Nextbase 222 Review
Nextbase's 222 dash cam is cheap and basic, but it records excellent videos.
Verdict
Nextbase’s 222 is only £20 or so more than the entry-level 122, but the gulf in video quality couldn’t be more clear. This is a basic dash cam, notably having no GPS support, but produces sharp, detailed videos even in very challenging conditions. It might not provide all the proof you need in certain accidents, but it does a great job of capturing what happens on the road ahead.
Pros
- Brilliant windscreen mount
- G-sensor enabled parking mode
- Excellent video quality
Cons
- No GPS
Availability
- UKRRP: £79
- USARRP: $89
- Europeunavailable
- CanadaRRP: CA$150
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- GPSNo GPS on this model, so incidents aren’t stamped with a location.
- ResolutionRecords video at 1080p at 30fps.
Introduction
The Nextbase 222 dash cam is a relatively basic forward-facing device. It looks much like a compact camera, with a long lens assembly, and a small colour screen at the back. While it misses out on GPS and advanced driver aids, its 1080p resolution ought to be plenty to capture detailed driving footage.
Design and features
- Simple setup, with a great windscreen mount
- No GPS info
- Decent screen
The Nextbase 222 may be a budget dash cam, but it offers a fair amount for the money. At the back, its 6.4cm colour screen offers reasonable image quality and wide viewing angles, even if it’s navigated via buttons rather than touch.
I can’t help but wonder if this camera’s huge lens mount is strictly functional, but its 𝒇/1.6 aperture should certainly help let a good deal of light in during dingy conditions. There’s also a useful 140° field of view, giving a bit more coverage to the sides near your vehicle. While the sensor’s 1920×1080 resolution isn’t huge, it’s enough to capture a detailed picture of everything going on in front.
This camera comes with NextBase’s excellent Click&Go PRO mount, to which the USB power cable connects. The camera itself simply clicks magnetically into place, making it easy to remove from the car when you need to. I found it less easy to remove the MicroSD card; however: it’s a fiddle to push it in far enough in to release it.
This camera doesn’t offer any driver safety features. More significantly, it’s also missing GPS, so it can’t stamp videos with speed, coordinates or an authoritative time. While that’s not an issue for cut-and-dried cases, such as showing somebody jumped a light, it might make it harder to prove you weren’t speeding. It’s worth mentioning that the 222 also doesn’t support Nextbase’s range of rear and cabin-view cameras.
The 222 does have a g-sensor, used to control a parking mode where it’ll wake up and start filming if your car is bumped or moved. There’s also a big button just underneath the screen to press if you want to protect a video – stopping the camera from overwriting important footage.
Performance and video quality
- Excellent video quality
- Easy to live with
Like other Nextbase cameras, the 222 arrives with its parking mode turned off and its screen set to remain on, which can be quite distracting. It’s easy to toggle both features using the menu buttons, after which you probably won’t need to touch the camera settings again. With a big batch of cameras to test, I really appreciated the ease with which you can fit and remove Nextbase dash cams from their magnetic mount, but most users will probably just fit one and forget it.
The good news is that, should you ever need it, the Nextbase 222 is likely to deliver. While the entry-level 122 had been a disappointment even in daylight, the 222 excelled in low sun, torrid rain, heavy cloud and pitch darkness. In each case it delivered crisp and detailed footage to rival much more expensive cameras.
In daylight videos it was generally easy to resolve number plates provided the speed differential wasn’t too great. As with most dash cams, reading plates at night is much harder, and it tended to depend on my luck with the lighting. Regardless, I was impressed with the way the 222 resolved detail in all but the most dimly lit parts of the road at night.
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Should you buy it?
If you don’t have the budget for a dash cam with GPS, this is an excellent choice
If you can afford it, a camera with GPS data could give you a little extra protection
Final Thoughts
The Nextbase 222 surprised me with its excellent video quality, even on the murkiest of winter days. While it can’t perform miracles, it captured details that would have escaped some other comparable dash cams. If you don’t need safety features like lane or collision warnings, and you don’t have the budget for a dash cam with GPS, this camera offers a great mix of low cost and high quality; if you want even better image quality, go for the Nextbase 322GW instead.
How we test
We test every dash cam we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main dash cam for the review period
We take sample video during the day and night to see how good the footage really is.
We test any smartphone apps to see what additional features are on offer.
We test any additional safety features, such as lange change warning, to see how useful they really are.
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FAQs
No, it’s forward-facing only, and it’s not compatible with Nextbase’s range of rear and cabin view cameras
You only get a cigarette lighter cable in the box, but you can buy a hardwiring kit separately
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
