NextBase may be a new name to you, but the company produces a range of dashboard cameras along with in-car DVD players. The 402G Professional is their most expensive dash cam. But does it offer the image quality to live up to the price tag?
The NextBase 402G shot to the top of the class as our highest-scoring dash cam. Thanks to its good quality in daylight and at night, this dash cam earns itself a Best Buy rating - and outperforms several models which cost twice as much. The NextBase is the best dash cam we've tested by quite a margin; if you can stretch to around £150 for a dash cam, this is the one to go for.
What is it?
The 402G Professional is NextBase's top of the range dash cam. This dash cam gives a wide 140 degree view of the road ahead and has a lens which lets lots of light in - meaning bright and clear footage during day and night.
The 402G is packed with useful features, such as GPS tracking (which shows your location should you need to prove where a collision took place), and it measures g force - automatically saving footage of collisions or moments of heavy braking. This device records high quality Full-HD video and has a large 2.7-inch screen for playing back footage in the car.
How good is video quality?
Video quality from the NextBase is excellent. In bright light footage is sharp, number plates and street signs are easily legible from more than 15m away, and you should have no trouble using footage to prove exactly what happened in the event of a collision.
The camera does struggle slightly in very bright direct sunlight and driving on unlit roads at night where there is a noticeable drop in detail, but overall quality is still better than any other device tested. The 402G shows a good level of detail even over longer distances and in our night test we could read number plates from around 10m away.
How easy is it to use?
The 402G is very easy to use once mounted. Plug the dash cam into your car's cigarette lighter or power point and the camera automatically starts recording when you switch on the car ignition. Should the memory card fill up the 402G automatically starts recording over the oldest footage.
This dash cam also registers g force and automatically saves footage of collisions or heavy braking. These are then protected from being overwritten, meaning that you can download footage straight to your computer when you get home. The 402G is compact enough to be positioned behind a rear view mirror, where it is only partially visible, making it far from intrusive.
Is there anything I should watch for?
While the 402G is easy to use and mount on your windscreen it is tricky to remove the camera from the mount. If you want to adjust any settings while on the move, the onscreen menus are a little difficult to navigate, thanks to odd button placement.
Is there anything else I should know?
This dash cam records crisp, clear audio and gives you the option of taking still photos; which may come in handy if you have a collision and need to take photos at the scene.
The power cable is long at nearly 4m, so you should be able to route it unobtrusively around the windscreen and down to the power outlet. The dash cam also has a parking mode, where as long as it's plugged in it should automatically start recording if someone drives into your car.
Should I buy it?
Yes. The NextBase is head and shoulders above all the other dash cams we've tested - even those that cost twice as much. Daylight quality is very good with number plates clearly legible most of the time. The camera also performed better than rivals at night and it is packed with useful features including GPS location tracking, a still camera option and event recording - where footage of collisions is automatically saved.
Take into account the price and we'd highly recommend this compact dash cam.
Pros: Good daylight quality, stronger low light performance than rivals. Many features. Good value.
Cons: Could show more details in low light. Tricky to remove camera from mount.
