Garmin Dash Cam 57: Small and mighty, now with cloud storage

Garmin adds cloud storage and parking mode to an already-impressive design and feature set.

- JON L. JACOBI

The diminutive Garmin Dash Cam 57 reviewed here is the top of the line for the company’s new generation of mainstream dash cams (go.pcworld. com/21dc). It’s on the expensive side ($230 from Garmin [go.pcworld.com/g230]), but you get what you pay for. This dash cam is the culmination of several years of steady improvement from a company that’s in it for the long haul—and it shows in the design and performance, as well as the long warranty. It’s easily the best overall front-only dash cam we’ve tested.

The big adds for Garmin’s latest generation, including the 57, are a parking mode (wake on G-sensor) and temporary cloud storage for your important captures.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

The first thing you’ll notice about the Dash Cam 57 is its small size. It’s not tiny like its Dash Cam Mini (go.pcworld.com/dmin) sibling, but it still measures only a little over 2 inches wide, 1.5 inches tall, and 1.35 inches deep (at the lens body). Despite minimal space, Garmin squeezes in a 2-inch color display (see the image below).

There are four buttons on the right side of the unit for navigating the onboard menus, locking videos, and other everyday dash cam chores. A shout-out to Garmin for making the text and icons large enough for easy reading, and the buttons prominent enough to find by feel.

On top of the Dash Cam 57 is the micro SD card slot (a 16GB card is included and preinstalled), plus venting to release heat. This version of the camera seems to run significantly cooler than the original models, which should help with longevity. The micro-USB power connector is on the left side, and the magnetically coupled mount is on the bottom.