I recently purchased a dashcam as a "just-in-case" level of protection for myself. There are so many options, and I found myself getting overwhelmed with analysis paralysis until I really drilled down to the absolute dealbreakers for me. I figured that for my use case, almost any dashcam would work in terms of video quality and such factors. However, I live in a very hot climate, so that limited many options for me (battery vs. capacitor, suction cup mounts vs. mounting hardware, etc.) I also wanted something I could tap into the power of my rearview mirror, rather than messing around with cords or fuses (I am not handy, so that was another factor.) I also wanted it to be pretty unobtrusive, so a small form factor was important.
I ended up getting an older model BlackVue (I think a 650) for a couple hundred bucks. It is a dual-channel version, meaning it has a front and rear camera, but I am only using the front camera now. (You can't add a rear camera to a single-channel dash cam later on, so I went with the dual channel for future-proofing. I think a rear camera is a good idea, I just don't really want to bother with installing that right now.) Then, I bought a mounting bracket so I wouldn't need to use a suction cup or double-stick tape, and a wire tap kit to power the dashcam from my mirror. All told, it probably cost close to $350 for the setup, which isn't cheap. But it looks nice, works well enough, was relatively easy to install (it's just awkward trying to work in the area around the rear-view), I don't have cords running everywhere, and I do have a bit more peace of mind when I am out there driving with idiots.
I hope this is helpful.
