Dash Cams are the first step in protecting you from invalid, bogus insurance claims and unsuspecting wildlife. Here are a few things every Dash Cam owner must know to get the most out of their new investment.
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Location of the dash cam
It’s pretty obvious that you need to choose a good location to actually put your dash cam. And you may find it surprising that there is an overwhelming number of people actually incorrectly place their dash cams, providing hours of questionable and shabby video.
The Dashcam should be placed as high as possible in the center of your screen; people often opt to place it behind the rear view mirror (it’s a discreet install) or go for mounted installs.
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Don’t put focus to the sky
Unless you’re looking for some special alien ships while on your daily commute, you really need to limit the amount of sky seen in your videos. Not only does excessive sky create more glare, reducing the quality of the video, it will also make the rest of the video darker because the dash cam will automatically adjust for brightness.
Plus, you may not be able to capture exactly what you need to or miss important details if you have too much of the sky show.
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Keep your windscreen clean
IT’s pretty obvious that you should keep your windshield clean, or even maintain your car a little. IF there is a lot of dirt or debris on your windscreen, the end-quality of the footage will be reduced significantly. The dash cam may also automatically focus on parts which aren’t important because of debris.
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Adjust the frame rate and video quality
Have that shiny new 128 GB video card but are still recording your videos at a lower resolution? Most modern dash cams have the option to record up to 2K resolution. You may want to check your dash cam to see the highest allowed resolution.
The frame rate is also something that newer dash cams now allow. The frame rate is basically the “speed” at which the video will playback. Since 60 FPS will capture twice as much as 30 FPS, you can actually see more in the video, especially when there is a high-speed scene and this gives more ways to use the image in case of an investigation.
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Clear clutter from your dashboard
While those stuffed toys, toy cacti, and hula hoop bobbleheads may look cute, it really won’t be something your Dash cam will like. Clearing clutter from your dashboard can mean a sharper focus in the recorded video, less focusing issues and no darker image because of reflected light/glare.
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Invest in a good memory card
With so many cameras operating at 1080P resolution these days, your memory card will have to work overdrive to keep up with the massive amounts of video being stored. There are many dash cams that support up to 256 GB, from 32GB, 64 GB, 128 GB to 256GB, and it really depends on the cam you went for.
If your cam supports 64 or 128GB sd cards, we suggest using a high-quality SD card that is at least a Class 6. This will ensure that the card has a good read and write speeds, so there is no bottleneck in the quality of the video.
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TEST
Never assume your dash cam is working, there could be a device error, memory card malfunction and you wouldn’t know it. Also, the memory card could also be full.
Pull out the memory card at least once a month and check the quality of the footage to get some highlights of the health of your dash cam/memory card.
If you’re a dash cam owner, these tips will help you make the most out of your dash cam and avoid any mishaps in terms of hardware failure.
