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Intriguingly, the MioFive's screen actually displays an ultra-wide vertical viewing angle of 160°, so you can see more than the cam is capturing. It's a lovely-looking screen, with strong, bright colour and good contrast, rendering the images more consistently visible in changing light conditions. It's not a touchscreen, though, so you have to make control adjustments via the buttons at the side, which are a little on the minimalist side.
The big news here is 4K resolution. We have argued before that dash cams don’t necessarily need so many pixels crammed into their footage, and parameters like exposure, stability and field-of-view are generally more important than outright resolution.A dash cam shouldn’t obstruct your view of the road ahead or distract you while you’re behind the wheel. For this reason, some people prefer to choose a model without a display. In the US, many states have regulations governing where you can mount a dash cam. Several prohibit you from fitting one to your windshield, for example. This dash cam even crams in an emergency response feature and integration with what3words – the ingenious service that can pinpoint your location without needing to relay the exact GPS co-ordinates. Before installing a dash cam, be sure to understand and comply with any local laws regarding placement. Key specs – Max video recording resolution: 1080p, 30fps; Field of view: 140°; Extra features: Accelerometer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
In our tests, the front camera’s footage was generally good enough in most scenarios. Viofo utilizes Sony Starvis image sensors, which perform well in low-light conditions. The lower resolution does compromise quality in subpar driving situations though, with fuzzy detail putting it behind the best 4K competitors. The interior and rear cameras offer a wide 170-degree field of view, and the interior camera is equipped with six LEDs for infrared capabilities. Even in the darkest driving conditions, visibility inside the car remained clear in our tests. If you use the cigarette lighter/USB port to power your dash cam, then leaving it plugged in overnight might drain your car battery, depending on if your vehicle supplies constant power to the ports. Hard-wired dash cams can be set up to switch on with the car ignition in some vehicles to save battery, too. Here's a run-down of the key decisions you need to make when choosing a dash cam… Is angle of view important?The advantage of a wired-in dash cam is that it can keep running while your car is parked, and record suspicious activity, attempted theft or parking bumps. Do I need to pay a subscription to use a dash cam? There are also dash cams that boast additional features that, just like any other technology, translate to a higher asking price. In addition to better video quality like 4K, night vision and built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for easy file transfer may also be included. Some dash cams have internal power, or can easily be charged using external power sources. However, the rest use the cigarette lighter/USB port in your vehicle or need to be hard-wired, meaning they do use your car's battery. Most dash cams need a microSD card to store footage, and while some will come with one bundled, they’re often on the small side. This can be a problem because when most dash cams run out of space they start saving new footage over the existing footage. You want a hands-off installation: Fitting the Nexar Pro isn’t too challenging, but there’s a fair amount of wiring to hide if you don’t want cables trailing in the cabin.
If you’re buying a 1440p or 4K dash cam, think about a 64GB or 128GB card, and look for one with a longer warranty or one that’s designed for endurance in continual use. Cheap microSD cards can work well in some devices, but dash cams need something that’s built to last. Is there anything else worth looking out for?
What’s in the box?
Riding with the MIOFIVE 4K dash cam is generally a pleasant, hassle free experience. While connected to the 12V car adapter, the MIOFIVE turns on automatically and is ready to go as soon as the ignition is on. Early rides prompted me to make some changes to the AI sensitivity as the MIOFIVE was frequently scolding me for unsafe turns (they weren’t) throughout my neighborhood. I do find the camera to be a bit chatty, particularly early on a drive as it leaves the parking monitor mode and flips over to normal recording mode. With each transition the dash cam lets you know what’s going on, and then finally will let you know that the “MIOFIVE continue (sic) to serve” when the 2.2″ IPS display turns off. There doesn’t seem to be a way to turn these off. The hardwire kit contains the components required for your vehicle fuse box. The hardwire kit allows the Dash Cam installed in your vehicle without using the car’s 12V outlet. I installed the Miofive app onto a Google Pixel Android phone via the Play Store, connecting the phone to the dash cam via 5GHz Wi-Fi. You don’t need a user account to access the app, although you're encouraged to create one in the app at every given opportunity. Capable yet accessible, Thinkware’s X1000 comes bundled with everything you need to record front and rear. Our tests found a lot to like about the X1000. Its best attribute is its ease of use: with a large 3.5-inch touchscreen and icon-based interface, it’s simple to configure and there’s no need to rely on a smartphone partner app. You’ll have to miss out on the odd feature here and there – there’s no onboard GPS or speed recording – but you still get voice commands, a parking guard feature and the same vault features as the Dash Cam 47. What’s more, there’s little between the two dash cams when it comes to video quality. In brightly sunlit or dull conditions it’s excellent, and pretty clear and blur-free at night, although the Dash Cam 47 seems slightly better at dealing with windscreen reflections and glare.
Infrared lighting is important if you want to assure good captures ofnocturnal events inside the cabin of your vehicle. Yes, absolutely. Some drivers might not like the idea of a camera constantly monitoring their vehicle, but some models of dash cam (like the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2) are compact and subtle enough to almost disappear behind the central rear view mirror. In other words, once they are up and running you soon forget about them; they just sit there, quietly keeping an eye out, ready to save footage if you’re caught in an accident.
The MIOFIVE 4K dash cam’s design is enough to elevate it from the crowd, and the user experience is truly set it and forget it. While I hope to never need it, I am confident in its ability to provide video of an incident should it happen within it’s field of view. I do wish we would see more innovation in this space from a component perspective. While I would consider the output video quality to be “good enough” for the typical use case, the crystal clarity that many of these dash cams advertise is a bit of a misnomer in the context of capturing the details of a moving object. Overall, the MIOFIVE dash cam is up to the task, and I am glad to have it along for the ride. Dual-channel support: This is what you’ll need if you want to run both front and rear, or interior (cabin-view) cameras. Interior cameras are generally situated on the dash cam, but rear cameras are separate and require additional cabling. Every dash cam you see in this list has been tested and reviewed to ensure that the best dash cams really are the best. We look at every step involved in owning a dash cam, from setup all the way to actually having to pull your footage from the memory card.
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