A dash cam is one way you can upgrade your personal security detail. Dash cams can help you save money and time by protecting you when it comes to auto insurance.
By having a dash cam installed, you protect yourself from being seen as at fault for accidents that occur with the front of your vehicle.
While it’s pretty obvious who’s at fault when you get rear-ended, without a dash cam, you may find yourself in a he-says-she-says insurance dispute that a dash cam could have solved. Additionally, while an excessively isolated incident, should someone roll back into the front of your car, you’ll be protected from being found at fault to a rear-ending that was actually not your fault.
But, before you go buying any old dash cam, let us walk you through some of the best dash cams on the market and talk about what makes them unique and special!
More specifically, we will cover two of the most popular Nextbase dash cams — the 622GW and 522GW — and the Garmin 67W.
~~~ Check Price: Nextbase 622GW ~~~
~~~ Check Price: Nextbase 522GW ~~~
~~~ Check Price: Garmin 67W ~~~
Specifications
The first thing we need to go over is the specifications for all the cameras.
Technical specifications are basically just a list of all sorts of words that only geeks actually understand, care about, and read. But, in this case, everyone should be more like geeks!
Finding out what your electronics specifications are can help you choose the best product for your needs.
Specifications include all the build and firmware information, and anything you need to know about your device like the type of plugs it’s installed with or battery sizes. All of this information is usually available on a product page under “specifications,” “specs,” or “technical specifications.”
NextBase 622GW
The 622GW by NextBase is one of the top-of-the-line dash cams from a premier company. It offers shooting in 4K at 30FPS , 1440p at 60FPS, or 1080p at 120FPS, making it one of the most versatile options for viewing and recording what’s going on in front of your car.
The 622GW features image stabilization, enhanced night mode, QuickLink Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 10Hz GPS, a 6-layer f1.3 lens, built-in Alexa compatibility, a 140° viewing angle, and modular compatibility with the Rear Window Cam, Car Rear View Camera, and Cabin View Cam.
It also features an intelligent parking mode, a 3” HD IPS touch screen, and an emergency response action that allows it to send your GPS location to the authorities if you need help.
NextBase 522GW
If the 622GW is a bit unwieldy for you, or maybe you’re like me and can’t see a resolution more defined than 1440p anyway, the 522GW is an excellent budget option. It’s the generation of NextBase GW dashcams preceding the 622GW.
This camera can record in resolutions up to 1440p at 30FPS or 1080p at 60FPS. So its image resolution is a bit smaller and less defined than the 622GW. However, for most users 1440p or 1080p video is more than adequate.
Like the 622GW, the 522GW features Enhanced Night Vision, Intelligent Parking Mode, built-in Alexa functionality, and 140° viewing angle, and Rear Window, Rear View, and Cabin View modes. However, it does not have image stabilization. So if you live in an area with poor road quality, you might want to shell out for the 622GW.
The hardware in the 522 GW is similar to the hardware in the 622GW. It features a similar 6-layer 1.3f lens, 3” HD IPS Touchscreen, QuickLink Wi-Fi, 10Hz GPS, and built-in emergency responses. However, it uses Bluetooth 4.2 rather than Bluetooth 5.0. But, again, most people are not going to see too big of a difference between these.
Garmin 67W
If you don’t find the NextBase GW series compelling, the Garmin W series might be the choice for you. The 67W is an excellent choice for people who don’t need all the bells and whistles that come with the NextBase GW series.
This is a simple dashcam for people who just want to record the area around their cars without needing built-in GPS or virtual assistant functionality. It can record video in 1440p at 30fps and get up to 60 FPS with 1080p video. The camera features a 180° field of view.
One of the main reasons people like the Garmin 67W is that they have internal storage. The 67W comes with a 16GB MicroSD card, but this memory can be expanded up to 512 GBs. In addition to the physical storage, you can back the videos saved to the device to Garmin’s Vault storage.
The camera also features GPS and Galileo compatibility, an incident detection G-sensor, voice control, HDR, GPS speed and location info included in the video, and camera-assisted features like forward collision warnings, lane departure warnings, and Garmin Real Vision.
The 67W is compatible with the Garmin Drive app, Garmin’s proprietary camera functionality app, and the cameras can auto sync up to four cameras together. Using the Garmin Drive app, you can remotely see the view of any cameras synced to the app as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection, use the Parking Guard feature, or use the app to review footage from the camera.
One notable downside to the 67W is that it runs on a lithium-ion battery that has a battery life of only 30 minutes. Dashcams typically require a hardwired power source, so this isn’t completely unusual. However, if you’re someone who is looking for a dashcam they can just buy and forget about, this isn’t the one for you.
Which Camera is Better?
The NextBase 622W is the most powerful camera on this list by far.
While some of us out there are too blind to see the difference between high-resolution videos, there’s definitely no harm in ensuring that your video is captured in high definition. When it comes to dash cams, you want to be able to see as much detail as you can; these videos might be necessary for an insurance or legal claim!
However, this naturally comes at a premium, and the NextBase 622GW does cost the most at almost double the cost of the other two cameras.
For people looking to get an effective product for a more reasonable price, the Garmin 67W offers a lot of the same functionality as the NextBase 622GW at about half the price.
The only camera that is noticeably lacking is the NextBase 522GW. In a vacuum, the camera is quite powerful, but when compared to the more efficient Garmin 67W, it really pales in comparison.
Who should buy the Nextbase 622GW?
If you demand 4K resolution, the 622GW is the only dash cam on the list that can provide it. The extreme weather mode provides clearer video in fog/rain, while the image stabilization tests fairly well also.
Who should buy the Nextbase 522GW?
If you are budget-conscious and don’t want to overspend on unnecessary features, you probably realize that 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second provides excellent video quality. Thankfully, every dash cam on our list can record video at this resolution and frame rate.
So, if you like the Nextbase brand and product lineup, the 522GW may be worthy of consideration, especially since it runs $150 to $200 cheaper than the 622GW. While we love the bells and whistles like extreme weather mode and image stabilization, you are paying quite a premium for these gimmicks.
At a similar price as the 67W, the 522GW gets you a 3″ rather than a 2″ screen. For many users, this difference is quite substantial.
Who should buy the Garmin 67W?
While Garmin doesn’t have the hardcore following of Apple, there are many of us that trust the Garmin name and feel immediately comfortable with devices that exist in the Garmin ecosystem. You know the software will perform, you know that updates and customer support will always be available, and you know that your device should be reliable.
At an MSRP just north of $250, you are getting an excellent dash cam that feels borderline underpriced. The dash cam is sleek and has a subtle design, and some of the extra features can enhance the functionality significantly.
Lastly, if viewing angle matters to you — which it should — then the Garmin 67W may be the best camera on this list. The 180 degree angle compares favorably to the 140 degree angle found on both Nextbase cameras.
Further reading:
- Best SD Cards for Dash Cams
- Top Viofo Dash Cams
- Top Garmin Dash Cams
- Top Vantrue Dash Cams
- Garmin vs. Nexar: Brand Comparison
Final Thoughts
It makes sense to want to invest heavily into your safety and the security of your property. So don’t be afraid to spend a little extra on things like these if you can.
While we’ve covered a few of the best dash cams on the market, there are plenty of options out there that you can learn about.
If none of the ones on our list caught your attention, we recommend taking a look at NextBase and Garmin’s other selections. These companies make some of the most reliable dash cameras and security products on the market!
~~~ Check Price: Nextbase 622GW ~~~
