Best Dual Dash Cams 2021
If you want to record both the front and rear of your vehicle, then check out a dual dash cam
Dual dash cameras (which record the front and rear of your car) have also been gaining popularity. Which is why we conducted a mini test to see what these up and coming dual lensed recorders are all about. How we tested them was almost the same as the main test, although of course, the testing can’t be 100 per cent identical as it was not carried out at the same time.
Nextbase 622GW & Rear Cam
- Price: £249.99 + £46.55
- Rating: 5 stars
- Footage quality: 4K
- Contact: www.nextbase.com
Nextbase’s dash cams continue to improve and add new features, like Alexa voice control, to keep them ahead of the opposition. The newly released 622GW has already won a multi-test focusing on the front cam, and adding a rear lens does little to dent its winning performance.
The image quality is exceptional at the front in daylight, with clearly legible number plates even at a distance. The rear camera is less impressive, though. Firstly, it’s trickier to mount and can easily be knocked when opening the boot or loading luggage. Secondly, the quality isn’t a patch on the exceptional front view.
Still, the 622GW takes the win on points, even though it’s not the perfect combination for those after front and rear coverage from their dash cam.
Kenwood DRV A601W & KCA-R200
- Price: £199.95
- Rating: 5 stars
- Footage quality: 4K
- Contact: www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk
With a price of less than £200 for a 4K dash cam, this Kenwood would be good value if that bought just the front camera on its own, but the package also includes a rear camera and 64GB SD card.
The quality of the image from the front camera is not as clear as you get with the Nextbase set-up, but isn’t far behind the Thinkware U1000 (below). However, the real surprise was the clarity of the rear footage. It was the best here, and allowed us to read number plates clearly.
The Kenwood has none of the extras such as the Thinkware’s speed-camera locator or the Nextbase’s Alexa voice activation, but if these aren’t essential and you don’t mind a drop in image quality at the front, the Kenwood is astonishing value for money.
Snooper DVR-5HD
- Price: £179.99
- Resolution: 1080P & 1080P
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: www.snooper.eu
It has a speed-camera detector, yet the Snooper is only the size of a credit card and the thickness of your hand, making it easy to mount. It uses the built-in GPS to warn you of speed traps with a bleep.
Connection and set-up are easy, and there’s a choice of suction or adhesive mounts, but the five-metre rear-camera cable was only just long enough on our Discovery; rivals come with eight metres.
The front camera has the widest field of vision here – 152 degrees – but the footage wasn’t quite as clear as rivals’. Number plates were still visible at a fair distance, though and, with an SD card, it’s good value, especially if you’re thinking of a separate speed-camera detector.
Nextbase 422GW + Rear Window Cam
- Price: Around £130 + £50
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: www.nextbase.com
Generally, the Nextbase is much quicker to set up than the other dash cams, with neat magnetic mounts that make it much easier to remove the camera if you want to swap the unit to another car or protect it from theft.
However the sphere-shaped rear camera mounting actually proved a little tricky to fit and it was easily knocked when loading items into the car’s boot.
The touchscreen is easy and intuitive to use, but the real advantage of the Nextbase is the excellent PC/Mac or smartphone apps, which make accurate downloading and editing of footage extremely simple. That footage isn’t quite as sharp as others like the VIOFO, of course, but the front camera has a slightly wider field of vision – 140 degrees versus the VIOFO’s 130 degrees – so it takes in more of the view and the video was still clear and visible in most situations.
It’s unable to provide the almost-forensic detail of a 4K camera like the VIOFO, but the 422GW’s ease of use and value for money means it’s still one of our favourite dash cams.
Thinkware F200
- Price: Around £169
- Rating: 4 stars
The F200 comes with separate front and rear cameras, mounted on the respective screens with tape. The front camera records in 1080p at 30 frames per second, while the rear unit works at a lower 720p quality. We captured a good amount of detail with the front camera; it adjusted for exposure well and we could read licence plates and road signs easily.
The rear camera lost points for clarity because its footage wasn’t as sharp. Even so, the lens picked up licence plates from a good distance, and offered a better field of vision than the Nextbase Duo (below), so we could position it anywhere we liked in the rear window. The F200 has a parking mode and warnings, including red-light and speed-camera alerts.
Road Angel Halo Pro
- Price: £199.99 (plus memory card)
- Resolution: 1080P & 1080P
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: www.roadangelgroup.com
IT’S easy to get frustrated with the Halo Pro at first, because some of the cables are chunky and difficult to hide under the trim. Unlike others here, it doesn’t have a screen, so you have to use the slightly clunky Road Angel app to set up, or view footage. That footage was clear enough to easily read number plates, but the cam looks dear next to the Kenwood bundle (above).
Thinkware F800 Pro
- Price: Around £349
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: www.thinkwaredashcam.store
The Thinkware F800 Pro has a low profile that means it looks slightly less intrusive on the front windscreen than some of its rivals, with its rear camera nicely continuing on the design language. On the move we were impressed by the set-up’s clarity of recording. The 1080p footage is well balanced and is so good that in the past it’s put some 1440p cameras to shame. The recording also adjusts quickly for exposure; shadows and glare affected it less.
The F800 Pro really showed its teeth in the night test, where we were able to pick out good detail from side streets, saw pedestrians and cyclists nice and quick and had an easier time reading licence plates on parked cars in the dark.
The rear camera impressed us with its clarity of footage, too, and we liked how easy it was to wire in. A sticking point is the price. The F800 Pro costs far more than its entry-level rivals, but it is the better cam.
Nextbase Duo HD
- Price: Around £200
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: www.nextbase.com
Nextbase’s Duo set-up impresses. The camera is split into two lenses, one facing forward and another that rotates backwards and has a 50-metre zoom. Both record in crisp 1080p at 30 frames per second. We like the fact that the Duo doesn’t have a second wire running across the cabin to a rear camera, while the front lens offers sharp, accurate recordings that captured licence plates and detail well.
The rear unit is sharper than the Thinkware F800's (above), but its field of vision is smaller because the rear-facing lens zooms from the front screen. This makes it tricky to position the unit so back seats or passengers don’t disturb recordings. It didn’t capture everything happening behind the car as a result, although it does have a parking mode.
Nextbase 222X
- Price: £89.99 (plus memory card)
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Footage quality: 1080p x 720p
- Contact: www.nextbase.com
Nextbase’s rear camera isn’t stuck to the back window and connected by a long wire like its rivals, since it’s plugged directly into the side of the main camera unit and looks through the cabin. This gives a similar view to a driver looking in the rear-view mirror, so isn’t ideal if you have a large car or van, but is perfect for small vehicles and convertibles.
It works better than we expected and is far easier to install, because you’re not having to fit a wire along the car’s length. But the 222’s main unit isn’t Nextbase’s best camera. It’s good value, but video quality pales against the Kenwood and there’s no built-in WiFi or app access. You’ll also need to pay for a memory card.
Thinkware U1000
- Price: £469.00
- Rating: 3 stars
- Footage quality: 4K
- Contact: www.thinkwaredashcam.store
The U1000 does without a display screen, relying instead on a smartphone app, polite- sounding voice synthesiser and a series of lights to control it. It also comes as standard with a hard-wire kit, which is neater and easier to use than a 12V plug, but bear in mind you may need to get the system professionally fitted, which will add to the overall cost.
The list of extras in the package includes a speed-camera locator and even a lane-departure warning system, but the video-capturing performance isn’t so impressive.
Although the footage taken in the dark was decent, the daytime video from the front camera was only marginally better than the cheaper Kenwood’s, while the rear camera footage was the least clear in this test.
Gator GHDVR95W
- Price: £149.99 (including 16GB SD card)
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Footage quality: 1080p x 1080p
- Contact: www.dynamicsounds.co.uk
The Gator’s two cameras are both slim and discreet, and the cable for the rear cam is thinner than usual, so it’s comparatively easy to place discreetly in cars with smaller glass areas.
Unlike its two rivals, there is no LCD display to navigate menus and check the cameras’ views, so you’ll need to download an app to your phone and connect to the Gator’s built-in WiFi. It’s a bit awkward and the image quality is noticeably inferior to the other cams on test. A 16GB memory card is a nice addition, but quickly fills up, even on a short journey.
