This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/Killentyme55 on 2024-10-16 14:17:14+00:00.

First of all a dash camera is a very wise investment these days, there are entire subs full of videos that probably made life a lot easier for the driver after an accident. Although there are countless styles and brands available with a litany of features, there is one oft-overlooked factor that’s important to take into account.

It is entirely possible for the car’s electrical power to be cut immediately during an accident, but it’s important for the camera to keep running briefly to record the event in it’s entirety. There are two ways this is done, one is with a small rechargeable battery that takes over after the power stops, and the other is by using a large capacitor that stores enough of a charge to keep things running for those crucial few seconds. What you pick depends primarily on one major factor…heat. If you live in the South with brutally hot summers most of the year round, that can shorten the life of the rechargeable battery significantly, especially if the car is left outside uncovered most of the time. If that’s the case then capacitors are the way to go as they are much more heat resistant.

There are actually a lot of advantages to capacitor-equipped cameras, durability and reliability among others, the only real advantage of battery-equipped cams is sometimes they’ll run a bit longer without power and of course…cost. Overall spending a few extra bucks for the capacitor is a wise investment, especially if you use the AC a lot more than the heater.

Side note: Don’t go cheap on the micro-SD card either, for much the same reasons. The best bet is a name brand “high-endurance” card especially designed for harsh environments. Nothing sucks more than to try to access that video that will save your insurance premiums only to get “file unreadable”.