Cameras, they are everywhere! On doorbells, CCTV, shops, on street poles, even inside our homes and vehicles, and of course those little portable ones that everybody has in their pockets on their smartphones. Whatever you think about cameras and surveillance, they aren’t going away and actually do a lot of good. So lets take a look at an in-car dash cam, the Navitel R285 2K Front Dash Cam, a small dash cam for your car that can enhance driving safety with high-quality video recording and capture images in the event of an accident.
With all the cameras that are around, why do you need a dash cam? Well, in an accident, they can capture first-hand evidence of how it happened and who was at fault, aiding you in any insurance claim. And speaking of insurance claims, they can also aid the driver in the event of any fraudulent claims, which in turn can help to lower your insurance premiums. In can also record other incidents on the road that you are not involved with but could help others or aid police investigations. Dash cams are not there just to record incidents, but are an excellent way to protect drivers as they act as an independent witness and document events.
The Navitel R285 2K Front Dash Cam is a 2k camera which supports a high resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It features a wide 140° viewing angle to take in more of the road and reduce blind spots and works well at night as it features night vision.
In the box:
- Navitel R285 2K Front Dash Cam
- Windscreen Holder
- Car Charger 12/24v
- Electrostatic Film
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
- 12 Months Navitel Navigator Maps License Gift Voucher
Please note: you will need to purchase a microSD card (supports 8GB to 256GB cards) to store recordings – one is not supplied with it.
The Navitel R285 2K Front Dash Cam is a small dash cam, but don’t let its dimensions fool you – its small body with its 2” screen captures excellent quality HD images in any lighting conditions, day or night. Its six-layer lens captures images in a wide view, it has a 140° field of view so captures the road in front of you, parked cars at the sides of the road, as well as pedestrians on the pavements. It captures recordings on a removeable microSD card (not supplied) in 2K (2560x1440p).
The first thing that you need to do is install a microSD card so that you can record and store recordings. Make sure that you go into the settings (press the MENU button and use the up/down arrows to get to the right place) and format the card.
Installing the camera is simple. It is supplied with a suction mount to attach it to the windscreen but to help with better adhesion and security you first attach the supplied electrostatic film to the windscreen and then attach the suction cup to the film. This helps reduce the possibility of the camera falling or moving while driving. The film also helps to protect the windscreen from scratches or damage which may be caused by attaching the suction cup directly.
Once attached to the window, plug in the car charger (into the cigarette lighter) and the end of the cable into the USB-C port on the camera (this will power the camera and charge the battery).
Once the camera is switched on it will record your journey on a loop to the microSD card. As recordings are on a cyclic loop, old recordings are overwritten when storage space in full to make way for new recordings. But don’t worry, this dash cam has a built-in adjustable shock sensor that protects clips made in emergency situations. In the event of sudden manoeuvres or impact, the G-sensor will trigger and save the current file into a secure folder that cannot be overwritten.
When you are not driving and parked up, the camera has a parking mode – it can detect knocks and vibrations to your car and start recording, even when the driver is away. Useful for if your car is hit when parked and you are not there to witness it.
This camera is also dual record ready – this means that you can also add a rear facing camera if you wanted and record images from both cameras.
Overall, this is a great little dash cam. The image quality is excellent, as is the larger wide viewing angle to really take in everything happening in front of you – that could be a car in front on people stepping off the pavements etc. And the night vision on the camera works just as well as recording during the day.
In the event that you need a recording, retrieving and editing them is simple. Download the free Navitel DVD Player software (for Windows-based PCs) from their website and you can view your full journey and trim the video for just the section that you require. You can also view the protected events and parking mode events. You can also save the video you need as a .MOV file to your computer in the event that you want to send it to your insurance company for example or maybe you just want footage for your social media channels.
The dash cam also comes with a gift voucher for a 12 months license for Navitel Navigator which gives you access to maps of more than 45 countries (requires a Android smartphone or tablet).
This is a very simple to use dash cam, as is the software to view, trim and save captured recordings or even take screenshots. The quality of the recordings is excellent, allowing you to capture all those all-important critical details; not just road traffic but to clearly read number plates, road markings and street signs. As for the sensors, they work extremely well, recording any knocks or vibrations straightaway and storing the captured video recording in a different folder to the main journey images.
For that added extra protection when driving (or parked up and not in the car) to give evidence of any accidents or knocks to your vehicle, the Navitel R285 Dash Cam is an excellent camera. Its small size doesn’t take up lots of room or obstruct your view when driving and the captured recordings are crystal clear. It is so simple to use, the sensors work well and the software to convert the recordings to different formats for viewing by someone else as a .MOV file, on social media or websites is very easy, you don’t need any technical skills.
This is a reliable dash cam to record and store evidence of any accidents, whether something that you are involved in or not. And its ease of use makes it simple to upload footage for police or insurance investigations.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £58.65
Available to buy from B&Q here.
