Not to long ago at all, we tried out the Nextbase 312GW dash cam, an entry level/mid range cam, which we liked a lot and thought it was great value for money. Well now its time to get serious, high end, top of the line kinda stuff, with the Nextbase 612GW 4K Ultra HD dash cam! Yup, 4K, it’s a little bit mad but the footage should be absolutely crystal clear, so lets find out.
Lets talk spec:
- 8.57M pixel Sony EXMOR R sensor
- Lens – type 7G / 150deg wide angle / F1.6 aperture
- Recording resolution of 3840 x 2160 @ 30fps
- 3″ touch screen
- 64-128GB MicroSD Card, Class 10. U3 MicroSD Card is required for 4K recording!!
A solid spec, I like that they have opted to use a Sony sensor, which from experience, have always been very good.
The camera itself very much resembles the other cams in the Nextbase range but its silver & black, instead of black & silver, and overall it’s slightly larger due to the increased screen size and lens. That being said, it remains very light and discrete. The contents of the box remains the same, you get the cam, the powered mount, power cable, USB cable and some instructions. It’s worth noting from the offset that to fully benefit from the 4K feature, you will need to purchase a 64GB U3 microSD card as a minimum. Other cards will work in this camera but will not be able to record at 4K. Nextbase do sell these cards, as do many other popular brands. Plus, you will need something that will playback 4K, be it your TV, computer or smart device, you will only see the ultra HD benefits if your device will allow it.
Installation into the vehicle can be easy, or it can take forever. You simply stick the mount to the windscreen (suggested positions given in the instructions) and then decide how you run the power cable to it. The quick and easy option is to just plug it in and leave it to dangle over the dash. The neater but longer option is to attempt to feed the cable through the car trim and roof lining. It can be done but boy is it tedious. As with all Nextbase cams, they offer a clip in system, so once your mount is installed where you want it, remove the cover on the cam and clip it in. You are now ready to go.
Start the engine, the cam will start recording automatically. Stop the engine, the cam will continue to record, so turn it off when you leave the car. I like this, as you may be stuck in traffic or have a stop/start car, but you will still want to continue recording. That being said, forget to turn it off and it will continue to use up your storage.
This cam has very few buttons, as most of the controls are done via the 3″ touch screen. There are 5 pages of options, made up of everything option or setting you could think of. The key ones I was most keen on were the resolution, video length and display info. The touch screen is ok, it looks very basic, but basic works. Its easy to navigate through the options but can be a little laggy/unresponsive if you hit the screen to quick or often.
Before we get into quality, there are a few features I want to touch on:
- GPS Logger – GPS co-ordinates, date and time are recorded (embedded into the footage). This can be viewed on playback or via the Nextbase software.
- WiFi connectivity – This allows you to connect the cam upto your smart device, via WiFi to playback your footage.
- G Sensor / File Protection – In the event of an impact, a separate additional 30 seconds of protected recording will be saved within the ‘Protected’ folder on the memory card. This 30 second recording contains the 10 seconds prior to the protection taking place and the following 20 seconds thereafter.
- This Dash Cam incorporates a polarising filter to reduce windscreen glare and reflection.
- Auto Dimming which allows the screen to automatically dim during night-time driving.
- Speed display – Once the screensaver kicks in you can set the screen to display your speed.
As for video quality, its probably best you watch this short sample footage!
Overall, this is by far the best Nextbase dash cam we have tried to date and probably the best dash cam we’ve ever tried. Build quality is good, the Sony sensor is a great touch, the touchscreen is easy to navigate, though a little laggy some times and the quality of the footage is more than you could ever want or need. There are only a handful of 4K dash cams available right now and this one gets two thumbs up from us!
The cam retails at £249.99 but we’ve seen it cheaper online. For more info visit the official Nextbase website.
I have this and I think it is excellent.