Can you use an action camera as a dashcam?
Action cameras are becoming more popular every day, we use them to record almost anything since we can easily fit them in our pocket and carry them everywhere we go. Another great feature of action cameras is the ability to mount your camera on accessories and get different points of view, for example, using your camera as a dashcam.
Any sports camera can be used as a dashcam pretty easily, dashcams are used to put on the dashboard of cars and other vehicles, mainly to protect against complaints and accidents. With a dashcam, you will record everything that happens when you are driving on the road.
Having everything recorded can be very useful and then prove that you have not been to blame for the accident. But dashcams are not only used to record accidents, but we can also record our trip and get a nice perspective from the vehicle we are in.
If you don’t have an action camera yet, you should know that besides working great as a dashcam there a great camera to record everything, from extreme-sports to a nice kayak excursion in a river. In this article, we recommend a few action cameras that will work great as a dashcam and to record all of your adventures.
Accessory
To use an action camera as a dashcam you’re gonna need an accessory to hold the camera, for this we recommend the suction cup accessory.
With the suction cup, you are able to attach your action camera to cars, boats, motorcycles and all kinds of other vehicles. The suction cup holder has an industrial level suction capacity and has been tested for speeds above 240 km / h as well if you wanted to mount your camera outside the vehicle, getting a unique perspective.
In addition, it presents great stability and a wide variety of movements. It comes with adjustable arms that allow ultra-compact mounting. It includes a standard base and a quick opening base to conveniently relocate it between takes and takes. For maximum clamping force, fix it to a clean surface.
If you want to make sure your action camera is compatible with this accessory check out our article about Are GoPro Accessories Universal? (Click Here)
Settings
If you have a GoPro a great setting to activate is the Loop Video, which will make your GoPro start recording everything that happens during the time you define without saving them to the SD Card. The video we record will get gradually deleted so we can have our latest capture. This way our SD card will never run out of memory.
This recording mode is very useful if we want to use our GoPro as a surveillance camera in a room or in our vehicle as a Dash Cam.
For example, if you program the loop duration of 10 minutes. Your action camera or GoPro will start recording a video, when the 10 minutes are over that video will be deleted and started again (a new loop). It will only save it on the memory card if you press the shutter button. That is if something of interest occurs you just have to press the button to be registered. If you don’t do it, the video will disappear.
A lot of other action cameras also come with this mode (Loop).
Recommended action cameras for dashcams
GoPro Hero 8: The fact that the GoPro Hero 8 is completely waterproof without the need for a case is another advantage, the same as the GoPro Hero 7,6,5, as is the improved audio quality of its audio and the wind-optimized mic. It is not perfect, of course, it can get a little overheated when recording in 4K video, to the point where it automatically turns off and doesn’t have that man more improvements to the Hero 7.
GoPro Hero 7: If you’re looking for an amazing action camera, waterproof, that can record excellent videos from angles that go beyond your mobile phone, the Hero 7 Black is one of the best cameras you can buy.
It may be just a relatively small update of its predecessor, but the excellent video quality, stabilization, usability and variety of frames of the Hero 7 Black make it the best sports action camera you can buy.
Yi 4K+: The Yi 4K+ is an excellent action camera and one of the best in the market today. It was the first action camera to go up to 4K 60fps even before GoPro. This model has improved its predecessor in many aspects, although it isn’t better than the GoPro Hero 7, it’s still a spectacular model.
ThiEYE E7: This is one of the best low-budget action cameras, with great quality on its pictures and videos. It can record up to real 4K resolution which is amazing for a low-budget camera along with many other great features.
The ThiEYE can also have multiple ways of control to enjoying a hands-free control of your camera via simple voice commands. Or conveniently control it remotely. Moreover, you can edit and share your special-effect pics with ThiEYE Cam App on your Android or iOS devices instantly.
Gitup Git2P: This is a great low-budget action camera but also with great quality on its pictures and videos. It can record up to 2K resolution which is great along with many other great features.
You can connect a remote control and a microphone which is great depending on what you want to do and how you want to record, for example, if you want to record a vlog. And it’s compatible with most accessories like all of the GoPro accessories. It uses pretty cheap but decent quality batteries.
The negative things are, the screen isn’t very big so it is a little hard to see sometimes and it could be larger, and the smartphone app does not work good.
Conclusion
Even though action cameras can work great for dashcams and record all of your adventures if you only want to use them as a dashcam action cameras might not be your best option and I would recommend you to check out some dashcam cameras, if you already own an action camera, for example, a GoPro or want to use them just for a few trips, it will work out fine.
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