📷 *DASHCAM LINKS* 📷 *ORSKEY Dash Cam* amzn.to/3WrBk5T *Nextbase 122HD* amzn.to/3LQChQg *Nextbase 522GW* amzn.to/4dqVaFg *Garmin Dash Cam 67* amzn.to/3WNaWop *BlackVue DR590X-1CH* amzn.to/3SxcXCu *Sandisk 64GB or 128GB Extreme microSDXC card* amzn.to/4d6QaWy These are Amazon Affiliate links meaning that if a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission but this do not affect my recommendation by any means. It might just help me regain the costs back of making this video! Or hit Subscribe, Like, Comment or become a Member 👊🏼
Another great video Nick! I have 2 x dashcams both BlackVue DR900S 2Ch (front & rear cameras) in 4K. I also purchased BlackVue back-up batteries for each one. This allows you to have the cameras running while the car is parked without drawing down power from your cars start battery - no fun coming back to a flat start battery!You get about 24 hours recording in park mode with the back-up battery getting recharged only when you start the car again. I have one in my 458 & the other in my CLE & had them both professionally installed. My experience using them has been great with no issues at all & the 4K giving great resolution. I prefer being able to transfer the video footage to my phone via Bluetooth rather than taking the card out to do this. Also, I like the no screen design so that the camera can be tucked up behind the rear view mirror & completely out of my line of sight. But that’s just my personal preference. At the end of the day any dashcam you choose is better than the one you don’t when someone runs into you! Cheers Steve
Thanks Steve! Yeah I wouldn’t mind checking out Blackvue’s other dashcams (even if they force you to use their microSD cards) I’m sure their others will produce better image quality. Yeah the no screen is good (once it’s set up, I appreciate the design from that point of view). Thanks for sharing your experience! 😎
I've got the Nextbase 512GW. Had it over 5 years now. It just works. 👍👍 Tucked the wire into the windscreen A pillar mount ( front side ), running it down under the passenger seat to the rear centre power socket.
Hi Nick - well done for taking on the minefield of Dashcam. I’ve had a BlackVue DR750 - 2 CH (I.e front & rear) since 2018 (in my C class). It failed me in 2023, but I sent it to their U.K. office (who sent it to the S Korea office). They replaced the camera sensor -all for £50 and 3w downtime. Great service. Just had it professionally fitted to my Cla sb and working great
Haha yeah it sure is a minefield! That’s good to know their customer service is good even if they have extortionate prices for memory cards. Thanks for sharing! 🤓
Hi Nick, perfect timing, I am just looking for a dashcam for my new 2024 A35 so I was curious on your opinion. I was also looking at the 522GW, seems like the best price/performance. You said that you're wiring yours in to the 12V or USB in the centre console? Can you close the sliding cover when the 12V is plugged in - at least up to a small gap for the cable to come out? I really like the clean look when its closed, but I feel like it won't be possible when the 12V is plugged in? I did some research into hard wiring also but it seems like a real faff on the A class as the fuse box is under the passenger seat. Anyway thanks for the video and reviews
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! No that’s the downside, the wire trails up the passenger side and into the sliding cover just there, so it can almost close but from the passenger side they can still see the cable. This doesn’t bother me too much as I very rarely have anyone in the car and I’m not looking down but I can appreciate it’s not right for everyone. Oh is it really? That seems like a strange place! No worries glad you enjoyed it! 🤓
I have the same car as yourself and fitted the next base 552. I also have the rear camera mounted at the rear window. What I like about the next base is all the accessories, spare parts etc are available in a well known shop as well as the hard wired accessories, ie fused interface. The problem with many cameras is that they are all made in china and when they go wrong you’re knackered
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this new type of video! Back to cars next week though 😅 If everyone enjoys this topic then I’ll happily make some more videos like this in the future! 😎
The major drawback with Nextbase is they incorporate a battery which can fail quite quickly and that is the end of the dashcam. Viofo etc are better (IMO) as they use a capacitor so are unlikely to fail. I have just purchased a 70Mai - with 4g connectivity and a rear cam for less than £150 - i will let you know how it goes.
I think most dash cams have an internal battery like that, but interesting to hear that Viofo have done something a bit different. If everyone enjoys this video then I might do some similar ones again in the future! 🤓 Oh yeah please do 🙏
Hi Nick. Another good video. Thank you. I’m picking up a 2024 CLA35 AMG P+ next week (lucky me i know!😊) I’ve seen that there’s an MBUX dashcam option via Mercedes Me. Is that available on the A35? If so, are you able to test how that compares to your winning Nextbase? The idea of a fully built in solution from M-B is highly tempting for the same overall cost!
Thank you! 🙏 glad you enjoyed it! Oooo nice! 👌🏼 Actually beat you to it! Already covered that one: th-cam.com/video/xkXyOzoLpO0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=7voz9ZAX-C6lphqX
Good video, I have had a nextbase 522gw for a couple of years and would not drive without it. I also have the rearview camera attachment. Well worth the money. Only issue is it's very pickie over which sd card you use.
Yes I’ve heard that too but the ones I recommend all work, have used those for years, they work in other cameras and are what I use in my dashcam now. I’ve got a 128GB one 🤓
The Garmin speed trap and red traffic lights camera warnings are a mixed bag, in the positive direction for me. Really useful for going on trips to any place for the first time to know of red light camerad and speed changes. I remember going to Wales after new 20mph limits. Google and Waze had yet to update but my camera was warning me im doing 30 in a new 20 with a speed camera in front if me while sat nav said it was still 30.
Fair enough! I just found it odd as normally I’d expect a Sat Nav to do it. I kind of just wanted a silent Dashcam though (I know the alerts can be silenced 😅) Also found that it had a very wide field of view so it made reading Numberplates tricky. But I do love the small form factor! It’s brilliant on that front and a load of features built in!
My favorite is the Vantrue E1 2.7K WiFi Mini Dash Cam, Voice Control Front Car Dash Camera with GPS & Speed, Super Night Vision, Wireless Controller & App, 24 Hours Parking Mode, Buffered Motion Detection, Support 512GB Max. It also uses a supercapacitor for extreme heat protection (versus battery powered). I also got it because of its compact size so it would be unobtrusive on my windshield. Right now, at around $100 USD, it's a very good purchase. You can add a polarized lens filter and a hardwire power kit (needed for auto recording when the car gets bumped in a parking lot). I have one in each of my cars. The E1 is forward-facing only, but there is a model with a rear-facing camera.
The integrated FITCAMX 4K front dashcam I installed in my 2022 Porsche Cayenne 14 months ago continues to work well. It replaced the bottom of the rain sensor housing, looks OEM and comes with a "Y" harness for powering it from the rain sensor. It turns on and off with the ignition. The version I bought doesn't have a parking mode but there are versions that do - those are powered from the vehicle fuse box. There is an optional rear camera which I didn't get. There isn't a screen but there are supporting IOS and Android phone apps for downloading and viewing videos and making setting changes. Downloading 4K videos to my phone over the FITCAMX built in WiFi is slow so I pull the 128GB microSD card I use in it when I want to download more than one or two videos. There are FITCAMX versions for many recent vehicle models including the Mercedes A Class. The only drawback I've identified is that it cannot put coordinates and vehicle speed on the video image - only date and time.
Hi Nick Great review on all those Dashcams…I used to have one in my old AMG CLA 35 because it had the augmented navigation system which was superb but in my new car I don’t have that … so I might think of installing one . 👍
I have the Nextbase 622 in my A class. Just a word of advice. If you install the camera too high up the windscreen, you can fall just out of the wiper arc, which totally messes up the image if it happens to be raining. Also, Nextbase like to recommend using their (expensive) SD cards, but mine works perfectly well with a Sandisk 256gb card.
Ah yes I did eye that one up but for the theme of this video, wanted to keep it below £200. However, if everyone enjoys this video then I’ll happily look at doing some more videos like this in the future 😎
just a note, i read a few weeks ago if you have a dash cam plugged into your cig lighter your ok with your car insurance but if its hard wired in its classed as modifying your car and you need to tell your insurance.
I use M6 in both AMGs. I used to have the M5 but moved to a better camera. Had the dealership install it for a small service fee but have peace of mind that the wiring is done without voiding warranty. I use a 256G card bought from Amazon and it works nicely. Higher SD cards you buy in no way will void a warranty.. crazy some manufacturers try this tactic to sell their high priced cards.
Ah that’s good! Yeah I know I didn’t enjoy that what BlackVue said on their box, those prices are ridiculous. It does not cost that much to make! Yeah having a dealership install via hardwire is good 👍🏼
I have the Nextbase 522GW in my wife’s car and the 622GW in my car, the only difference between the two installs is the 522GW is only installed via the 12v socket which means it can’t be used in ‘parking’ mode as it needs a permanent 12v connection, my 622 is hard wired enabling the parking mode to be utilised. I did have it professionally installed by a Nextbase approved company at the cost of £99.
Thank you for the effort you put into your videos. The problem of the cables would be solved by placing a usb port in the central mirror, for example Skoda has it. Too bad Mercedes has not thought of something so simple, cheap and useful.
Yes very true, I can speak from experience of VW products and Mercedes on that one! The new 2024 VW Passat has a USB-C port built into the mirror which is brilliant (so good to hear that Skoda have done the same). For Mercedes, a few of their models have the next best thing which is a 12v socket in the passenger footwell (almost where their right knee would be, but tucked away). This is also good but not as good as the dedicated port in the mirror. It’s some models that have the vertical tablet screen in the middle from what I’ve seen. Glad you enjoy the videos, this one took a while to do in addition to the videos I’ve been putting out! Back to cars next week 👀
Now that is cool! Although I’m a little bit hesitant to plug things into the brain of a modern car (hacking possibilities etc) but as long as it’s Nextbase’s one and is verified to work.
Hi Nick. Did Mercedes at one time offer a dash cam upgrade using the existing cameras that are there behind the interior mirror. £200 to switch it on. Maybe they dropped the offer.
I bought it when they had 10% off (sorry I don't know if that offer is still open). As Nick pointed out in his excellent review you do have to start it manually every time, this is quite easy but the app takes a little time to load (it varies a bit, maybe an average of 20 seconds though I have never timed it). All the same I much prefer this solution to having extra wires and something stuck to my windscreen. The video quality seems pretty good (on an EQA 250 Plus AMG Premium Plus) though I have not compared it to others; I don't know if the car camera resolution changes with models. For me it was the right solution despite having to start it manually, I just see this as part of my initial setup routine before driving off.
Yeah I think they stopped that! 😅 Thank you! 🙏 I wasn’t sure if the resolution changed either, I’m sure it’s changed from 720p to 1080p over the years but the image quality (due to the sensor size) isn’t as great as a dedicated stand alone camera. But I do appreciate the in-built solution, that is brilliant, all cars should have this (and auto start 😅)
@@npoleary Hi Nick, out of curiosity I took the USB stick from of my car and checked the resolution with QuickTime Player on my mac. For my car is comes out as 1920x1220, so it does look like it depends on the model (which is not surprising). Playing clips full size on a large display shows them to be very detailed and crisp, no upsampling artefacts. This is a more expensive solution (that's the Mercedes way) but for me it was worth it as I really do not like wires or gear stuck to my windscreen. With these things it is very much a personal choice, the discount convinced me to go for it; let's hope it comes back.
I would always advise to format a memory card before use. But with dashcams they typically fill the memory card first and the overwrite the oldest files when it’s full. You should still for good measure format once in a while to ensure it’s all good 👍🏼
Yeah it’s £200 (one off fee on some models)but you have to manually start it. So I wanted it make this video for everyone and now I can personally recommend dashcams having tested a few🤓
I’ve got the 522gw I’ve had it years! This dashcam is years old now. It can’t pick out number plates on moving cars. Well below par for 2024. Also it took them years to sort out the software to make it useable, even though still very slow. The software was completely unusable for years. I would never buy another Nexus.
Nice! I’ve found all Dashcam software horrible compared to the likes of phone software etc. but they’re all the same so hadn’t really mentioned it. But if everyone enjoys this topic of video and wants me to do more, then I’ll get on the hunt for one with a better more responsive User Interface. It does the trick for me though, set it and forget it and it works 😎
@@npoleary I’m like you, I just want a set it and forget dash-cam, that I can just get the footage from if something happens, but I’ve been frustrated with the Nextbase (I mistaking said Nexus before), because it very often can’t pick out number plates. I think I might get the “Vantru N4” upon current research. Do you think there’s anything better than that?
Yeah that’s alright! 🤓 blame autocorrect! 😂 Well the purpose of this video was to try and get one under £200. I’m sure that if more money was spent then they’d be more high quality sensors etc so probably. I might look at that in the future! 🤓 Sadly not heard of Vantru before!
The Garmin is terrible. £9.99 monthly subscription to save to vault. Almost fish eye lens make everything look 100 yrds infront, seems like you're go 100mph everywhere. Recorded a malicious attack on a car, bottle thrown through the back windscreen of a parked car couldn't read the number plate of the attacked car even though I passed it a 20mph 1m away at 60fps. Only just captured number plate of offending car when it came to stop at the junction when I was 3m away. Sending footage to police but it's not very clear what happened. I only installed in on Wednesday taking it back to Halfords today for a refund.
Yeah precisely why I didn’t want a subscription to one! Yes it does have a very wide field of view, text wasn’t that great to see from the tests but better than the worst ones. Oh jeez that’s not good :( Did you get it sorted and a replacement installed?
Urrr yeah this is exactly why I skipped that 🤯 I would love to have a made a video on it for everyone on TH-cam but with the whole work costing £600 to £900 and the rest it is simply not something I can recommend, honestly that’s a ridiculous price.
I use the Blackvue 900X 2ch(4K) in my CLA180 (2021) The complete package cost me more than €2000. There are cheaper dashcams with better image quality, but when I take all my needs into account, this was still the best choice. The front camera is 4K and the rear camera FHD. I also have a Blackvue LTE module for an internet connection, so that when there has been a collision while I am not in the car, I get a notification on my phone with live view and images of the collision. Thanks to the 3 external batteries from Blackvue, this dashcam can watch over my car for 2.5 days in parking mode without starting the car. If I only had 1 front camera and no LTE module, I would have twice as much battery life left. I can activate the live view at any time so that I can always see what is happening with my car. As for the external batteries, they could be connected together up to 5 to extend the battery life. I don't think that is possible with the latest Blackvue batteries.
Yes BlackVue do have a number of different dash cams with extremely advanced set ups similar to yours. That does sound pretty cool though with the remote live view etc and days worth of back up recording. I may have had their basic BlackVue dash cam? Not sure, if everyone enjoys this video I’ll happily re visit topics like this in the future! So could review some more BlackVue dashcams!
No sadly not! 🙁 Mercedes have an option on some cars called Augmented Reality. It’s a clever camera which can overlay arrows on the Sat nav to help with navigation. There’s an option on most models that have this to turn it into a dashcam, I’ve reviewed and covered it here: th-cam.com/video/xkXyOzoLpO0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rm6rZ1KsjyOtM7AY I should also add, some high end models have it as standard which is pretty cool! However the major downside to it, is that in selected countries it is a manual start so it does not record automatically. Some countries it is auto start for some reason, not sure why. Plus the quality is not as good as a standalone unit. But for an “in-built” solution it’s great! 👍🏼 I think it was about £200 last time I looked
What did you find weird? I bought 5 of the most popular dashcams, made sure they were all under £200, tested out their quality day/night, rated them on their design & form factor and picked a winner and the one I’d be using going forward
@@npoleary Sorry it is the choice by mere popularity as if that had any relevance to the 'best', or anything. Perhaps by definition such a parameter is highly influenced by cheapest not best. My fault I was looking to find out about one based on 'best', then if need be compromise down such a selection if very pricy.
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*Nextbase 122HD*
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*Nextbase 522GW*
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*BlackVue DR590X-1CH*
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*Sandisk 64GB or 128GB Extreme microSDXC card*
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These are Amazon Affiliate links meaning that if a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission but this do not affect my recommendation by any means.
It might just help me regain the costs back of making this video! Or hit Subscribe, Like, Comment or become a Member 👊🏼
I bought á Dashcam from Fitcamx it fits for my GLC no cables, connects to the Rain sensor for Power. Easy to fit controled by an app
Another great video Nick!
I have 2 x dashcams both BlackVue DR900S 2Ch (front & rear cameras) in 4K. I also purchased BlackVue back-up batteries for each one. This allows you to have the cameras running while the car is parked without drawing down power from your cars start battery - no fun coming back to a flat start battery!You get about 24 hours recording in park mode with the back-up battery getting recharged only when you start the car again. I have one in my 458 & the other in my CLE & had them both professionally installed. My experience using them has been great with no issues at all & the 4K giving great resolution.
I prefer being able to transfer the video footage to my phone via Bluetooth rather than taking the card out to do this. Also, I like the no screen design so that the camera can be tucked up behind the rear view mirror & completely out of my line of sight.
But that’s just my personal preference. At the end of the day any dashcam you choose is better than the one you don’t when someone runs into you!
Cheers Steve
Thanks Steve! Yeah I wouldn’t mind checking out Blackvue’s other dashcams (even if they force you to use their microSD cards) I’m sure their others will produce better image quality.
Yeah the no screen is good (once it’s set up, I appreciate the design from that point of view).
Thanks for sharing your experience! 😎
I've got the Nextbase 512GW. Had it over 5 years now. It just works. 👍👍 Tucked the wire into the windscreen A pillar mount ( front side ), running it down under the passenger seat to the rear centre power socket.
That’s a good idea! 👍🏼
Hi Nick - well done for taking on the minefield of Dashcam. I’ve had a BlackVue DR750 - 2 CH (I.e front & rear) since 2018 (in my C class). It failed me in 2023, but I sent it to their U.K. office (who sent it to the S Korea office). They replaced the camera sensor -all for £50 and 3w downtime. Great service. Just had it professionally fitted to my Cla sb and working great
Haha yeah it sure is a minefield! That’s good to know their customer service is good even if they have extortionate prices for memory cards. Thanks for sharing! 🤓
Hi Nick, perfect timing, I am just looking for a dashcam for my new 2024 A35 so I was curious on your opinion. I was also looking at the 522GW, seems like the best price/performance.
You said that you're wiring yours in to the 12V or USB in the centre console? Can you close the sliding cover when the 12V is plugged in - at least up to a small gap for the cable to come out? I really like the clean look when its closed, but I feel like it won't be possible when the 12V is plugged in?
I did some research into hard wiring also but it seems like a real faff on the A class as the fuse box is under the passenger seat.
Anyway thanks for the video and reviews
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
No that’s the downside, the wire trails up the passenger side and into the sliding cover just there, so it can almost close but from the passenger side they can still see the cable.
This doesn’t bother me too much as I very rarely have anyone in the car and I’m not looking down but I can appreciate it’s not right for everyone.
Oh is it really? That seems like a strange place!
No worries glad you enjoyed it! 🤓
I upgraded from the Garmin 67W and Mini2 to BlackVue 970XLTE, I absolutely love the BlackVue.
Yeah I wouldn’t dismiss BlackVue completely, I felt like the one I had was the cheaper one of their range, I’m sure they do better ones
I have the same car as yourself and fitted the next base 552. I also have the rear camera mounted at the rear window. What I like about the next base is all the accessories, spare parts etc are available in a well known shop as well as the hard wired accessories, ie fused interface. The problem with many cameras is that they are all made in china and when they go wrong you’re knackered
Very true! I’m guessing you had the whole thing wired in? Or did you do it yourself?
That was excellent video Nick, thinking of getting one myself so very handy to compare them
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this new type of video! Back to cars next week though 😅
If everyone enjoys this topic then I’ll happily make some more videos like this in the future! 😎
The major drawback with Nextbase is they incorporate a battery which can fail quite quickly and that is the end of the dashcam.
Viofo etc are better (IMO) as they use a capacitor so are unlikely to fail.
I have just purchased a 70Mai - with 4g connectivity and a rear cam for less than £150 - i will let you know how it goes.
I think most dash cams have an internal battery like that, but interesting to hear that Viofo have done something a bit different.
If everyone enjoys this video then I might do some similar ones again in the future! 🤓
Oh yeah please do 🙏
Hi Nick.
Another good video. Thank you.
I’m picking up a 2024 CLA35 AMG P+ next week (lucky me i know!😊)
I’ve seen that there’s an MBUX dashcam option via Mercedes Me. Is that available on the A35?
If so, are you able to test how that compares to your winning Nextbase? The idea of a fully built in solution from M-B is highly tempting for the same overall cost!
Thank you! 🙏 glad you enjoyed it!
Oooo nice! 👌🏼
Actually beat you to it! Already covered that one: th-cam.com/video/xkXyOzoLpO0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=7voz9ZAX-C6lphqX
Good video, I have had a nextbase 522gw for a couple of years and would not drive without it. I also have the rearview camera attachment. Well worth the money.
Only issue is it's very pickie over which sd card you use.
Yes I’ve heard that too but the ones I recommend all work, have used those for years, they work in other cameras and are what I use in my dashcam now. I’ve got a 128GB one 🤓
The Garmin speed trap and red traffic lights camera warnings are a mixed bag, in the positive direction for me. Really useful for going on trips to any place for the first time to know of red light camerad and speed changes. I remember going to Wales after new 20mph limits. Google and Waze had yet to update but my camera was warning me im doing 30 in a new 20 with a speed camera in front if me while sat nav said it was still 30.
Fair enough! I just found it odd as normally I’d expect a Sat Nav to do it.
I kind of just wanted a silent Dashcam though (I know the alerts can be silenced 😅)
Also found that it had a very wide field of view so it made reading Numberplates tricky.
But I do love the small form factor! It’s brilliant on that front and a load of features built in!
My favorite is the Vantrue E1 2.7K WiFi Mini Dash Cam, Voice Control Front Car Dash Camera with GPS & Speed, Super Night Vision, Wireless Controller & App, 24 Hours Parking Mode, Buffered Motion Detection, Support 512GB Max. It also uses a supercapacitor for extreme heat protection (versus battery powered). I also got it because of its compact size so it would be unobtrusive on my windshield. Right now, at around $100 USD, it's a very good purchase. You can add a polarized lens filter and a hardwire power kit (needed for auto recording when the car gets bumped in a parking lot). I have one in each of my cars. The E1 is forward-facing only, but there is a model with a rear-facing camera.
Ah awesome thanks for sharing! Well if everyone enjoys this type of video then I might make some more videos like this in the future! 👍🏼
Great video Nick, I’m looking at a new dash cam myself the video was a great help thank you.
Brilliant! Glad you enjoyed the video! 🙏🙏
The integrated FITCAMX 4K front dashcam I installed in my 2022 Porsche Cayenne 14 months ago continues to work well. It replaced the bottom of the rain sensor housing, looks OEM and comes with a "Y" harness for powering it from the rain sensor. It turns on and off with the ignition. The version I bought doesn't have a parking mode but there are versions that do - those are powered from the vehicle fuse box. There is an optional rear camera which I didn't get. There isn't a screen but there are supporting IOS and Android phone apps for downloading and viewing videos and making setting changes. Downloading 4K videos to my phone over the FITCAMX built in WiFi is slow so I pull the 128GB microSD card I use in it when I want to download more than one or two videos. There are FITCAMX versions for many recent vehicle models including the Mercedes A Class. The only drawback I've identified is that it cannot put coordinates and vehicle speed on the video image - only date and time.
Thanks for sharing! That does sound good though!
Maybe if enough people enjoyed this video I could do some more in the future! 🤓
Hi Nick
Great review on all those Dashcams…I used to have one in my old AMG CLA 35 because it had the augmented navigation system which was superb but in my new car I don’t have that … so I might think of installing one . 👍
Ah thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! 🤓
As normal Nick Great quality and interesting
Thank you! 🙏
Thank you Nick, this is a useful video.
No worries glad you enjoyed it! 😎
I have the Nextbase 622 in my A class. Just a word of advice. If you install the camera too high up the windscreen, you can fall just out of the wiper arc, which totally messes up the image if it happens to be raining. Also, Nextbase like to recommend using their (expensive) SD cards, but mine works perfectly well with a Sandisk 256gb card.
Ah yes I’ve made that mistake before on my previous dashcam! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Nick, I’ve used different ones in the past, but eventually I went for a Nextbase 622, really good value camera.
Ah yes I did eye that one up but for the theme of this video, wanted to keep it below £200. However, if everyone enjoys this video then I’ll happily look at doing some more videos like this in the future 😎
just a note, i read a few weeks ago if you have a dash cam plugged into your cig lighter your ok with your car insurance but if its hard wired in its classed as modifying your car and you need to tell your insurance.
Yes very true! 🤓
And it will likely void your car warranty. (Just kidding! Or maybe not.)
Yeah it’s that kind of grey area…
Best to check
I use M6 in both AMGs. I used to have the M5 but moved to a better camera. Had the dealership install it for a small service fee but have peace of mind that the wiring is done without voiding warranty. I use a 256G card bought from Amazon and it works nicely. Higher SD cards you buy in no way will void a warranty.. crazy some manufacturers try this tactic to sell their high priced cards.
Ah that’s good! Yeah I know I didn’t enjoy that what BlackVue said on their box, those prices are ridiculous. It does not cost that much to make!
Yeah having a dealership install via hardwire is good 👍🏼
Thanks Nick another great review
Thank you! 🙏 😎
I have the Nextbase 522GW in my wife’s car and the 622GW in my car, the only difference between the two installs is the 522GW is only installed via the 12v socket which means it can’t be used in ‘parking’ mode as it needs a permanent 12v connection, my 622 is hard wired enabling the parking mode to be utilised. I did have it professionally installed by a Nextbase approved company at the cost of £99.
remember to tell your insurance company as now its classed as being modified
@@floridahummer yes, I’ve already done that.
@@floridahummer Which,incidentally lowered my premium.
@baztess8281 ah that’s good! Thanks for sharing!
And the whole modification thing, haha yeah that’s good it lowered it! 🤓
Hi Nick i have the nextbase 552WG in my C300 can't fault it !!!
Ah nice! 👌🏼
Clearly why it was the winner! 🥇 hah
Loads of people I see have that one! It’s a good dashcam which decent video quality 👌🏼
Thank you for the effort you put into your videos. The problem of the cables would be solved by placing a usb port in the central mirror, for example Skoda has it. Too bad Mercedes has not thought of something so simple, cheap and useful.
Yes very true, I can speak from experience of VW products and Mercedes on that one!
The new 2024 VW Passat has a USB-C port built into the mirror which is brilliant (so good to hear that Skoda have done the same).
For Mercedes, a few of their models have the next best thing which is a 12v socket in the passenger footwell (almost where their right knee would be, but tucked away). This is also good but not as good as the dedicated port in the mirror. It’s some models that have the vertical tablet screen in the middle from what I’ve seen.
Glad you enjoy the videos, this one took a while to do in addition to the videos I’ve been putting out! Back to cars next week 👀
Nick, have a look at Nextbase OBD power supply cable. Good alternative for the normal cigarette lighter one.
Now that is cool! Although I’m a little bit hesitant to plug things into the brain of a modern car (hacking possibilities etc) but as long as it’s Nextbase’s one and is verified to work.
@@npoleary Correct. Only the genuine Nextbase one 👍🏻
Hi Nick. Did Mercedes at one time offer a dash cam upgrade using the existing cameras that are there behind the interior mirror. £200 to switch it on. Maybe they dropped the offer.
They sure do, reviewed at the start of this year: th-cam.com/video/xkXyOzoLpO0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=IR--0oBtnlcVHEnS
I bought it when they had 10% off (sorry I don't know if that offer is still open). As Nick pointed out in his excellent review you do have to start it manually every time, this is quite easy but the app takes a little time to load (it varies a bit, maybe an average of 20 seconds though I have never timed it). All the same I much prefer this solution to having extra wires and something stuck to my windscreen. The video quality seems pretty good (on an EQA 250 Plus AMG Premium Plus) though I have not compared it to others; I don't know if the car camera resolution changes with models. For me it was the right solution despite having to start it manually, I just see this as part of my initial setup routine before driving off.
Yeah I think they stopped that! 😅
Thank you! 🙏
I wasn’t sure if the resolution changed either, I’m sure it’s changed from 720p to 1080p over the years but the image quality (due to the sensor size) isn’t as great as a dedicated stand alone camera.
But I do appreciate the in-built solution, that is brilliant, all cars should have this (and auto start 😅)
@@npoleary Hi Nick, out of curiosity I took the USB stick from of my car and checked the resolution with QuickTime Player on my mac. For my car is comes out as 1920x1220, so it does look like it depends on the model (which is not surprising). Playing clips full size on a large display shows them to be very detailed and crisp, no upsampling artefacts. This is a more expensive solution (that's the Mercedes way) but for me it was worth it as I really do not like wires or gear stuck to my windscreen. With these things it is very much a personal choice, the discount convinced me to go for it; let's hope it comes back.
Can't be doing with the messy cables so will wait until they've got a bluetooth or mobile 4/5G wireless version available.
There are dashcams out there with 4G and 5G but they’re for data transfer. The cable is for power 👍🏼
No mention of the orskey dual cam ??
No I wasn’t testing the rear cameras, I could look at that for a future video. Just wanted one for the front (no wire trailing to the back etc)
Hi Nick , great video , just asking about the memory card , does it clear the recorded memory or do you have to clear the memory card yourself? Thanks
I would always advise to format a memory card before use. But with dashcams they typically fill the memory card first and the overwrite the oldest files when it’s full.
You should still for good measure format once in a while to ensure it’s all good 👍🏼
Thankyou👍👍👍👍❤️
Thanks for watching! 🙏
*But Nick you already have one built in your MBUX Multi-Media System - However I think you have to pay around £300 to Mercedes to activate it !*
£200 for permanent activation.
Yeah it’s £200 (one off fee on some models)but you have to manually start it. So I wanted it make this video for everyone and now I can personally recommend dashcams having tested a few🤓
I’ve got the 522gw I’ve had it years! This dashcam is years old now. It can’t pick out number plates on moving cars. Well below par for 2024. Also it took them years to sort out the software to make it useable, even though still very slow. The software was completely unusable for years. I would never buy another Nexus.
Nice! I’ve found all Dashcam software horrible compared to the likes of phone software etc. but they’re all the same so hadn’t really mentioned it. But if everyone enjoys this topic of video and wants me to do more, then I’ll get on the hunt for one with a better more responsive User Interface.
It does the trick for me though, set it and forget it and it works 😎
@@npoleary I’m like you, I just want a set it and forget dash-cam, that I can just get the footage from if something happens, but I’ve been frustrated with the Nextbase (I mistaking said Nexus before), because it very often can’t pick out number plates. I think I might get the “Vantru N4” upon current research. Do you think there’s anything better than that?
Yeah that’s alright! 🤓 blame autocorrect! 😂
Well the purpose of this video was to try and get one under £200. I’m sure that if more money was spent then they’d be more high quality sensors etc so probably.
I might look at that in the future! 🤓
Sadly not heard of Vantru before!
The Garmin is terrible. £9.99 monthly subscription to save to vault. Almost fish eye lens make everything look 100 yrds infront, seems like you're go 100mph everywhere. Recorded a malicious attack on a car, bottle thrown through the back windscreen of a parked car couldn't read the number plate of the attacked car even though I passed it a 20mph 1m away at 60fps. Only just captured number plate of offending car when it came to stop at the junction when I was 3m away. Sending footage to police but it's not very clear what happened. I only installed in on Wednesday taking it back to Halfords today for a refund.
Yeah precisely why I didn’t want a subscription to one! Yes it does have a very wide field of view, text wasn’t that great to see from the tests but better than the worst ones.
Oh jeez that’s not good :(
Did you get it sorted and a replacement installed?
Comprehensive review of lots of dash cams...cheers for the work involved but, I'm not now gonna bother.....
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! What you gonna go for instead? Or not worry about a dashcam
70mai A500S is good :-)
Hello,
Please can you answer on my question
I have Mercedes A 220 4 Matic 2020 year
Shows apple car play deactivated how can i activate that
Have a look in the Mercedes me store, if it wasn’t selected at factory then you can usually buy it afterward and add it without any extra hardware 👍🏼
Viofo makes the best dash cams
Thanks for sharing! Well if everyone enjoys this type of video then I might look to cover similar topics in the future!
But back to cars next week 👀
I bought a mercedes dashcam and let them install it. no cables, works perfectly 😊. Camera front and rear 400€, work 1500€ 😢
Urrr yeah this is exactly why I skipped that 🤯
I would love to have a made a video on it for everyone on TH-cam but with the whole work costing £600 to £900 and the rest it is simply not something I can recommend, honestly that’s a ridiculous price.
@@npoleary a lot of things at mercedes are ridiculous😂
I use the Blackvue 900X 2ch(4K) in my CLA180 (2021)
The complete package cost me more than €2000. There are cheaper dashcams with better image quality, but when I take all my needs into account, this was still the best choice.
The front camera is 4K and the rear camera FHD.
I also have a Blackvue LTE module for an internet connection, so that when there has been a collision while I am not in the car, I get a notification on my phone with live view and images of the collision. Thanks to the 3 external batteries from Blackvue, this dashcam can watch over my car for 2.5 days in parking mode without starting the car. If I only had 1 front camera and no LTE module, I would have twice as much battery life left. I can activate the live view at any time so that I can always see what is happening with my car.
As for the external batteries, they could be connected together up to 5 to extend the battery life. I don't think that is possible with the latest Blackvue batteries.
Yes BlackVue do have a number of different dash cams with extremely advanced set ups similar to yours. That does sound pretty cool though with the remote live view etc and days worth of back up recording.
I may have had their basic BlackVue dash cam? Not sure, if everyone enjoys this video I’ll happily re visit topics like this in the future! So could review some more BlackVue dashcams!
I thought most Mercedes come with built-in dash cam
No sadly not! 🙁
Mercedes have an option on some cars called Augmented Reality. It’s a clever camera which can overlay arrows on the Sat nav to help with navigation.
There’s an option on most models that have this to turn it into a dashcam, I’ve reviewed and covered it here: th-cam.com/video/xkXyOzoLpO0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rm6rZ1KsjyOtM7AY
I should also add, some high end models have it as standard which is pretty cool!
However the major downside to it, is that in selected countries it is a manual start so it does not record automatically. Some countries it is auto start for some reason, not sure why. Plus the quality is not as good as a standalone unit.
But for an “in-built” solution it’s great! 👍🏼
I think it was about £200 last time I looked
Hi
Oh hey! 👋
Not the best merely the most popular. Weird way to review anything.
What did you find weird? I bought 5 of the most popular dashcams, made sure they were all under £200, tested out their quality day/night, rated them on their design & form factor and picked a winner and the one I’d be using going forward
@@npoleary Sorry it is the choice by mere popularity as if that had any relevance to the 'best', or anything. Perhaps by definition such a parameter is highly influenced by cheapest not best. My fault I was looking to find out about one based on 'best', then if need be compromise down such a selection if very pricy.
I would like to review some more expensive dashcams in the future so if everyone enjoys this then I might make another! 🤓