{"id":1296,"date":"2021-12-10T10:17:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T15:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2021\/12\/10\/aukey-1080p-dual-stealth-dash-cams-dr02d-review\/"},"modified":"2021-12-12T18:42:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T23:42:33","slug":"aukey-1080p-dual-stealth-dash-cams-dr02d-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brokenmount.com\/bm\/2021\/12\/10\/aukey-1080p-dual-stealth-dash-cams-dr02d-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What is the Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D?<\/h2>\n

If ever a product name told you everything you needed to know about it, it\u2019s the\u00a0Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D. A dual-dash cam bundle, it lets you record from the front and rear at the same time \u2013 impressive, given the price.<\/p>\n

The downside is that you don\u2019t get any advanced features, such as safety camera warnings. But for basic features, the Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D do the job.<\/p>\n

Related: Are dash cams legal?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D \u2013 Shooting specification<\/h2>\n

Things get off to a promising start with the core specification. Both dash cams use identical Sony Exmor IMX323 2.3-megapixel sensors. Each one is 1\/2.9-inch, which is a reasonable size for this kind of application. The field of view is slightly different between the two units, however. The front camera has a wide, 170-degree angle, whilst the rear covers 152 degrees.<\/p>\n

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The rear camera shoots exclusively at Full HD: 1920 x 1080 at 30fps. However, the front camera can also run at 720p with 60 or 30fps, WVGA (848 x 480) and VGA.<\/p>\n

The top resolution is recorded at 11Mbits\/sec, which is the same for both cameras. As such, if you have both cameras connected and recording at 1080p then a 16GB microSD memory card will be sufficient for 97 minutes of footage before looping begins to overwrite the oldest files with newer ones.<\/p>\n

Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D \u2013 Mounting options<\/h2>\n

The trend in dash cams seems to be towards permanent installation. The DR02D uses 3M adhesive pads for both front and rear units. However, it also includes spare mounts for both, with a couple of extra 3M pads each. The mounts don\u2019t provide adjustment, because the cameras themselves can be tilted in their units.<\/p>\n

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A couple of lengthy cables are included in the box \u2013 one to power the main unit, and a second one to provide power and receive the signal from the rear dash cam. The power cable ends in a standard USB Type A connection, and the cigarette lighter adapter is a separate unit, so if your car has USB power then you could use that.<\/p>\n

The adapter has two USB connections, so it\u2019s possible to power a satnav or your phone at the same time. I found it had no trouble powering a TomTom satnav.<\/p>\n

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The online description on Aukey\u2019s site and Amazon illustrates six clips to help you secure all the cabling around your car, but these didn\u2019t appear to be in the box I was sent. This was a shame, because it would have completed the mounting bundle nicely.<\/p>\n

Aukey 1080p Dual Stealth Dash Cams DR02D \u2013 Menu and configuration<\/h2>\n

Not surprisingly, the rear camera doesn\u2019t feature any control buttons or a screen. It works entirely as a slave to the main unit. The main unit has a 1.5-inch display and some buttons to alter settings. There isn\u2019t much to configure here, other than changing resolution and loop file size from the default three minutes to five or 10.<\/p>\n

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You can vary the exposure from -1 to +1 EV with seven steps to brighten or dim the final image. It\u2019s also possible to choose between 50Hz and 60Hz frequency to counteract light flicker, depending on the AC electrical frequency of your region (in the UK, it should be 50Hz). The accelerometer\/G Sensor has three sensitivity levels to help detect an impact automatically.<\/p>\n

You can also enable motion detection and time lapse, to provide surveillance when your car is parked.<\/p>\n

The DR02 doesn\u2019t have a built-in GPS or other related premium dash cam features. So you don\u2019t get safety camera warnings, general speed limit warnings, lane departure detection, collision detection, or alerts when the car in front of you starts moving in a stationary traffic jam. There\u2019s no Wi-Fi either. These omissions have enabled Aukey to get the price so low.<\/p>\n

Aukey Dual Dash Cameras DR02D \u2013 Image quality<\/h2>\n

Although Aukey focuses on the budget end of the market, it doesn\u2019t skimp on image quality. The resolution of the DR02 is only Full HD, and the data rate isn\u2019t massive \u2013 but the end results are very acceptable. There are clear signs of compression artefacts, but they tend to resolve so you can make out details and potentially pull out stills that would conclusively be able to identify people and vehicles involved in an incident.<\/p>\n

My primary test was on a very bright autumn day, with the sun low on the horizon \u2013 a scenario that will prove troublesome for any camera. The biggest problem with these conditions is picking up reflections from the car interior on the windscreen, although the emergence of the sun was also making the exposure flash. This was only temporary, however, whilst the reflections would remain.<\/p>\n