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Dashcams come in all kinds of varieties with different prices, some having night vision and others having HD recording, finding the right budget dash cam option is not as simple as it seems.
Finest dash cams often come with 4K footage quality and additional driver assistance features at a high price tag, but this doesn't mean you can't find some great dashcams with this array of features for under £100.
To make your hunt for the best cheap dash cam deals easier, we've rounded up our top three favourite dash cams for under the £100 mark below and reviewed them individually to see which cams stand out for their price tag.
Let's get into the reviews.
If your looking for a humble dash cam that isn't too noticeable, this mini Garmin dash cam could be an excellent pick.
Stand out features of this dashcam are its 140-degree wide-angle lens which can shoot 1080p footage quality in detail, it also has a 2.1MP picture resolution for snapshots of scenes. In terms of the additional features, this Garmin flagship dash cam has a G-sensor which gets triggered by impact and stores a one minute video automatically of what happened.
This dashcam further uses WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for dashcam updates, transfer of footage to your mobile app and syncing up other dashcams. All of these extra features fit into the key-sized design which sits behind your rear-view mirror helping to protect the cam from thieves.
Overall, this cheap Garmin dashcam has a guarantee of image quality thanks to its 1080P lens and 140-degree viewing angle, its small and discreet design doesn't compromise on the viewing angle and Garmin's connectivity works great with a decent smartphone app for reviewing footage.
The only drawbacks of this mini dashcam are that it doesn't have GPS, but for under the £100 mark, we can understand why the cam further can have some issues when connecting to smartphones making the app difficult to operate.
Next up we have the VIOFO dash cam, this excellent budget dash cam with a 1600p resolution producing HD footage, its 5MP IMX335 sensor and the F1.6 7G lens combined has a 30-second frame rate with a 140-degree angle view for capturing all incidents on the road.
GPS on this advanced dash cams design provides real speed and time along with distance for route tracking, it further has night vision and HDR for viewing details at night. Parking modes are included in three types; auto event detection, time-lapse, low bitrate recording depending on your needs.
Along with all the additional features above the dashcam has a G-sensor plus loop recording supporting an SD card up to 256GB, it also has audio footage. Design-wise the cam is nice and compact, making it ideal for theft protection and discreet recording.
In terms of price, you are getting the best value for money with this VIOFO dashcam thanks to all the additional technology inside such as night vision and GPS, its connected features make them cam great for tracking your destination as well high-quality footage which is better than HD.
Some drawbacks to be noted of this VIOFO model are its lack of an option to turn off parking mode which can be a downfall in situations where streets are busy, you may also have to purchase additional software with the dashcam to view GPS data.
If your looking for the cheapest dashcam out there but don't want to compromise on quality, this AURA dashcam could be right for you with its 1080P recording quality and 140-degree viewing angle.
The cam is equipped with WiFi connectivity for viewing footage from your phone via their Road Angel phone app and it has additional features such as; G-sensor, parking mode and a winter mode too. Night vision is further included.
For the design of this budget cam, it has a slightly larger size compared to our other two dashcams and uses a micro USB port, it mounts via a window screen pad rather than behind the rearview mirror.
Although slightly larger than the VIOFO and Garmin cams, the AURA HD1 is an all-around solid dash cam with motion detection, the impressive feature of parking mode and a wide field of view for capturing all details when you are out and about on the road.
Downfalls of the cheaper dash cam are its app which is said to have a few issues when updating with new IOS on smartphones, the cam can also have some issues when recording continuously and can miss out on parts.
To round up our top three dashcams for under £100, our favourite cam has to be the Garmin mini dash cam, this cam despite its tiny and discreet size has excellent additional features packed inside for its price and doesn't experience issues with a continuous recording like may other cheap dash cams.
The VIOFO dash cam is a better choice for those of you who want a high-tech budget cam with GPS tracking but its software might need purchasing at an additional cost making it more expensive.
Now we have reviewed and found the best low-priced dashcams within your budget, it's a good idea to get to know what type of features you need inside of your dashcam and whether or not it's worth spending the money on one.
We've put all this information into an informative buying guide to help you out below.
Before we get into all the nitty and gritty specs about dashcams, let's discuss whether or not these devices are worth your £100.
Dashcams are growing with popularity every single day, they can now be used as credible evidence in court and are a great solution to make you feel safer on the road and when parked.
We've listed out some advantages to buying a dashcam for your car below if you are unsure.
Since cheaper dashcams still come with excellent features such as GPS, G-sensors and night vision, why spend extra money on more expensive dashcams, what's the difference?
Well, more expensive dashcams often become dual lens dash cams, meaning they have a cam on the front and back of the device so as you can record the rear vision of your car too, this is what makes them more expensive due to them having two cameras.
High-quality dash cams with a higher price tag often also have better footage quality with some recording up to quad HD for extra detail. Some features only found on expensive dash cams are speed camera alerts, driving assistance functions and built-in Alexa functionality.
This is not to say cheap dashcams are bad since some can still record up to HD quality, the only difference between expensive and cheap dashcams has to be the features.
If you want to get the best out of your affordable dash cam for the money you need to ensure that your dashcam has the essential features you need for keeping you safe on the road.
We've listed what we think are the most important specs to be looking for in your new cam below.
Which capacity SD card should I use in my dashcam?
This depends on what your dashcam should support, some can support SD cards up to 256GB while others might be limited to 128GB.
It's best to go for the biggest storage to store more footage, you should also be careful where you buy your SD card from as there are lots of fakes on the market which will not work in dash cams.
Do I need an external power source to set up my budget dash cam?
You can use either the cigarette lighter in the car or hardwire your budget dash cam into your car for a direct power supply.
What does parking mode on a dash cam?
This mode is used to keep the dash cam powered while your car is off, it films and becomes triggered when motion is detected helping to protect the car against theft.
Is G-sensor technology important on a budget dashcam?
Yes, a G-sensor is excellent, it automatically turns your cam on to film when the sensor detects a blow or impact, this can be essential when forming evidence during a car accident.
What are some additional features to look for on a cheap dashcam?
The best extra features to watch out for on budget dashcams are; WiFi connectivity, night vision, G-sensors, parking modes and GPS.
How much does a dual dash cam cost?
A dual dash cam is more expensive than single dash cams, they cost around £150 for a version with additional features.
Which position should my dashcam be in?
Your dashcam should never be obstructing your vision or distracting you while driving, this is illegal in some countries, the best place for most dashcams to sit is behind your rearview mirror for capturing key details such as signage and both of the road lanes ahead.
What does FPS mean on a dashcam?
FPS on dashcams means the frames per second which your cam records, the higher your frames per second then the more data your camera will account for, a 60fps dash cam is double a 30fps so produces double the amount of visual data.
Our number one dashcam for under the £100 mark is the Garmin mini dash cam, this tiny compact dash cam has excellent technology for recording and connectivity to its Garmin app to review footage taken.
The VIOFO dash cam is also an excellent budget choice and is the better choice if you after a cam for incident recording with GPS tracking too, this model does need additional software for reviewing footage however which should be considered in addition to the price.
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