always had one in my personal vehicle too. I just bought a cheap one, because honestly, between the small compact thing it is, small sensor, and then a windshield that may or may not be entirely clear, then the world out there. I'm not expecting to read license plates off of it. If I'm involved in some kind of incident on the road, I want the camera to simply show what "vaguely car-shaped objects" were where, and where they moved. I seriously doubt fault is going to be determined by a detail smaller than the camera can catch.

But quite right, I see a lot of dash cams for a whole lot more than you need to pay, and they advertise 4k video. I've never seen a dash cam with a sensor big enough to produce anything meaningful even at high resolution.

[goodmichael]

When buying technology you should not buy cheap. You get what you pay for.

[The Shadow]

5 minutes ago, goodmichael said:

When buying technology you should not buy cheap. You get what you pay for.

The thing is, most all dash cams have sensors so small, it doesn't matter if you spend five hundred, or fifty. It's still limited to the size of the camera sensor. So short of having a dash cam with a lens the size of a canon eos, like wedding photographer sized lens... You're not going to get any better quality, to be able to read license plates and small details. May as well buy cheap.

[jwil736]

I watched this a while back but I believe the one he recommended was around $150 which is middle of the road pricing. This had the most up to date sensor (most are using sub 2010) and quality. 
it is definitely worth checking out before buying new ones. An extra $50 a camera is worth it in my eyes.