Cobra Electronics CDR 820 Ultra Compact Drive HD Dash Cam

Great value, has continuous loop recording, doesn't feel cheap, works flawlessly, and is plug and play out of the box. It's tiny (imagine 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches with a 1 inch square screen) so you will need readers or a magnifying glass to read the tiny manual and also the digital screen on the device when making your settings. It has a standard camera screw mount on top so you can adapt it to different mounts. This screw mount top is an awesome feature most dash cams don't have. The little guy runs hot. I use an aftermarket $4 visor "ball" screw mount to keep it discreet, high and out of the sun, and so I can swivel it around to capture a traffic stop if I'm pulled over. It came with a 8gb micro card which is okay for capturing about an hour or so of driving that loops over itself in a series of 3 minute videos which are easy to search through, save ones you like on your computer, etc. I bought a 32gb micro card to capture entire routes of four hours or more and also to retain any long traffic stops that might occur without having the continuous loop record over anything I want to review later. The factory settings are great and all I really did was read the manual to learn how to disable / enable the microphone (one press of a button) and set the date and time. If you get too crazy with the settings and want it back to factory there is a function in the settings to reset. I like using the setting to capture my route in 3 minute segments so in case of an event I won't have to review four hours of video just browse through the files to find my location on the route and save the one I want to keep. You can press a button on the device to save a specific segment and prevent over-loop recording and also save files right onto your computer when you plug it in (the device is recognized right away like a camera you plug in no problems for me ever). The little dash cam is not capable of video or photos in long duration without being plugged into the car charger. The manufacturer built it to give you a couple minutes maybe less to capture some video or take still pics of an accident but the internal battery will die after a minute or two. If you want some advice then here it is... Use the factory settings but learn how to enable / disable the microphone unless you want a judge hearing you use four letter words or what talk radio or music you listen to, all of which could be used as a bias against you. I use the device with the mic off while driving but will use the microphone if I am stopped by police. Read the manual and learn how to turn the microphone back on in case you are in a police traffic stop (it literally is the press of one button on the bottom). Learn how to review video on the device, and how to save video segments in case of an accident (again a simple press of one button). Also learn how to use it as a camera. All of that is simple skill level that you can learn from the instructions in a few minutes. FYI the reason I bought the Cobra dash cam is because I was recently pulled over by an officer after pulling out of a mini mall parking lot (on a Friday night). I literally pulled out and was sitting at a red light maybe 30 feet from where I pulled out. While sitting at the red light he turned his flashers on behind me. I was immediately accused of "swerving" and of "slow driving" and of being at a bar located at the end of the mini mall I had left. I actually was not at the bar and had nothing to drink but was being accused of drinking in the bar. In fact I explained I had dinner at a nearby restaurant (that had no liquor or beer sales). He then said I could have been drinking at the restaurant and that I had alcohol on my breath he claims he could smell while questioning me. The little verbal judo dance began but I am a little more well versed on my rights than most folks and turned his accusations against him and laid out my case that he was being a vulture just following someone he thought was at a bar and then fabricating lies about observed erratic driving. That traffic stop got ugly but I prevailed and was eventually allowed to go on my way. It sure would have been nice to have the video with all the lies about my slow and erratic driving and the false allegations about alcohol on my breath and really ignorant things he said during the stop. Okay enough said. A dash cam can literally save your good name, and prevent dishonest people from making up lies about traffic stops and accidents. I plan on buying another one and having it mounted discreetly in my back windscreen because as you know aggressive drivers usually tailgate you then shoot around and cut you off, and some accidents occur after someone cuts you off and you rear-end them in an fast stop. I was rear-ended by a guy one time while sitting at a red light and in mediation he claimed he was trying to avoid me because I was driving in front of him changing lanes erratically. People lie, that's what they do. No accountability. It can also show if I am being tailed by an officer and for how long which will catch most police officers in their own lies about how they followed you for a long time and observed your driving to illegally substantiate an unconstitutional traffic stop when in fact they mostly just pop you the moment you pull out from a parking lot near a bar on a Friday night. Talk to any lawyer that defends people accused of DUI and they will fill your head with stories of the lies that are told by law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, I love the police and what they do for us, but there are some bad ones out there that want that DUI arrest at any cost and want to write big tickets because of pressure from quotas their department wants. Dash cam will keep everyone honest.

This product has a lot of reviews so I'm mainly going to address one issue. There are quite a few complaints about it "resetting" or overheating after about 20 minutes.Mine also had some problems early on where it would shut down after about twenty minutes. I traced those to the accessory power plug. The plug itself was not well made (compared to the ones that comes with Garmin GPS's for instance) and mine was splitting open and not supplying power consistently. Fully charged the camera will run about 15 or 20 minutes without external power (when it's new and the battery is therefore new). I've noticed that if the cam shuts down due to the battery being drained the clip it is currently recording is corrupted. If it shuts down normally due to a button press or if the power is turned off/removed that does not happen (probably because the cam can run on battery long enough to properly close the current recording's file).That was not an issue to me because I really wanted a dual socket adapter so I could power a GPS, etc. at the same time anyway. So I used an adapter I already had that could supply 1 amp per socket (which is double the original USB spec which was 500mA) for a total of 2 amps. I had the same problem but it occurred less frequently and it seemed to overheat and reset on longer drives. The consistent time it took to have problems despite ambient temperature made me wonder so I finally really looked at the cam's state when it did that by plugging it into a computer and fooling with it. It looked like it simply wasn't getting enough power so I switched to a more powerful adapter that is designed to support the iPhone 6 and other current generation phones that supplies 2 amps per socket. As I hoped it supplies enough power that the cam has not run short even on multi-hour trips and it has been pretty reliable ever since. I think it was getting hot because it was constantly trying to charge the battery which was draining faster than it could be charged for a long period, so it just charged until the battery finally drained then it shut down.The adapter I got was the AmazonBasics model (two 2 amp sockets, 4 amps total): http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Charger-Android-Devices-Output/dp/B00IEFXDO8/To use it an inexpensive cable is needed, a USB A Male to Mini B Male and there is a good chance you have one sitting in a drawer that came with an old Blackberry phone or similar. Or this one from Amazon should work:http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-USB-2-0-Cable--Male/dp/B00NH11N5A/Since that issue was solved it has been a great dash cam. I have clips of people going through red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, a giant Fleetwood RV spun out on a freeway and other oddities. Because it is so affordable, I'm thinking I might need one on the rear window pointing backwards next.

Facile d'installation. S'allume automatiquement au démarrage de l'auto! Avec le temps, la batterie interne s'est déchargée et n'indique plus la bonne date et heure lors du trajet. Il faut donc la remettre à l'heure à chaque départ. De plus, à basse température, elle ne démarre pas tjrs.

Too small.

This is the third time I have reviewed this. I love it! Instruction book could be a bit bigger print, but found it all on line.

Arrived on time , great device, very happy with it. Recommend to all who are interested.

Had problems with the first one I received. After contacting Cobra, they decided to replace it, and the new one works great!! I have it running all the time, and has never given me any problems.