Best Cheap Car Dash Cam Under $100

Introduction

You can never predict what’s going to happen on the road. You can be the best driver in the entire world, that doesn’t mean you can escape accidents.

No matter how focused you are on your driving, if you share the road with a dangerous driver, anything can happen. Being equipped with a Dash Cam can help you prove you are innocent.

A Dash Cam acts as an eyewitness for the entire journey. It can be set to record the view through your vehicle’s front windscreen. A Dash Cam can be mounted on your dashboard or directly to your windscreen.

The job of a Dash Cam is to record every detail on the road and, optionally, every sound inside your vehicle.

There are different types of dash cams, front-view dash cams are used to record what happens in front of you. The front-and-rear dash cams record both the front view and what happens behind you.

On the other hand, cabin-view Dash Cams record what happens inside your vehicle. These Dash Cams are generally used by taxi drivers. All dashboard cameras record what happens inside the vehicle as well.

Most Dash Cams have a discreet design and are mounted in discreet places. This helps hide the camera from thieves or from angry people that don’t like being recorded on the road.

Before using a Dash Cam, make sure these devices are legal in your state. Your own Dash Cam can be used against you if it records a conversation you’re not a part of. Legally it can be considered eavesdropping.

Why do You Need a Dash Cam?

From a user’s perspective, the reason for having a Dash Cam is to protect your innocence in case of an accident. If you’re not the one at fault, you can use the footage to prove you’re the victim.

Numerous accidents happen every year that end in lengthy court battles because of the lack of proper evidence. In many cases, although innocent, you might end up taking the blame if you can’t prove you’re innocent.

The evidence could also help in protecting your claims discount (NCD). As Dash Cams become more popular, you can benefit from reduced car insurance premiums, reduce theft and help fight insurance fraud.

Dash Cams are also great at simply recording the breathtaking view from a journey. And if you break down, a Dash Cam can act as a GPS tracker to help emergency services locate you.

If you’re using the wrong lights or not keeping a safe enough distance from the car in front of you, a Dash Cam can also help you improve your driving.

High-quality Dash Cams include a parking mode, this way the Dash Cam starts recording every time it detects an impact. This way you can find out who is responsible for hitting your car when parking, or knocking a wing mirror.

A Dash Cam is one of the most useful pieces of in-car technology you can find, especially if you drive a lot. Some Dash Cams are inexpensive and do the job just fine, while others are high-quality gadgets that rightfully cost a fortune.

Even if you’re a careful driver, accidents can happen, and it can be hard to quickly resolve claims without concrete evidence.

In this article, we’ll talk about Best Cheap Car Dash Cams under $100.

Vantrue N1 Pro

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Description

Our winner is the Vantrue N1 Pro Mini 100 Full HD Dash Cam. It features a compact design but serves as a powerful witness. It is one of the Best Cheap Car Dash Cams available on the market.

Equipped with a Sony IMX 232 image sensor and a 6-layer optical glass lens with F1.8 aperture, the Vantrue N1 Pro captures clear videos in Full HD 100 resolution of 30fps.

The Vantrue N1 Pro comes with a G-sensor, parking mode, motion detection, and emergency collision detection. You can count on it thanks to its high stability and seamless loop recording.

With a 160-degree angle, this Dash Cams offers a clear and broad view of the road. This also allows the Dash Cam to capture every detail when driving and reduce blind spots.

The Super Night Vision provides you with a clear video even in the middle of the night. If you need to read license plates or other important information, you can do so clearly with its capability to enhance the imaging performance in low light conditions.

Thanks to its standby mode, the Dash Cam “sleeps”, and awakens to record only when motions are detected. This helps reduce power consumption and stay in parking mode for longer.

If you need to set it on parking mode for a very long time, you will have to purchase an extra hard-wire kit. As helpful as the low battery protection is, it can’t avoid draining the car battery forever.

Thanks to its discreet design, you can mount the Vantrue N1 Pro on your dashboard with no worries of it being spotted. While the vehicle is parked, or while you’re in the middle of an argument, this Dash Cams keeps itself hidden.

Features

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Equipped with a 24h Seamless Loop recording feature, The Vantrue N1 Pro overwrites the oldest file when the memory car is full. This makes sure you never run out of memory space when you need it the most.

The G-sensor helps the Dash Cam instantly detect a sudden shake and lock the footage to prevent it from being overwritten. This Dash Cam supports snapshots in 2m pixels.

With the Time-Lapse mode activated, the camera automatically takes photos at specified intervals and makes a video. This mode is great for saving space on your memory card.

Thanks to the auto LCD off timer, the camera can enable the LCD off automatically in 3m after recording. You can playback the footage on the Dash Cam, PC or TV with a support HDMI output.

Thanks to the GPS feature, the Vantrue N1 Pro can track your location, direction, speed, date and time, and enable them into the videos. This way you can also track the GPS information on the Map via Vantrue GPS player.

You can benefit from excellent audio recording regards of how noisy the environment is, with the built-in mic. You can turn it on and off whenever you want.

Thanks to the Collision Detection feature, the camera will turn on and record for 20s when it detects harsh motion. This feature works even when there’s no power supply and the Dash Cam is off. Always keep your camera fully charged.

The Vantrue N1 Pro is made with PC and ABS materials. With a high heat (158F) and low (-4F) temperature resistance, the camera has an increased lifespan and more stable performance.

Supports up to 256 Micro SD Card, aka 40 hours of recording time. The Card is not included and Sandisk and Transend Cards are not recommended.

Pros

• Easy to Install
• Easy to Use
• 1080 Full HD
• High-Performance
• 160 Wide-Angle
• Super Night Vision
• G-Sensor
• Collision Detection
• GPS
• Supports Micro SD Cards up to 256GB

Cons

• Micro SD Card Not Included

 HP F335 Car Camcorder

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Description

For our close second place, in this top: Best Cheap Car Dash Cam, we chose the HP F335 Car Dash Camera that also has some unique features. Among others, these features include a wide-angle lens, large lens aperture, and a G-sensor.

Equipped with a compact discreet design, this camera keeps itself unseen while recording high-quality Full HD 1080p videos at 30fps. This allows you to have crystal clear images without missing any key details.

While its small design doesn’t block your view in any way, it doesn’t mean it’s too small to do the job properly. Its powerful features act as an eyewitness you can count on.

Thanks to its wide 140- degree lens angle and a large F1.9 lens aperture, you will benefit from clear images. The camera also offers no edge distortions and vivid images even in low light conditions.

With the 2.4” LCD, you can playback any footage you need, and customize the Dash Cam for your driving style.

While the price is a little high compared to other Dash Cams with the same performance, it definitely does not disappoint. You can count on it no matter the light conditions.

The HP F335 Dash Cam comes with a loop recording feature that allows the camera to automatically overwrite the oldest recording. This way you don’t have to worry about running out of storage space.

Thanks to its simple mounting system, you don’t have to be a pro to install it. The system fits almost any type of windscreen so you can rest assured if you’re worried about the installation. You can check the easy-to-read user manual for more details.

If you prefer to unmount it every night, it won’t be of any help if something happens with your car.

Features

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Thanks to the built-in G-Sensor and latest tech features, the camera starts recording instantly when it detects motion. Even when turned off, the camera can detect a collision and perimeter breaching and automatically turn on the Emergency Video Recording mode.

The G-sensor detects sudden acceleration, braking, and impacts, then automatically saves and locks the important footage for safekeeping.

Equipped with a built-in battery, the camera will make sure that all recordings are saved in case of a power shortage. We recommend you always keep your Dash Cam’s battery fully charged in case of anything.

The HP F335 comes with an “auto-start” feature, as soon as you connect the camera to the power source, it will automatically start recording. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to turn it on, it starts on its own when the engine is on and stops when the engine is turned off.

The HP F335 car Camcorder supports Micro SD Cards up to 32GB. Be careful to format the card before starting to use it. If you don’t know how to do it, ask a pro or a younger family member who’d know. It also comes with a 12V charger.

One of the most important features of this Dash Cam is the Fatigue Detection System. If you’re tired, this feature will help you avoid accidents by sending fatigue warnings to remind you to rest.

Thanks to the GPS feature, The HP F335 Car Camrecorder gathers data, such as date, time, speed, and direction, and enables them into the recordings.

With the parking mode activated, the camera will automatically start recording if any motion is detected. The integrated motion sensors are the ones allowing this feature to work, and keep your car safe.

Pros

• Easy to Install
• Easy to Use
• Compact Design
• Motion and G-sensors Integrated
• Parking Surveillance
• Full HD 1080p
• Loop Recordings
• Fatigue Detection System
• 140 Wide-Angle Lens
• F1.9 Aperture Lens

Cons

• Slightly Expensive

  Pruveeo 112 GW

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Description

The last one on our list is the Pruveeo 112 GW dash Camera. Just like the other two, this camera features a compact discreet design, making it an unnoticed but reliable witness. It is one of the Best Cheap Car Dash Cam available on the market.

If you get into an argument on the road with an angry guy, a discreet camera helps you keep the evidence for later, when the situation has calmed down.

Thanks to the advanced Sony Exmor IMX323 sensor and Wide Dynamic Range, the camera performs optimally even in low light conditions. You can capture every important detail you need even in the middle of the night.

With its loop recording system, you don’t have to worry about running out of space mid-journey. When the SD Memory Card is full, the camera will automatically overwrite the oldest recordings.

The seamless recording means no gap between the recorded files. With this feature, you can record videos endlessly. Your memory card will never be full if you won’t have any emergency footage.

The Pruveeo 112 GW should always be connected to an external power cord while it’s being used. For safety reasons, the built-in battery is only 320mAh, and it should be used to save files in case of an emergency.

Thanks to its easy-to-install system, the camera is ready to go from the moment you installed it in your vehicle. It can be easily mounted on your dashboard or windscreen using the 3M adhesive mount kit.

The high-quality Li-Polymer 3.7V 320mAh battery can take a wide range of high and low temperatures. The Pruveeo 112 GW has been tested 6+ hours in 170F hot weather, and 6+ hours in -40F in cold temperature.

The Dash Cam comes along with a 32GB Class10+ Micro SD Card for Full HD video recording and playback.

Features

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Thanks to the built-in GPS logger, the Pruveeo 112 GW records your location data so you can later see the routes you’ve taken. The GPS Route tracking is done in Google Maps.

This feature allows you to record your road-trips and remember all the shortcuts you’ve discovered along the way. You can disable anytime you want if you don’t drive to new places and you don’t find it useful.

With the built-in Wi-Fi function and APP support, you can open the app and connect the Dash Cam via Wi-Fi to view real-time footage or playback videos. This way you can quickly see the footage you need in case of anything.

Thanks to the 170-degree wide-angle and F1.8 aperture camera lens, the camera can reduce blind spots and let in more light. This helps in producing sharper footage even in low light conditions.

If you need to customize your new Dash Cam or simply playback a video, the 2.4” LCD gives you a crystal clear option to look for what you need. You can count on it to give you the footage you need with no spared details.

When the Pruveeo 112 GW Dash Cam detects that the engine is turned on, it automatically starts recording on its own. When you stop your engine, the camera also shuts down automatically.

The Pruveeo 112 GW has an Auto Power Off feature. If there’s no power connection, the camera will shut down after 5 seconds. This helps the camera save its own battery power for emergency recordings.

The user manual is easy-to-read, making this Dash Cam beginner-friendly. Even if you’re not good at all with technology, you can easily learn how to install and operate this dashboard camera.

Pros

• Easy to Install
• Beginner-Friendly
• Motion and G-sensor
• Discreet
• 32GD Micro SD Card Included
• 170 Wide-Angle Lens
• F1.8 Aperture Lens

Cons

• 320mAh Battery

Conclusion

You can never be safe enough while driving, but a Dash Cam gives you some peace of mind that whatever happens, you’ll have concrete proof. These are our Top 3 Best Cheap Car Dash Cam that still have an excellent perfromance.