HYUNDAI HCR-520 Vehicle Black Box DVR Road Dash Video Camera

Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 2.28.35 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. The high res 1080p capture mode gives you enough detail to see clearly what is going on in any captured video. However, even the lower resolution modes are very detailed. One of the advantages of recording in one of the lower resolutions is that it captures higher framerate, which can be useful when reviewing high speed footage. The camera can be charged using your car’s power outlet, but it also has an internal battery which will last you about an hour. This is long enough for a morning commute, but not nearly long enough if you go on a long (or not even that long) road trip. For those purposes you need to keep the camera constantly plugged in, which is really annoying since it puts a long dangling cord right there in front of you while you are driving.

One of the best features of this dash cam is the included monitor. This allows you to review the footage while you are still in the car, and don’t have to wait to transfer it to your computer. 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 screen is pretty good for a quick review, but for any more in-depth look you’ll want to transfer the footage to something with a vastly larger screen. The video files can be easily transferred and viewed on your computer. The video quality is pretty decent, but the audio leaves something to be desired.

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. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t come with an instruction manual which is one of this product’s most glaring shortcomings.

I really like this product overall, and would strongly recommend it, especially if you drive a lot every day. My impressions so far have been very positive, which is why I give it five stars. If I come up with any serious issues I will update this review.

**** 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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