Dashcams are one of these devices that no sane person wants to have in their cars (cable management is a nightmare). Automobile manufacturers finally caught up with times and graced us with built-in SatNavs, but despite parking and drive aid cameras present in modern cars, dashcam functions are yet to be seen as “standard”. Until then, we have to rely on devices like Akaso Trace 1 Dashcam to aid insurance claims.
Akaso Trace 1 Dashcam
A couple of weeks ago, my partner got involved in a car accident. An impatient driver scraped the side of her car on a roundabout, causing a great deal of cosmetic damage and leaving my wife shaken. She was on the roundabout when she was hit, by a car which was just joining in. No shadow of a doubt who was at fault there, but to our surprise, the insurer called her in claiming 50:50 fault split.
It took days of emails, pictures and calls to actually get this resolved to our satisfaction. Something that dashcam footage would clear up in an instance. Looking back, I wish she had the Akaso Trace 1 Dashcam installed back then (she has got one now) as the hassle of trying to prove that she did not cause an accident was greater than the price of the dashcam.
If that doesn’t justify the purchase price, (and the kindly provided discount to my readers) perhaps the possibility of becoming a one-hit-wonder by recording a viral situation and making sweet moolah from the media shares could offset the purchase price.
Akaso Trace 1 Dashcam comes with dual 1080p cameras. One faces the obvious direction, the other one records infrared images from inside of the car with the focus set to show what is happening outside of the car’s windows. Both cameras cover 170-degree angles, keeping the blind spots to the minimum.
There are other features like:
- G-sensor trigger (starts filming if you get hit)
- Motion sensor (starts filming if motion nearby)
- built-in batters (lasts 20 min)
- mic (in case you want to VLOG 😉)
Akaso Trace 1 dashcam comes with a very long power lead that you can manage with small cable organisers, a solution to tackle the most annoying part of owning a dashcam: running the power cable. I wish I had a USB port near my rearview mirror!
Once you get over the cable issues, the camera doesn’t attract your attention. It has a series of buttons which toggle the most helpful modes. It’s very handy to toggle mic, dual cameras, or pause the recording.
Video
I mentioned 2 cameras before. Both come with 1080p resolution and 30FPS if you use both streams together. You can double the FPS to 60 if you use just one of the cameras. The video starts when the power is delivered (engine starts) or one of the triggers wakes it (and the 20 min battery is available).
The motion sensor and parking mode would be great for any carpark damage, but the power-up noise coming from the camera will alert anyone trying to break in, to take the camera or SD card with them.
Both streams are acceptable, however, the ability to read the reg plates isn’t as good as the marketing leads you to believe. Anything further than 10 m on the road and the resolution is too low to make out any details. Both cameras provide a very wide (170°) angle which covers most of the view.
Other things to mention
The loop recording option isn’t what I initially expected. It creates files od certain length that can be overridden. Bear in mind this will happen when the card is full. If you use a mix of both, loop and non-loop recordings you will need to have enough space to accommodate for both types of files.
I would really appreciate a “save” button that would save the last 2-3 min of the footage as a separate file when pressed. With so many buttons on the dashcam already, it seems like a missed opportunity.
The 12V Charger comes with a USB pass-through, so you can still charge your phone but with 1A current limit. I would love to see a version with a proper USB-C instead.
Conclusion
Bear in mind that Akaso Trace 1 dashcam is a tool. It will defend you when it can, but it can also incriminate you. Knowing that the car interior is recorded made me warier of how I behave in the car which is probably a good thing. While the reg plate claims are bold, the other features of this camera are great. Honestly, the only issue I can think of is all the cables that you have to drag around your car to get that connected. Considering the hassle of calling up your insurance and fighting your case, it’s a hassle worth going through! Let me know if you have any questions in this Reddit thread.
