Car and Driver - Minio Pro CDC-628 Dash Cam - Silver

Very good dash cam and fairly easy to use. The only reason I gave it 4 stars because you'd have to download software to your phone to use it and I didn't like it. I have plenty of junk on my phone as is and space is limited. I didn't have to do it with my old dash cam. I've heard a lot of complaints about difficulties removing it from the box but I didn't have problems with it. Just look carefully at it and you will see that it slides forward, not to the side. Look at the picture on the box it shows the mount. Same mount installed permanently in the box and cam is in the mount. You have to slide cam out of the mount instead of trying to remove whole thing.

I've been looking for a "stealth" dash cam and the Car & Driver - Minio Pro CDC-628 fit the bill... small & mounted behind the rear view mirror, it offered the features of bigger & bulky dash cams on the market, but without being a distraction to the driver. Unfortunately, removing the camera from the packaging was impossible without using drastic measures (see other reviews). I used a 1/4" drill to bore 6 holes around the plastic base holding the camera to crack the base from the plastic cube, being careful to not damage the camera! The product manual didn't provide any instructions on removing the camera from the plastic cube. The manual is worthless, it doesn't provide any details about setup nor operation. These drawbacks will prevent this product from becoming a popular consumer dash cam choice. Through trial & error, I've used the Minio Pro for a recent 2,000 mile road trip. The image quality is excellent (day & night), but could have saved time & less aggravation if the product manager had written a better manual!

The camera itself is working great. Light weight, solid, wide angle, and quite durable. However the application needs a lot of improvement on setting the camera and preview the footage. It kept crashing occasionally. And before I purchased it I have read a lot of comments on how to take out the camera from the box. And just so you know, it’s a good idea just to look for a Youtube; unboxing this camera.

Dash cam works great. I bought two. It did take a while to figure out how to remove it from the package. No need to destroy the package. Simple. Put your hand into the plastic case and grab the black base of cam with fingertips. The cam needs to slide backwards (away from camera lens). Using the force needed to unplug a tight extension cord, push the cam rearward while gently twisting/wiggling it side to side on it's base. The twisting is just to help the cam slide rearward. It does not rotate at all but will just slightly wiggle as it comes off it's mount. Take a look at the suction cup base mount. That is exactly what you will be removing it from in the package.

Love the small size because it doesn't have a screen and instead uses your smartphone's screen. I would like to have seen a wifi connection to a rear camera.

I bought this because I don't like having a dashcam that has a screen to distract me. This does OK in that regard. However, it has very poor night performance . . . useless I'd judge, based on the stored video. Poor customer support. I wrote them on their Web site and a week later I have no reply.

for the $49 you get features you do not find on similar priced cams.. i bought three and came to the following conclusions using my iphone 8 plus pros - clear pictures--recording is date time and MPH stamped--loop recording--wifi connect to your phone using their app--parking mode--gps travel records. comes with a long enough wire to completely hide it from view cons - package removal process is complicated yet simple (slide it out)--app needs an update. yes it works but it is clunky, gps works but maps do not load, and there is a complicated connection process..after you connect for the first time via wifi you have to remove the app and reinstall it.. then turn voice recognition on.. she will tell you a code and you enter it.. done. if you do not do this process the app will continuously crash.. after i did that process, i have had no issues. so four stars based on having to figure out those issues.. update the app and you get five stars

Purchased this dash cam because it was on sale. I drive Uber so this was a great buy.