Garmin Dash Cam™ Mini 3, Ultracompact 1080p HD Dash Cam with a 140-degree Field of View, Built in Clarity™ Polarizer, Voice Controlled, Automatic Recording

Needed a new dash cam that recorded in 4K and Garmin was one of only a few that had an option to automatically upload video clips to the cloud (via paid subscription). This cam is everything you expect from Garmin; high quality manufacturing and materials, great packaging and instructions, and easy to use and set up. Three negatives: it’s very expensive, it doesn’t include a micro USB card unlike some competitors, and it doesn’t include a suction cup windshield mount (that’s sold separately at a ridiculous price of $25). Otherwise, it works extremely well, is made extremely well, and is a very compact size with an attractive non-glare matte finish. If you want the best and are willing to pay a high price (plus another $100-150 on top for all the additional parts you’ll need), this is a great choice.

I purchased this from Amazon a few days ago as well as the Constant Power Cable.So far, I'm loving it.I subscribed and connected it to LTE service through Garmin for $10 a month for 7 days of saved video. It's then connected to the OBDII port using the Constant Power Cable. Over three nights of testing, I've been able to remotely connect to the dash cam to view the live feed perfectly. At work, it successfully sent me a notification of an event and uploaded the event video to the cloud a minute later.This leads to the one downside. This dash cam does not have a rear camera which is really lame. Nothing occurred in the front view video so I assume that, being in a parking garage, the vibrations of a passing car set it off. If so, it's annoying that I didn't have a rear camera to see the event but I am happy with the fact that the camera is sensitive enough to pick that up.However, you can purchase one of their Mini cams for about $130 and route it into the Constant Power Cable as it has two USB ports on it. You will not get live parking mode alerts with that camera unless your vehicle is within range of your WiFi network. If you live in an apartment and park 50-80 yards from your building like me and want live parking mode alerts with your rear camera, you'll need a 2nd Dash Cam Live and a 2nd $10 a month subscription. I'll be doing one or the other but most likely just purchasing a 2nd Live cam to get the full power of the system. With competitors LTE cameras you're paying $600+ so you're really only paying maybe $100-200 more or even less considering how you power the device.I was set on getting a BlackVue LTE camera but the reviews of the app have been really bad - like unusable in some cases so I opted for the rock solid interface of the Garmin. The BlackVue ones start at $470, with a $11 a month LTE subscription but if you want the parking mode, you need to hardwire it to the battery (which I'd never want to do) or get one of their battery packs which are $160-$390.The power of this camera is that you have LTE service with parking mode alerts and video upload. If somebody were to try stealing your wheels in the middle of the night, you get an alert. If somebody breaks your window and steals stuff in your car, you'll get an alert as well as a video uploaded to the cloud in the case that they remove your SD card or steal the camera altogether. If somebody steals your car, and doesn't remove the camera, you have GPS tracking. If you need to check anything, you can turn on the Live View etc.Setup and installation was a breeze - took an hour including routing the cable through the rubber gaskets around the door and floor.There isn't much more to say right now other than a few things I learned through my chat with support and reading manuals:1 - The Garmin knows to enter parking mode through the OBDII port diagnostics.2 - When using parking mode, KEEP THE APP OPEN but in the background! Otherwise it doesn't send notifications.3 - When in parking mode, it isn't constantly recording and draining power. If an event occurs (a vibrational incident), then the camera starts filming and records/uploads the event.4 - The Constant Power Cable can be switched between operating for 10m, 24 hours or infinitely. I do really wish it had a 12 hour setting here to cover the night time/sleeping only. It's silly that there isn't a 12 hour option or one between 10m and 24 hours.5 - The Constant Power Cable has battery voltage protection so it won't drain your battery to nothing. It will shut off after 10 minutes if it detects the battery is under 12v.

The 3 is much better than previous versions. The app interface is still slower than it should be to connect and view. And the app really needs to be streamlined and made easier and more intuitive. There are some Chinese brands that have a great app, wish Garmin could figure that part out.But the size of the camera and ease of placement is just unmatched.

Great product with a fair picture I noticed you could not read a lot of license plates. The one downfall is you do not have the ability to invert the picture. If you mount the camera on your dash versus the windshield you're stuck with an upside down picture. Seems where the foolish for a company like Garman not to provide the ability to invert the picture. I ended up returning this and still waiting for the refund.

I once looked at Garmin as a leader of devices, not after this.Quick tip: Only download with the card outside of the camera, or it will take an hour for a minute long video on wireless with the app.Intermittently records; It has a mind of its own. It decided to not record for minutes.Doesn't have a 5 minute loop option, except 1-3 minutes if I remember? Yet records for longer.It takes much longer to automatically turn on when the car is on. I would say 12 seconds. If I was in a rush it still wouldn't be on.The wireless connection is extremely sensitive even when right next to it. I recall seeing more than half the screen in brown color when reviewing the live feed, randomly freezing or disconnecting entirely.The connection takes a very long time to do, holding the photo button and waiting, it takes a much longer time than other devices I have used (Instant vs. 20-30 seconds).Downloading a video, good luck doing that wirelessly. 1% to 2% in a minute for a 1 minute long video. I ended up cancelling that for sure.The app side video downloading area is a wreck. You are shown you can actively shorten the video into a section you download, but it decides for its self whether you can or not. You can't move the slider over to create a section until you retry several times.I recall there being little to no settings options.The blue and red lights were confusing, one minute both are on, the next just one light, the next one off the other blinking. You look online for what they mean and they have a helpful visual, but you're left guessing what it's doing because the blinks are a little close together to immediately know.I was confused because it said if it was blinking like it was it was saving..I have had a Garmin Nuvi GPS since 2008 that still works. Battery lasts for a minute then dies, but overall the settings are pretty straightforward and things work.So what happened in those 17 years? It's like they went backwards. Unless this a scam product I just don't understand, Garmin.I ended up getting the Rove R2-4K, which is the same cost and it's not a piece of trash, it's great quality unlike this thing. Rove actually tried to give options.