Gear Review: Uniden iGO CAM 75 Dash Camera
When they first came out, I thought dashcams were a bit of a novelty, but as time has gone on, they have developed into a more versatile roll.
As well as a recording events in very high quality, they now include features that can help make you a safer driver.
The latest version of Uniden’s Webcam brings WiFi connectivity and higher resolution. It also has Ai sign recognition, which reads speed signs and alerts the driver if they are exceeding the limit. This is a feature of many new vehicles, but is a welcome addition for drivers of older vehicles.
The Uniden iGO Cam 75R version comes with front and rear cameras both with wide angle high resolution recording. The front camera includes a 3in screen with the front view as the main feature and a smaller rear view panel to check camera alignment. This can be changed to full frontal or full rear view as desired. The system records the cameras as individual files simultaneously onto a micro SD card. The files can be downloaded through WiFi via the iGo app to your smart phone.
The direct download onto the app allows incidents to be replayed and shared immediately without removing the SD card. A built in GPS antenna in the camera enables geotagging of the recording to show speed, direction travelling and the location coordinates. A program for PC computers even shows the image overlayed on a map.
The kit includes all the wiring and brackets you need for installation. The cameras mount on two plastic clips that attach to the windows with 3M style adhesive strips. Selecting an appropriate place near the rear view mirror is the first task and a bit of trial and error before fixing the clip will make sure you can see the screen without impeding your line of sight.
Wires lead to the rear camera and to a cigarette lighter socket, and to keep things need the kit includes a handy tool to fit the wires behind trim around the windows and doors. It took about twenty minutes to get things looking ok, but an auto electrician could probably set it up quicker.
There’s an optional kit to bypass the cigarette lighter input and permanently wire the camera into the car’s electrics. This allows the camera to record by movement activation when parked to help track down anyone hitting your vehicle in a carpark.
Setting up the options list was simple and allowed a mix of safety alerts to be deployed including a driving time alert, speed sign advice, speed and red light camera location and the choice of either a large display of your speed or the camera view. You can also set the resolution of the camera and the length of each recorded file. A 16gb card will record about 45 minutes of video at the high resolution, while a 128gb card should run for 320 minutes.
The camera starts recording as soon as the ignition is turned on and a supercapacitor powers the system to ensure any recording is stored safely once the ignition is turned off.
I didn’t find the WiFi connectivity all that easy but once sorted with the right program the phone could control and set parameters on the camera and download was easy. The image quality of the recordings was extremely clear with all the information about speed and location on show. I hadn’t realised the camera also records sound, so it was a surprise to hear the conversation as we drove along — that could be a bit of fun for recalling who said what and when.