Top 10 Discreet Dashcams

Top 10 Discreet Dashcams

August 24, 2019 Off By Bruno Maiorana

Disclosure: This is a professional review blog. Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. All of the products are tested thoroughly and high grades are received only by the best ones. I am an independent blogger and the reviews are done based on my own opinions.

 

Have you ever been driving and thought “I really wish someone could see this”? I know I have. Maybe you got into a car accident and were left wishing the insurance company could see what you saw to prove that you were not at fault. Maybe you were going on a road trip and wanted your friends and family to be able to see the amazing view. Whatever the circumstances were that made you think that, maybe it is time to look into discreet dash cam reviews and find the right one to for you. With that in mind, here is our list of top 10 discreet dash cams.

 

Top 10 Discreet Dash Cams Comparison Chart

NameLoop RecordingViewing Angle Over 150-DegreesExtra DiscreetEditor's Rating 
Thinkware F200D Dashcam

Check price here.
Garmin Mini Dashcam

Check price here.
Apeman C420 Dashcam

Check price here.
Nexar Dashcam

Check price here.
VAVA Dashcam

Check price here.
DDPai Mini 3 Dashcam

Check price here.
Toguard FHD Dual Dashcam

Check price here.
THiEYE Dashcam

Check price here.
Rexing Dashcam V1P Pro

Check price here.
Vizomaoi P28 Dashcam

Check price here.

Product Reviews

Thinkware F200D Dashcam

 

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Dual Cameras

Easy Setup

Very small and discreet


Product Highlights

Thinkware’s F200D Dashcam is a little and discreet dashcam that allows you to record the road in front of you and behind you without detection. With the dashcam comes their viewing app that allows you to review footage and change settings with your iOS or Android smartphone. The whole set up is easy to install unless you opt to have it hard wired in.

The Good

The Thinkware F200D Dashcam has both front and rear cameras. The front camera has a resolution of 1080p whereas the rear camera has a resolution of 720p. Thinkware F200D Dashcam is protected from the heat of your car and there is anti-corruption technology installed. With an optional GPS antenna, the mobile app will not only allow you to view footage from your phone, it will also give you red-light and speed alerts. The dashcam comes with a built-in microphone and speaker and is only 1.34×3.88x.87 inches.

The Bad

This dashcam is a little expensive. The viewing angle is only 140-degrees, which is low when you consider the price but still covers several lanes which should be enough for normal use. You also will need to buy your own microSD card. It can take up to a 128GB microSD card. The GPS antenna is also not included. If you want to make the most out of your Thinkware F200D Dashcam, you will have to make extra purchases.

 

ProsCons

  • Front and rear cameras

  • G-sensor

  • Parking surveillance mode

  • Viewing app

  • Very small



  • 140-degree viewing angle

  • Costly

  • MicroSD card must be bought seperately

  • GPS antenna sold separately


Garmin Mini Dash Cam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Motion Detection

Small discreet dash cam

Full HD Dashcam


Product Highlights

The Garmin Mini Dash Cam is a HD discreet dash cam 1080p resolution. It has a built in G-sensor and creates an emergency file backup when it is triggered. Saved footage can be uploaded onto your smartphone and loop recording prevents you from having to manually delete footage.

The Good

The best part about the Garmin Mini Dash Cam is its very tiny size; in fact, the smallest on our list. All together the Garmin Mini Dash Cam is about the size of a car key. When mounted behind the rearview mirror, it is almost undetectable. This product’s exact dimensions are 2.1×1.23×1.15 inches. The Garmin Mini Dash Cam also comes with a one-year warranty on both parts and labor. It is WIFI and Bluetooth compatible and has automatic incident detection.

The Bad

The viewing angle of the Garmin Mini Dashcam is only 140-degrees but covers almost all roads completely. Although the Garmin Mini Dashcam is a discreet dash cam with parking mode, a parking mode cable has to be bought separately and installed by a professional.

ProsCons

  • Tiny

  • Full HD

  • Automatic incident detection

  • WIFI and Bluetooth compatible



  • 140-degree viewing angle

  • Have to buy parking mode cable separately


Apeman C420 Dashcam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Great night vision

Motion detection

170-degree viewing angle

Affordable


Product Highlights

The Apeman C420 Dashcam is a 1080p full HD dashboard camera for vehicles. It records at a 170-degree wide-angle and turns itself on to record when it detects the car shaking. The Apeman C420 Dashcam features loop recording, deleting old recordings as it records new recordings and is easy to set up. If you have troubles, tech support is always helpful and friendly at this company.

The Good

The Apeman C420 Dashcam is among some of the dashboard cameras with the widest camera view. Continuous recording while the car is turned on and automatic g-sensor incident recording will catch car break-ins also. The Apeman C420 Dashcam produces high quality and superior nighttime footage. Even better, this dashcam costs about half as much as the Thinkware F200D Dashcam and the Garmin Mini Dashcam making it a reasonable option for those looking for a cheap discreet dash cam with a wide viewing angle.

The Bad

The Apeman Mini Dashcam is miniature in comparison to the previous models of Apeman dashcams but it is still significantly more obvious than the others on this list. It requires an external power source and you have to purchase a Class 10 microSD card separately.

 

ProsCons

  • 170-degree viewing angle

  • Great night vision

  • Helpful customer service

  • Records at 30 frames per second

  • 1-year replacement or return



  • Not as discreet

  • External power is needed for operation

  • MicroSD card not included


Nexar Dash Cam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

150-angle view

Accident report provided

Only works with some devices


Product Highlights

This mid-range dash cam has a middle of the road price and viewing angle of 150 degrees. The Nexar Dash Cam is a 1080p Full HD Dash camera that comes with cloud storage for video clips, G-sensor and loop recording. The installation is easy enough that anyone can do it without assistance and only takes 5 minutes to complete.

The Good

The 150-degree viewing angle allows you to record all lanes of the road to provide full coverage. If an accident were to happen, Nexar automatically makes you a report that tells you needed information for your insurance claim such as the speed you were going during the accident, where exactly the accident occurred, what the force was during impact, and of course, the crash footage. Accident or not, this dashcam streams live footage and saves recorded videos to the dashcam’s phone application. The Nexar Dashcam comes with a 32GB SD card, a charger, mounts, and lighter adapter.

The Bad

Unfortunately, this dash cam only works when hooked to its app which is available on a limited number of devices running the most recent operating systems. Phone models that have the app available include the iPhone 7 and above, Galaxy S/Note 8 and above, and Google Pixel 1 and above. Also, audio does not save to the app, instead it must be retrieved from SD card.

ProsCons

  • Everything Included

  • Crash Report

  • Cloud back up



  • Only works with some devices

  • Audio doesn’t save to the app


VAVA Dash cam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

60 frames per second

Night vision

Can be manually rotated


Product Highlights

The VAVA Dashcam is a 1920x1090p high definition dashboard camera with an outstanding frame rate of 60 per second. It also has a night vision sensor, GPS abilities, parking mode, G- sensor and loop records (like all dash cameras found on this list). Up to 5 car lanes can be seen with this dash camera’s lens but the entire camera is on a swivel so you can record 360-degrees if needed!

The Good

Both inside and outside of the vehicle can be recorded with this dashcam’s manually rotatable lens. The VAVA dashcam comes with Sony’s IMX323 CMOS image sensor and rear lens allowing for the dashcam to take great footage and photos at both daytime and nighttime. Out of all of the dashboard cameras on this list, the VAVA Dashcam has the fastest frame rate so you won’t miss a thing. This dashcam will record while driving always; and when the vehicle is parked it will be in standby mode waiting for any motion of the vehicle to turn it on. If something were to go wrong, it is good to know that there is a full 18-month warranty on the VAVA dashcam.

The Bad

The price of this dashcam is a little on the higher range. The swivel ability of this dashcam, despite being fairly small, makes its appearance stand out some once mounted. The VAVA dashcam requires a Class 10 micro SD card which is not included with it. The VAVA Dashcam phone application is also only available for Android 4.4.4 and above, though it will work without it. WIFI connection, luckily, is available for all smartphone devices besides iPads.

ProsCons

  • Can be manually rotated 360 degrees

  • Good night vision

  • 18-month warranty

  • Frame rate of 60 fps



  • Not as discreet

  • MicroSD card bought separately

  • App only available on Android


DDPai Mini 3 Dashcam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Small and affordable

Rotatable lens

Temperature tolerant


Product Highlights

The DDPai Mini 3 Dashcam is an easy-to-hide WIFI compatible 1080p high definition dashboard camera with a 140-degree viewing angle. This dashcam employs loop recording, has a 3 axis G-sensor, and a built-in “super capacitor” instead of a battery. Both the inside and outside of the vehicle can be viewed with the DDPai Mini 3 Dashcam’s rotatable lens.

The Good

The built in “super capacitor” can tolerate both high and low temperatures and has a longer lifespan than a typical discreet dash cam battery. It completely removes the need for an external energy source unless you wanted to use the standby parking feature. The DDPai Mini 3 Dashcam’s rotatable lens allows you to see inside and outside of car, though not out the sides. Most of all, this dashcam is both affordable and very discreet, going unnoticed behind the rearview mirror.

The Bad

This dashcam can only view about 4 lanes of traffic at a given time because of it’s 140-degree angle field of view. Another peculiar thing about the DDPai Mini 3 Dashboard is that its smartphone application stops you from being able to use your phone’s data for other purposes like rideshare driver’s apps while the dashcam is connected to WIFI.

ProsCons

  • ”Super capacitor”

  • Affordable

  • Rotatable lens

  • Discreet



  • Can not use phone’s data for other things while it uses WIFI

  • Must purchase your own SD card

  • 140-degree viewing angle

  • External hardwiring kit needed for parked mode


Toguard Dual Dashcam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Parking Assistance

Front and rear cameras

Very Discreet


Product Highlights

This very affordable dual Dashcam/backup camera is a 4.3-inch mirror with 1280p high definition touchscreen dashcam. It affixes directly to your rearview mirror making it virtually invisible to those around you. Toguard Dual Dashcam can be used for reversing assistance, or as a standard dash cam that replaces your rearview mirror. This dashcam has the highest resolution of all the dashboard cameras on our lists and is probably the easiest to hide!

The Good

The front camera has a viewing angle of 170 degrees and the rear camera has a viewing angle of 140-degrees. The backup camera is trigged by the reverse lights on your vehicle. Parking assistance will help you park into small spaces or navigate through tight areas while reversing. Built-in G-sensor recognizes collisions as they happen and automatically saves them to an “SOS File”. An 18-month warranty comes with this dashcam.

The Bad

First, the Toguard Dual Dashcam must have an external power source. Second, it is more difficult to set up because the rear camera must be wired into your reverse lights. The SD card is also not included, but with this dashcam’s affordability, it is worth it.

 

ProsCons

  • Video resolution at 1280p

  • Front and rear cameras

  • Reverse guidance

  • Affordable



  • More difficult setup

  • Must be hardwired

  • SD Card is not included



THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Simple installation

Affordable

Easily hidden

360-degree rotation


Product Highlights

The THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam is a small dash 1080p HD cam that dangles from your windshield with a 170-degree viewing angle. This dashcam comes with functions like a parking monitor, emergency recording, and loop recording to ensure the road is recorded and the footage accessible anytime it is needed.

The Good

Both daytime and nighttime footage is recorded and streamed clearly in 1080p full high definition resolution. The THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam has a large F/1 6-glass lens aperture that is fantastic at gathering light allowing for a clear view even in low light conditions. The dashcam is powered by the USB car charger so there is no need for hardwiring making this an easy install. The THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam can rotate 360-degrees manually allowing you to record in any direction you want to. If you do not want this dashcam dangling down from your windshield, you can also mount it to your dashboard itself as there is a 180-degree reverse function! Either way you place it, it is very small and discreet.

The Bad

Like many dashcams, the THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam requires a Class 10 MicroSD card up to 32GB that has to be purchased separately. A bigger concern is that if motion detection is turned on the camera will not record continuously. Make sure you turn this feature off when you are actively driving your vehicle.

ProsCons

  • Motion detection

  • 360-degree manual rotation

  • 170-degree viewing angle

  • Good night vision



  • Must be plugged into car charger while driving

  • MicroSD card not included

  • Does not record continuously if motion detection is on


Rexing Dash Cam V1P Pro Gen 3

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Pricey

LCD Screen

Front and rear camera

170-degree viewing angle


Product Highlights

This is a dual front and rear dashboard camera that records in 1080p high definition with a 170-degree view angle. It comes equipped with loop recording, a G- Sensor, WIFI compatibility, and a “supercapacitor” instead of a battery.

The Good

Although some of the other options on our list also have a viewing angle of 170-degrees for the front camera, the Rexing Dashcam V1P Pro Gen 3 records with a 170-degree angle with both the front and rear cameras. Both cameras capture footage in 1080p HD. The front camera can be adjusted vertically and horizontally. The rear camera can be adjusted vertically. It also comes equipped with a 2.4” LCD screen. The Rexing Dashcam V1P Pro Gen 3’s use of a supercapacitor as an alternative to a normal lithium battery means that it will last longer and more reliably. It also makes this dashcam more resistant to extreme temperatures.

The Bad

This is the most expensive dash cam on our list and may make it not worth it for some customers. It is also not as discreet as many of the other options on the market. You will have to buy a Class 10 or higher MicroSD card and you must have your dashcam plugged into the car power connector. The built-in supercapacitor is only meant for emergency file back-up. Also, as a consequence of having a built-in LCD screen, the Rexing Dashcam V1P Pro Gen 3 is bigger than most of the other options on this list making it more difficult to conceal.

 

ProsCons

  • Dual cameras that can be adjusted

  • Both cameras have 1080p resolution

  • Both cameras have a 170-degree view angle

  • Super capacitor



  • More expensive

  • Must buy MicroSD separately

  • Has to be plugged into the vehicle power source

  • Not as small


Vizomaoi P28 Dashcam

Editor’s Rating

Overview

Dual dash cam

150-degree viewing angle

More noticeable

Pricier


Product Highlights

This high-end option has the ability to record the road in front of the vehicle and inside of the vehicle itself with a 150-degree viewing angle. It records in 1080p HD from both cameras simultaneously. This dashcam performs well in both daylight and low-light environments. It also has a loop recording feature, g-force sensor, auto accident detection, and records in high definition inside and outside of the vehicle.

The Good

The Vizomaoi P28 Dashcam has both a microphone and speaker. This dashcam’s utilization of Sony’s Exmor IMX323 sensor in the front and the rear camera provides great video quality in all different light conditions. Each camera can be rotated horizontally 330-degrees. With WIFI connectivity and the dashcam’s app, you can view, save and share on social media all of your footage.

The Bad

This dashcam does not have a parking mode when the vehicle’s engine is off. Although this dashcam may blend in with your rear-view mirror from the outside of the car, it is rather large and can probably be spotted by someone who is looking for it. This one is tied for the most expensive dashcam on this list.

 

ProsCons

  • Records the road and the interior of the vehicle

  • Night vision

  • Microphone and speakers



  • More expensive

  • No parking mode

  • Must contact maker for suction cup mount, otherwise there is only adhesive


 

Final Verdict

If you are looking for a discreet dashcam that does it all without breaking the bank, I would recommend the Toguard Dual Dashcam. This discreet dual dashcam records with a 170-degree view angle in both cameras and acts as not only a dashcam but also a reverse guide. This dashcam will not be noticed by anyone unless they are a passenger in your car because it replaces your rear-view mirror. To top it all off, it is very inexpensive. Alternatively, If you do not want to have your dashcam as part of your rear-view mirror, the THiEYE Safeel Zero Mini Dashcam is another good option. Affordable and versatile, this dashcam does it all. It has a loop recording feature, g-sensor, a 170-degree viewing angle and can be rotated 360-degrees to record anywhere you want to record. You can choose where is right in your vehicle for this dashcam as it has a 180-degree reverse feature allowing you to mount it upside-down on your windshield or right side up on your dash.