REVIEW OF TRANSCEND DRIVEPRO 230 DASHCAM

In this post, I will review one of the most useful accessory that I bought and used during my Spiti 2018 drive. I will review:

Transcend Drivepro 230 Dashcam

Why a Dashcam;
The primary use of a dash cam is for recording accidents or unforeseen events, where the video can be used as evidence. This is definitely a very important and required accessory, especially during long drives on India highways. But I had a completely different purpose in mind. I wanted to use the Dashcam as a camera for recording the beautiful scenery of Spiti from inside my car.

Using a dashcam has several advantages, the main one being battery life. Since the dashcam is attached to the power source (car lighter adaptor), you do not have to worry about the battery draining, as in the case of GoPro or SJ Cam. Safety of camera (as it is inside the car) is also an important benefit.

Getting it:
I bought the dashcam from www.amazon.in for Rs. 14,250. The dashcam came bundled with a 16 GB SD card and can support cards upto 128 GB. The dashcam comes with a sturdy mount and a car light adaptor with sufficient cable to install it around the dashboard.

I also bought a 128 GB Class 10 micro SDX memory card of Sandisk for Rs. 3,245 again from www.amazon.in. This card gave me sufficient space to record to my hearts content.

Why Drivepro 230:

This camera was a little out of my budget and I was considering purchasing the lower version of this camera, the Drivepro 200. But I decided to purchase the higher version mainly because of:

• Better image sensor of SONY
• Ability to record GPS coordinates
• Time lapse video capability

Many other functions including parking mode, lane departure warning, headlight warning, speed alarm etc. are also available on this higher model, but I did not find them useful and kept them turned off most of the time.

Please visit Comparison Page for comparing the different models of Transcend Dashcam. 

Features and Useful Info:

• The camera allows you to choose recording length of 1, 3 or 5 mins. It creates a new file after this duration is reached. I personally chose 3 minutes in order to limit the file size. A 3 minutes video in Full HD quality is approx. 320 MB in size. 

• The in-built 2.4" TFT display is also very useful in checking what you are recording. I kept it's setting to switch off after 10 seconds, as I found it disturbing, especially during night driving.

• The app for connecting the camera to my iPhone was easy enough to install and run. Although you have to repeatedly go into settings and manually connect the Wifi of camera to mobile. So it's better to set up the camera through mobile once a day and then simply switch on/off the camera manually. The playback of videos on the phone is also a useful feature.

• There is a bit to waving of the video on extremely bad roads and maybe am image stabilisation addition will help. 

Summary:

After using the dash cam during my 15 days, 5000 kms. trip on good roads, bad roads, no roads, water crossings etc. I am mighty impressed with the camera. It's a completely no-nonsense piece of equipment, which does its job marvellously. I faced no issues of the camera hanging or re-starting. The mount quality is excellent and it did not fall even once, even on bad roads.

A few samples of the recordings done:

Beautiful clear weather.. heading up to Rohtang Pass from Batal

Foggy.. On the way down from Rohtang Pass to Manali

Overcast weather

Sunny & Bright

I think the videos speak for themselves. The dashcam has given me memories to cherish for a lifetime. It is truly bang for the buck and I will happily recommend it to everyone.