Verdict
Do use the Trackvue DV300 if you’re tech-savvy enough to work it out without clear English instructions, and if you just want a dashcam to record your drive, without all the bells and whistles offered by more sophisticated cameras.
Without GPS on board, the Trackvue DV300 may not give quite enough information to get you that crucial eye-witness evidence you need in case of a car crash.
Read our other dashcam reviews to see the benefits of GPS-enabled gadgets, before you take the plunge.
Pros
Good quality video footage
32GB camera memory card included
Cons
No GPS
No PC software included
Poor fixed mounting system
Instructions aren’t clear
Dashcams offer new opportunities for all of us, because they are designed to film the view from your car windscreen effortlessly as we drive. What fun this could be for all luxury car-spotters and people who enjoy the breathtaking views from hilltop roads, bridges and coast routes. We’re blessed with a great variety of scenery in the British Isles and Ireland, and now we can record everywhere we drive, saving up the best bits for later.
Road trip filming may not have been the main intention of dashcam manufacturers, of course. The rise of fraudulent claims after minor road traffic accidents does have a bearing. Insurance companies are catching on to the value of dashcam footage when it comes to apportioning blame after a crash. Some of them are even offering discounts on their insurance premiums to those who use dashcams. Those with G-sensors and GPS data overlaid on the critical footage surrounding any crash are particularly useful, because they’ll tell you your exact position, time, date and speed.
The only trouble is that there’s a vast choice of dashcams on the market, with different specification levels and prices. Read our dashcam reviews before you make your choice. We’ve tested the RAC 05, at £149.99, the Garmin Dashcam 20, at £129, and the Mio MiVue 658 WIFI, at £142.96, the Tsumara G3, at £139.99, and the Transcend DrivePro 100, at the low price of £64. We tested the Cobra Drive HD CDR 840, at £99.99 and the RAC 04, costing just £59.99. Then we compared the Next Base IN-Car Cam Duo, at £199.99 and the Trackvue DV300, at £99. We’ll focus on the latter in this review.
The Trackvue DV300 is offered at a reasonable price of £99, but what do you get for your money compared to all the other dashcams on the market?
This is a real mixed bag of a package, but one that’s not without appeal. For instance, a whopping 32Gb memory card is supplied, which will record for up to 12 hours on the highest quality before it needs to overwrite the earlier footage. As well as this, the unit has an HDMI output. Optical clarity is pretty good, too, although the width of footage is less than most other dashcams we’ve tested recently.
Our first gripe is that only an adhesive pad is supplied to fix the unit to the screen – which is pretty annoying if you use one camera between several vehicles. It all seems a bit flimsy.
But our main moan is that there are just three buttons to access all features, which makes this unit trickier than most to operate. This was an issue that wasn’t helped by poorly translated instructions!
Unlike other dashcams there’s no GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity. There’s no PC software included or any iPhone app to make it easier to view your footage on other devices.
You can review footage on the dashcam itself, but it’s much easier if you transfer it to a computer for viewing.
A whopping 32Gb memory card is supplied, which will record for up to 12 hours on the highest quality
Technical Specifications
Camera sensor | 2 megapixels |
High definition imagery | (1920x1080) or (1280x720) / Max 30fps |
Connect to computer & devices | Mini USB port and 3.5mm mini jack port |
Memory card included | 32GB SD card |
Extras | Hard-wiring kit £7.99 plus labour |
Battery | 320mAh |
Continuous recording on a loop | Up to 12 hours before 32GB card gets overwritten |
Microphone | Optional audio recordings |
Motion sensor | Includes parking mode |