It’s always a good idea to have a dash cam your car, and Garmin has just announced four new models that look to be very strong contenders.
These new dash cams represent an overhaul Garmin’s existing range of cameras, and is the first time the company has included connected features on all models. Here’s what you need to know.
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The Dash Cam Mini 2 is the real spectacle here, with Garmin offering a tiny discreet little camera that's apparently the same size as a car key fob. This offers Full HD/1080p recording resolution, and will retail for $130. It does not come with a built-in display. Don’t forget to buy a high endurance microSD card though, because it doesn’t come with one.
The Dash Cam 47 offers 1080p video resolution and built-in GPS, a 2-inch rear display, and a 140-degree field of view. It retails for $169.99, and comes with a memory card pre-installed.
The Dash Cam 57 offers 1440p resolution, built-in GPS, another 2-inch rear display, and the same 140-field of view as the 47. It retails for $230, and comes with a memory card pre-installed.
The Dash Cam 67W offers the same 1440p resolution and GPS as the 57, but increases the field of view to 180 degrees. It also comes with a 2-inch display, has a pre-installed memory card, and retails for $260.
Like any good dash cam, all four cameras continually record and come with automatic incident detection. That way, when you do have an accident, you don’t need to worry about handling the video evidence.
If you’re looking for more hi-tech options in your car, it looks like Garmin has customers covered. The main feature of note is that each of the four cameras will automatically store recordings in Garmin’s secure online vault. So if something happens to your car or camera, the footage will still be there for another 24 hours, and is accessible through the Garmin Drive app
If you need to keep your recording for longer, you will have to subscribe to one of Garmin’s Vault storage subscription plans. The standard subscription costs $5 a month and saves your clips for seven days. The Advanced subscription saves clips for 30 days, but costs $10 a month.
Each camera also includes a Live view mode for real-time monitoring, a Parking Guard that alerts you if something happens to your vehicle while it’s parked, and voice control lets you access functions without having to take your hands off the steering wheel. Each dash cam supports English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Swedish.
Better still, the Dash Cam 47, 57, and 67W also come with driver alerts, to warn you about potential forward collision or lane departure warnings. It's useful for drivers that don't have a newer car with those features pre-installed. The Dash Cam Mini 2 does not come with this feature, so bear that in mind.
All four cameras are available now, and can be purchased on Garmin’s website.
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