BlackVue - DR590-1CH

So first, make sure whatever system you buy has a few things; \- 2 channels. You want front and rear video. (Rear, not in-car as your second channel. You can do in-car as a 3rd channel, but not needed unless you Uber etc). \- Parking Mode with low-voltage cut-off. Things to consider: 4k is nice, but not needed in most cases. Some folks will insist on a Starvis sensor, imo it's not needed as long as you see actual footage from the camera and are happy with it both in daylight and night. Wifi, this allows you to connect to your cam from your phone for setup and downloading videos (slowly), not essential, but nice, esp if the cam does not have a display screen. Circular polarizing filter, this helps keep sun glare to a minimum, usually not an issue, but if you get unlucky with an event it can save otherwise near useless video. Form factor, size and shape as well as if it has a display screen. Finally, phone and PC app, are they any good? Specifically I've used BlackVue and RedTiger. I've got 3 BlackVues in different cars. All variants of their DR590. Have used video from one of those in an accident lawsuit. At the time 4k was too expensive and I've been very happy with the 590s. They also have options for cellualar data (realtime monitoring), 3 channels, 4k, polarizing filters, etc. The Phone and PC apps are good, but not amazing. I've got a single RedTiger F4 4k. Been using it for frontal track videos and do not have a rear cam for it. Prices are low and it seems to be on par with BlackVue. The Phone and PC apps are good, but not amazing. They seem to have most accessories, but I'm not sure about the polarizing filter.

Fitcam is very mediocre.  A blackvue is superior from a device/app/reliability standpoint.  I have mine installed and i can’t see it from the driver seat so I would say that is discrete.  

Older cam?  My previous blackvue died but it was in service for 7 years and was an older model with poor cooling.   My new one tells me when starts recording, changes mode, has an event or has a problem with the card - so if I don’t hear the prompts then I know something is off.  

Fitcam failed us on the wife’s car when she was in a wreck.  It’s loop recording stopped without any way for us to know.  I would not purchase another and their software and app suck compared to other options.  People like it because it installs easy but it is mediocre.   A Blackvue dr590 is way better and still easy to install especially since Ford gave us functioning spare fuse slots for both acc and batt+.  

You don't want to hardwire it in because you like having wires everywhere? Or is it because you like to take up one of your outlets? Honestly running wires and tapping the fuse box is the clean easy way to do it. Blackvue DR-590 with front and rear camera and park mode installed on mine in about 20 minutes in the driveway, barely one banana job, and has worked great for the last two years.

An older Blackvue 590 in one vehicle, and a Memento M7 in the other.

For fleet we often do blackvue DR-series with a tamperproof case. That way, it can not be unplugged. Some options for LTE models for remote viewing capabilities. Pricing will vary depending on where you are.

I got mine from Black Vue after reading up on them. I paid about $249. Promptly got rear ended a month later and it paid for itself. I knew nothing about dash cams but their site was informative