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Garmin presented its new Dash Cam line and immediately I felt a certain curiosity towards the 67W flagship model, capable not only of offering the classic dash cam features, but also of interesting pluses such as some ADAS functions, prerogative of the newer cars.
To date, the regulation on dash cams remains nebulous and, in fact, compared to other countries, a regulatory vacuum persists that sooner or later will be filled. However, there is the possibility that the videos recorded via a dash cam will be taken into consideration as “atypical evidence”, a choice that today remains in the hands of the competent judge in the event of a dispute.
But a dash cam like Garmin’s can be an interesting solution for other reasons as well, and considering last year’s experience with a cheaper “mirror” model, I therefore decided to also test Garmin’s solution to understand how it behaves in everyday use and if its distinctive features really make a difference compared to other models on the market.
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APPEARANCE AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Garmin’s new dash cam solution is very small and compact, with dimensions similar to those of a Go Pro to be clear. On the one hand, this is good for the footprint, on the other a limit if we think about the small size of the display. Compared to the latter, on the right side of the body there are 4 buttons that allow you to move in the menus allowing total control, however you can also opt for the use of the Garmin Drive application, available for Android and iOS, and much more. convenient for moving through the menus of the unit.
The packaging is essential, so in addition to the dash cam unit, a user manual, the adhesive system for fixing to the windshield and the connection cable (unfortunately still of the microUSB type …), we do not find anything else.
The rear camera is an optional, as are the other two units that can be positioned laterally, which if purchased allow a total of 3 cameras that can be connected to the main unit. These are the technical specifications of the 67W model.
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Garmin Dash Cam 67W
- Dimensions: 5,62 cm x 4,05 cm x 2,19 cm
- Weight: 57 gr
- Display: 2.0 ″ (5.1 cm) diagonal color TFT LCD, res. 320 x 240 pixels
- Battery: integrated rechargeable (duration up to 30 minutes)
- Memory: Supports microSD up to 512GB, class 10 or higher (card not included)
- Sensors: GPS, GALILEO, G-sensor
- Camera: ris.1440p a 60 FPS (FOV 180°)
- Voice control: Yup
- Application: Garmin Drive
- Functions:
- remote live view (requires wi-fi)
- online video storage
- speed info and GPS position
- parking (impact warning)
- frontal collision and lane departure warning
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TYPES OF INSTALLATION
With Garmin Dash Cam 67W the approach offered by the classic aftermarket solutions does not change, since it is possible to choose whether to rely on a simplified “do-it-yourself” installation but potentially castrated in functionality, or contact a professional installer and in that case the expense salt. Being a test model that I could only test for a few days, I willy-nilly had to make do by configuring the system in the simplest way, so I couldn’t connect the unit to a continuous power source but I limited myself to the basic installation via USB via the cigarette lighter present in my Audi A1 version 2012. Even if I had had more time available, I would still need the cable with OBD2 connector, unfortunately not present in the accessories.
A cigarette lighter socket is supplied which not only allows us to power the dash cam, but also offers an extra USB connection that does not nullify the possibility of recharging our smartphone, or any other device with the same connectivity.
As explained above, to have continuous power supply it will be necessary to connect the dash cam to the car through the OBD2 connection, in which case we can select between an operation with the vehicle off of 10 minutes, 24 hours, or even without limits, with automatic stop in case where the battery voltage drops below a certain threshold. It is therefore inadvisable to rely on do-it-yourself solutions to get directly to the car battery, under penalty of the possibility of finding yourself with the latter completely discharged.
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USE AND FUNCTIONALITY
After installing the dash cam in the car we can finally move on to the configuration phase, really simple if we rely on the Garmin Drive application. The dash cam starts when the car is turned on, as soon as the cigarette lighter supplies power, at which point the continuous recording function is activated, overwriting, if the memory is full, the oldest videos.
There is also a cloud save feature called Garmin cloud, which however with the free plan is limited only to the previous 24 hours. Videos are saved in resolution 1440p a 30 fps by default, but you can also choose other resolutions such as 1080 / 720p at 30 / 60fps. The quality is truly remarkable and you can choose whether or not to include the audio component. The recordings can be reviewed directly on the display or viewed via the Garmin Drive app on the smartphone, and then decide whether to save in memory, share, or delete. Among the additional features, but of little use in my opinion, we find the possibility to save videos called TravelLapse, which are nothing more than shareable travel timelapses, and which essentially condense the captures of trips several hours into a few minutes.
Garmin 67W is also controllable via voice commands and to my surprise they work very well. We have the possibility to use the keyword “Ok Garmin“for the activation and ask for the saving of videos and photos, the saving of the audio or the creation of a TravelLapse. We cannot do anything else, but in defense of this model I must point out that the capture of the voice is always perfect and the commands detected correctly, even when listening to music at medium-high volume. If we talk about the usefulness of the function, it is rather questionable as we will hardly feel the need to perform these operations manually, however someone might like to be able to decide independently in certain situations Then there are all the ADAS functions to which I want to dedicate a separate chapter.
The level of interaction also changes depending on the car in use, so the features offered by Garmin’s Dash Cam 67W range a lot. A little above I talked about the possibility of connecting it via OBD2 and the lack of the supplied connector is felt, but it is not the only variant in play. Let’s take the function for example Live View, this is very useful to see with the smartphone what is happening around our car in real time, however to use it it is necessary to have a constant connection to a data network, and this is also a feature often missing in the cars in which you decide to install a similar unit. Dashcam 67W does not have its own data network, so don’t expect any sim slots. The Live view function also works via wireless, but it is clear that the limitation of 10 meters of the bluetooth nullifies any use.
And speaking of power supply, the absence of an OBD2 connection does not allow to exceed the duration of the small integrated battery when the car is off, therefore its use is only functional in case of short stops (unless you rely on imaginative solutions .. like using a power bank). The fully charged battery allows an operation of about 30 minutes, but if the trips we make are very short (for example in the city), it will also be difficult to recharge the unit between trips. The presence of an integrated battery is however a plus compared to the cheaper models.
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ADAS, A LITTLE HELP TO DRIVE
Garmin Dash Cam 67W offers something more than similar solutions, introducing some driving aids that in daily use turn out to be a pleasant surprise. From the settings menu we can decide whether to activate the optional assistance functions, among these we find for example the signaling of traffic light cameras, speed cameras and exceeding the speed limit while driving.
Then there are ADAS-type driving assistance features, which assist us in driving by improving general safety. Garmin 67W is capable of warn us about a possible risk of a frontal collision, intervening when those in front of us suddenly brake or when we are accelerating too much compared to those in front of us. To emphasize the event, when there is a risk of collision the display turns red and the unit emits a clearly audible buzzer even when listening to music. Similar speech also for the lane crossing warning, as Garmin 67W is able to warn us when we cross the lane both to the right and to the left. In this case, the warning appears on the screen accompanied by the audio and the screen turns yellow. And that’s not all, if we are in a queue or at a traffic light and we have not noticed that the cars in front of us are starting to move, the unit warns us that the traffic is moving.
All these warnings are optional and can be enabled or disabled from settings. For some, they could almost represent a nuisance, however after a few days of use I can say that they are invasive to the right point and you quickly get used to them. It is possible to adjust the volumes of the notifications, however even set to the maximum they are never too annoying, and indeed, a few more db perhaps would have been useful.
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IN CONCLUSION
After trying Garmin 67W for a few days I can say that everything it promises does very well, so if you need a reliable and easily controllable dash cam from your smartphone it is the right choice. However, there are some shortcomings that I would like to point out, especially in relation to the price at which the single front unit is offered (it is available on the market at around 249 euros).
First of all the OBD2 cable, an essential component if we need to use the dash cam to the maximum of its video recording capabilities in parking mode. The second is related to the display, since if on the one hand the compactness of the unit is good if we look at the overall dimensions, on the other hand it is really too small to be used.
It must be said that Garmin 67W was created to work in symbiosis with our smartphone, so we will soon forget about this detail. As for the camera, the promotion is clear, the field of vision is really adequate and the video quality satisfactory. There is little to say about ADAS, they are an extra plus that never hurts from a safety perspective and above all they are always precise. Even the parking monitoring function does its job well, for example I happened to receive an alert when washing my car, a sign that even the slightest contact is able to alert the g-sensor and start recording. Too bad we didn’t have a lower priced bundle with the rear cam (optional purchase at 129 euros) and the OBD2 cable (additional 49 euros), which if purchased separately increase the cost to over 400 euros.
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TEST VIDEO E TRAVELLAPSE
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