Recently, dashcams have been publicized with hyped footages of Russian roads through mainstream and social media. Apart from making entertainment content for the media, here’s what makes them worthy of every rear-view mirror.
What is a Dashcam?
A dashboard camera or a dashcam is a portable and an onboard camera placed on the dashboard of a vehicle that constantly records its field of vision through the windscreen, it can also be placed on other windows as per your need. It is also known as a ‘Car Digital Video Recorder (Car DVR)’ or ‘Driving Recorder’. It can also be referred to as an ‘Event Data Recorder (EDR)’ since it does the same job. Some dashcams record a 360° view which helps to capture the interior as well and are capable to automatically sending you the media using a 4G network.
HD Dashcams have a standard resolution of 1080p. However, they also come in 1440p or higher resolutions with a night vision feature too.
BASIC TYPES
Dashcams are classified based on their field of vision. There are three basic types;
- Rear-facing Dashcam
They capture the rear-view, that is the cabin/interior. - Front-facing Dashcam
They are mounted on the windscreen to capture the front view of the road (the driver’s sight). - 360° Vision Dashcam
This is a dual camera dashcam that captures the view from all the angles.
Dashcams are usually powered by the car’s battery, cigarette ports, or capacitors to avoid recharging or changing their batteries every now and then.
USES
Mainly dashcams are used to record videos and capture images from their vantage point.
Some Dashcams are used as EDR too as an AI camera can also measure a vehicle’s speed, steering angles/handling, its performance, record GPS Data and monitor road accidents in different aspects to provide evidence when in need.
How Do they Work?
Dashcams are simply like usual digital cameras you are familiar with. All you’ll need is a memory card, a power cable, and a suction cup or tape mount to start it working.
Begin with attaching the supporting mount to the camera then fastening it to the windscreen. Make sure you’ve inserted a memory card into your dashcam, then plug-in the connection cable to the cigarette port or the 12v power port.
Once your vehicle starts, so will your dashcam, and capture, record everything and save it in the memory card which you can access anytime later or when in need.
Effective Features
Almost all the dashcams now come with the following features as standard or are categorized according to one of the following capabilities as its center-focus.
- Wide Angles
The 180° view of dashcams enable them to capture and record ongoings at the sides of the car which generally cannot be seen with the human eye as we have a 140-degree vision. Apart from wide angles, the dual camera or 360° dashcam will help you capture and monitor everything at once. - Night Mode
A clear night vision recording is the best feature that mostly comes as standard for every dashcam. - Recording in Intervals
Dashcams don’t record a full file for every day or ride you take, they store files of short time intervals for easy access. And once the memory is full, it recycles and record over the first file instead of deleting all. This needs to be taken into consideration, if you wish to make a backup first. - Motion Detector
A dashcam’s motion sensor is like 24/7 surveillance while your vehicle is parked. Its 360° monitor will capture and record any movement near your vehicle and send it to you (employing 4G). - Time-stamping
Every video is recorded in your dashcam with a time and date stamp. This option can be turned off as well as per your choice. Also, once recorded, the videos cannot be tampered and you can also timestamp them through trusted-timestamping. - Gravity Sensor (G-sensor)
In case of impact or irregular movement of your car, the G-sensor will protect the recent video files and disable the loop function to overwrite or delete them. It usually stores those files in a different folder or makes them a read-only file. - GPS
The built-in GPS system, or sometimes given as an option will detect the location, speed or handling of your vehicle too.
Benefits of a Dashcam
Although the ultimate features of a dashcam are individually very beneficial but apart from them your dashcam will prove to be serviceable in many ways.
- Evidence Provider
The main task of a dashcam is to record and capture, thus serving as an eye of evidence for intricate situations of accidents and vandalism by providing actual footages. Not only detecting others but also the person behind the wheel in case of rash driving. Hence, holding everyone accountable! - Promotes Driving Disciplines
The power of camera will help drivers to be more cautious while driving, and the data of faulty driving behavior can be used to improve their habits behind the wheel. Also, it will help you to avoid speeding and dangerous driving all the while lowering the accidents rate as well. Not to forget, safe driving creates a positive impact on the globe by lowering the carbon footprint. - Surveillance
24/7 monitoring from new and latest dashcams will keep you and your vehicle secured using sound warnings to alarm you of trouble by detecting vandals or thieves near the car. - Cost-effective
Your dashcam can prove to be a money-saving source for you. As with a driving surveillance camera over your head at all times will result in fewer accidents and a positive driving style. It will help reduce maintenance costs, repairing fees, and insurance premiums as well! - Accurate and Trusted-timestamping
Dashcams record everything with accurate date and time in a tamper-proof manner even the car owner cannot make amends in it. Although the function can be turned on or off.
Now that you know how a dashcam can be effective in peculiar ways, it’s up to you to make it your vlogging partner or a silent detective.