A dash cam is a portable electronic device that is usually fitted in the dashboard of cars and other vehicles. This is mounted on a vehicle's interior windscreen with the help of a suction cup or a tape mount. These cameras are a boon to drivers as they record while in motion and provide the footage of events that happens outside and the inside of a car or any other vehicle for that matter. These cams were used by cops and policemen for years for evidential purposes to produce in courts. Even in fire engines, ambulance and transit buses have been using this facility for years. But due to security reasons many are using those cams nowadays.

Types of Dash Cams

There are different types of dashboard cameras available in the market, but only a few are best dash cams. They vary in size, shape, and color, but their primary purpose is to record the events. There are three types of dash cameras available in the market.

1) Front Facing. These cameras are fixed on the front windscreen of the car facing forward and they capture the happenings on the road.

2) Dual Channel Camera. These comes as a dual fit option, where one is fixed in the front to record the happenings on the front road and the other is fit behind, to record the happenings behind. These camera records and stores happenings of front and back at the same time and store in the same memory card.

3) Dash Cam with GPS Facility. This is a new system which comes with a GPS navigation system, which records as well as navigates the driver.

How do Dash Cams Work?

Understanding how a car camera system works doesn't need any technical education. It's very simple. The attached dash cam captures anything and everything that comes into sight and gets stored in the memory card attached to it. There is no necessity to switch on the camera. It starts automatically once the engine is switched on and when the vehicle is stopped or the engine gets switched off it automatically gets switched off. Every 1, 3 or 5 minutes, depending on the make of the camera, the recordings are converted into files and stored. This helps while retrieving the information. These dashboard cams come with an internal loop system mode, where the files get replaced once the memory space in the SD card gets over. Some high-end best dash cameras available in market are connected with a Wi-Fi and the recording can be transferred easily to the smart phones.

Benefits of Dash Cams

Here are a few listed benefits of dash cams.

€ It is beneficial to protect ones assets in case of any accidents.

€ If a business man owns a fleet, then it is easy to track the vehicles easily.

€ During accidents the footage helps in insurance claims, and other litigations.

€ Many parents opt to protect their teenage children.

€ High-end dashboard cams with GPS system helps to track the speed, duration and location of the vehicle.

How to Choose Best Dash Cams?

Dashboard cameras are available from a range of $50 to $250, depending on features it provides.

While choosing one must take care that the dash camera must have the following features

€ Recording capacity

€ Storage capacity minimum 15 GB

€ Accurate GPS data logger (if GPS is required)

€ Easily mountable in the vehicle

€ LCD viewing screen

€ G-Shock sensor to record accidents

€ Good degree angle for recording

€ With plug-in and HDMI devices

€ Dual Channel facility with or without GPS

These are the few features one must look for before investing in a dash cam.