What’s better than one dash cam? Two dash cams, of course, because with a second camera you can record to the rear of your car as well as the front. This helps to create evidence of accidents that happen behind you, such as when another driver rear-ends you.
In most cases, these so-called two-channel (or 2CH) systems include a front-facing dash cam as normal, along with a smaller, simpler camera that attaches to the rear windshield and connects to the front camera with a long cable.
The rear camera doesn’t require its own microSD card, since it sends footage to the front camera, which saves both feeds to its own memory card. The rear-facing camera tends to shoot in lower quality, owing to being smaller, but this isn’t always the case. Some of today’s more sophisticated two-channel systems record in 4K resolution forwards and rearwards.
Installing a front and rear dash cam system is more involved than simply sticking a single dash cam to the windshield. The rear camera’s cable will need tucking behind various pieces of interior trim, and sometimes behind the roof lining, to make a seamless installation. It’s often worth paying a professional to do this for you, but the results are worth it, since the two cameras will be installed neatly, as if they’ve been there since the car was built.
Since the rear camera connects to the front, it doesn’t need its own power supply. Or, it’s still possible to opt for a hardwired installation, where the front dash cam is plugged into the car’s fuse box or OBD port for a constant power supply from the 12-volt battery. This power is then sent to the rear camera, too.
Although inherently more expensive than a single-camera (or 1CH) system, two-channel dash cams can be bought for under $150. Premium options with improved video quality and extra features cost anywhere from $300 to over $500.
If you want to only cover the front of your vehicle, we also have a guide to the best dash cams for single-direction recording. Then there’s also our guide to the best budget dash cams if you want to spend less money.
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If you’re like me and treat your car like a prized possession, you know the anxiety of leaving it parked in a public lot. Most dash cams just sit there until someone actually hits you, but the Thinkware U3000 Pro is trying to change that game entirely.
The standout feature here—and the reason it’s priced at a premium (£399/$499)—is the dual-radar system. Most cameras use simple “G-sensors” that wake up after an impact. This one uses radar to monitor a five-meter zone around the car.
In my experience, it’s incredibly proactive. When I approached my driver’s side door, the camera was already rolling before my hand even touched the handle. I did have one “chatty” night where the default sensitivity was so high that a rainstorm triggered dozens of clips, but a quick tweak in the app settled it right down. Remarkably, even with all those recordings, it didn’t drain my car battery at all.
The video quality is exactly what you’d expect from a flagship, and a successor to our old-favorite Thinkware U1000. It uses the latest Sony Starvis 2 sensors, giving you 4K video a the front and 2K at the rear, and has Super Night Vision 4.0, which keeps footage clear and remarkably grain-free even on those pitch-black backroads.
I’m a big fan of the screenless design. Once I tucked the wires into the trim, it looked like a factory-installed part of the car rather than a clunky aftermarket gadget. It’s a bit large, but it hides neatly behind the rearview mirror.
This isn’t a budget buy. By the time you add the rear camera and the OBDII cable (which you definitely want for that “always-on” radar), you’re looking at spending aroound $580 / £550.
Read more: Thinkware U3000 Pro review
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The Cobra SC 400D is a chunky-looking front/rear dash cam, but what impressed me most was the quality of the footage from the 4K front camera.
In my full review, I noted that it is sharp, bright, and nicely balanced, with minimal grain and a great amount of detail in the recorded footage – a revelation compared to some 4K dash cams that often overpromise and underdeliver when it comes to their video performance.
The rear camera offers a slightly narrower field of view, and an inferior Full HD image quality – but there is still plenty to like here. The integrated GPS and Alexa features are particularly welcome.
Cobra isn’t as well known for dash cams as rival manufacturers such as Garmin, Nextbase and Thinkware – but I wouldn’t let that put you off. It’s not as clever as the pricier Nextbase iQ, nor is it as compact as the Garmin 67W, but I think the SC 400D does a great job nonetheless.
Read more: Cobra SC 400D review
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We love that you can now find a dash cam that offers you great video quality at the front and rear without it having to spend a fortune. The Miofive impresses with its twin 4K cameras – providing detailed, high-quality footage in all driving conditions.
You get a 3in LCD screen at the rear, which allows you to control the features and review footage. Its not touch sensitive, but you do have the option to control the units using an app if you so desire. Likewise, you get the choice or recording onto a microSD, or sending recordings across to your phone. If you choose 4K, you can expect to use up 0.4GB of storage for every minute you record. That means the supplied 64GB card can fill up in four hours driving, but incidents are saved in a protected folder – so you don’t need to panic about losing all-important video evidence.
There are dash cams with better design, and more high-tech features – but overall the Miofive impressed us a lot in our tests, and is a great option who want high-resolution recording at a budget price.
Read more: Miofive S1 Ultra review
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It is the inclusion of two Starvis 2 sensors in the Viofo’s two cameras that are the real performers here – providing some of the best lowlight, and night-time footage I have ever seen from a dashcam. Given few of us only drive in perfect daylight conditions, this makes the A329 justify its higher-than-average price. I urge you to look behind the slightly dated hardware design, and instead focus on these specifications, because that’s where the Viofo A329 shines brightest.
I really liked the option for 4K 60fps recordings at the front, and was equally impressed by the inclusion of HDR, which helps pull extra detail out of particularly bright and dark areas of the camera’s view. This helps it retain detail in changeable weather conditions and at night.
I also like how simple the setup process is – and especially how Viofo doesn’t demand that you create a user account, or even download the company’s app if you don’t want to. The entire setup process can be completed on the dashcam itself, which helps to keep things simple.
Read more: Viofo A229 Pro review
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It’s possibly the most expensive dash cam ever made, but it is also one of the newest and arguably the most impressive (when it works). What makes it especially useful for Uber drivers is how, like the Garmin Dash Cam Tandem, every version of iQ (with 1K, 2K or 4K front cameras) comes with an integrated interior camera with Full HD video and infrared night vision.
A rear camera is also available as an optional extra. All three save footage to a microSD card, or with a subscription you can have footage automatically uploaded to the cloud via the iQ’s 4G connection. This is also used to notify you via the Nextbase smartphone app when the iQ detects a parking prang or attempted theft. And I love that the camera cleverly receives a constant power supply from your car’s OBD II port – a much neater, easier solution than the hardwiring required for other dash cams.
Constant power and 4G means this is a dash cam that also doubles as an in-car security camera, ready to stream footage to your phone from anywhere in the world.
Nextbase promises a steady supply of over-the-air software updates and new features are coming to the iQ soon, including radar-powered vehicle monitoring that uses artificial intelligence to estimate the speed and trajectory of every vehicle within its sight; this data is then added to recordings to help show who caused a collision. The radar is also used to alert you if the iQ spots a potential thief loitering by your unattended car.
The iQ is large, expensive, and has ongoing subscription costs to consider, but if you want the very best front and rear dashcam, it’s hard to ignore.
Read more: Nextbase iQ review
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Garmin’s latest flagship dash cam, the X310 is a world-class product. It records 4K video at 30 fps – but, perhaps more usefully, it also has an option for capturing 1080p at a super-smooth 120 fps. It also has HDR for dragging extra detail out of shadows and highlights.
New for this generation of Garmin dash cam is an integrated polarizing lens, which helps to reduce windshield reflections, and if you pay a subscription (and hook the dash cam up to a data connection) you can access it remotely, turning the X310 into a security camera for your car.
What else? We think the X310 looks great and is surprisingly compact given the specification on offer. It even has a 2.4-inch touchscreen on the back, making it easy to adjust settings and view recordings before transferring them to your phone for a closer look. Factor in the small and simple but highly adjustable windshield mount, and the X310 is a fantastic dash cam.
Although Garmin doesn’t sell a dedicated rear camera, its dash cams can be wirelessly connected using the company’s Drive app. That means you can buy an X310 and a Garmin Mini 3, for example, and create your own front-and-rear dash cam system – just remember though, each camera needs its own power supply, which could be a problem in some vehicles.
It’s not cheap, and to access all of its features you’ll need a subscription, but the X310 remains one of my favorite dash cams to date.
Read more: Garmin Dash Cam X310 review
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It might look like a fairly regular dash cam at first glance, but the Nextbase 622GW is absolutely packed with features. Compact, and with what I think is a well-designed magnetic mount, the 622GW features 4K video recording, GPS, and a function that automatically calls the emergency services and shares your location if the driver is unresponsive after a heavy crash.
There’s more. It also has support for what3words, the system for precisely pinpointing your location when local maps and data coverage aren’t up to the job, and there’s integrated Alexa, the Amazon voice assistant.
A secondary rear camera can be attached via a long cable, in the traditional manner, or Nextbase also sells a rear-view camera that attaches directly to the side of the 622GW. In fact, it actually sells two such cameras; one with a zoomed-in view for recording through the rear window, and another that records the interior. You can only fit one of these at a time, however.
Other features include digital image stabilization, which I’ve found can be handy if your car has a firm ride and tends to create shaky dash cam footage, and the option to record at 120 frames per second. This knocks the front camera resolution down from 4K to Full HD (1080p), but I like how the high frame rate can produce smoother footage.
I was less impressed by the clunky smartphone app, but as with most dashcams, this is only needed while setting everything up, and then can be cast aside.
Read more: Nextbase 622GW Dash Cam review
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I review a lot of dash cam, but the 70mai 4K Omni has a defining feature that makes it stand out from the rest: a motorized, 360-degree viewing capability.
This isn’t your average static dash cam; the unit can physically spin through 340 degrees to look left, right, or even back into the cabin via voice command. While it’s a neat trick for recording that interesting car in the next lane, or a serious tool for filming an interaction with a police officer, its true value unlocks when the car is parked. The rear camera is optional – but essential for recording the road behind you – so is usually included in the kit (but do check).
With the optional hardwiring kit, the Omni transitions into a superior security camera with 4G cellular connectivity. Its parking mode allows the main front camera to pan and follow suspicious movement around the vehicle, and it can send me an alert via 4G. The rear camera is essential here, providing constant coverage of the back.
However, here’s the crucial detail about the “360-degree view”: the front camera is motorized, but the rear camera is a simple, static Full HD unit. This means the front unit will actively track a suspicious person who approaches the car from the front or sides, but if someone approaches solely from the rear, the system won’t pan to follow them and you won’t get the immediate 4G alert for motion tracking. The rear camera will record the event if a collision happens, but the comprehensive, active 360-degree security is disappointingly incomplete.
See our full 70mai 4K Omni review
The same rules apply here to most other types of dash cam. You of course need to pick a system that works with a secondary, rear-facing camera. Sometimes these are included as part of a bundle, other times you can buy the second camera separately.
After that, you’ll want to strike the best balance you can between your budget and a dash cam that offers high quality video with a resolution of at least 1080p (Full HD), ideally with HDR and perhaps also a frame rate about 30 fps. After that comes the design of the dash cam – does it fit neatly behind the rear view mirror?; is the rear camera also compact and easy to install in your vehicle? – and finally we suggest buyers look at additional features. These can include speed camera alerts, but also functions like the SOS emergency calling of the Nextbase 622GW, or the always-on 4G connection of a Nextbase iQ.
Ultimately, your choice will come down to whichever dash cam offers a front-and-rear system with the best video quality for your budget.
Our overall favorite front and rear dash cam is the Thinkware U1000. We’re big fans of the 4K video of the front camera, but also love how the resolution can be lowered to 1440p in favor of a higher 60fps frame rate. The rear camera is Full HD at 30 fps, and we like how the main unit lacks a display, making it relatively compact and discreet when installed.
Other favorites include the hugely capable (but equally expensive) Nextbase iQ, as well as the Cobra SC 400D for its excellent video quality, and the Garmin 67W for the company’s clever way of wirelessly linking up to four dash cams at once. Dash cams from Viofo always offer great value, and the A129 Pro Duo featured in this guide is no exception. For a dash cam packed with features, including emergency phone calling in the event of a heavy crash, Alexa and support for what3words, we highly recommend the Nextbase 622GW.
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Every dash cam featured in our buying guides is installed and tested thoroughly. I fit each dash cam to my car and use it as if it is my own, logging into the smartphone app (where necessary) and using the camera for every journey. I test the dash cams at day and night, adjust their video settings, and look at any additional features they have.
Dash cams cannot be hardwired for every test. Instead, they are plugged into the 12V socket of my car – or the OBD port, as is an option in some cases – and the cables are tucked away as neatly as possible. How a dash cam is hardwired to the fuse box varies by car, so isn’t included as an assessment criteria for our reviews and buying guides.
Naturally, I cannot truly test the crash detection of these cameras, but endeavor to try out every other feature and function before reaching a verdict.
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