Black Box Mini 0806 GPS Ultra HD 1296P Dash Cam

Screen Shot 2015-04-25 at 4.47.32 PMThis is one of several dashboard cameras that I’ve used, and thus far it has been a very positive experience. Dashboard cameras are very useful to have, especially in cases of an accident, road rage, or irresponsible and harassing behavior by the Police. (This last point is not so much of an issue in the US as it is in other countries, but I have had my share of unprofessional and harassing experiences.) So a camera like this one is becoming more and more of a necessity.

This particular dashboard camera has several features that set it apart from the other ones. It features what I call a HD+ resolution recording, which is noticeably improved over the “regular” HD video format. At this recording resolution you can very clearly notice even the minutest details of the surrounding cars. Even the “regular” high res 1080p capture mode gives you enough detail to see clearly what is going on in any captured video. This resolution also allows you to record at 45 fps, which in many instances is advantageous since you capture more details of fast motion scenes. The camera can be charged using your car’s power outlet, but having the charging cable dangle in front of you while driving can be distracting.

One of the best features of this dash cam is the included GPS tracking. This allows your footage to be clearly associated with the location for later review. I have never been in a situation where I absolutely need something like this, but I can imagine that this feature would be enormously valuable for forensic purposes.

The camera uses micro SD card for recording, but you will have to get one of your own. These days SD cards have enough capacity for hours and hours of recording, so you should be able to use this camera for many days without removing the recordings to some other storage. (Or deleting them.)

The inbuilt screen is good for a quick review, but it’s *really* tiny and for any more in-depth look you’ll want to transfer the footage to something with a vastly larger screen. The video files are stored in MOV format, which makes them easy to transfer and view on your computer. The video quality is pretty impressive, probably the best compared to all the car cameras that I’ve tested.

The camera was not too hard to set up, but some of the features were trickier than others. It has several options that I did not find that useful, but I see how they could come in handy for others. The included instruction manual comes in handy.

I really love how small this camera is. It’s by far the smallest such camera that I have come across. You can get some idea of how small it is from the picture of it next to a AA battery, but even this doesn’t quite do it justice.

I really like this product overall, and would strongly recommend it, especially if you drive a lot every day.

**** Product provided for review purposes. ****

 

Bojan Tunguz

Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts

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