Almost everyone has a mobile phone these days, snapping photos, buying things online and even making a phone call every now and then. But the growing phenomenon of video recording is a huge part of owning a mobile phone yet we all know and accept its recording limitations. Daytime recording is fine, but at night, the quality is drastically reduced. The principles are the same in any recording and although it’s summer/Autumn at the moment and things are still just about light in the evening, it won’t be too long before the journey to and from work begin to get darker. It’s a time when driving becomes a little more difficult, and incidents tend to increase in likelihood. So where does this leave you and your dash cam? Combining the increased possibility of incidents, and the need to bring quality recording to night time journeys is a challenge which has been truly embraced at Nextbase. Some of the best dash cams on the market simply aren’t built for dark conditions – which, in the winter months is both morning and evening – but it’s difficult to know what to look out for when buying a dash cam. Even knowing what is a dash cam and why you should have one is a hurdle that needs overcoming. As reviews of dash cams and in car cameras have increased due to the growing demand of consumers, testing has been inconsistent for recording journeys in the dark. We’ve been lucky enough to pick up numerous awards in the past 18 months from the likes of Which?, AutoExpress and the Sunday Times but as these reviews and tests grow, bigger question marks will be placed on manufactures who are choosing to ignore the importance of quality recording in darker conditions. Don’t for one minute think it’s an easy task, we’ve spent the past three years testing and developing dash cam solutions to suit the UK market so that recording in such conditions is good enough, and matches that of the day time quality as much as possible. It has resulted in tens of thousands of miles travelled, and a huge amount of money but we’re pleased with where we are. Our multi-award winning 402-G is a shining example of this – despite being first introduced two years ago. Updates and software developments have meant that its status as the best dash cam on the market remains to this day. However, the advancements made in our latest model – the 512G – have made the office a little giddy with excitement when it comes to recording quality. Without doubt, its daytime recording thanks to the unique polarising filter which completely removes any glare or reflection is something we’re thrilled with, but the new Exmor sensor – don’t worry, you don’t need to know much about it – means that night time quality is maintained, despite initially sacrificing a fraction of its high night quality. We recognise that a small compromise – not that any normal motorist would notice – had been made on the quality of night time recording, while the daytime had improved significantly. We weren’t happy at this point. That’s why we sought a technology solution that would bring that night quality back to the standard we expect. The Exmor does this so we can firmly say that for both day and night, the 512G is the best dash cam on the market by some distance. But we’re not finished yet…