Can a Dash Cam See Scratches on the Side of the Car?
3 Answers
Whether a dash cam can see scratches on the side of the car depends on the type of dash cam. Here are the details: 1. Single-lens dash cam: Cannot see the sides, only the front. 2. Dual-lens dash cam: Can see both the front and rear, but still cannot see the sides. 3. If you want to see the sides: You need to install a 360-degree panoramic dash cam to observe whether there are scratches on the sides of the car. Below is a brief introduction to the 360-degree panoramic dash cam: The 360-degree panoramic dash cam uses four ultra-wide-angle cameras installed at the front, rear, left, and right of the car to simultaneously capture images around the vehicle. After processing and stitching by image software, it forms a 360-degree top-down view of the vehicle's surroundings.
Here's what I think. Dash cams mainly capture the front view of the car, with limited coverage on the sides. My car has privacy window film, and last week I found a scratch on the right rear door. Checking the dash cam footage, it didn’t capture the offending vehicle at all. Unless you install a multi-camera system, like ride-hailing drivers who add small cameras under the side mirrors, but who would go to such lengths for a regular family car? If you really want to prevent side scrapes, just buy a pair of blind-spot convex mirrors from Taobao and stick them on your side mirrors—it’s a 20-yuan solution, much more practical than fussing with dash cams.
Mr. Zhang, a ride-hailing driver, told me that he had to install three cameras in his car just to barely capture the side views. While a standard 170-degree wide-angle dash cam sounds impressive, it only incidentally captures side views. The other day, my car's wheel got scraped in an underground mall parking lot, and all the dash cam footage showed was a shadow flashing by. The main issue is that most dash cams automatically go into sleep mode when parked, requiring additional parking monitor wiring for continuous recording, but battery drain becomes another concern. If you're worried about scratches, it's best to park under surveillance cameras. If that's not possible, investing in a full-car PPF (paint protection film), though expensive, really does protect against scratches.
