Sometimes when you’re driving, you wish that no one is watching. That's probably because you’re in something rear-wheel drive, the surface is slightly damp, and if you drop it to second and turn into that corner, it’ll be the most amount of fun - ever.
However, when things aren’t quite like that, and you’re driving as you should be, if ever there is an incident, the first thing you’d love to have is a witness. Wouldn’t it be great if that unblinking eye was on the inside of your car, just under your rear-view mirror, and you were able to pull up everything it records in a matter of seconds?
Well, the Miofive 4K dash cam is such a thing; coming in at £149.99, it’s not exactly at the top end of the dash cam market, nor is it a budget choice, but it certainly packs a lot of punch for its size. You’d think that this would be the top end of the Miofive range for its price and features. However, they also offer the Miofive 798 Pro for £189.
What can it see?
The fact that the camera can record at Ultra High-Definition (UHD) 4K (3840 x 2160p at 30 frames per second – or fps) is pretty impressive; you can pick out detail with the recording, numberplates and makes and models, all essential in case of an incident. It's said to capture four times more information than traditional driving recorders, and comes as close as you can get to ‘human eyes’.
The wide filming angle of 140 degrees also means you’ll be able to pick up on what is happening around you a little bit better. The drawback of this is that something 30 meters or so in front of you can look like a long way away on playback. You can get a screen grab and zoom in sometimes this doesn't always provide a very clear image. From the image above we can see a car with a trailer at a safe distance ahead and its numberplate isn't crystal to make out. A wide field of view is great but the compromise is that what's in front of you seems further away.
Seven sets of the high-transmittance lens mean that daylight is filtered, and with an aperture of f/1.8, the recordings are super crisp and clear.
The Sony Starvis Night Vision technology enables the Miofive to capture HD footage day or night; it will take clear, bright photos and videos in low light conditions, even on rainy days. This tech enables users to use the camera as a personal CCTV system for any bumps or physical movements detected in a low-light environment.
What can you see?
There’s a small 2.2-inch display, which allows you to see what is being recorded and how it looks. This screen is mainly for setting up the camera because once it’s up and running after about a minute, it turns itself off with a reassuring American voice telling you “Miofive continues to serve”. Having a screen showing you what you see is a relatively redundant thing once you’re moving and could only serve as a distraction.
Like the Garmin Mini 2, the Miofive tucks neatly under your rear-view mirror, so once it’s there, it’s pretty unnoticeable as you drive along; the cables are thin enough and small enough to be tucked under your trim, so you don’t have meters of cables dangling about. With the supplied cigarette lighter USB port keep your Miofive constantly charged.
You can unplug it and let it run, but if you do this, it will turn itself off once you stop moving, so you won’t have the luxury of knowing what’s going on with your car once it’s parked.
From the outside, again, because of its colour and size and where it’s located, it’s very discrete. It has a green light that flashes every minute or so as it runs – but this isn’t as dissimilar as your car's alarm light.
The tech inside
What’s cool about this dash cam is that it gives you access to so much information; there are six built-in Gyro sensors with motion locking and adjustable sensitivity. It has a three-axis gyroscope for up and down, forwards and backways and side-to-side movements and a three-axis accelerometer offering detection in the same three fields. This means the dashcam can accurately measure an incident, how hard you’re driving the car, and if you go over any bump in the road. This is vital information if you ever need help in a particular situation.
The sensor will also record how you are driving, so yes, while you can use this as evidence for your case, it can also do so if you’ve been driving erratically and too quickly. This is always something to bear in mind. It’ll tell you if you’ve been doing any ‘sudden acceleration ‘, sudden braking, or ‘sudden turns’. This will not only be viewable in the Miofive app's driving data but also tell you when it picks up these ‘sudden’ movements.
It will even record precisely where you are using a map to describe your location and tell you your speed and whether you’re going up or downhill. Again, all this information is vital in case of an incident or even to prove your innocence if you’ve been hit with a speeding fine or there wasn’t adequate signage on the road.
Sixty-four gigabytes of built-in eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard), which saves in a loop recording. So, in theory, you’ll never record something you want to keep. As saving videos is intuitive and easy, and what you want to keep takes seconds and can be saved straight to your smartphone – you should never be in a situation where you’ve recorded something you need as evidence.
The connective app will also help you set a reminder on your parking time, show you reports on how you’ve been driving, and pull the videos from the camera itself.
What’s not to like?
Sometimes you can feel like the gyro sensor is a touch too sensitive, you will sometimes turn a corner, and it’ll pick up on a ‘sudden turn’ and tell you to “drive safe”, which can be a bit annoying as you could have been driving perfectly safely.
The other thing to note is it will record audio – while this is perfectly fine as all this can be used in evidence to show you were not distracted or were not on the phone. It’ll also record all the times you have been on the phone and everything you will be talking about.
Price and competition
For what it offers, the MioFive is reasonably priced reasonably well; it has plenty of technology and storage and is intuitive and easy to use, with the App helping you store videos.
You can get a few dash cams around this price point; the Nextbase 522GW is in the same price bracket and CAR compared to its big brother, the 622GW. There is also a smattering of Garmin’s, but around this price, there’s all reasonably similar in terms of the angle of the lenses and what they can do. The Garmin 66W is the only one which offers a wider angle lens, and that is 180-degree.
Score: 4/5
Pros
• Easy to use
• Plug in and go
• Large amount of data is accessible
Cons
• Very chatty
• Gyro-sensor can be a bit too sensitive
Specifications
| CPU | Novatek Processor |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz |
| G-Sensor | Built-in 6 Gyro sesnsor |
| Storage | Built-in 64G eMMC |
| GPS | Built-in GPS |
| Camera | FOV 140, F1.8 |
| Screen | 2.2-inch IPS display |
Verdict
All in all, I found the Miofive easy to live with; it was there when I needed it and quiet and still working when I didn’t. The App is easy to use, and downloading images and videos are super simple.
The quality of video footage is good, and you can pull good screen grabs of number plates, the vehicle makes and models, etc. The added details you can overlay on videos, such as speed, distance and elevation gained in the video, can help you if needed.
This is a good-quality dash cam with just enough tech to do what you need without it being overly complicated.
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How the product was tested
Used regularly over time to get a feel for how it works and behaves, in the real world and download videos directly to my phone. Gauging an understanding of how the camera works and whether you can live with it or do without it.