Best Night Vision Dash Cams

While many people shopping for a new dash cam focus on features like the resolution and whether or not it captures video at 1080p HD or 4K, something often overlooked is how well the dash cam records video at night. To get the best nightvision it is not so much related to the dash cams resolution, but what image sensor it uses. To record video in near dark or almost dark with the light of your cars headlights, it needs to have a decent resolution (1080p and up) paired with an image sensor that can properly process the low light setting.

Most cheap or low-end dash cams being sold use the lowest quality image sensors in order to drive the prices down. This is usually at the sacrifice of a crisp picture and good night vision. One of the top image sensor brands out there for dash cams is Sony. If the dash cam has a Sony image sensor you know it is typically going to be superior in many ways from those with a generic image sensor. A runner up to Sony sensors is OmniVision image sensors, which can be found in many mid range dash cams.

Things to help improve your cars camera operating at night are to make sure that the dash cam is installed under your windshields sun guard that is a colored, tinted strip on the top area of some windshields. This will drastically worsen the performance at night in dark conditions if the camera lens is pointed through a window tint. Also, make sure you do not have a CPL filter on at night. A CPL, or Circular Polarizing Lens filter is used to reduce sun glare during sunny days, however, this will significantly darken the view through your dash cam lens and lead to poor night time recording performance.

Top 5 Night Vision Dash Cams of 2023

#5 Vantrue N1 Pro Mini

Our best night vision budget dash cam pick is the Vantrue N1 Pro Mini which records in 1080p HD video. With its “Sony Night Vision Sensor” (IMX323) paired with the NOVATEK NT96658 processor it is able to capture high quality night time video footage at an affordable price. With its 256GB microSD card capacity you will be able to record hours of HD video before it starts to overwrite the old files. Using a 160° degree wide angle lens ensures you will capture the entire front area of your car, both day and night.

With its night vision capabilities you might want to use the Vantrue N1 parking mode features to keep an eye on your car throughout the night when you are parked. Using parking mode will allow you to have motion and impact detection activated on the N1. This will start recording if it detects an impact or motion in front of the camera. In order to use the parking mode feature you will want to use a hardwire kit or an external dash cam battery, as the N1 Pro Mini battery is not meant to power the dash cam for an extended period of time.

The N1 Pro Mini has the ability to use GPS data and watermark your videos with your speed and coordinates, however, this requires the purchase of an optional GPS mount module.

With its hanging suction cup mount, it makes it easy to install and remove from your cars windshield. This is a nice feature to have if you plan on switching cars regularly or are a semi truck driver who does not own the rig and want to remove the dash cam after your shift, a suction cup mount can also come in handy when driving a rental car out of town.

Vantrue N1 Pro Mini Specs

#4 Vantrue N2 Pro

The N2 Pro from Vantrue is what’s called a rideshare or Uber dash cam that is a dual cam setup in one unit. One lens points out towards the front of your car like a traditional dash camera and the other lens points inwards towards the interior of your car to record passengers. The front camera uses a Omnivision OV4689 image sensor which is capable of recording crisp night time video footage of the road ahead. The interior facing camera is an infrared lens and uses 4 IR LED lights with a f/2.0 aperture and uses the Sony IMX323 image sensor, giving you true night vision inside of your car. When only recording with the front camera it records 2560x1440P HD video @ 30fps. When you have both front and interior cameras recording they are each set at 1080p HD. The front camera has a wide 170° lens angle to capture the full width of your car and the interior cam uses a 140° lens angle which is plenty to view both sides of the inside of your car.

If you’re not an Uber, Lyft or Taxi driver, the Vantrue N2 Pro can still be useful while in parking mode to capture a thief breaking into your car. Using the parking mode feature on the N2 will automatically start recording when motion or a major impact is detected. To use parking mode on the N2 you will need to install a hardwire kit that taps into your cars fuse boc and battery or get an external dash cam battery bank.

There is an optional GPS module mount that can track your location and speed, directly displaying them on the video file.

Vantrue N2 Pro Specs

#3 Street Guardian SG9663DCPRO

The newer version of the Street Guardian SG9663DC features a SONY EXMOR R CMOS Image Sensor on the front camera. With the newer PRO version of the SG9663DC dash cam, the rear camera has had the image sensor upgraded to a Sony IMX291 Sensor. Both front and rear cams shoot at full 1080p HD video @ 30FPS. Along with the Sony image sensors, the dash cam uses a Novatek 96663 Processor. With it’s large microSD card capacity of 512GB you will be able to record days and days of video before the camera will start to loop back over and record the oldest videos files. Having a large memory card like this can be nice for long road trips where you want to use the time lapse feature that captures small photo clips as you drive. The front camera has a 127° lens angle, which is on the lower side, but should be enough to cover the majority of the front of your car.

With the included GPS logger module you can watermark your videos with your location and speed.

Using the free Street Guardian Dashcam Viewer APP you can use your Android, iOS iPhone or tablet to remotely connect to the Street Guardian SG9663DCPRO. While connected through the dash cams WiFi you are able to remotely view videos and download them directly on to your phone. If you don’t want to use the APP, you can use the 2 inch LCD screen on the back of the dash cam to view videos and make dash cam setting changes.

Powered by a capacitor rather than a better, the SG9663DCPRO is able to withstand high heats and cold winter weather.

Street Guardian SG9663DCPRO Specs

#2 THINKWARE U1000 4K Dash Cam

The U1000 is THINKWARE’s newest dash cam that shoots in real 4K video. The U1000 is sold as a single dash camera or as a dual dash cam with an optional rear cam, although most sales for the U1000 include the rear camera. The main front camera uses a Sony Exmor R STARVIS image sensor for clear night time video. You can record in full 4K and get 30 frames per second, or drop it to 2K and get 60 frames per second, which can help capture license plate numbers while in motion. The rear camera records in full 2K. The front camera has a mid range 150° lens angle, while the back cam has a 156° field of view.

With its in parking mode features and top night vision video it can help protect your car when parked at night. The parking mode will start recording when there is an impact or motion is detected. You can also set it up to continuously record in a timelapse mode while in parked to capture everything. You can use the THINKWARE Cloud APP to connect your phone or tablet directly to the U1000 with its built-in WiFi. This dash cam APP lets you remotely view video, change camera settings and download videos directly on to your phone or tablet. You can also have it send your phone push notifications if there is an even like a major impact or motion is detected while in the parking mode setting.

With the built-in GPS you can monitor the cars location and speed as well as watermark your videos with coordinates and current speed.

With its internal capacitor it can withstand heat and cold better than a dash camera with a battery.

THINKWARE U1000 Specs

#1 VIOFO A129 Pro Duo 4K

With its Sony 8MP IMX317 capturing real 4K video on the front camera, the A129 Pro Duo from VIOFO is one of the best dual dash cams out there for clear and crisp night time video. Not only does the front camera use a Sony image sensor, the rear camera uses a Sony IMX 291 image sensor. While recording in 4K (3840x2160p) the back camera can record at 1080P (1920 x 1080P), both at 30 frames per second. It has a 256GB microSD card capacity, giving you hours of recording time. When the memory card fills up, it loops back around and records the oldest video files, each video file is 1 to 10 minutes in length.

The main A129 Pro Duo front camera has a 130° lens angle, while the rear camera has a 140° field of view. The back of the camera main, front camera unit has a 2 inch LCD screen on the back where you can view videos and make dash cam setting changes. With the A129 Pro Duo’s built-in WiFi you can also view and download videos directly on to your smart phone using the free VIOFO Android or iOS APP.

Parking mode is an included feature that allows you to monitor your car 24/7 with impact and motion detection. A hardwire kit (~$15) or external battery is required to use this feature.

With its included GPS module you can watermark your videos with your speed and coordinates. The GPS feature can be disabled if you don’t want that displayed on your videos.

Because the A129 does not use an internal battery, but instead a capacitor it is able to withstand high heat on hot summer days and cold winter nights.

A129 Pro Duo Specs

Things to consider when buying a night vision dash cam

Infrared Lights

Many higher end Uber/Taxi type dash cams that record the inside of the car cabin will have infrared or “IR” led lights, which can record video in complete darkness. These typically only work well at close distances, like inside your car, but not if they were on the front camera, recording 10+ feet out on to the road, which is why you will rarely see them on the front camera, just interior cameras.

Parking Mode

Many people want a dash cam that can look over their car when it is parked during night in the dark. If you want a dash cam that can detect when people walk up to the front of the car, you are going to want a dash cam with a good motion detection and parking mode feature. Once it detects a person walking towards your car it will begin recording. If it’s after dark, this is when it is important to have a dash cam with good night vision.

Image Sensor

If you try to save money and buy a dash cam for anything less than $50, there is a good chance that it has a cheap image sensor that will not perform well at night. It’s worth spending the extra money to get a quality image sensor, like a SONY STARVIS sensor. Because Sony is a name brand, it will increase the price of the dash cam, although we believe it is worth the price.

Video Resolution

While there are 4K dash cams now for sale, you should still be able to get clear and crisp night time video footage with a 1080p or 2K dash cam. The quality of the image sensor plays a bigger role in the night vision of the dash cam than the actual video resolution. You wouldn’t want to go any lower than 1080p though.