The Best Dash Cams with Parking Mode: Top Picks for 2023

Not many drivers use dash cams, but in our opinion, EVERYONE who operates a motor vehicle should.

Why? Because it can really save you in a sticky situation.

Dash cams can help prove that you weren’t at fault in a car accident, and maybe even get you out of an unwarranted traffic ticket.

While most of the time people think about how dash cams can protect them while they’re out on the road, they are also quite helpful when you’re just parked!

In this guide, we will go over the best dash cams with parking mode to help you find the right gadget for your needs (and budget).

What Does “Parking Mode” Mean?

Dash cameras are designed to record the road in front of you (and behind you, front and rear dash cams will do that) while you are driving around.

Typically, they draw power from your car’s battery.

They turn on automatically when you start your engine and automatically record your driving activities.

If something ever happens, you can save the footage to be used for insurance purposes later.

Some cameras also have a “parking mode” that allows for some level of protection, even when your car is turned off.

Basically, this mode is designed to turn the camera on when a disturbance is detected.

So, for instance, if someone runs into your car while it’s parked, or someone smashes a window to break in – your camera starts recording immediately in order to capture key footage.

There are different levels of parking mode.

Budget cameras will often just have an impact detection mode, meaning if the car is hit it will essentially shake the camera enough to activate its emergency recording mode.

Higher-end cameras may use more advanced technology to turn recording on as soon as motion is detected, theoretically allowing it to capture more of the important details.

If you regularly leave your car parked on the street, it’s a great idea to have a dashboard camera with parking mode.

What are the Best Dash Cams with Parking Mode?

To compile this list, we used a combination of manufacturer specs, customer reviews (including our best dash cam from Reddit), and our own hands-on experience with these cams.

If you want a dash cam with parking protection, these are all great choices.

Overall Best Dash Cam with Parking Mode: Thinkware F770

The Thinkware F770 utilizes advanced technology to deliver the best overall protection while your car is parked.

The F770 actually draws some power from your car’s battery, even while the engine is off, which allows it to begin recording immediately as soon as motion is detected.

While most cams will only begin recording after a strong impact (such as someone crashing into your car), the F770 can kick on as soon as it senses motion nearby – resulting in more complete footage of potential accidents, car prowls, etc.

It’s NOT cheap, but it’s the best dash cam with parking mode  for 2019.

• Utilizes a combination of motion and impact detection
• Draws power from car battery to power motion detection technology
• Will not fully drain your battery (has auto shut-off feature)
• Both front and rear facing cameras
• Full HD/1080p recording
• Built in GPS dash cam
• Built in WiFi
• Great night vision recording (see does this camera made our top night vision dash cams list)
• Excellent reviews

Mid-Range Option: Z-Edge S3

The Z-Edge S3 is a great mid-range cam, and one of the best dash cams with parking mode.

Like our top pick, the S3 uses a combination of motion detection technology and impact detection components in order to record incidents while your vehicle is parked – although, you’ll need to play around with the settings in order to activate the motion detection.

This one also features both a front and rear-facing camera.

• Uses both motion detection
• Both front-facing and rear-facing cameras
• Both cameras offer 1080p HD recording (Need 4k recording? Our best dash cam with 4k recording article should help)
• Great night vision
• Excellent parking mode
• Discrete design
• Excellent reviews
• 1.5 year warranty included
• Click here to learn more

Budget-Friendly Option: Vantrue X1 Pro

The Vantrue X1 Pro is a solid camera and a budget-friendly dash cam.

It offers a parking mode that uses motion detection, but it needs to be hooked up to an external power source (like a battery) in order to work. It also only picks up motion in front of your car, so it’s somewhat limited.

With that said, it was an easy choice for our list of the best dash cams with parking mode, simply because it’s quite affordable and works pretty well.

• Uses motion detection for parking mode
• Needs to be plugged into external power source for parking mode
• Full HD recording
• Some reviews mentioned that it didn’t always turn on when there was movement near the vehicle
• 18 month warranty included

4. THINKWARE Q800PRO Dual Dash Cam

We are talking about a dual channel dash cam product utilizing a 2K full HD front camera and an additional 1080p rear HD camera as they both share a memory card.

Their capability to capture clean and crisp nighttime video recording is enabled by the Sony STARVIS image sensor.

Many types of parking modes featuring dashcams have been released by Thinkware which are all synchronized with their extra parking equipment, as well as the Cloud service provided by Thinkware. 

These data storage cloud services enable the detection of vehicle location at any time during the day. You will also get a notification on your cellular phone in case of an impact, as well as it has detected motion.

There is also a possibility to install a “GEO Fence” in case your vehicle passes into or gets out of a certain geographic location.

You will have to use mobile or car internet which is connectable to the Q800PRO to update you with notifications about these possible events from the cloud-related features.

The Q800PRO can use a recording mode on a time-lapse option which can shoot at 2FPS i.e. two frames per second.

In essence, the dashcam will shoot two images per second without recording the sound.

This setting saves power on the battery and lowers consumption as it always records from the camera. 

PROS

• Available time-lapse option when in parking mode
• Exquisite image quality enabled by Sony STARVIS image sensor
• Compatibility of the equipment with previous models produced by Thinkware

CONS

• Requires purchase of additional hardwire equipment & rear cam

FEATURES

• Time-lapse mode, impact & motion detection and energy saving mode
• 1 year warranty when purchased from authorized seller
• Advanced Cloud storage with sending impact notifications and vehicle location
• Night Vision 2.0 with the ability to capture license plates during night time

 This device provides all the necessary features to meet the standards of a trustworthy dash cam with parking mode.

It can also be counted among the products which are not particularly expensive in comparison to devices of its type.

5. Thinkware U1000 4K Dash Cam

In comparison to many models of 4K dash cams currently sold, Thinkware U1000 is a dual dash cam, having a main camera recording with its Sony Exmor 8MP R STARVIS image sensor with 4K 3840 x 2160p @ 30fps and a rear camera capturing 2560 x 1440p video at 2K.

This additional camera is produced for the rear window of your vehicle, as it is supposed to record a different direction of the road, in contrast to the interior facing cameras on other devices.

It additionally offers a cloud storage service capable of surveilling the current location of your vehicle, as well as sending notifications to your smartphone in case of detecting a collision or a major event.

For this work, you are required to have your mobile hotspot or internet access since this product doesn’t provide its connection to this feature like 4G LTE. 

In the scope of its proper parking mode, it includes aspects like movement and impact identification, as it also provides the possibility of detecting incoming cars via its radar detection module coming with an extra fee.

In case of an impact being detected, the feature is going to save the initial 10 seconds as well as the last 10 seconds on the storage device of the camera.

PROS

• Considerably better vision in comparison to other cameras of this class
• Cloud storage service enabling the surveillance of the current location
• Offers 360 panoramic view with its dual property

CONS

• Doesn’t provide its own internet connection

FEATURES

• The new and improved 8 42MP Sony STARVIS image sensor provides license reading
• Video coverage with the 150-degree viewing angle
• Noise reduction and image quality enhancement in low-light conditions – Super Night Vision
• 1 year of warranty when purchased from an authorized seller

All in all it offers a good image quality but its connection with smartphone devices is complicated since it doesn’t provide its own internet access.

It is also pretty expensive but all other features regarding this product make it worth the money invested in it.

A solid option for the buyers intending to invest in quality-products.

6. BlackVue DR900S-2CH

Blackvue has produced this dual dashcam device consisting of a high-quality 4K on its main camera, which captures 3840×2160 @ 30FPS using a 162-degree wide lens angle with its 8MP CMOS image sensor.

Its additional rear camera captures videos with a 1920×1080 @ 30FPS HD resolution through a 139 angle lens using its 2MP image sensor produced by STARVIS.

Despite having a memory card, Blackvue also has a remotely controlled cloud storage ability which is an integral part of the DR900S.

This feature enables sending and receiving data from your security camera unit utilizing your mobile or vehicle installed internet connection.

You will be informed regarding the location of your car at just any time during day and night, as well as store videos to the cloud memory from a remote place, get a notification on your smartphone device in case a major event involving your car is detected while your car is parked.

In case you don’t choose to use the available cloud service, you will still have the option to utilize the integrated WiFi feature to connect your dashcam directly to your smartphone, which will provide you with watching, downloading and changing the settings on your camera.

PROS

• Clear and crisp image due to high-performance image sensors
• Remotely controlled cloud storage in addition to a memory card
• Integrated Wi-Fi feature

CONS

• It may be expensive

FEATURES 

• 4K Ultra High definition recording capability
• Integrated GPS & Dual band Wi-Fi
• Packed with impact & motion detection
• Able to operate on temperatures from -20 °C to 70 °C

For several years, Blackvue is renowned for being a paramount producer of high-quality parking mode dash cameras.

Due to their high-performance parking mode auxiliary features that show the success on the market, it is very usual for the owner of expensive cars who can buy any kind of vehicle security systems available, to opt for this producer.

7. Mini 0906 Review

We are talking about the Chinese Mini series which is characterized by a dual dash cam capturing at a 1080p resolution.

It may record videos with fairly high quality while being sold at a very popular price in comparison to other 2x1080p cameras.

The license plates are easily readable when they are captured both by the main and rear cameras, although the footage may not be the clearest one.

This will still meet the standards of a security system camera, as we know that it isn’t intended for creating scenic drive videos with artistic quality. 

The Mini 0906 device is integrated with the classic Mini series stealth factor, which is a tiny dashboard camera utilizing a 1.5-inch screen with a built-in GPS.

Utilizing Sony Exmor sensors, this dual dash cam may capture at a quality rate of 12 Mbps by both its front and rear cameras.

The SD card used by this device can be up to 128GB(find out which is the best memory card for dash cam in our review).

The producer of the brand recommends class 10 or higher memory cards produced by Sandisk, Kingston, or Samsung.

Using such a memory space, you are enabled to capture more than 11.5 hours of non-stop recording with both front and rear cameras.

When the memory is full, the loop recording will begin overwriting the oldest files.

In case the g-sensor of the camera device identifies an impact, the software will prevent the possible overwriting of the impact footage.

The footage that you wish to keep may be manually protected by pressing the lock file button.

In the case of driving in bright sunlight, the camera includes a CPL filter which is of great use with glare and reflections on the windshield.

You may take this protection off if you consider your night time videos to be too dark.

If you want to start recording with the parking mode, you can connect the camera device to the cigarette lighter or the featured hard-wire kit.

The parking mode dash cams of the Mini 0906 record at a reduced frame rate.

When the dash cam identifies an impact via its G-sensor or visually detects movement, it will start recording at a usual frame rate of @30FPS for 15 seconds before switching back to a reduced frame rate.

PROS

• Camera can be connected to the cigarette lighter to activate the parking mode
• Stealth design is particularly useful for lesser noticeability

CONS

• The footage may not always be the clearest one
• No cloud storage

FEATURES

• Motion Detection activates the recording immediately when movement is identified
• GPS module included in the package
• Integrated Wi-Fi
• HD 1080P@30fps recording and super night vision effect

Since this dual dash camera has been available on the market for a very short period, it is early to say anything regarding its reliability.

If the quality proves to be satisfactory, it will prove to be a great improvement to the Mini series, contributing to solid quality footage from both sides at a very affordable price. 

8. Anker Roav C1

The Roav C1 model represents the pioneer dashboard camera by the renowned Chinese company Anker.

This company maintains an excellent reputation for extraordinary customer support, in contrast to other Chinese producers.

Despite probably being the first dash cam producers offering telephone support for countries like the US, UK, Japan, and Germany, they also offer email support around the world.

Due to its design made in a stealthy wedge shape, this camera maintains a low profile (such as others on our top hidden dash cams list).

It may be directly attached to the vehicle windshield with an attaching pad which makes the usage of a bulky mount unnecessary.

It’s made up of solid material, with the general use of high-quality matter, as well as metal added to its edges. 

Although the video quality of the Roav C1 is not great, it is still good.

The footage of the Anker can certainly be sharper in comparison to dashcams like the Viofo A199, as it records with a 1080p @30fps resolution.

Although it is difficult to capture the license plates, particularly during night time, the colors captured by this device are still vivid.

It means that the video quality of this dash camera is good during the day, and satisfactory during night time.

One of the most positive sides of this camera in comparison to other devices of this grade is that it has a plain parking mode triggered by impacts.

As an advantage in comparison to other dashcams, the Anker Roav does not necessitate hardwiring for these purposes.

It is powered with an internal 470mAh battery in its parking mode.

In case of detecting an impact, the device is turned on and begins recording a 30 seconds file.

The manufacturer guarantees that the Roav battery has sufficient power to capture about 30 of these videos.

A disadvantage regarding this feature is that the camera necessitates about 7 seconds to turn the recording mode on, so the perpetrator may get enough time to get out of the scene.

This dashcam requires to be manually activated in the camera menu to activate parking supervision.

You can control the Roav C1 parking mode dash cam through your smartphone and download video clips as it is Wi-Fi capable.

Android and iOS provide apps for this device.

PROS

• Stealthy wedge shape design
• Excellent telephone and e-mail support for customers

CONS

• Usage of a battery instead of a capacitor (see our top dash cam with a capacitor to find out desired dash cam)
• Not the best image quality and difficulty to capture license plates during night time

FEATURES

• Instant Video Access enabling downloading recordings directly on the phone
• G-sensor activating the camera in case of movement or collision
• 12 month product replacement
• Sony Exmor sensor providing wide angle lens

Despite not capturing the best image quality on its videos, this camera still has its advantages in the form of great design quality as well as an excellent customer support service.

Although it uses a large battery which also makes it sensitive to extreme temperature in warmer climates(if You need a dash cam for hot weather check our review), it still has a very simple parking mode.

Still, a capacitor-based dash cam should be considered for people living in warmer regions.

9. Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO

This product is a single-channel version of the Street Guardian SG9663DC, having the possibility of including an additional rear camera(maybe from our list of best rear view mirror dash cameras).

It is a replacement for the SGGCX2, which is a model with discontinued production.

The design of both of them is not so different, taking into account that X2PRO has the exact look like the X2 aside from the fact that the AV-out port is replaced by a separately available connection to the additional rear camera.

In the future, Street Guardian is intending to include a wide range of rear camera options, with the inclusion of a water-resistant camera-mountable on the exterior of the car.

The rear dash camera is  an everyday model with a possibility of mounting on the inside of the rear window.

This device can capture video recordings at 1080p, which is similar to other Street Guardian dash cams.

It can perform with a @60FPS image quality when it is operating at a single channel mode.

Both of its channels may run at 1080p with @30FPS when you add a rear camera.

In cases of traveling with high velocity, you will still have the general ability to read the license plates with no need to pause the video.

There may be a possibility for the license plates to be faded by the headlights of your car during the night, which is still an occurrence possible with the majority of dash cams available on the market.

Although the camera does not include WiFi connection, it is still possible to easily set it up and use it with its 1.5” screen.

Connectors for the power cable, the integrated external GPS mouse, and the additional rear camera are positioned on its top.

PROS

• Ability to recognize license plates even while travelling at high speed
• Both channels may run at 1080p with @30FPS

CONS

• The camera does not include a Wi-Fi connection
• It necessitates the purchase of an additional rear camera

FEATURES

• Capability of capturing @60FPS
• It uses the IMX291 EXMOR image sensor
• 2 years of warranty and lifetime customer support
• Once set it doesn’t require much setting

The X2PRO works with exquisite image qualities during the day, while still maintaining very good resolution at night.

Comparable to the SG9663DC model, the video quality of the rear camera maintains a good quality.

The SGGCX2PRO continues to be ranked as one of the best dash cameras, maintaining the highest video quality in comparison to other devices of its type.

10. Viofo A119 v3

Being purchasable for less than $100 in its elementary arrangement, the Viofo A110 V3 represents the most affordable parking mode dash cams.

It is also able to work with several different parking features.  

The quality of the dash cam is excellent during the daytime, and solid at night time.

Its maximum performance runs at an extraordinary 30.8 Mbps, while you can additionally set to decrease its bitrate to make more space at the SD card. 

The maximum video resolution may be tuned to 2560×1600 pixels.

The largest part of the users chooses to use the camera at 2560×1440 resolution as the format maintains its width at the expense of its height.

Nothing decreases at 1440p, except the sensor, utilizes fewer pixels.

Your device will be recording a smaller part of the sky above the road, which won’t represent a big problem.

The device can also support reduced resolutions including 1080p at 60 @FPS and 720p at @120FPS.

Nonetheless, to get the best video quality, we strongly advise the usage of the 1440p resolution.

This A119 model is shaped in the same wedge-style similar to the former A119 devices.

From the aspect of functionality and stealthiness, it is similar to its predecessors.

It contains 5 buttons under its 2” display.

Generally speaking, the device is pretty easy to install and use.

At an extra cost, you can also purchase a CPL filter which may reduce reflections while traveling on bright sunlight.

It would be good to remove the CPL filter during night time, as it prevents a portion of the light from reaching the camera sensor.

Additionally, a GPS connection can be purchased.

There is a GPS antenna integrated into the mount of the camera.

There are two non-GPS mounts of different thickness helping with setting windshield configurations.

A slightly thicker GPS mount can be purchased at an extra cost.

If you intend to use GPS mounts from previous Viofo models, it is useful to know that they are not compatible.

This model does not support Wifi. It utilizes SD cards up to 256GD in size.

Its memory slot can contain more than 18 hours of video at a bit rate of 30 Mbps.

PROS

• One of the most affordable parking mode dash cams
• Easy to install and use
• Stealthy wedge design

CONS

• Does not support WiFi

FEATURES

• True parking mode which operates at high quality instead of recording frame by frame
• Buffered recording saving recordings 15 seconds prior to the event and 30 seconds after
• Motion and Collision Detection via the G-sensor
• Includes the new 5MP STARVIS sensor by SONY

This product has experienced success from the very day of its release on the market.

In comparison to many Chinese brands, Viofo is established for associating exquisite video quality together with exceptional reliability while maintaining affordable prices.

They gained popularity and became the most appreciated producers of low-cost dash cameras with approved quality.

The Viofo A119 V3 model is expected to reach better performance in comparison to its predecessors (A119 V1 and V2) which did not prove to be trustworthy.

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