AUKEY - DR02

Aukey DRO 2 - great camera and hides behind the mirror.

I got the ROVE R2-4K recently and love it...its supercapacitor based so no issues of lithium batteries heating up. And the day and night quality is very good, I upgraded from an Aukey DR02 which I had for over 5 years to this and it's quite good so far.

I am using a AUKEY DR02 (£87 in 2020) in one car and a Vantrue T2 (£120 in 2019) in the other. Both have been excellent, the DR02 being better as it has front and rear view, but since I bought it Aukey have been delisted from Amazon so unsure where you'd source one now. r/Dashcam has a guide and a list of cameras at various price points. One incident I was hit from the rear and the front camera was enough to prove I was stationary, but if I were buying from new I'd definitely get front and rear cameras for peace of mind. Definitely get them hardwired too, as then it's a case of "set and forget" so you're always protected.

TL;DR: The more expensive dashcams are built with better components. This makes for better quality footage and device life. If cost is a concern, look at getting a used dashcam off ebay. Details: Another way to look at it is how much did you spend on the car? It can be hard spending $150 for a dashcam that's in a $3000 car. However, spending $150 for a dashcam that's in a $15,000 car makes a lot more sense. Perhaps set a budget for a dashcam around what you pay a month for car insurance. Also, don't forget the value of your time. As a photographer, you know a picture tells a story of 1000 words. Being able to share footage of a crash to back up your side of the story without having to repeat yourself would save time. Features: 1) Supercapacitors. **The Walmart onn brand dashcams have batteries NOT supercapacitors**. If one lives in the southeast US like me, cars can get up to 140 F on the inside while parked outside during the summer. In practical terms, that internal battery can overheat and leak. The leaking battery acid then destroys the electronics inside the camera. A supercapacitor is similar to a battery but different. You want a dashcam with a supercapacitor. In practical terms, it can take extreme heat where a battery most likely will not. Dashcams that use a supercapacitor do cost more. 2)Picture quality. Any video footage will help. That said, I'd recommend a 2K resolution dashcam at a soft minimum. If price is truly an issue, then a quality 1080 dashcam it is. If cost is a concern, look at getting a quality dashcam on eBay. Here are my recommendations. Option #1: Aukey DR-02. It records in 1080p. These sell for around $60 -80. I had one for years until I replaced it with a Viofo for better picture quality. Aukey does not sell or support these anymore (long story). Option #2: Figure the max you can spend on a dashcam. Then keep an eye on used listings from these brands: Blackvue, Nextbase, Vantrue and Viofo. Make sure they will record in 1080p at least. AFAIK, these brands only use supercapacitors. These older models won't have features like WiFi, but are still serviceable. Option #3: the Viofo A119v3 sells for used $80 / new around $100. 2k picture quality. Great support as Viofo puts out firmware to fix issues and new features. My current dashcam since 2023 that has worked well.

https://preview.redd.it/187ayfq5bakf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f07e10924bd66413d805ae023bfb309821365eb3 Aukey DR002 is great. I particularly like it because you can’t see it when you’re driving while the other ones just hang in front of your face it seems. It also has a Sony camera and WiFi so overall a good product

And it’s only 70 CAD

Based on my observations in r/idiotsincars, the Viofo A229/A129 are pretty decent. I have an old Aukey DR02 - pretty good but it's no longer made.