Nextbase In-Car 512g Dash Camera Review

The Nextbase In-Car 512g Dash Camera (pictured) in for review

This week we’ve had the Nextbase In-Car 512g Dash Camera in for review, the latest Dash Cam from Nextbase, offering a wide range of high tech features.

Once upon a time, cameras mounted in cars were the luxury of track day enthusiasts who used them to record the results of a day’s blast round their favourite circuits.

but lately we’ve all noticed a rise in screen mountable cams (and their footage cropping up on TV shows Blike Caught on Camera)

So why would the everyday motorist want a Dash Cam?

Much of the rise – apart from the fact that dash cams are getting better, and more affordable – is due to the rise in fraudulent claims made by unscrupulous drivers looking to prey on the general public – Flash for Cash and Crash for Cash.

These drivers will flash you out of a junction – a common courtesy on the road – and deliberately drive into you. Lots of honest motorists don’t realise that in the highway code flashing your headlights is not to be used for anything other than letting other road users know you are there (not for letting somebody pull out of a turning) so the law is on the side of the perpetrator, not you.

The other trick these fraudsters use is to simply slam on their brakes causing you to rear end them. They will then make whiplash claims, claim for passengers that were not present, hire car costs and a multitude of other false claims costing insurance companies a fortune every year, which in turn, you guessed, increases insurance premiums.

NextBase – whose latest Dash Cam we’re playing with this week – are at the forefront of the fight against this, protecting motorists who have decided to fit their Dash Cams, and in the process giving insurance companies tangible evidence to have these fraudsters prosecuted.

The device we are reviewing, the ‘NextBase 512G’, is full of great features to make sure the recordings are crystal clear, offering true 1080p High Definition with Anti-Glare, Wide Angle and Day and Night technology.

Recordings could be used as evidence, so the camera will also record the GPS location to prove where, what time and which date the incident took place It also has motion detection so any thieves thinking of breaking into your pride and joy, or bumping into it whilst parked at the shops, will also be caught red handed.

The device works by recording 3 minute chapters and automatically overwrites these when the memory card gets full. This clever little device is able to detect when you are in a collision due to an in built g-force meter, and the camera will then lock the chapter where an incident has taken place and stop it from being overwritten, making sure the evidence is secure.

Photo contents Nextbase In-Car 512g Dash Camera

The Nextbase In-Car 512g Dash Camera has all you need in the box

Included in the box are the camera, software for Mac and Windows compatible PCs, USB lead, 12v lead for the vehicle, HDMI lead, Windscreen mount and a rather snazzy sticker to inform any potential thief or fraudster that the car has a NextBase Cam installed.

If you’re not a fan of wires, the device has been supplied with a generous 4-meter cable which can be hard-wired into your car to keep everything tidy, and free up the 12v socket in case you need to use an external sat nav or charge another device.

The camera and mount themselves have been designed so they don’t restrict your view, and the Dash Cam sits snugly underneath the rear view mirror, out of your direct line of sight, allowing you to concentrate on the road ahead.

Other than fitting the device, which has an auto start stop function which detects when the ignition is switched on and off, there is no need to do anything else unless you have the misfortune of being involved in, or capturing, an incident.

If you do get involved in an incident, simply dismount the device from the windscreen mount and download the video clip to your computer using the software provided, where you will be able to send the footage to the relevant party as evidence.

Sounds great, right? Well, yes, it really is.

Not only does the NextBase Dash Cam do everything you could want, it can also be fitted and up and running in a little under 10 minutes and will cost you £179.00, plus the cost of an SD card, and it can be purchased from most high street and online electrical stores.

When you take into consideration that your insurance provider may well offer a discount if you’ve got a Dash Cam – and the comfort of knowing you won’t end up being blamed for something that wasn’t your fault – you’ll probably start to ask yourself why you haven’t fitted one before.

Peace of mind couldn’t be simpler.