Garmin Dash Cam Mini

New Dash Cam - Not Quite – Was given Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 for Xmas, worked great for 2 weeks then started flashing yellow lights, look up the manual and it stares SD card not recognised, and this was a brand new SD card. So I buy another SD card a well known brand, dashcam stil flashes yellow lights. I ring Garmin support they attempt to troubleshoot the issue, no the dashcam is faulty. Solution send it back at my expense $10.95 and then they send not a new one a refurbished product. So after 2 weeks of working I have been waiting for the new SD card more money and postage and I will end up with a second hand product. Not impressed at all and how long until the secondhand one arrives.

Discrete, easy to install and simple to operate – Having purchased various dashcams over the last 7 years I now wanted a discrete camera and did not require a screen preferring a Bluetooth link to smart phones. I also had a problem with the large diameter rear view mirror windscreen mount on the 2008 BMW 1 series cabriolet which precludes some of the other concealed dashcams which affix to the mirror mount. The Garmin is a known Brand with easy set up and the advantage of a constant power supply option taken from the OBD2 output (BMW, amongst many others have power cut out to the power / cigarette outlets when the engine is not running). The OBD is also in the drivers side footwell so the cables can be more easily concealed. There are many 4K advertised cameras out there but if the image sensor is not 8MP then it is not true 4K. However a good 1080p HD is sufficient for reading number plates. With the benefit of having previously bought quite a few dashcams I know the things that are superfluous, like an onboard screen (distracting and makes the unit too wide), super wide angle (distorts the image) and dual camera for inside the cabin (but this may be useful for Uber drivers). The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 has a lens view angle of 140 degrees. An external rear mounted camera is handy if one is rear ended but many of the cameras to mount around the rear number plate are of 720p quality and of course need to be waterproof which is why there are now more dual cameras designed that mount the rear view camera on the rear windscreen inside the cabin. The problem is I wanted to fit the Garmin to a cabriolet. The VIOFO, Thinkware and BlackVue were amongst my short list but the Garmin won being small, reasonably priced and capable of linking up to 3 more Garmin Mini modules using the Garmin Drive App for rear view (or side views!). It also had the dedicated OBDII constant power supply, although when after installation I realised it has a fly lead with 2 USB outlets so would work with any USB accessory. This incidentally proved useful as I have a solar panel trickle battery charger that sits on the dash when the car is unused for extensive periods and this does not work when plugged into accessory outlets which disconnect when the car ignition is off like this BMW 1 series. It now works when plugged in to the Garmin power lead. Easy cable run, easy set-up, easy to operate - only 2 buttons, the varying coloured LED lights advise if the memory card is being formatted, if it is pairing to your smartphone or if it is recording etc. Connectivity is fast and you do not need to be within your house wifi zone for most features as of course the micro SD card can be removed. If you subscribe with a monthly Garmin Vault fee, the footage is stored in the “cloud”. I don’t bother. Quality of the recording is good and better than many of the Chinese Dashcams I have previously used. Things to consider :- Use at least a Class 10 125GB MicroSD memory card as the constant overwriting will wear out the card and obviously the larger the capacity of the SD card the less overwriting.