Nextbase’s newest sprint cam, the 622GW is the entire package deal, providing fantastically detailed day and night time 4K UHD video, Alexa assist, in addition to Emergency SOS in case of, nicely, emergency. Add assist for Nextbase’s rear, inside, and inside telescopic digicam modules, and guess what? You have the perfect sprint cam in existence. At $400, it’s additionally the priciest, however the cream of the crop usually is.
This evaluation is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for extra critiques and shopping for recommendation.
Design and options
The 622GW is a easy, pewter-and-black looker. It’s about 3.5 inches large, and a pair of inches deep, however a bit heavier than the typical sprint cam. That interprets to a really feel of high quality that so many sprint cams lack. The excellent bodily function is the 1-inch extruded lens physique. It little question contributes to the 140-degree discipline of view, 4K UHD (3840×2160), 30fps seize system’s improbable outcomes. The polarizing filter doubtless doesn’t damage both.
Note that 1440@60/30fps, and 1080p at 120/60/30fps video are additionally supported. The 120fps is for tremendous slow-motion.
The 622GW’s lengthy lens physique little question contributes to the digicam’s spectacular captures.
The 622GW ships with each magnetic/adhesive and suction mounts, which connect to the GPS mount, which in flip, snaps magnetically into place on the entrance of the digicam. The mount provides a good quantity of adjustment vertically, in addition to a lesser however enough quantity horizontally. You should not should be too exact in your placement of the mount on the windshield. The energy cable (auxiliary port) attaches to the GPS mount by way of a mini USB connector whose cable feeds properly excessive of the digicam.
On the left facet of the digicam are the facility button and the micro SD card slot, whereas the suitable facet has the mini-HDMI port that’s used for direct video output, in addition to internet hosting a 1080p rear digicam module. Nextbase provides three such modules: one for inside captures, one which attaches to your rear window, and, my private favourite, the direct-attach telescopic module. The latter eliminates the trouble of operating a cable, but nonetheless supplies respectable protection to the rear. The dangerous information? Said modules are $100 apiece. Hmm.
Rounding out the {hardware} is a 3-inch, 854×480, wide-aspect touchscreen show. It delivers a really sharp and clear picture, with no jagged textual content, and so on.
Other options embrace the aforementioned Alexa voice management (“Alexa, ask my dash cam to start recording”), backup help by way of an hooked up rear-view digicam, and Emergency SOS. ESOS is a service offered by Nextbase that works along side your cellphone to alert companies within the occasion of, say, a extreme accident through which you could be incapacitated. It’s free for a 12 months, however $4.99 month-to-month, $49.99 yearly, or $99.99 for 3 years after that. There are some limitations and legalese you may wish to learn earlier than committing to the service.
The reasonably hefty 320mAh battery helps surveillance/parking mode for roughly two and a half weeks. The 622GW’s G sensor will awaken the digicam to take video of no matter rousts the digicam from its sleep.
There are not any cloud uploads, as with the Own, Nexar, or PureCam sprint cams, nevertheless, you’ll be able to simply offload movies to the Nextbase iOS/Android cellphone app by way of 5Ghz Wi-Fi. (Bluetooth 5.0 is used to hook up with the app).
Performance
Though 4K UHD (3860 x2160) burns via SD playing cards in a rush (roughly 4 occasions 1080p), the 622GW’s captures have satisfied me that, when executed correctly—it’s price it. The element within the 4K UHD captures is improbable, the colour is wide-gamut and correct, and the movement compensation is firstclass. I may go on, however take a gander on the captures under and inform me in the event you don’t agree.
You may even catch the copperish tint from the forest fires close to San Francisco on this daytime seize.
If you’re not impressed (click on on the picture to broaden it and have a look at the primary license plate), I don’t know what to inform you. Check the captures from different cameras, then come again and look once more.
This is an unadjusted night time seize, and whereas it’s a little bit darkish, it’s not far off what I noticed with the bare eye. The night time colours are much more correct than with another sprint cam I’ve reviewed.
The above night time seize is a bit darker than actuality, however the brightened picture under exhibits that a formidable quantity of element is captured. Even in the event you don’t see it by default. What really impressed me, nevertheless, is the richness and accuracy of the colour in low-light conditions—one thing I’ve by no means seen earlier than from a splash cam. What you see under is darn near what I noticed with the bare eye.
This is identical night time seize (non-headlight) proven above however brightened considerably to show that the 622GW captures element exceedingly nicely.
Below, you’ll see that the 622GW additionally drastically reduces headlight flare. It clamps down rapidly, minimizes halos, whereas nonetheless capturing element within the surrounding areas. It additionally releases again to low-light mode rapidly.
The 622GW handles headlight flare very nicely.
The 622GW’s sensor is an Omnivision OS08A10, which I’ve by no means seen earlier than. I’m positive a big a part of the credit score for high quality goes to this sensor, however Nextbase’s claims about tuning the quad-core processor inside have benefit as nicely.
Operating temperatures for the 622GW are -22 to 140 levels Fahrenheit. Nextbase was sort sufficient to level out that that is for your entire gadget, and never the chip temperatures that some distributors present. I’d point out the distributors, however I’m nonetheless investigating the declare.
If you need the perfect, that is it
I used to be completely delighted with the 622GW. It’s in a league of its personal relating to captures, it’s a pleasure to configure and use, and the rear-facing modules make it probably the most versatile two-camera system in the marketplace. If you need the perfect, that is it. You’ll pay a reasonably penny, but it surely’s the perfect.