Cobra drive HD Dual Channel Dash Cam Review
The new Cobra drive HD dual channel dash cam system includes a 1080p resolution front camera and a 720 rear camera for simultaneous dual recording. Set up is easy to do on most any car or truck as long as you have a as long as you have a cigarette lighter/aux power port. An optional Micro USB Hardwire Kit as well as GPS Mount are available for added functionality.
The CDR 895 D dual channel dash cam features a 2-inch windshield mounted LCD screen. The front camera provides up to 160 degrees of viewing angle, 130 degree viewing angle for the rear.
The Cobra CDR 895 D is not a backup camera. The 2inch LCD doesn’t provide enough real estate for you to view anything in your rear live view accurately. The rear CAM2 camera cannot be run without the front camera. DO NOT for any reason rely on the camera live view to drive, you will crash. The view appears much further away on the LCD than it actually is.
Specs and Installation
The CDR 895 D system features a 2 inch LCD screen for live view. There is a front 1080p FHD camera with 160 degrees and a rear 720 HD camera with 130 degrees of viewing angle for live view and simultaneous recording to microSD card. A 16 GB card is included and already seated in the slot. The CDR 895 D system comes with the front and rear cameras, Y-Splitter cable, 1.5ft USB cable, 10ft USB cable, 20ft extender cable to attach the rear camera, pre-installed microSD card, USB cigarette lighter port charger and quick start guide.
The supplied quick release mount comes with a universal mounting hole so you can attach it to any tripod or appropriate selfie stick and use it as an action cam. An external HDMI output port makes it easy to quickly display a video on your TV. Measures 1.2 x 2.6 x 2.3 inches and weighs 1.1 lbs.
Installation
Installing the CDR 895 D dual dash camera system is simple. If you can plug in wires you can set up the CDR 895 D. Assemble the front camera mount by screwing the mount onto the camera and twisting the knobs when you’re happy with the position.
Plug in the micro USB end of the Y-splitter to the front camera, then take your long USB to micro USB cable and plug that into your cigarette or aux port with the supplied power adapter. Take the 20ft cable for the rear camera and plug into the Y-Splitter. Go to the back of your car and plug in your rear camera. The rest of the installation is all about mounting and hiding/snaking wires out of the way. The wires are relatively thick for tucking but not impossible. In some cases you’ll leave bits of exposed wires unless you are willing to snake it under the car’s interior.
Mounting
You are able to mount the camera upside down and flip the video in the settings, however unless you have a round flat plate mounted to your dashboard you’ll have a tough time getting any usable angle. Mounting it to the upper center of the windshield was easy enough, however the profile can remain a bit tall and can obstruct your view slightly. You can get a little creative with placement and choose to use the upper/lower left corners of your windshield or mount a dash plate to your dashboard and suction cup the CDR895 D upside down. Mounting it to your dash might give you the best angle with the least amount of obstruction while driving.
The unit is lightweight and the suction cup and mount seem to do a good job of securing itself to the windshield. Our videos showed no signs of extra vibration independent from the vehicle and road. The suction cup has a crank to increase the suction to your glass. The mount has a sturdy lock for the angle that works very well.
The front camera has a slot that you slide the quick release mount into, screw that onto the suction cup portion of the mount and then you twist the lateral angle locking mechanism tight. This lateral lock could have been designed a bit better as it has a tendency to twist loose. We lightly bumped into it a few times during testing and find myself tightening that lock more than I’d like to.
The rear camera uses double sided adhesive to mount to your rear windshield. The camera is adjustable vertically so you can twist the camera to tilt upwards or downwards. When you adjust the camera angle, it will click and seat itself into position. Test your view prior to peeling and sticking the camera as the adjustment is not free turning. Have a second person with you so you can see if the camera angle is too low or high before you mount it. It would have been helpful to have a fine tuning adjustment so you can get a more precise view.
Tucking wires in
Once you’ve dealt with all the positioning the cameras, the bulk of the process is hiding the wires. we were able to hide most of the wires relatively well without removing any of the car’s molding and carefully tucking it in where you can. The front camera’s usb 10ft cable is long enough that you can snake that under your dashboard and back up. You’ll only have some exposed portion of wire directly after the front camera before you can tuck it in and a fuse box on the rear 20ft line that is rectangular that wont tuck in neatly without removing some of your upholstery.
Features and Experience
Using the CDR 895 D is very easy and there isn’t much to be confused by. The controls are easy to understand with physical buttons for each so if you need to reach up, it’s easy to do without looking.
When you plug the unit in it automatically starts recording which I’m not sure I cared for but it boots up very quickly, about 4 seconds. I’m not able to find a way to disable the auto recording feature at this time. A single or dual red dot on the upper part of the LCD will let you know if CAM2 is being recognized. You can run the front camera without the back if you like. You can record frontal video at 1080p Full HD at 30fps or 720 hd at 60fps. the rear camera records at 720 HD at 30fps. The LCD screen sleeps after a few minutes or so but remains active or in a ready state.
The Mirror Cam2 setting flips the video horizontally so that it appears to you the same way your rear view mirror displays the environment. This flip is only in live view and the recording will display normally when viewing the recording on your computer.
The G-sensor is disabled by default and has 3 sensitivity options to choose from, 1 being the most sensitive and 3 being the least sensitive. The G-Sensor enables the CDR 895 D to detect a collision and automatically begins recording and locks that video from being deleted. Test out the sensitivity as it may fire more often than you like. Alternatively there is a one touch Emergency recording button for instant on.
A Parking mode allows the unit to remain in a low power ready state for up to 10 min and then will go into sleep mode if no motion is detected. Once in sleep it will also be able to wake up if the G-sensor is triggered and begin recording again until up to 5 or 10 min has passed and will go back into sleep mode. Parking mode will only operate properly if your car supplies power to the aux/cigarette lighter port when the car is off. Otherwise you’ll need to hardwire it to your fusebox if you want constant monitoring.
The CDR 895D also features Lane Departure and Collision Warning for a little added benefit. They both rely on clearly marked roads in optimal lighting conditions so don’t rely on them for any reason for any length of time. The Frontal Collision Warning System requires the GPS Mount or compatible external GPS system.
Conclusion
The Cobra drive HD CDR 895 D Dual Channel Dash Cam system allows you to add a bit of road monitoring to your vehicle. Full HD 1080p front camera with 160 degrees and a Rear 720 HD camera with 130 degrees wide angle coverage allow you to record simultaneously for more complete video footage. The drive HD system also features Parking mode for a little added evidence for anyone that accidentally bumps your vehicle and decides to take off. If you are looking for a simple and easy to use High Definition video dash cam the Cobra CDR 895D drive HD device is great way to upgrade your vehicle without tearing the interior apart.
Cobra drive HD CDR 895 D Dual Channel Dash Cam $199.99
