Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 1080p 140° Field of View w/ G-Sensor

ibeaguy

Oct 7, 2024 6:18 PM

100 Comments

Joined Sep 2009

ibeaguyOct 7, 2024 6:18 PM

100 Comments

I ordered one last time these were on sale and has been working great. Like how small they are. I ordered two more (one for second car and second to add as back camera to larger SUV that has 12v plug in back) as Amazon says 10% cashback on Amazon card through 10/9. So essentially comes out to $89. I'm sure these will be clearanced out soon since the Garmin 3 is out, but $90 is good enough for me.

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pcgeekpcgeek

Oct 7, 2024 8:57 PM

1.2K Comments

Joined Nov 2015

pcgeekpcgeekOct 7, 2024 8:57 PM

1.2K Comments

Quote from ibeaguy

:

I ordered one last time these were on sale and has been working great. Like how small they are. I ordered two more (one for second car and second to add as back camera to larger SUV that has 12v plug in back) as Amazon says 10% cashback on Amazon card through 10/9. So essentially comes out to $89. I'm sure these will be clearanced out soon since the Garmin 3 is out, but $90 is good enough for me.

Thanks for your review!
Does it record the license plates clearly when vehicles are moving?
Some Amazon reviews stated that this dashcam easily overheats, do you have the same experience?
BTW, I wanted to use this dashcam in rental cars due to its small size. By default, it requires adhesive to install, which makes it difficult to dismount and remount. Are there any suction mounts that are compatible with this dashcam?

Last edited by pcgeekpcgeek October 7, 2024 at 02:02 PM.

MxChris

Oct 8, 2024 12:32 AM

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Joined Nov 2006

MxChrisOct 8, 2024 12:32 AM

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Quote from pcgeekpcgeek

:

Thanks for your review!
Does it record the license plates clearly when vehicles are moving?
Some Amazon reviews stated that this dashcam easily overheats, do you have the same experience?
BTW, I wanted to use this dashcam in rental cars due to its small size. By default, it requires adhesive to install, which makes it difficult to dismount and remount. Are there any suction mounts that are compatible with this dashcam?

My comment from the last time it was posted a few weeks ago.

Yep, been using one for a couple years now. I popped in an old 128gb memory card I had and it's been solid for me, no overheating...has not happened once. Voice commands work fine, video quality is fine, this is not a top of the line camera but it's pretty great. It's the smallest one I could find so it's completely out of my view which was one of the most important things to me. I got it as a Christmas gift, I would definitely get it again.

If you have a powered mirror there are small harness adapters available to buy so you can have a very tidy install. I do not so I hardwired mine with this kit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=UTF8&th=1

If you want to see the camera quality you can watch my compilation video I made when reviewing all the stored clips I had a while back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G...nel=ChrisS

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pcgeekpcgeek

Oct 8, 2024 12:36 AM

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Joined Nov 2015

pcgeekpcgeekOct 8, 2024 12:36 AM

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Quote from MxChris

:

If you want to see the camera quality you can watch my compilation video I made when reviewing all the stored clips I had a while back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G...nel=ChrisS

Thank you! Great compilations. 🤣
However, your video is in 2160P, but this is a 1080P dashcam AFAIK.
BTW, I've fixed your link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G...nel=ChrisS

Last edited by pcgeekpcgeek October 7, 2024 at 05:41 PM.

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NeatWater9826

Oct 8, 2024 1:24 PM

179 Comments

Joined Jun 2021

NeatWater9826Oct 8, 2024 1:24 PM

179 Comments

Did they ever fix the flawed firmware that effectively stops the cam from continuously recording?

I have on still installed but haven't gotten around to dealing with Garmin support.

For those that don't know, they did some firmware update to these that caused them to not record unless connected to the app. Super dumb.

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hizzledizzle

Oct 8, 2024 1:29 PM

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hizzledizzleOct 8, 2024 1:29 PM

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I'd highly recommend a 4k camera if you can find one for a good price. License plates are hard to make out in 1080 even when parked right behind somebody.

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hizzledizzle

Oct 8, 2024 1:36 PM

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hizzledizzleOct 8, 2024 1:36 PM

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Quote from NeatWater9826

:

Did they ever fix the flawed firmware that effectively stops the cam from continuously recording?

I have on still installed but haven't gotten around to dealing with Garmin support.

For those that don't know, they did some firmware update to these that caused them to not record unless connected to the app. Super dumb.

I'm staying away from Garmin products for these kinds of reasons.

Most of their products already come at a premium price and then they squeeze consumers after purchase. They just announced price increases on their satellite messenger plans as well.

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devilZ

Oct 8, 2024 4:58 PM

207 Comments

Joined May 2009

devilZOct 8, 2024 4:58 PM

207 Comments

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Tbh, if you're going to be paying that much, it would be better to get a dashcam with the latest Sony Starvis 2 sensor like the Viofo.

VIOFO Dash Cam A119 Mini 2 https://a.co/d/7TBjXzN

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NerdyHustle

Oct 8, 2024 6:13 PM

10 Comments

Joined Dec 2020

NerdyHustleOct 8, 2024 6:13 PM

10 Comments

Wish it were at least 2K 😅

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sal3oos-ss

Oct 8, 2024 7:30 PM

451 Comments

Joined Nov 2016

sal3oos-ssOct 8, 2024 7:30 PM

451 Comments

Is version 3 discontinued as well?

gatr-

Oct 8, 2024 9:40 PM

35 Comments

Joined Jul 2018

gatr-Oct 8, 2024 9:40 PM

35 Comments

Quote from devilZ

:

Tbh, if you're going to be paying that much, it would be better to get a dashcam with the latest Sony Starvis 2 sensor like the Viofo. VIOFO Dash Cam A119 Mini 2 https://a.co/d/7TBjXzN

hey! the one you linked seems to be better in every way haha. is that what you'd ultimately go with if you had to buy a budget dashcam today?

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devilZ

Oct 8, 2024 10:02 PM

207 Comments

Joined May 2009

devilZOct 8, 2024 10:02 PM

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Quote from gatr-

:

hey! the one you linked seems to be better in every way haha. is that what you'd ultimately go with if you had to buy a budget dashcam today?

Yes. The Viofo A129 mini 2 is highly rated and recommended at the dashcamtalk.com

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warre2m

Oct 9, 2024 2:34 AM

839 Comments

Joined Nov 2014

warre2mOct 9, 2024 2:34 AM

839 Comments

The Vifo has Novatek NT96670 SoC and the Sony STARVIS IMX335 image sensor this Garmin likely has the dated NT96658 SoC and the IMX307 sensor. The dash cam market is scammy where you're paying for a plastic shell and brand name and in almost all cases they're mostly the same with a different plastic shell. The Vifo has the latest and greated in DashCams hardware for the same price as this.

I am a little suprised manufactures like Garmin that can charge a premium don't go with a proprietary SOC maker like GoPro does with Socionext to finally make a high end DashCam product.

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warre2m

Oct 9, 2024 2:34 AM

839 Comments

Joined Nov 2014

warre2mOct 9, 2024 2:34 AM

839 Comments

The Vifo has Novatek NT96670 SoC and the Sony STARVIS IMX335 image sensor this Garmin likely has the dated NT96658 SoC and the IMX307 sensor. The dash cam market is scammy where you're paying for a the plastic shell and brand name and in almost all cases they're mostly the same with a different plastic shell. The Vifo has the latest and greated in DashCams hardware for the same price as this.

I am a little suprised manufactures like Garmin that can charge a premium don't go with a proprietary SOC maker like GoPro does with Socionext to finally make a high end DashCam product.

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slickernsnot

Oct 9, 2024 5:52 AM

3K Comments

Joined Dec 2010

slickernsnotOct 9, 2024 5:52 AM

3K Comments

Quote from hizzledizzle

:

I'm staying away from Garmin products for these kinds of reasons.

Most of their products already come at a premium price and then they squeeze consumers after purchase. They just announced price increases on their satellite messenger plans as well.

That tracks with my experience. Garmin = Apple-level prices without Apple-level quality or support.

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Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 1080p 140° Field of View w/ G-Sensor

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$130

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