Garmin Dash Cam X310 review: a feature-packed 4K dash cam that's Garmin's best yet

The Garmin X310 is simply a awesome dash cam. It’s mini and easy to use, yet records 4K pinch HDR, has GPS, packs a 2.4in touchscreen and (if you salary for a subscription) tin beryllium accessed remotely via nan Garmin Drive app. For owners of nan Dash Cam 67W, Garmin’s erstwhile flagship dash cam, nan X310 won’t consciousness for illustration a immense upgrade. But for anyone who is either caller to dash cams, aliases has antecedently utilized a little tin device, this will consciousness for illustration a top-tier merchandise that is built to last. It surely isn’t cheap, and there’s an ongoing subscription interest if you want unreality storage. But it feels for illustration a value product, from nan compact creation and smart windshield mount, to nan precocious value video and ease-of-use. The integrated polarizing select useful good astatine cutting retired reflections, and there’s moreover a artillery that’ll past 20 minutes – useful for utilizing nan dash cam cable-free connected short journeys.

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Garmin Dash Cam X310: one-minute review

The Garmin X310 is simply a 5-star dash cam that is compact, easy to use, and shoots 4K video pinch HDR astatine 30 fps. It ticks a batch of boxes, while besides looking and emotion for illustration a value product, reliably signaling high-quality footage, and packing respective routes for upgrading – from a parking mode, to nan action for unrecorded distant viewing and connecting respective synchronized dash cams to 1 vehicle.

It each useful very well, arsenic Garmin dash cams person for years now, and nan integrated polarizing lens is simply a bully bonus. But nan X310 is expensive, and while 4K video is bully to have, it doesn’t connection capable to person owners of Garmin’s past flagship, nan Dash Cam 67W, a logic to upgrade. However, if you’re caller to dash cams and person nan budget, this is simply a awesome action and 1 of nan best dash cams available.

Garmin Dash Cam X310: value and availability

As of October 2024, this is nan caller flagship of nan Garmin dash cam range. It is priced astatine $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$679 and is disposable now.

It sits supra nan arsenic caller X210 ($299.99 / £259.99 / AU$499), nan X110 ($199.99 / £199.99 / AU$349) and nan entry-level Dash Cam Mini 3 ($149.99 / £149.99 / AU$249).

Garmin Dash Cam X310: specs

Garmin Dash Cam X310: Design

This is Garmin’s flagship dash cam, but it’s still remarkably compact, astatine 70 x 42.2 x 19.5 mm. It’s astir doubly nan size of nan mini Dash Cam Mini 3, which considering nan X310 has a 2.41-inch show connected nan backmost and 4K capabilities, is mighty impressive.

The simple, rectangular assemblage houses 2 buttons connected nan correct (for powerfulness and manually redeeming a recording), a USB-C larboard connected nan left, and a microSD paper slot connected nan bottom. Garmin doesn’t see a representation paper pinch this dash can, which feels a spot mean considering nan precocious value and that this is their flagship model.

Garmin’s fantastically elemental windshield equine makes a invited return for this procreation of dash cam. It’s a short limb that attaches to nan dash cam pinch a ball-and-socket associated for plentifulness of adjustability, past fixes to a magnetic metallic disc, which past sticks to nan windshield pinch adhesive. The disc stays connected your windshield, while nan dash cam tin beryllium removed whenever you like, past snaps backmost into spot magnetically erstwhile you request it.

The full mounting strategy takes up acold little abstraction than that of immoderate different dash cam brand, and makes for a discrete installation.

Garmin Dash Cam X310: Performance

The specs unsocial should beryllium capable to show each you request to know. It doesn’t consciousness agelong since 4K dash cams represented a brave caller world, and a world wherever video value didn’t needfully unrecorded up to expectations. There are nary specified concerns pinch nan Garmin X310.

By default, it records 4K solution pinch HDR astatine 30 frames per second, and nan footage looks fantastic. You could reason that 4K is overkill for a dash cam, and while you whitethorn often beryllium right, there‘s nary denying nan value displayed here. Videos are soft and afloat of detail, pinch meticulous colors and bully power complete nan vulnerability and achromatic balance.

The X310 besides lets you grounds successful 1080p Full HD pinch HDR astatine 30 fps, aliases if you driblet nan HDR nan framework complaint tin beryllium cranked up to 120 fps. The second is simply a perfectly bully option, and results successful moreover smoother footage that retains plentifulness of item erstwhile paused, acknowledgment to each those other frames. But nan default 4K action is astir apt what astir buyers will instrumentality with, and for bully reason. This produces immoderate of nan champion video I’ve seen from immoderate dash cam – and surely nan champion from 1 arsenic compact arsenic nan Garmin X310.

Previously an optional extra, Garmin now fits its dash cams pinch an integrated polarizing filter. This is designed to trim windshield reflections and connected a sunny time we recovered it did a awesome job. The bluish cloth dashboard of our trial car (used for nan daytime signaling successful this review) was practically invisible, and didn’t erstwhile bespeak crossed nan windshield.

Nighttime recordings suffer immoderate detail, naturally, and there’s much sound arsenic nan camera battles against nan debased light. Footage is still very bully though, and while conveyance licence plates mostly aren’t readable connected nan move, they travel into clear attraction erstwhile stationary and successful reasonably adjacent proximity.

One mini downgrade from Garmin’s erstwhile flagship, nan 67W, is really nan lens section of position has shrunk from 180 degrees to 140. I ever liked really Garmin’s lenses were wider than nan competition, but losing 40 degrees successful pursuit of a little distorted image – 1 that suffers little from a curved fisheye effect astatine its edges – isn’t specified a large deal.

Using nan X310 is arsenic easy arsenic ever. You don’t moreover person to create a Garmin account, if you don’t want to. Just insert a microSD paper (there isn’t 1 included successful nan box), plug it successful to nan 12-volt (lighter) socket and distant you go; it starts signaling erstwhile nan car is switched on. The 2.4in touchscreen tin beryllium utilized to set settings, for illustration video resolution, truthful you don’t request to usage Garmin’s Drive app either, if you don’t want to.

That said, nan app is utilized to grip package updates (one was disposable erstwhile we began our review), and it’s an easier measurement to entree nan dash cam’s settings menu. Here, I chose to move disconnected nan collision informing system, since it doubly alerted maine to an imminent collision, contempt my car being parked astatine nan time. On 1 juncture location wasn’t moreover different conveyance passing by. The app is besides wherever you group up Vault, an optional subscription work wherever recordings are uploaded to Garmin’s unreality retention via your smartphone’s net connection. It’s a useful feature, but astatine £9.99 a period I consciousness it doesn’t connection enough, particularly versus nan Nextbase iQ smart dash cam pinch its connected features. I’m happy to person recordings saved to my microSD paper instead, wherever they tin beryllium transferred to my telephone manually.

Paying for Vault besides unlocks nan Parking Guard function, which requires a changeless powerfulness proviso (cables sold separately) and an progressive Wi-Fi connection, specified arsenic to a hotspot near successful nan car. With each that group up, nan dash cam will alert your telephone erstwhile it senses a collision (or imaginable theft) and supply a unrecorded view.

Lastly, Garmin’s sound power strategy useful arsenic good arsenic ever. It’s a useful measurement to move nan microphone off, aliases manually prevention a portion of footage (although pressing a fastener aliases tapping nan surface does nan aforesaid thing).

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How I tested nan Garmin Dash Cam X310

• I installed nan Dash Cam X310 into 2 cars
• I utilized nan dash cam during aggregate journeys, during nan time and besides astatine night
• I group up nan dash cam utilizing nan Garmin Drive smartphone app

I installed nan Garmin X310 successful 2 different cars and utilized it often for a assortment of journeys during nan time and astatine night. I tried retired its various features and transferred video recordings to some my smartphone and machine for a person look.

• First reviewed October 2024