Another vote for Viofo. I bought Viofo 329s for two of my cars. I bought an adaptor and tapped into the rearview mirror for power source.

Took 15 minutes tops to do the front camera. Will do the rears this spring when the weather gets better.

I echo the others. It was surprisingly easy to tuck the power wire into the interior panels and route it. It isn't invisible, but also isn't very noticeable.

However, I didn't bother setting up the connection to the battery so that it would be recording when parked. If you want that, I'd go to a professional. Also, get the version that has both front and rear recording.

Like Jeff, I have a Viofo and find it to be a solid brand, though the wifi leaves some to be desired. The few times that I've pulled video, I've taken the microSD card out and hooked it up to my laptop.

No, because the interior of a car can get so hot, it’s not safe to use a lithium-ion battery. There are some dash cam external batteries on the market but they used for backup purposes when the car is turned off mainly, due to capacity and cost.

Don’t any run on batteries?

Anonymous wrote:New cars already have this in place. Maybe trade your car in?

Get a car that collects all your data even if you opt out!

New cars already have this in place. Maybe trade your car in?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So are these dashcams false advertising?

https://buyersguide.org/dash-cams/t/wireless?m=e&d=c&c=784598877290&p=&oid=kwd-838405152885&lp=1027243&li=&nw=g&nts=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE&tdid=8209627&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=6483193439&gbraid=0AAAAAC3M5kztnvCtvvBLEEN6mHQxg5r9A&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE

They are referring to the transfer of images from the camera to your phone. WiFi.

They all need power so each has a power cable included.

Oh geez. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:So are these dashcams false advertising?

https://buyersguide.org/dash-cams/t/wireless?m=e&d=c&c=784598877290&p=&oid=kwd-838405152885&lp=1027243&li=&nw=g&nts=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE&tdid=8209627&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=6483193439&gbraid=0AAAAAC3M5kztnvCtvvBLEEN6mHQxg5r9A&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE

They are referring to the transfer of images from the camera to your phone. WiFi.

They all need power so each has a power cable included.

So are these dashcams false advertising?

https://buyersguide.org/dash-cams/t/wireless?m=e&d=c&c=784598877290&p=&oid=kwd-838405152885&lp=1027243&li=&nw=g&nts=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE&tdid=8209627&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=6483193439&gbraid=0AAAAAC3M5kztnvCtvvBLEEN6mHQxg5r9A&gclid=CjwKCAiAkbbMBhB2EiwANbxtbbt0_SD_pZbsNYQSubbx1HzBbQZbYVPvKnkHLWmfkAfI91ybo9X9ZRoC1eYQAvD_BwE

The wires are easily hidden. I was able to do it myself. There are lots of options.

1) You buy an adaptor that lets you plug the dashcam into the powered rear view mirror.
2) You tuck the wires into the ceiling and side pillars until you reach the fuse box and tap into an open fuse.
3) You tuck the wire into the ceilig and side pillars then come up from the floor to use the car lighter.

Viofo is a good and reliable brand.

As an aside, increasing numbers of new cars are now integrating dashcam functionality into the cameras already in place for self-driving capabilities.

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/vehicles-built-in-dashcams/

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to a dash cam for my vehicle. I don't want wires. Other than that I'm wide open to ideas. I googled "best dash cams for 2026" and got plenty of hits with Top 10 lists but the prices and features seem to be extensive. What features are important? I just want to be able to capture quality video of anything that I might find helpful or important. I also what to be able to view it easily. Any advice would be great. Thank you in advance.

If your car has an auto-dimming rearview mirror, you can probably wire a dash cam to it using an inexpensive adapter. That mostly solves the wiring problem. Otherwise, you have to run wires somewhere to provide power to the camera. You can get kits that have multiple cameras depending on your need. For instance, you can also have a rear view camera. That will require even more wires however. Most camera record to an SD card, but if your camera gets stolen, so does your video. If this is a concern, you might want a camera that uploads to cloud storage.

As for brands, I am partial to VIOFO and have purchased three of their cameras. If you are looking for a high-quality, but basic camera, I recommend the VIOFO A119 Mini 2 which costs about $100.

Talk to the installers at Best Buy or other car audio installer shops, to see if they have recommendations.

Check out this current thread at Bogleheads, on the topic: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=467749

There are specialized forums which discuss dashcams, e.g. https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/ and https://www.rdforum.org/forums/132/

Forums for specific car brands and models often have discussions about integrating dashcams into their specific car type.

They all have wires. That’s how they work. You can do a good job of routing and hiding the wires if it matters that much to you, but they have wires. Accept it.


I recommend VanTrue. I have various models of theirs in our cars, they all work really well, never had a problem with any of them.

I'd like to a dash cam for my vehicle. I don't want wires. Other than that I'm wide open to ideas. I googled "best dash cams for 2026" and got plenty of hits with Top 10 lists but the prices and features seem to be extensive. What features are important? I just want to be able to capture quality video of anything that I might find helpful or important. I also what to be able to view it easily. Any advice would be great. Thank you in advance.