The core purpose of a Dash cam is to provide quality evidence in the event of an accident. This really means you need the Best Front and Rear Dash Cam with Night Vision. I’ve spent over 40 hours reviewing test results across various driving conditions to determine which Dash cams are best when it comes to critical evidence.
After extensively researching all the best front and rear dash cam with night vision, I was amazed at how many of these simply did not meet the standard required for the court room.
For example, some of the supposedly top rated Dash cams (some costing as much as $500) come with extra bells and whistles like connecting to Alexa or vivid colors like a Hollywood movie but couldn’t capture a clear and readable number plate during the morning and evening commute to and from work.
In my 40+ hours of research during Jan 2024, I found there really were only 3 contenders in the market that meet the high standards needed to capture quality recordings day and night in various conditions.
However, having any dash cam is better then no dash cam, so I’ve also provided a quality budget option as well.
🏆 Best Overall
96.5%
Best Field of View
93.5%
Best Single Camera Option
88.5%
Who is this review for?
This review is intended for the driver that understands just how important it is to have crisp clear video footage at their finger tips should they ever need it.
Lets face it, there is no point spending our hard earned money on the best front and rear dash cam with night vision, only to find out it didn’t do what it was intended to do – capture quality footage in the event of an accident day or night.
These cameras are not the cheapest but at the same time are not the most expensive either.
Research Note
“ Buying the most expensive or highest spec Dash cam will not always mean the best or highest quality evidence. “
Why is this? The higher price may be for extra features that don’t relate to better images for evidence. As for the higher specifications (like 4k as an example), this too may not translate to better images across all driving conditions.
So what’s required in a Dash cam to increase your chances of quality evidence?
1) Dash cam must be switched on – sounds obvious but the dash cam must be easy to setup and easy to use each time you drive so that it is actually recording when you need it.
2) Field of view – given you don’t know where your car will be impacted, you must have the widest angle of view as possible and preferably a rear camera also to increase the chances of actually capturing useful evidence no matter the location of impact.
3) Clear, detailed images – when the footage recorded is paused to a single image to identify a person, car or number plate the image needs to be sufficiently clear to be used as evidence. For example, it can’t have blur from motion, nor bright spots from headlights and dark spots from shadows. All of these conditions can cause the evidence to be illegible and all your money spent on a dash cam would become unfortunately useless.
What’s my selection Criteria?
It’s these absolutely critical 3 aspects mentioned above: 1. Ease of Use, 2. Field of View and 3. Clarity of Images across all driving conditions. (More details on my criteria further down page)
I have not considered if the footage is good for a Hollywood film, nor have I considered if the Dash cam will order you a coffee at the nearest Starbucks for you.
This is all about meeting the end goal of increasing your chances of capturing quality evidence if you need it.
I genuinely hope you find my selection and reviews useful and please do let me know if you have any questions or comments.
The Best Front and Rear dash cam with Night Vision
Viofo A229 Pro – ⭐️Best Overall
VanTrue N4 Pro – Best Field of View
Viofo A139 Pro – Best Single Camera
Viofo A119 v3 – Best Budget
Viofo A229 Pro
⭐️ Verdict: Best Overall
This Dashcam is an absolute stand out. Even in the most challenging dark lighting conditions. The A229 Pro was still able to crisply identify a clear and readable number plates, details of cars as well as peoples faces.
There are 3 cameras, Front, Rear and Internal cab which all have the HDR feature which is real benefit for clarity in almost all lighting conditions. This also means its not just the front camera which you will get good images with.
The only possible improvement could be a slightly wider field of view on the front camera. (like the VanTrue N4 Pro)
Pros
Excellent in low light
Ease of Use with Voice Control
Captures Detail even when there is glare
Ultra-Fast 5GHz WiFi Access to Recordings
Cons
Field of view not quite as good as VanTrue N4 Pro
Not easy to move between cars
VanTrue Nexus N4 Pro
Verdict: Best Field of View Option
The VanTrue N4 Pro is also a great Dash cam and it’s really down to two key aspects which make this different from the best overall Dash cam (Viofo A229 Pro)
When comparing the nighttime recordings, the Viofo A229 Pro outperformed and was able to capture more number plates and detail when there was motion and glare. Where as there was times the VanTrue N4 Pro just wasn’t as good.
However, that’s not always the whole story when it comes to an accident. This camera has a wider field of view for the front (155) and rear camera (165). An Extra 15 Degrees for both front and back (30 degrees total). this doesn’t sound like much but after an accident you just don’t know if that extra footage may help you capture how a side impact happened or who was at fault.
One extra bonus point. You can buy an after market suction cup mount for this camera. Which can help if you want to make use of your hard earned investment (the dash cam) in a rental car for example.
Pros
Wider Field of View
Ease of Use
Great Low Light performance
Suction Cup Mount available
Cons
Some Motion blur at night
Low light performance great but not quite as good as the Viofo A229 Pro
Field of View Highlights
Highlights
VanTrue Nexus N4 Pro
Field of View
Suction cup Mount
VanTrue Nexus N4 Pro – Suction Cup Mount
As mentioned above, if you need to use a hire car or switch between cars in your family. Many Dashcams you can not easily remove. however the VanTrue model sells an additional extra which is a suction cup mount which means you can easily move this between vehicles.
Viofo A139 Pro
Verdict: Best Single Camera Option
The Viofo A139 Pro really is a great Dash cam, if you are using the single front camera then you get the benefit of 60 frame per second (FPS) which means it can capture number plates in low light and no motion blur.
So why isn’t it the Overall best option? The main thing that lets this Dash cam down is that if you use the other two camera’s (Rear and Internal) the quality of the recording drops. For example you can’t record using 60 FPS and therefore more chance you can’t capture low light and motion shots as well.
Although it performs well with just the one forward facing camera, remember not all accidents occur from the front. So this is why it’s ranked lower from the other dash cams.
Pros
Perfect if you only want front camera
Also available in 2 and 3 camera options
Great low light performance with just one camera operating
Cons
Limited field of view at high quality
Motion blur visible with multiple cameras connected
A229 Pro is easier to use with voice control
Night Time – Number Plate Capture Example
Viofo A139 Pro – Number Plate Capture
Truck was driving opposite direction and in this example the number plate was captured and easy to read.
Viofo A119 v3
Verdict: Best Budget Option
If you can’t afford the other 3 options and you are wondering if you should bother getting a Dash cam at all, then the answer is YES! Although this dash cam isn’t able to capture number plates in low light. The night time visibility is still very good.
So what’s the mean? If we had an accident at the front of your car, it’s likely this would capture a good amount of detail needed. However what this lacks is the ability to capture accidents from behind and if you are trying to get a number plate of someone that clipped you at night and caused you to crash. You simply won’t get that level of detail.
Overall, I’m still impressed by what this Dash cam provides for under $100
Pros
Great value for money
GPS Logger
Good day time visibility
Cons
Motion Capture at night
Field of view and number of Cameras
Not as easy to use
What to Look For in Front and Rear dash cam with night vision
When it comes to determining who was at fault, evidence is critical and crisp clear video footage from a dash cam can be undeniable and often better then an eye witness.
To achieve crisp clear footage you need to ensure the dash cam is easy to setup and actually used every time you travel. the field of view and number of cameras should cover as much of the car as possible as you don’t know where an accident is going to happen and lastly the footage itself needs to eligible as evidence.
It’s these core requirements I’ve addressed using the below criteria.
Day Time Visibility
It’s important that you can see the detail without glare or shadows so that you can clearly see how the accident occurred.
Sometime Dash cams have too much contrast and make everything really bright in parts and really dark in other parts.
I judged each dash cam to how it performed during the day under different conditions driving into the sun, or where there was shadows.
Day Time Motion Capture
Given accidents occur due to cars being in motion, it’s quite important that your Dash cam can freeze the frame without blur so that you can identify what is events are taking place in detail. If there is insufficient detail often the footage can not be used for legal purposes.
Many dash cams are not able to effectively freeze motion, especially with on-coming traffic. all the dash cam footage i reviewed except the budget option met this requirement.
Night Time Visibility
Given most people will drive some degree of the time at night when it’s dark or early in the morning. Plus the fact many accidents occur during the night. When it comes to evidence and determining who is at fault. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a camera that performs well during the night.
You need to be able to see enough detail to identify other parties such as cars, badges and generally what’s happening. If the footage is too dark or even too bright from headlights the footage for the purposes of evidence will likely becomes useless.
All the cameras I have selected do perform well at night. Even the budget Viofo A119 v3 does a good job at this. it’s clearly not the best but it’s sufficient.
Night Time Motion Capture
This is where the Excellent Dash cams step away from the pack. as mentioned earlier during the day time motion capture section. All accidents occur due to some motion. So it’s likely that you need to be able to freeze the motion so you can identify what is happening in that moment.
This may be more relevant in certain situations, such as a car that side swipes you in the opposite direction and does not stop. If you get the Budget option Viofo A119 v3 unfortunately this likely would not be able to capture the number plate and you would be reliant on eye witnesses or other peoples Dash cam footage.
However, the other 3 Dash cams, are all superstars at being able to capture number plates in low light and for vehicles in motion. there really are very few Dash cams that can do this well and the 3 i have selected are the truly the most reliable. there may well be cases even these Dash cams can’t capture a number plate. But there is a good chance it will.
You may think, you don’t need this for number plate reading, however there are other circumstances for the need of detail and freezing motion. Such as identifying a person in a car, or a type of car badge.
Field of View
When I refer to Field of View, this is talking about how much of the entire perimeter of the car do you have captured on the Dash cam. Given you never know where an accident is going to happen around the car. by having a wider field of view will held reduce the risk of not being able to capture the critical evidence.
As mentioned in the review, the VanTrue Nexus N4 Pro is the best at this and at the other end of the scale one of the downsides of say using the Viofo A139 Pro single front camera. You may go and buy the Viofo A139 Pro and feel you have covered all your bases only to find out you get rear ended with no evidence at all to support your side of the story.
Ease of Use
Often Ease of Use is seen as nice to have. However, given if a Dash cam is so difficult to install or difficult to use on a daily basis. There is a lot more chance you end up having an accident when you haven’t turned on the dash cam or it’s failed to record. This is why I’ve included this as a key factor.
The Dash cams I’ve selected are all reasonably easy with no real major issues that would result in you not using it.
Conclusion
I really hope this review has been of help. My overall aim of this website is to whole heartedly help people that have had an accident.
I’m confident that if people choose the Dash cams I’ve carefully and cautiously selected. People will be on their way to being in a much better position should they happen to be in an accident.
If you have any questions. please feel free to leave a comment or you can contact me directly via the contact us page.
FAQ
Is there budget Dash cams that can freeze motion at night?
Maybe one day, but at the moment the technology required to freeze motion so that you can see it clearly requires more expensive sensors and firmware so at the moment to really make sure you can capture all types of evidence you need to spend that little bit.
Why do you have 3 Viofo products?
When I reviewed the performance of the different Dash cams I included all different brands. When I narrowed down the best performers this happened to be Viofo. I’m not intentionally trying to promote Viofo over other brands.
Should I select a Dash cam based on it’s Specifications?
Absolutely NOT! Just because a camera has HDR, 4k, Latest Sony Sensor does not directly translate to how it performs. All my reviews are based on performance of the Dash cams to understand how it will achieve the end result of making crisp, clear evidence in case you need it.