Which Road Angel dash cam should you buy?

Road Angel currently list thirteen dash cams, several of which are the same camera in a different box. That is a lot of choosing for a purchase most people make once, so this is the version we would give you on the phone.

Start with the only question that matters

A dash cam that films a collision but cannot resolve the other car's number plate has given you a video, not evidence. Everything else — screens, apps, quick-release mounts — is convenience. Resolution is the thing that decides whether the footage is any use.

• Full HD (1080p) covers a daylight collision at ordinary distances. That is most claims.
• 1296p, on the Halo Go 2, is a slightly taller frame than Full HD and picks up a little more of the road.
• 2K (1440p) is the step where plates stay readable in poorer light and further back.
• 4K (2160p) is what you want for night driving, unlit streets, or motorway distances.
• A Sony Starvis or Starvis 2 sensor matters as much as the pixel count. Resolution without a good sensor falls apart the moment headlights are involved.

The front-only cameras

The Halo Start 2, Halo Ignite 2 and Halo Go 2 are all compact front-only cameras at the same price. The differences between them are small — the Go 2 records at 1296p rather than 1080p, which is the reason we stock that one rather than the other two.

The Halo Drive 2 sits above them at 1440p, and the Halo Edge is the interesting one: a full 4K front camera with GPS, for less than most dual kits. If you genuinely do not want a rear camera, the Edge is the most camera you can get for the money.

The Halo Play 4K Single adds a 3.2 inch screen to a similar idea. Whether that is worth the difference comes down to whether you would rather press a button than open an app.

The front and rear kits

This is where most people should be looking, because the incident nobody owns up to is usually behind you — a car park knock, or being rear-ended at a junction.

• Halo Spark Dual — Full HD front and rear, dual parking mode and winter mode. The sensible minimum.
• Halo Pro — 2K front, Full HD rear, and Road Angel's most reviewed camera. The default recommendation.
• Halo Guardian 2K+ — effectively the Pro with a 3.2 inch screen on the camera and GPS.
• Halo Play 4K Dual and Halo Ultima — 4K dual kits with quick-release mounts.
• Halo Elite — 4K front, Full HD rear, and Sony Starvis 2 sensors at both ends. The flagship, and the only one where the rear camera gets the good sensor too.

The mirror cameras

The Halo Vision 2, Vision 3 and View 3 build the camera into a 10 inch mirror that sits over your existing one. Switched off it is a mirror; switched on it is a live display of the rear camera, which is genuinely useful in a van or a loaded estate.

Vision 3 and View 3 are near-identical 4K units — the View 3 adds a reverse parking aid that brings up guidelines when you select reverse. Vision 2 is the older 1440p version at a lower price.

The trade-off with all of them is fitting time, because the mirror comes off and the rear feed is routed through the vehicle. The upside is that nothing goes on the windscreen at all.

Which ones we fit, and why not all of them

We fit seven: the Go 2, Edge, Spark, Pro, Guardian, Vision 3 and Elite. That covers every price point and every format — front-only, front and rear, and mirror — without stocking three cameras that do the same job.

The ones we have left out are mostly duplicates. Three of the compacts are the same camera at the same price. The View 3 and Vision 3 differ by one feature. And we would not fit refurbished stock to a customer's car and then warrant the work.

If you have already bought a Road Angel we do not list, that is not a problem — we will still fit it, hardwire it and set the parking mode up properly.

Four questions that settle it

1. 1.Do you need the back of the car covered? If yes, that rules out the Go 2 and the Edge immediately.
2. 2.How much do you drive at night, and is the car parked under a streetlight or in the dark? The darker the answer, the more the sensor matters and the further up the range you should be looking.
3. 3.Would you rather check a clip on the camera or on your phone? A screen is the difference between the Pro and the Guardian.
4. 4.Do you want anything visible on the windscreen at all? If not, the mirror units are the only answer.

And whichever you land on, have it hardwired. A camera on the 12V socket stops recording the moment you switch the ignition off, which rules out parking mode entirely — and parking mode is what covers the hours the car spends unattended.