Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased this Model as an upgrade from previous SC200D which was no longer available, I chose to use a different mounting location for line of sight and ease of not having to take apart lots of interior grime to fun wires. I really like the selection features using touch button at the bottom instead of an actual button. Although it comes with a 16’ cord for the rear camera I had to get Creative and splice together another 16’ cord from a spare cord from my old one due to having a cap on my truck bed. The Clarity of pictures is also a plus. Installed in 2014 F150 4x4.

The Cobra Dash Cam works exceptionally well and was incredibly easy to install. The videos it records are what one would expect from a 4K camera, crisp and clear, with fine detail and color that is true to visual perception. *Installation* The installation was simple and straightforward. Stick the dash cam to the front windshield and the rear camera to the rear window. I will have to get additional cable clips to tuck the cable more neatly because the provided amount just is not enough for my crossover. It only includes six (6) clips which are there primarily for the rear cam. The wire length for both cameras is more than enough for my car, a Subaru Crosstrek. I have a bit too much of the extra hanging around, but it is better to have more than not enough, especially since longer cars will still be able to use this device. The dash and rear cams are well made and feel like good quality. The screen is large enough to see what the camera is viewing and there is a PiP option that shows the rear view as well. I thought it was touchscreen at first, as most things are nowadays, but it actually has some small touch buttons under the screen. They are very receptive, and the menu is easy and intuitive to navigate. The dash cam also has the potential to add a secondary camera that faces the interior. The camera only works as long as the car is powered on, unless it is reconfigured to connect to the vehicle’s battery. Viewing the recording via the app requires some patience. I use my iPhone to do so, and it requires that my phone connects to its WiFi first, which always fails on the first try and then works on the second for some reason. From here I can view the videos it has records and download or take snapshots. This can also be done by removing the SD card and viewing the footage on a computer. The app connects to CarPlay, but the use of it is limited to GPS. It includes a 32GB card and continuously records, deleting the oldest footage as needed. The recordings capture a wide angle. It is notable that the app only provides recordings of the dash cam and not the rear. The rear is recorded, just not accessible through it for some reason. I am hopeful that future updates can change this. Another thing to note is that the internal GPS will always note where the vehicle was during a specific recording. This is great in case there is an incident that needs to be reported. I have personally experienced during times of stress the mind can jumble location facts, so I really like this feature. My one annoyance with it, which I admit is trivial, is that the car is always sideways on the map shown (see pictures for reference). All things considered, I really like the quality and simplicity of this dash cam. The included rear camera is a major plus, as is the large screen in the dash cam. My main advice would be to be prepared to buy an install kit or extra adhesive clips to get the long wires in neat order in the car and maybe an SD card with more memory if you plan to record scenic drives for days at a time to ensure nothing important gets erased.

This is an amazing dashcam, it comes with everything you need to install it easily. They include a front cam, a rear one, and 32 GB Micro SD card, cables, additional heavy duty double sided tape (in case you need to unmount the camera and re-mount it again), plastic strips with double sided tape to route your cables if you need them and plastic pudgy to make it easy to move your car trimmings to hide the cables. Instructions were clear, but I have installed dash cams before so it was really easy. First I cleaned well the glass so the double sided tape attaches well (this is a little con, I wish they included other mounting options, like suckers i.e. but they only include double sided tapes), then I attached the front cam smack duck in the middle of my front windshield. From there I used the plastic pudgie they include to pull a bit on my car's trimmings so I could start routing the power cable and also the long cable for the rear cam. How easy this would be depends on your car... Mine was pretty easy. Then I attached the rear camera and plugged it in. Easy as that. Then I started the power (my car only delivers power to the cigarette lighter if the car is on/ACcessories), you may want to see if your card does this or keeps power even when off (you don't want to run out your battery). They also sell an accessory on their website (not included) to wire the cam directly to a fuse or the OBD port for permanent power (this device has a sensor that if your battery goes lower than 11v it will cut power, so it wont run your battery out). If you use this extra accessory, you can also have parking detection (if someone bumps, hits or breaks onto your car the camera will sense this and record when parked). Once the cam was on, it told me to format the SD card and I went onto configuring it. This is where I found a little con, the screen is nice, however its not a touch screen, it has 4 capacitive buttons on a horizontal row and this is how you navigate the menus... not very intuitive and I wish the screen was just touch. I love that if you also connect it to their "Drive smarter" app, the cam can also give you alerts (like cop traps, radar traps etc that other people report to the app, you can report to and/or confirm if you see a speed trap or cops on your road, helping other people), the also can give you navigation and trip alerts. The 4k quality is very good, I was able to distinguish license plates from other cars on the road and the quality at night is good too. Sound was good to. The camera will record clips on a loop and if it detects a collision it will lock that clip for you to have it as proof of the accident. I highly recommend it, specially these days with so many irresponsible people without insurance out there and and so many people trying to pull off insurance scams etc, you will have proof of anything that happens while you are driving!!!

The Cobra SC 250R is an excellent high quality 4K front cam and HD rear cam. Pictures and videos are clear as day but I wish there were more recording options. This is my 2nd dash cam for my vehicles so I am a little savvy with them. Cobra includes in the box the 2 camera, SD card preinstalled, very and I mean very long power cables to plug into the front cam and another cord to connect front cam with rear. Additionally there are extra mounting pads incase you want to relocate the cams at a later date and not near enough cable holders. The instruction booklet leaves a lot to be desired but you can make out the jist of how to mount and use the cams. There is also a QR code to download the app to pair it with the cams once you are done installing. Installation -------------------- Long story short, I am going to get the adapter to hardwire the cams to my Jeep as cable management is a nightmare for a SUV imho. A little tip, don't be like me and install both cams only to forget peeling off the protective covers on the lens. Once I found and cleaned the perfect spot for the cam, I laid out the entire line for the power delivery. If not using adapter kits to install it directly to a cars power source, the included power cord plugs directly into the cars 12V outlet and has a massive length. I used the included spudger tool to tuck the cord all along my roof, to the door, along down the trim and finally hidden under the glove compartment area and plugged it in. The excess cable I bundled up and zip tied it out of place. The rear camera was the hardest. Even though I plugged it directly into the front cam, the wiring path from the ceiling, around the pano sunroof, down side the trim, and finally to the rear cam mounted dead center near the top. It sounds easy, but man, removing panels to hide cables is time consuming. Performance -------------------- Once all that was out of the way, it was time to see what the Cobra can do. Once powered on, you get your initial set up screen. One thing I was losing my mind was I thought it was touch screen. It totally isn't. There are 4 small buttons at the bottom that you use to navigate around the menus. For a 4K camera, I really wished it did more than 2 different options for video recording. It's supposed to be top of the line, cream of the crop, but instead you are stuck with 4K @ 25fps or 1600P @ 30fps. I mean this should be able to easily handle 1440p @ 60 or 1080P @ 60. The rear cam is ONLY 1080P but @ 25 or 30fps. Sorry I am just spoiled by 60-360fps displays and wished Cobra followed suit. Another thing is the 1 minute recording clips. I guess it's too limit the file size when xfering vids/pics to the app, but I would really like an update in the future where you can control the length especially if you have larger size SD cards. Nonetheless the quality of the videos are still great. I can pause and clearly read street signs and license plates. You can change the view to see only front, back or PIP it as I prefer. App feature are pretty rich. It's called Drive Smarter and pairs with the cam to access videos or change settings on your phone instead of manually doing it on the camera itself. Playback is smooth. The only thing I don't like about the app is the navigation. It just doesn't work for me. The car icon never moves, even while driving. All in all, this Cobra SC 250R is a great all-in-one system for any vehicle. Comes with everything you need to get started and features and quality are close to top tier.

Product was easy to install and run wiring. Do keep in mind that if you do use the wiring included with the product it does not activate the Parked mode system. So when you park you car the camera will turn off and not record anything. If you do want this future I do advice that you buy the cobra hardwiring kit or the cobra OBD2 wiring kit witch is much easier to install . Video quality is amazing and very clear and clean during both night and day. The camera does also identify and inform you of speed cameras and radars and I love that having to always drive highways myself. To include the App makes it easy manage your camera settings. Over the Cobra SC500R is a great product and a great investment for the protection and security of my car. Highly recommend.

Cobra - SC 250R 4K Dual-View Front & Rear Dash Cam - The Cobra car Dash Cam has a full set of the features, although I would have loved a more user-friendly guide to using them and for the installation. It delivers a high quality image no matter what. The box provides all you need to get this front and rear dash cam working and you can buy more accessories for expanded usefulness. For this type of set-it and forget-it technology — these cameras are often forgotten as they work in the background for months without incident — it is crucial that the system is very intuitive. I’m not sure this is true. Let me explain. SETUP: Cobra includes everything you need for a standard setup, the necessary lengthy wires to connect your camera to a (likely) center console power outlet and also to a rear window camera. They’ve added into the box some temporary mounting film because your first mount location may not be well thought out. There are some cable mounts and a tools for lifting the rubber seals to conceal your cables. That camera mounted pair of inputs (power and rear camera) are snug together and require sufficient space to clear all of our vehicles top-of-windshield technology in our autos in 2024. This is a permanent mount with some strong adhesive, so a temp location is a nice touch. Not necessarily permanent. The camera slides off the amount with a firm push off to one side. You need some space to accomplish this, hence the “temporary” mounting tape, because you may judge the space needed incorrectly. The camera, once located where you want it, can be powered up. An image appears and the recording light is on. Actually you have some other activities that need to be completed. In my case, I managed to eject the thoughtfully included 32GB memory card across the room as I was checking it out. And lost it, as it appeared to attain escape velocity. Fortunately I have a few 128 GB memory cards so it was not a problem as these are readily accepted. Powerful ejection spring there, Cobra! I was prompted to format the disk. After that I was prompted to download the DRIVE SMARTER App to add and/or control features on the camera. PERFORMANCE: The LIVE VIEW on the camera can be either the front or rear view and there is an option to do Picture-in Picture. Even on this somewhat larger screen, it is too small for me. The controls on the lower part of the screen are merely place markers for the 4 sensitive touch buttons that manage selections, scrolling and settings management. You get used to it, but this type of offset control throws me off a bit. It’s here that I hoped the App might be an alternate way to choose settings, but, alas, that is not the case. The App does offer added features.It will, for example, allow you to find a route which is sent to the Dash Cam, but this will be redundant for many people with they phones directly offering this route guidance. It facilitates a live view of your parked car, but added hardware is needed along with creating a Wi-Fi HotSpot. The camera uses its Motion and G-sensors to accomplish this. It’s also on the camera that you can call up the accumulating video clips for review and management. I found it cumbersome to do in the car. But, remember that sliding camera mount? I slid the camera off, came in out of the current 103 degree heat and connected the camera to a USB-C cable and a power brick in my comfortable recliner, inside. Now I could manage the video clips. Or, as I discovered within the phone App, you can also view those same clips and download them. Those clips, using either method are richly colored and have sufficient detail to see license plates. Cobra uses Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) for imaging which contributes to the ability to deliver details no matter how contrasty the scene is. It was some effort to download to my computer. t figured it would be even easier for me to use Quicktime or the photo App on my Mac. But getting the videos off the memory card was a chore. My Mac couldn’t do it (“Can’t read this file type, Format media?” ___ yikes, no!) without first dragging it into a PC. This could be a problem only with my setup, but it was frustrating. My major Issues: I need a computer based App, or at least a tablet App, that gives more intuitive control (and help screens) so those infrequent searches for video clips isn’t a re-learning exercise. A better guide is needed to understand the very few actions, and probably far more settings, than we need to manage our cameras. I can see buyers being intimidated by a screen of uninformative icons and no simple guide to help. I’ve never had a memory card not readable by my Mac. While I understand the card uses FAT formatting, I can’t understand why my Mac couldn’t pull in its files, as it has before. With a couple of new cards, what starts out as a readable FAT is changed into an unreadable (on my MAC) FAT card. Odd. Add a USB power connection along with the cigarette light plug. I could shorten my cable run by two feet with USB. Speaking of cables, wow, that’s a nest of cables to slip under trim, or window and door trim. Cobra offers no guidance here and end users do not know what they do not know concerning air bags or other installation concerns. CONCLUSION: The included suite of services, recordings, front and back cameras, saved downloadable clips, sensitivity settings, local storage, basic cabling needs, a phone App for apple and Android, Wi-Fi connectivity to the camera from your phone are all well implemented. They justify the price of this compact dash cam. You can add some accessories to broaden the features (parking security watch), a 3rd camera, and even a subscription to participate in a shared community of users who can give you info about speed traps from Cobra radar detectors and other travel info. The camera can control Google Maps as part of its mapping feature. Those are extra and not necessary to get full functionality from the Cobra SC220R. I like everything about the Cobra SC250R but Cobra can make it more user friendly.

This is the 4th or 5th dash cam I have used. If you don't have one yet you really should purchase one for your own protection. This cobra camera is probably one of the best ones I have used. The cables they provide are very long and provide more than enough length to run both cameras and the plugs. It took me about 45 minutes to fully set up and mount in the car. The time-consuming part is running and hiding all the wires. They do give you a plastic pry bar to remove interior panels from the car. As much as I wanted a professional-looking install I didn’t want to remove panels, so I just tucked the wires into places and are mostly hidden. Make sure you fully push the rear camera into the port or else it won't work. The menus on the camera are easy to navigate and allow you to change resolution, standby time, parking mode, etc. While the camera was connected to my phone and using the drive smarter app you can also make changes to all the settings which is a little easier than on the actual device. You can also do a live view from the app and view recordings and photos the camera took. The photos and videos can easily be downloaded to your phone. I found the drive smarter app to very capable and super easy to use. Much nicer than any other apps I have used for dash cameras. Video and photo quality are very good even with the sun hitting the window plus the window being dirty we still got very usable videos and can clearly make out license plates. The rear camera provided the same great video and photo quality. What makes this camera system unique is that when connected to a network it will give you warnings of police, speed cameras, and red light cameras. I have a radar detector that already does that, but its really nice to have it built into the camera. Some downsides that are not deal breakers are, the device cannot be removed once stuck to the window. Many cameras have brackets you stick to the window first then the camera. Second the power cord is a cigarette lighter type with a USB C connection to the camera. I also have a radar detector that only uses a cigarette lighter so I can only have one plugged in at a time, where as my old camera was directly connected to the cars usb ports for power. These are not deal breakers but just some things to note. Overall this is a solid camera with a wonderful interface. I would purchase again if we needed another dash camera!

I currently have a 4K dash cam that I have been pretty happy with, but I have always wanted one with a dual camera setup so I could also record what was going on behind my car as well as in front. I have one long highway on my commute that is notorious for aggressive tailgaters! I decided to give this Cobra camera a try because it checked all the boxes for me. Out of the box it comes with pretty much everything you need for installation. The camera itself with the double stick tape to mount. I found the adhesive sticks very well. I even had to reposition mine and even after re-sticking it, it still is staying strong on my windshield. I found the power cable that goes to your cigarette lighter port was long enough to route it where I need to in order to conceal it. I did find that the cable for the rear camera was barely long enough to reach the back of my mid-sized SUV. If you just wanted to run it straight back it would easily make it, but if you have to route it through trim around doors and things, you might find the cable is a little too short for you. I’m sure you could probably get some kind of USB extension cable to solve that though. Once I got it wired up, I fired up my car to see what this thing could do. I did notice that the screen is angled down pretty far (see pictures) which made it a little hard to easily see. I guess that would vary depending on the slope of your windshield. Would be nice to have some kind of adjustment to tilt the screen up a little bit for easier viewing especially if you are using its navigation features (more on that later). I don’t really use the navigation, so the angle was OK for me. I basically just wanted a camera that would record video while I was driving that I could access later in the event of anything happening, and the Cobra did that very, very well! I was able to easily see license plate numbers of vehicles in front of me and even passing me at high rates of speed. The rear camera is only 1080p, so its not as good. But I feel it has enough detail for me to call out those pesky tailgaters! Next, I got it hooked up to the companion app called Drive Smarter. Here is where things took a little bit of a turn. I had no problem installing the app and getting it hooked up to my camera. The app did want a lot of permissions, such as access to my location at all times instead of just when I was in my car using the app. That right there will make me never use the app and I will be deleting it after my review. It does offer a map service with turn-by turn directions which I found did work fairly well, apart from the problem I mentioned before with the display being tilted down too far to be able to easily read. I didn’t really find that it offered much more than I could get on google maps that is already on my Android Auto display. It does offer things such as radar alerts and things like that. You can also input things you see like accidents or police or roadside hazards and things like that and it will alert other drivers using the same app of those things. While I see that could be beneficial, it can also be a distraction while you are driving trying to notify people of those things. Honestly, if this was just the dash cam without all the extra bells and whistles, I think it would be a great product, and that’s the way I intend to use it. I think the app really clutters things up and makes it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. A couple other small annoyances is that the camera records clips in 1-minute increments, and at the time of this review, there is no way to change that. I can understand that they do that for faster transfers of clips to the app if you are watching or downloading them to your phone. For someone like me though who will just take out the SD card and transfer the videos to my computer if I need them, it makes it hard to find what you are trying to find. It would be nice to have the option of recording at the very least increments of 5 minutes. Hopefully this is something that can be changed with a firmware update. One other thing I noticed is that there isn’t a way to view or download clips from the rear camera in the app. I searched high and low and read every manual I could find, but I don’t see that option anywhere. In order to get to those videos you will have to take the SD card out of the camera and put it in your computer to transfer or view them. Overall, this is a very solid dash cam with very good video quality and I will highly recommend it based on that alone. A few firmware tweaks could make it even better. As far as the app and all the other bells and whistles. I think the majority of people wont use them, and won’t want to give certain permissions required to even use the app. So I have to knock it down one star because of that.

The Cobra SC 250R is an extremely nice dash cam packed with tons of features. In the box I received two cameras, a 32gb sd card, plastic pry tool, all the wiring needed, with plenty of length, wire holders and extra sticky pads if I want to move the camera to a new location and some plastic pieces used to place on the window in order to temporarily mount the cameras to get your placement exactly where you want them. The sleek design looks great and when mounted in my truck have a factory look. The wiring was easily hidden and the provided instruction make installation straight forward. Mounting the cameras was very straight forward. I found the place where I wanted them mounted cleaned my glass, placed the provide plastic strips and temporarily mounted the cameras. Once I found my proper placement, I remove the plastic and permanently mounted my cameras. Then I routed my wires one to my power port and the other that connected two cameras. Once mounted I powered on the unit and set up the cameras date and time. Lastly, I registered and set up the Drive Smarter app on my smartphone. Some features of the Cobra SC250R are radar and laser alerts, red light and speed camera notifications, heads-up navigation. The 4K resolution screen is crystal clear and easy to see day or night, making using this system much better than my last. I also like that fact that I can see what both the front and rear facing camera sees. Using the app on my phone makes this camera stand out way about my last dash cam. I can link my phone to my dash cam and actually browse through the files recorded to and replay them to see what the camera captures. When using it in real time, this camera feeds tons of information to my cell phone. Things such as navigation info, speed limits and mph just to add a few. All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Cobra SC250R and I’m glad I stepped up. I never could have imagined how much a dash cam could actually do to make travel more pleasant and gives me a peace of mind by letting me know if I’m going over my selection speed about the speed limit. It takes the guess work out of looking ahead to see if you’re coming up on a cop’s radar and most importantly recording your drive and capturing and an unfortunate accident. In my opinion, in this day and age a dash cam is needed and definitely recommend this one.

This is such an upgrade, if you have an older car cam. It’s a necessity if you don’t have one at all. This gives you so many options and settings to customize this any way you like. You also can use this with just the front camera or add the rear camera if you want both views. It offers PiP which I like because I can see both views at the same time. With this device you have access to an app. The app offers even more options and things you can do with your cam. One of my favorite features is that you can view, share and save the videos straight from the app onto your phone. I wasn’t able to do that with my old cam. I would have to remove the sd card and transfer the data. Which was inconvenient if I ever needed to recover footage. The app also allows you to set a designated person to receive notifications if you’re in a crash. Along with many other unique features I’m just not used to, but super happy to have and will be very useful. The sound is also clear with lil to no distortion. You can also choose not to record in cabin sound for more privacy. The quality of the display is amazing, crisp and clear. You can set your recording resolution and I’ve kept mine at 4k although setting it to the high setting isn’t necessary. You can definitely record at a lower resolution and it’s still magnificent and clear and every detail is spot on. Also you’ll use up much less space on your included sd card. It’s not a touch screen, but the dots located under the screen is where you tap to select where you need to go or save a setting. There’s no forceful tapping or pushing. Just a slight graze is all that is needed so you can’t move the camera while in use. The cord is long enough to run throughout your car without issue. I have a midsize suv. In the past, I’ve had issues with my older cams when it comes to suction cups holding onto the glass in the heat. Since I haven’t had this unit for long I can’t speak to how it will continue to stick using the supplied 3M sticky tape. But so far it seems a lot more secure. It’s a very nice looking unit, and the build quality so far is superb. Overall, I’m really enjoying this camera.

SC 250R Dash Cam Dual-View Dash Cam with True 4K, 360 Alerts & Rear Camera Upfront observations before testing the product: 1. Advertised 512GB Micro SD capability is well above average for all Dash Cams. 2. Apple Carplay and Android Auto APP connections are well above average 3. WIFI connection to Phone APP 4. Bluetooth Connection to Phone APP 5. Live radar/traffic alerts from cellphone connections direct to MID (dash) display as well as dash cam well above average. 6. MID dash display on vehicle well above average. 7. Live and recorded downloads on app are well above average. 8. Temporary mount for testing was a needed function. 9. Rear camera has a standard input to main camera 10. PC or WIFI connection for FW updates. 11. Full manual online at COBRA 12. Rear camera for night videos at 1080P Summary report: Product met all advertised functions in live testing except the micro-SD card size and IOS app compatibility. See below for details! Actual setup and testing the product: Information pack sent with unit was fair. But product telephone call in assistance with a live person (who actually knows what is going on) was perfect. Full contact information if you need help! First, I read the instructions that were included, then checked online for all updates, inserted the 400GB micro-SD high end card before turning on the unit. 400GB high end card completely failed to be recognized so I installed a 256GB high end card and it worked perfect. Telephone assistance confirmed the 256GB is the limit and not 512GB. Formatting these large cards to FAT 32 with special programs does not work as you might think. Somehow the total recorded space for clips is truncated. Quality of the parts was outstanding with the rear camera connection inside the dash cam inoperative at first. I unplugged and re-plugged several times and the last time I pushed very hard on the connection and heard a snap. Then it would connect normally after that procedure. Installed the current Drive Smarter app on my iPhone and could not register my account. After calling I discovered I had a very old account (20 years old at least) and then just changed my password to register. The IOS app did not function properly, so I was forced to use my Samsung A35 5G phone for all testing. Once my Samsung was up and running, I had 12 versions of my current vehicles I had to delete. Evidently every time I used my iPhone 13 to add a vehicle it did add it but did not show it in the device menu. After testing in the vehicle and my office this unit will work both places with a stable 4-amp wall supply. Testing has been slow due to the hurricane and COVID, but I was determined to punch this test out as soon as I could. The electrostatic film for mounting is preferred as permanent mounting can be problematic on removal. The unit will slide off the mount if needed but the clicking lock is too firm so I slid it in place without snapping the final lock. In Florida, you never leave your dash cam parked all day in direct sunlight. Either use a full windshield cover or remove the unit from the windshield and place in a protected spot. This unit runs hot so use the screen saver to mitigate the heat issue. Unit will run an additional 10-12 seconds after power is removed. The APP: The best feature of this outstanding app is the ability to live monitor the dash cam as well as download clips. You can also cast your cell phone to the MID display with car play (2024 Toyota Venza Limited) and view a large screen version of your dash cam feed or whatever you are viewing in the app. Very nice when needed. The other features all work as advertised. Final note on rear camera necessity! There are insurance scams active in many states where a rear end collision is settled against the car rear ended at the max limit of liability. Without a witness and a video, the insurance companies fold fast. You must have a high-quality rear camera! Even if the police reports no injuries and initially had no witnesses they claim injuries later and have a witness in the car at a later date. Once the storm finally passed, I was able to go outside and mount this properly. Pictures included! Note: Rear and front at night are almost like daylight. However, my rear window has car wash wax spots all over it so I needed to do a wax removal and deep clean. I will post another rear-view video this week online at my review if possible. Summary: This is a much better dash cam than my previous units and the other manufacturers need to take note. The features and quality are obvious in actual use. Those el-cheapo units online are great for the front but are unacceptable for rear cameras. Specifications are one thing, but how well does it function in the real world. Cobra needs to fix the bug (not showing registered vehicles in the device menu) in the IOS app as it should be an easy fix. Evidently, previous versions did not have this issue. Cobra has been making products for at least 63 years. It would be interesting to see who they worked for in WW2. Evidently, they did make test equipment at first. They did make the first portable phone without an external antenna (owned Marantz for many years and may still own Lloyd’s/TBD). Quote /Cobra was founded as Dynascan in 1961 by electronics engineer Carl Korn, who served as president, and Samuel Horberg, who became chief financial officer. The two had worked together in the electronics field since 1947, and they had formed another company in 1954. /Quote Very nice trip in the Way Back machine! Tech Specifications Item # SC250R Key Specs Front Resolution: 4096 x 2160 (4K) Rear Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) Front Field of View: 140 degrees Rear Field of View: 120 degrees Max Capable Camera Views: 3 Screen Size: 3" Memory: 32GB microSD Card (up to 512GB) Built-In GPS Dual Band Wi-Fi Bluetooth® Connectivity USB-C G-Sensor Features Heads-Up Navigation Accessory Camera Capable Loop-Cycle Recording 360 Alerts with the Drive Smarter® App Emergency Mayday Alert Automatic Incident Detection & Reports Parking Mode & Motion Detection Trip Clips Privacy Mode Extreme Temperature Protection Cloud Video Management Night Vision (Accessory Interior Camera) On-Screen Display Languages: English, Spanish, French Automatic Incident Detection Yes G-Sensor Yes Forward Collision Warning No IOS, Android Wi-Fi Built-in Yes Camera Mounting Location Rearview mirror, Windshield Vehicle Camera Type Dashboard Professional Installation Recommended No General Product Name SC 250R 4K Dual-View Front & Rear Dash Cam, works with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto Brand Cobra Vehicle Camera Type Dashboard Professional Installation Recommended No Model Number SC250R Color Black Color Category Black Recording and Playback GPS Enabled Yes Camera Power Source Vehicle battery Expandable Memory Compatibility microSD Recording Feature Yes Alert Forward Collision Warning No Lane Departure Warning No Traffic Camera Alert Yes • Compatibility Compatibility IOS, Android App Compatible Yes Wi-Fi Built-in Yes Operating System Compatibility Android, Apple iOS, Apple iPadOS Features Integrated Microphone Yes Night Vision Yes Remote Control Included No Display Screen Included Yes Screen Size 3 inches Screen Resolution 4096 x 2160 On-Screen Display Languages English, Spanish, French Mounting Camera Mounting Location Rearview mirror, Windshield Mount Included Yes Mount Type Adhesive Input Number Of Auxiliary Inputs 0 Number of USB Port(s) one Dimension Product Height 2.56 inches Product Width 3.27 inches Product Depth 1.3 inches Product Weight 0.42 pounds Warranty Manufacturer's Warranty - Parts 1 year Manufacturer's Warranty - Labor 1 Year Other UPC 028377108389

[ TL;DR ] The Cobra SC250R Dual-View Front & Rear Dash Cam comes with all the bells and whistles you expect to have in a dash cam. You want to use the dash cam with the "Drive Smarter" app on iOS and Android to get the most out of all features. The first time I powered on the dash cam I was greeted and prompted with a few welcome screens. The "Drive Smarter" app made the initial setup easy, quickly, and flawlessly. The connection between the camera and the app is done via Bluetooth for device recovery and connection and its own Wi-Fi network for all features, such as video clips gallery view. The setup included downloading and installing the latest firmware, from v1.14 to v1.19. Tip: Download the user manual from Cobra.com and study it carefully. It is not included in the box. While I can recommend this dash cam to friends and family I am only giving 4 out of 5 stars mainly because of the following reasons (which might not be important to you): - 4K resolution is at 25 fps only. It should be at 60 fps for smother videos, especially at higher speeds - The lack of an "ODB II diagnostic port" cable for easier installation and also for permanent power on so you can use the Parking Mode feature (though the owner manual mentions there is one available for purchase, at the time of this writing, none is. Only a cigarette lighter socket cable is included as standard. [ Installing ] I am a novice when it comes to dashcam installations, but I got to install the Cobra SC250R Dual-View Front & Rear Dash Cameras in my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee within 90 minutes. The included cables were sufficient in length for connecting the front camera to the 12V cigarette lighter socket and the rear camera to the front camera. The hardest part for me was determining the perfect location for the front camera. Windshields typically have areas of black dots, especially around the rearview mirror for safety and heat distribution purposes, so you want to make sure the camera is not (partially) blocked at those. Also, make sure that you mount the camera in a place where you can slide it off (the mount is a slide-out mount) so you can connect the dash cam to your computer with the supplied USB-C data cable to transfer videos if needed. The supplied cable routing tool made it very easy to hide the cables except for the area that leads to the cigarette lighter socket. [ "Smarter Drive App" ] The Smarter Drive app is much more than a setup tool. It apparently (not tested) communicates with the dash cam constantly so that you can use the dash cam as a heads-up navigation screen providing you use a navigation app. If you opt to buy a subscription, the "360 Alerts" feature will give you informative messages on your screen about live police events, red-light cameras, caution areas, speed traps, and a few more. The app provides a convenient view of all recorded clips, sorted by date, called "Gallery/Live View". If you select to play back a clip, it not only plays the clip, it also shows and updates GPS information as the video clip progresses. From this feature, you can select to store videos locally on your smartphone, share them with others (such as yourself) via email, and/or upload them to a cloud. [ Video Resolution ] Among feature and usability improvements, the v1.19 update included new video resolutions to choose from: front camera at 2160p (4K) at 25 frames per second (fps) + rear camera at 1080p at 25 fps, or front camera 1600p at 30 fps + rear camera at 1080p at 30 fps. Though the clarity of 4K outperforms 1600p, 25 fps or 30 fps makes a difference in terms of video smoothness, especially at higher speeds. For the time being, I keep mine at 4K. [ "Parking Mode" feature / "ODB II diagnostic port" cable] The dash cam offers an impactful "Parking Mode" feature, which, however, is only available if the dash cam is continuously powered which the cigarette lighter output typically is not. (It turns off when the ignition is off in my car). Parking Mode enables the dash cam to monitor for bumps, collisions, and break-ins so you have valuable footage from the moment of impact, which could be beneficial for street parking. It's very unfortunate this ODB II diagnostic port" cable, which is powered on continuously is not included in the box. At the time of this writing, the Cobra.com website did not offer an "ODB II diagnostic port" cable for purchase compatible with the SC-250R. I left a question on the website which to date has not been answered. (Note, the "2.5A DIY Hardwire Kit – OBDII Port to Micro-USB cable on Cobra's website is not compatible with the SC-250R dash cam).

I was looking forward to this dashcam to replace an older dashcam that was a similar wedge shape. The form factor is perfect because it fits up behind the rear view mirror and out of sight. By downloading the app, I was able to connect the camera through Android Auto and any alerts will pop up there, so no need to be able to see the camera's screen all the time to use the speed warning functions. Overall, I love the way this camera looks and how it was designed to fit on the windshield. Installation was a bit of a chore because the camera only comes with a power cord that goes to a 12v outlet (us older people call them cigarette lighter receptacles). In my F150 super crew, the options were to have a plug and wire sticking out of the dash just below the radio, or to have it plugged in behind the center console where it wouldn't be as noticeable. I did the latter, and while the cord reached, it required removing some trim and trial and error. I would much prefer a USB to USB power solution as most vehicles have multiple USB ports and they aren't as obnoxious as the large plug this requires. Installing the rear camera was fairly simple, although the perfect placement for my truck would be to install it flat on top of the rear seat belt holder. It would have a perfect view of the back and be completely out of my view. However, you can't do that because there is no option in the app to flip the image. So based on how far you can rotate the camera, it needs to be mounted on the window. Having the ability to flip the image would allow for more installation options in different situations. The app is easy enough to navigate, but it has some quirks. I noticed that every time it connects to Android Auto, it defaults to the straight overhead static view of the map. I have to click on the arrow every time to get the preferred "upward heading" view of the map. It should stay the same once you've selected it. It also takes a while for it to connect to view the gallery, and sometimes it won't connect. Video quality is good but it doesn't record the rear camera, even though it shows the rear camera on the Live view. Not recording the rear essentially makes that camera useless. I reached out to Cobra (Cedar Electronics) over 4 days ago but have not been able to speak to anyone or get any troubleshooting on that issue. I have gone through every setting, every menu in the app, and revisited the setup. Firmware was updated and everything else is working fine. Since it shows the rear view in Live view, I know the camera works. If that gets fixed, where it records the rear, I'd add another star. Overall, this is a decent dashcam but it needs some updates and fixes for the app to be great. It needs to be able to record the rear camera, otherwise there's no point in offering one. Make it an option to be able to flip the image 180 degrees so people have more mounting options. And get to a point where the power cord is USB to USB. I would recommend this to someone that wants a low profile dash cam to record what's out front. It does show police spotting reports, but so does Waze or Google Maps. It's a good camera with good quality video, but it needs some refinement.

Quick Overview ================================= A dashcam that just points forward is half a solution. Cobra's SC 250R includes a front 4k camera, a rear 1080p camera, and all the supplies you'd need for installation. 1080p dashcams are acceptable for overall incident recording, but to get real data like a license plate, you'll need 4k since QHD may not cut it either unless it's a perfectly clear day and the plate is right in front of the camera. You may know Cobra from the days of radar/laser detectors, so let's see how this dashcam stacks up. Overall build ================================= Since the SC 250R has a LCD, it's quite a bit larger than the other dashcams I've had that were more like small cylinders. The overall body is plastic but it's hard and the touch controls are right under the screen. They are responsive and easy to use for navigating the menu and options. In the box you'll get everything you need unless you're setting this up in a super-long RV. You get power for the front camera, a long cable for the rear camera (needs to connect all the way back to the front), lots of 3M tape solutions, a prying tool for getting your cables tucked away, and surprisingly, some static cling film that helps you mount the camera on your windshield firmly, but still allows you to remove it when needed (if you had a rental or lease). I really liked the inclusion of that since this is camera #4 for me, and no other manufacturers included it! The AC adapter comes with a USB-A pass-through so it doesn't "hog" the 12v port and even comes with a short USB-A to USB-C cable for charging additional devices. It's a nice little touch that they didn't need to include! Mounting the cameras is easy given all the options they provided, but routing the cables can be hit or miss depending on your skills. I used to install car audio and alarms so I'm used to prying panels and tucking cables away. Your mileage may vary depending on the vehicle you're installing this into also. Once it's installed and plugged in, the main unit will power on and after a quick setup, you'll be prompted to download the app and let it find your camera. I use an Android phone (Pixel 8 Pro) and this was a non-event. I was able to find and sync with the camera immediately and then download a firmware update. After going through some options including setting the video to 2160p front/1080p rear, I was ready to go. Performance ================================= As you'd expect, the images were clear and the included 32gb microSD card was a nice touch. It was from a brand I hadn't heard of so I may be swapping this out with one of my heavy-write-duty cards I bought for my last dashcam. It seems to start recording right away and you can tag recordings to save or "lock" so they won't be overwritten. Since you can sync this via WiFi to a hotspot (your phone's or your car's), it can provide additional data like showing your drive on a map as well as the video (see pics) which was a nice touch. Quality-wise I was able to read the license plate of some neighboring cars on the front cam, but not the rear cam. That was to be expected on a 1080p fisheye lens and that's acceptable. The lens isn't polarized on the SC 250R, but I didn't have any issues with a pretty sloped windshield and sunny days in Northern California. Picture-in-picture is a nice video option and I have it configured to show the rear view larger while keeping the front view in the top corner. Interestingly, the clips are all recorded as 1 minute long (to allow for faster transfers to mobile), but that makes a lot of work to sort through clips. I was surprised to see so many recordings during my short test drives. Cobra's 360 Alerts helps combine traffic and speed trap alerts from other sources and can alert you of those in the app. Mayday alert is another nice feature for those without an "OnStar"-like service where a preconfigured email and text could be sent to a contact in case the camera senses a severe impact. It does support a parking/sentry mode but you'll need a separate connector to use your car's OBD port. Conclusion ================================= If you want a good in-car camera/dashcam, you'll want to go for a 4k model to get really useful footage. On top of that, having a rear camera helps make sure you're covered from all angles. Lastly, getting a no-nonsense camera that works fine with or without the app like the Cobra SC 250R is a bonus. Sure it's the newest one I've had, but this Cobra with the useful screen, 4k recording, rear camera, and useful app features really is the best dashcam I've had and it's definitely worth a look if you're shopping for one!

The Cobra dashcam offers clear video quality and reliable recording. Its compact design fits well in any vehicle, and features like loop recording and motion detection add convenience. Easy to install and use, it's great for enhancing safety and capturing incidents on the road. A dependable travel companion!

The Cobra SC 250R Dash Cam looked like it could be the real deal, but I simply had too many issues with it to recommend it. Installation I chose to have the dash cam installed by Best Buy. This dash cam has a front and a rear camera and I wanted all of my wires hidden, so I chose to have Geek Squad install it professionally. The rear camera actually plugs into the side of the front camera so there is a cord that runs the length of the car and goes up to the top of the dash. That’s a lot of panels to hide the wire under. When said and done, my power resource was hidden behind my dash and only minimal wires were visible. App / Login Issues The Drive Smarter app is required in order to use most of the features of this dash cam. I had an issue where I couldn’t create a login for the app, so I wasn’t able to do much for several days. I just got a message saying “Registration Error Something Went Wrong”. After some back and forth with Cedar (Cobra’s parent company) they said that I already had a login. Several years ago I had set up an Escort radar detector login, and evidently my email address had “created an account” with them. I didn’t realize that they were the same company or that the account was still valid. Why the app didn’t say that I already had an account and ask me to reset the password is beyond me. Cedar should update the app for this. The next issue with the app is that it is supposed to automatically search for a firmware update when you connect the dash cam and the app. Mine never did. I think that there are features that I don’t have because of this. There’s not a way to manually start the firmware update. There’s supposed to be a way to upload to a Drive Smarter Cloud per the owner’s manual. I do not have the “Upload To Cloud” button on my app. I think that this is a firmware issue. Also, I never got the 360 Alerts to work. The app does work with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. My car is too old to have these, so I could not use it. Picture Quality This is the one thing that I will brag on the SC 250R about. It has a really good picture for the recordings, both front and rear, day and night. You can transfer via Bluetooth videos and pictures to your phone without having to unmount the camera or take out the SD card. Also, for privacy, you can turn off the audio so it’s not recording you talking, singing, or your radio’s playlist. Park Live View is a feature where the camera will record events while your car is parked. Unfortunately, you have to buy a separate hardwire kit from Cobra for that to work. I didn’t know about this until mine was installed, so I guess I won’t be using that feature. The Front Dash Camera The front camera is pretty clunky. It’s big, so I thought that I’d be able to see the image on the 3” screen. Unfortunately, it’s not big enough to see without having to focus on it, taking your eyes off the road. The picture in picture is too small. I was hoping that I could use it as a backup camera, but I don’t feel that it’s safe for that purpose. I had mounted the camera directly above the driver so that I could have a better chance to see the images. I found that the video display felt distracting, so I ended up using the screen saver which will show your speed and that the camera is on/recording. Last, the buttons on the camera area sensitive. I have accidentally hit a button and it starts recording. There’s no way to stop it. You can also change the settings for some things on the camera directly, but it’s clunky to get through the process. I’m giving the Cobra SC 250R a 3 star rating. It does record videos well and has quite a few options. My experience with it has been frustrating and I don’t believe that I’d recommend it to anyone.

Good camera easy to setup and navigate through. App can be used to connect and view stored videos when needed. Front camera image looks good rear could be a bit better quality.

The image quality is better than what other brands of dashcams offer. The software leaves a lot to be desired, it's bad and that's it. If you have the front and rear camera at the same time, it only records in 4K 25hz in the front and 1080p at 25hz in the back or you have the option of 1440p at 30hz in the front and 1080 25hz in the back. With the front camera only, it records 4K at 30hz or 1440p at 60hz. It can only be mounted on the front glass since it has an angle and not on the mirror. The truth is that for the price it is very basic but still better than many of those on the market.

This little baby is a great dash cam.The camera image is top of the line and very clear.While my son was driving my truck,camera picked up a rabbit crossing the street at night but you could see it clearly.High recommend and my son just bought one for his Explorer.Last note,everyone should have a camera for safety and protection if you’re in an accident.

Easy to set up. The Perfect size for vehicle. Absolutely love the features and ability to have recorded video if an accident occurs. Worth the price!