Sometimes advances aren’t really improvements. MiVue’s new J60 dash cam, for example, is meant to be discreet and fit behind your rear view mirror, which means there is no screen facing the driver.
It connects via an app to your smart phone which gives you a continuous image of your journey. So to set it up and make sure it is facing the road at the right angle is a bit of a faff. The other two MiVue cameras I have tried have small screens which show the view of the road for a few seconds before automatically switching the image off to avoid distracting the driver – which seems a better system to me.
The clarity of the image is fine, thanks to 30 frames per second, and a 150-degree viewing angle, and the J60 can activate itself when the vehicle is parked if it detects some activity close by, although this requires a SmartBox II cable, which is available separately.
Mio products tend not to have much in the way of instructions with them, so although the J60 boasts lane departure warning, forward collision warning and fatigue alert, you will need to download the full user’s manual before you can learn how to use them.
Also, oddly, it lacks any speed camera warning, which the two other Mio cameras I have tested, did have. All in all, a useful piece of kit. But not as user friendly as it could be.
