Dash cams are definitely the ‘must have’ car accessory of the moment. With rising insurance premiums, increased incidents of insurance fraud and better technology, they are a fixture in many vehicles these days.
If you were thinking of keeping your family safer on the roads, you may want to consider the Philips ADR810. This is a relatively new entrant to the market and has the benefit of coming from a household name.
Considering the time of year, one thing struck me about this product instantly. It is very well packaged so it would be ideal for the gift market! That said, let’s move on to the ADR810’s performance.
Set up
This was very easy. Like most dash cams this is a plug and play product. Once unboxed you insert a micro SD card, plug into the 12v socket and voila, the device will turn on.
After setting the time and date it was good to go. The only issue I had was that after I’d set the time and date, the device didn’t want to return to the home screen. Turning it off and back on again, however, very quickly remedied this!
Fixtures / mounts
This device is designed to be mounted near the rearview mirror. It sticks to the windscreen using an adhesive mount. You could, with ease, place it directly behind the rear view mirror if you wish to keep the camera discreet.
Features
- Voice recorder
- Collision detection
- An ‘easy capture’ switch
This final feature is what makes the ADR810 stand out for me. It is located on the plug you push into the 12v socket. You simply press the button if there is something you particularly want to record.
Most dash cams have a similar feature, but they are usually located on the camera itself, so you have to lunge across the windscreen to hit the button if you need to suddenly start recording. Having the button located on the charging socket makes a lot more sense as it’s less intrusive and easy to find at speed.
Perfomance
I’m really impressed with the film quality. In addition to this the audio quality has been particularly good.
This device has picked up a good reputation for filming good footage at night time. Having tried using it in the dark, I must say it does seem to work very well in these conditions so the praise is justified.
One thing to note: the ADR810 must be plugged in to work. As soon as you disconnect the power lead, it will shut down.
Specifications
- 7cm liquid crystal display
- 156˚ wide angle view
- 1080 full HD video
- Records on to a micro SD card (not included)
Cost
You can expect to pay around £139 for the ADR810. There are cheaper models out there, but the quality of the video produced by the ADR810 is very good so you get what you pay for.
You can buy the ADR810 from Halfords, and Maplin among other retailers.
Summary
The Philips ADR810 dashcam is well packaged and very easy to use and set up. It may not be the cheapest, but it does produce high quality footage and that has to be a price worth paying. The easy capture button is also a very nice feature. If you want a dashcam that produce high quality footage and works well day and night, the Philips ADR810 has to be a serious contender.
Disclosure: Sample Philips ADR810 dashcam provided for review purposes. Thoughts and opinions my own.
