70mai M300 Dashcam Review: Budget Car DVRs meet Reliable Parking Mode
Dashcams are a must-have can accessory nowadays. The market is diverse, and with continuous development in technology, they are getting better and expensive. So, here is a dashcam that is good and cheap, 70mai M300. The 40$ dashcam is the latest from 70mai; the specs and features show potential.
So, let’s not waste any of your time and start our unbiased review of the 70mai M300 dashcam.
Overview
In a hurry, read this short overview stating the pros and cons of the 70mai M300 dashcam.
Pros
- Incredibly cheap
- Good video quality
- Handy parking surveillance feature
- Beautiful appearance
- Good viewing angle
- Functional app
Cons
- Lose mount
- No microphone
- Noisy video in lowlight
70mai M300 – Price
70mai M300 is an affordable dashcam, the base price is 40$, but you can avail 40% discount by buying it from the link below. We can expect a rather basic device at 40$, and fancy features are out of the discussion. Let’s learn more about the device.
70mai M300 – Unboxing
The outer cover is beautiful; it has a pleasing blue colour with highlights printed on a side. The box is made out of black cardboard; the contents are efficiently and safely placed.
In the box, we have the dashcam, USB-A to micro-USB cable, adhesive sticker, electrostatic sticker and cigar light charger. The cigar light charger has only one port. I can remember that 70mai used to two ports cigar light charger. The hardware kit is sold separately.
Appearance and Build Quality
M300 has a beautiful appearance; it follows the minimalist design trend. It is available in three colours Rose Gold, Navy and Black, the one I am reviewing is black. The camera has a cylindrical shape with a lens and logo on the front side and a sticker with some information on the camera’s back. On the left side, there is a control button and an LED indicator. On the top side, we have holes to attach the mount. The right side has the microUSB port and SDcard port. The stock mount has an adhesive that will stick to your car’s windscreen. Moreover, there are holes on the sides and bottom of the camera for the speaker.
The build quality is not quite good, but if we consider it a 40$ device, then the build quality is admirable. There is no issue with the body; the only problem is with the mount and the lugs on the camera.
Technical Specifications
- Processor: SSC333DE
- Image Sensor: 3MP SC3335
- Battery: 240mAh
- Speaker: Yes
- Microphone: No
- SD card: up to 128GB
- Wi-Fi: Yes
- Video Encoding: h.264, h.265
70mai M300 – Features
70mai M300 is an excellent dashcam for 40$. The 3MP camera with F2.1 aperture can shoot 2304p*1296p video. The maximum viewing angle is 140° which means the camera will easily cover the 6-lane dual carriageway.
The gravity sensor of M300 is exceptional; it detects sudden shakes and collisions, prompting the dashcam to start recording automatically. This feature is handy if you have the hardware kit installed, as power is required when the car is not running. Another incredible new feature is parking surveillance; it will shoot a time-lapse when your vehicle is parked, consequently saving SD card memory and keeping the car under surveillance.
70mai M300 – Installation
Let’s go ahead and install the camera. All that you need is to do some good planning to place the camera on the windshield. Be careful and choose a spot that will not disturb you while you drive, and also make sure it’s within reach of the wipers. Otherwise, you won’t be able to have good videos if it’s raining or snowing.
Firstly, put the screen folio on the windscreen where you are going to attach the camera. Screen folio is handy as it makes detaching easier. The mount has adhesive, secondly, remove the peel and stick the camera to the screen folio. Then you have to find a discrete path for the cable. You can attach it to the cigar lighter or the USB port on the car’s stereo.
If you have bought the hardware kit for constant power, then you can visit the 70mai website for installation.
Video Quality and Camera
The video quality of 70mai M300 is admirable; the contrast and sharpness are pretty good. Daytime videos are clear, every detail of the road, cars and surroundings are recognizable. But there is a problem the video is a bit shaky, 70mai has said that they have improved the stabilization, but the problem is in the mount. No matter how tight I screw the bolt, it still rattles, which makes the video shaky.
Night footage is good but not impressive. The small image sensor captures less light, due to which the video lose quality and increase noise. 70mai has used 3D noise reduction and WDR image processing technology, but they can’t trick the physics yet.
Lastly, here is a comparison between a 40$ M300 and 400$ dr900s. The expensive camera outclasses the cheaper M300, but still, the video quality is pretty good.
70mai App
The last thing we have is the 70mai app, the app is, excellent and I faced zero issues during my review. It is elementary to use, easy to configure with simple operations. Moreover, the app is necessary to activate the camera and allow you to fully control the camera and configure the dashcam according to your preference.
You can also install photos and videos and share them with your social media through the app.
Drawbacks
70mai M300 dashcam is a great camera; I really enjoyed reviewing it. I found three issues that 70mai can enhance in the next generation.
- Better mount, the stock mount is shakes which makes the video shaky.
- Cigar charger can have two USB-A ports like previous generations.
- The superconductor is better than the Li-ion battery.
Final Remarks
My final words are positive for the 70mai M300 dashcam. The camera has acceptable video quality with fair construction and a beautiful design for just 40$. There are some minor issues like the mount, but the video quality is good despite shakiness, and the details are identifiable.
Where to buy?
70mai is readily available on Amazon. You can use coupon 70MAIM300TE to avail special discount. Learn about more dashcams here.