GarminDash Cam Mini Key-Sized Dash Camera with 140-degree Wide-angle Lens and Recording in 1080p HD Video

Having just installed a Nextbase 422GW into my wife's car, I opted to try the Garmin Mini in mine.I opted for this version as I preferred the physically smaller size which is much easier to hide away behind the rear view mirror. Less of a concern of it being stolen as it's much less noticeable.The lack of device screen isn't a problem as the iPhone app connects pretty quickly to help align and preview footage.Downloading footage can take some time but the app works seamlessly with the files and photos on the iPhone (unlike Nextbase which stores them in the Nextbase app first and then requires you to start copying them around).The footage is actually very good in it's highest resolution (1080p at 30 fps). Admittedly I was hunting for 60 fps but you can still clearly read road-signs, vehicle number plates in light and dark.60 frames per second is better as it's captures twice as many frames so appears smoother, it more commonly comes on the latest action cameras (1080p 60 fps or higher) but that's because you need more image stabilisation and smoothing for things like body mounts, bicycle & motorbike mountings etc. A car typically travels more smoothly so 30fps is passable.1440p is better still but it generates even larger files and will take longer to download, I'm not sure it's actually worth it.The lack of GPS feature didn't stop me from buying it, it will be apparent from the footage where you are and roughly how fast you were travelling in case required as evidence.The lack of internal battery to record wasn't a dealstopper given the price, but it is a feature that would have been nice. You can hardwire it into the car, and this device probably uses less power than other devices, but I was more concerned about it flattening the vehicles battery.The supplied cables by Garmin were better than the mounting and cables from Nextbase. For example the Garmin comes with a 4m USB cable which is about the perfect length from rear view mirror, down the window pillar, glove box and to a centre console/armrest USB port. You can also then choose to use a cigarette lighter charging adapter (supplied by Garmin) or not. Nextbase only includes a large cigarette lighter moulded onto the cable and USB ports are becoming more common place hence why I had to buy another cable for the Nextbase.You can daisy chain two of the Garmin Dashbcam Mini's together to have one camera pointing out the front and one point rearward. I've yet to try it but I have bought a second to install and the instructions seem fairly straight forward as is the app setup..It's the kind of device you install and forget (apart from the periodic re-formatting of SD card that all dash-cams need) therefore I'd recommend it.

been a DRiver i did not want a screen or any distraction in my line of sight. this unit is so small and neat it fits in a space behind the mirror i cannot see anyway. there is just a small red light to show its on but it unobtrusive and hid by the mirror, I could fit some tape over it but it really doesn't show unless you look for it at night,After a road traffic incident last year in which my insurance wanted to go 50:50 based on no evidence from the third party, I was trust on a 11 month long journey into the new world of insurance scammers and in the end I decided that for everyone's sake get a good camera as the insurance company staff DO NOT even understand the rules of the road or are in any way willing to use the courts to enforce it .Only be their office paperwork incompetence did a resolution process kick in and therefore my no claims isn't affected but with 30 years of driving and up to 40K a year millage with no accidents I would have thought that my evidence and the way the car was damaged would be an open and shut case. However as they do NOT understand the RTA and have no intention of going near a court room then there is no hope of a fair outcome.Having looked at many on the market this is by far the best as you can have up to 4 cameras on one system, the app is easy to use and the camera records a good picture nite and day

Excellent and discreet dashcam if you don't need a screen, and why would you? Hide it behind your mirror, route the wiring out of sight, and connect it to a switched live fuse using a piggyback connector, and you can forget about it even being there. My only criticism is the price but I guess you're paying for a well known brand. No doubt the Chinese will come up with a much cheaper copy, if they haven't already.UPDATE The unit I currently have keeps having problems with recording images. Initially I thought it was a problem with the sd card I was using, because the Garmin app kept telling me it was not of the required class 10 rating. In fact it was a class 10 card, but I replaced it anyway just in case. The next one, another brand new class 10 card had the same issue. So I bought another one, this time from a different manufacturer, and to begin with it worked fine. However, after a few weeks I noticed that the led light on the unit was indicating another fault with the card, which was extremely annoying because again it was a brand new one of the required speed rating. Since then it has worked intermittently, sometimes working immediately, sometimes only working if I remove the card and reinsert it, and sometimes not working at all. I tried 4 different cards in total, all brand new, all of the required speed rating, but all either wouldn't work with the unit or only worked occasionally. And yet all 4 cards worked perfectly with other devices. It was clear therefore that the fault must lie with the unit itself and not the sd cards.So I have now requested a replacement in the hope that it is just my unit that is faulty and not a general design flaw, because when it does decide to work it's brilliant. But it's not much use if it chooses when to operate and not me.If the replacement unit is problem free I will again update this review.FURTHER UPDATEHaving now received the replacement unit, I am very disappointed to have to report that it is suffering exactly the same issues as the first one. Records some times but not always. However, I have now tried it with a 128gb card instead of the 256gb I had been using, and so far it seems to be behaving itself. So the claim that these support up to 256gb is misleading, because they don't in my case, twice now. I wonder if others have had the same.Also I am having the same problems as others, and worse with the replacement unit, that it constantly loses connection with the mobile app. Very annoying.So, so disappointing with the whole experience really. Garmin really need to sort out these problems urgently because at the moment it's overpriced junk. I have emailed them describing the failings but so far I have been ignored. I am now reducing this to a one star review.UPDATE OF THE UPDATEI think I owe Garmin a bit of an apology. Having had many problems with the unit not accepting the sd cards I was using, and blaming the unit for this, I have now discovered that Ebay is riddled with cheap Chinese sd cards with fake Samsung and other manufacturers labels on them. I am now using a genuine card, and it is working perfectly. I also had relentless problems getting the android app on my phone to connect to the unit, but I now find that using a different phone that too is now working perfectly. So, sorry Garmin, I have put you back up to 4 stars. Not 5 stars because it very overpriced, but other than that it's a great little fit and forget gadget.

This is a great little camera, nice and small so it doesn't stand out and make it a target for thieves. Easy to install even when hard wired.The picture quality is great for such a little bit of tech.The only down side is the app, it's a little bit and miss to connect to your phone. It seems to work better with the engine running for me which is t ideal.I'll be buying a second unit to fit in the rear too.