

Those video clips will be placed in a special write protected folder, so they can’t accidentally get overwritten. When an impact or motion is detected, a video clip typically starting 10 seconds or so before the event (and ending 10-20 seconds after) will be saved to the camera’s SD card. Buffered parking mode (recommended): The camera records continuously, and saves the video footage to internal memory.

The problem with simple parking mode is that in the time it takes the camera to wake up and start recording, whoever damaged your car might already be gone.Ģ. This type of parking mode is by far the most energy efficient of the three. Simple (impact or event activated) parking mode: If an impact or motion is detected by the camera, it will come alive and start recording, hopefully catching the perpetrator. On a busy street however with lots of traffic, it may lead to your camera recording all of the time, wasting precious battery power as well as storage space.ġ. Keep in mind that using motion detection makes sense when you’re parking in a quiet spot. An event can either be an impact that is detected by the camera’s G-sensor, or a motion that is detected visually in the camera’s field of view.Īll dash cameras have G-sensors that can detect an impact to your car, but only some of them also support optical motion detection.

In order to not fill up its memory card with useless files in which nothing is going on, some parking modes will only save files when there is an actual event detected by the camera. That way, you’ll have 24/7 video footage that you can consult in the case of a hit-and-run or vandalism incident. Put simply, parking mode allows you to keep your dash cam running while your car is parked and the engine is off.
#Best dash cams for cars how to#
You’d like to learn just how exactly parking mode works? What the difference is between buffered and time-lapse parking mode? And how to power a dash cam when the car is off without draining the car’s battery? Then make sure to read the following sections before you buy. Best Protection: Live View & Alerts Over Cloud.Power Supply: How to Avoid Draining Your Car’s Batteryĭash Cams Ordered By Levels Of Parking Protection.Choosing the Best Dash Cam for Parking Mode.Links to vendors are sponsored links, and help to support this site. Overview: Top Dash Cams With Parking Protection Let’s start with an overview which level of protection you can expect for what price. The more affordable cameras support buffered and other parking modes, but don’t have cloud connectivity. Modern dash cams provide various levels of parking protection: The more expensive models support connecting remotely to your camera over the cloud, so you can see video and receive an alert on your phone when something happens. A dash cam with parking mode can record video 24 hours per day, even when the car’s engine is off. If you want to keep your car safe from vandalism or hit-and-runs while it’s parked, you may be wondering which dash cam is best fit for this purpose.
