Drivers use car dash cams to record the unexpected on the road since they're convenient and reliable. This device has become essential whether you’re documenting an accident, filing an insurance claim, or simply recording scenic drives. Despite their high-resolution recordings, Dashcams can suffer from glare, reflectivity, and a lack of visibility in bright light.
And that’s where a CPL, or Circular Polarizing Lens, comes into play. A CPL will reduce glare and make the image clearer and sharper, which gives you more reliable and usable dashcam footage. Read further to find out why you need the CPL for your Dashcam.
What Is CPL? How Does It Work?
A CPL, or Circular Polarizing Lens, is a filter that reduces glare and reflections in photos and videos. The filter works by blocking polarized reflections off surfaces like your car’s dashboard, water, and glass. It reduces glare and unwanted reflection when paired with a dashcam on your vehicle's front windshield, in the video, improving clarity when paired with a dashcam on your vehicle.
You can rotate the lens to adjust for the direction of incoming light. This approach provides an increased contrast ratio and increases the acuity in different lighting scenarios. The result is cleaner, sharper footage that makes important details more visible.
Whether you’re driving in bright sunlight or through a reflective urban environment, a CPL will assist your dashcam in providing more cohelp your dashcam It’s a fairly simple tool that dramatically improves the quality of your dashcam.
Why Do You Need a CPL for Your Dashcam?
Dashcams can struggle with glare and reflections, particularly in bright daylight or when sunlight hits your windshield at an angle. By eliminating these distractions, a CPL filter makes your videos easier to see and understand.
If you drive in sunny areas, cityscapes with glass buildings, or near water, glare is nearly unavoidable. Reflections from your dashboard can also drown out recordings of important details. A CPL greatly reduces these problems, allowing your dashcam to concentrate on the road, not the polish.
When it comes to accidents, the details are everything. Clear video footage can be the difference between a quick settlement of a claim and entering into unnecessary disputes. CPL gives your dashcam the visual clarity necessary to obtain license plates, traffic signals, and lane markings. It’s a modest investment that makes a massive difference to the reliability of your recordings.
What Are the Benefits of Using a CPL with Your Dashcam?
The usefulness of a dashcam heavily relies on the clarity of the footage. Regardless, glare and reflections can severely impact video quality. The CPL provides several advantages that improve performance with respect to the dashcam:
Reduces Glare and Reflections
A CPL filter also cuts through harsh glare from sunlight and reflective surfaces, such as windshields and water. This improves visibility for the best dashcam footage, even in bright or challenging light.
Enhances Video Quality
When you have a CPL attached to your dashcam, you get a video with more vivid colors, more contrast, and greater sharpness. This adds a level of polish to your recordings, allowing you to focus more on details such as traffic signs and road conditions.
Provides More Accurate Evidence
In the event of an accident, having clearer footage will provide stronger evidence. CPLs enable your dashcam to capture license plates, signals, and vehicles moving with less blurring, which will aid in legal or insurance claims.
Protects the Lens
A CPL provides additional scratch protection, dust, and fingerprints for the corresponding dashcam lens. This CPL will guarantee clean recording of the lens over long periods of time by ensuring cleaner recording quality.
What Types of Dashcams Have CPL Built-in
Most dashcams have external CPL filters, while some high-end models may have the CPL built in. These dashcams are intended for consumers who want the best video quality with minimal glare. Here are the most common types that might have a built-in CPL:
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Dual-Channel Dashcams: These are front and rear dash cam recorders. Higher-end versions are often equipped with a built-in CPL on the front-facing camera, which helps reduce glare and improve footage clarity.
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4K Dashcams: Many 4K dashcams come with built-in CPL filters. The result is improved contrast and reduced glare when shooting video in bright lighting environments, ensuring high-quality video capture.
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Fleet Dashcams: These types of rear cameras for cars are typically used by commercial drivers and fleets. These premium models are often equipped with built-in CPL filters, which ensure clear and dependable video for tracking assets and for insurance purposes.
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Rideshare Dashcams: Developed for Uber/Lyft and other rideshare drivers, these dashcams might have an integrated CPL filter, which improves the quality of interior and exterior video footage, especially when driving under different lighting conditions.
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Mirror Dashcams: This type of dashcam serves as a rearview mirror. Some premium mirror dashcams have CPL filters that reduce glare, improve video footage, especially during the day or in bright light.
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Premium Single-Lens Dashcams: These expensive single-lens dashcams frequently use built-in CPL filters to clarify and sharpen the image. They are specifically tailored for users who need dependably clear, high-quality footage without the need for other accessories.
Do All Dashcams Need a CPL Filter?
While not all dashcams require a CPL filter, many would greatly benefit from one. If you frequently drive in sunlit areas or near reflective surfaces, such as glass skyscrapers or slippery roads, a CPL filter can minimize glare and improve clarity at those angles. On the other hand, in low-light conditions, such as nighttime driving, may not see a CPL filter may not make any difference. It's not required, but an optional enhancement that can significantly improve the footage your dashcam captures during the day, or you can opt for a better dashcam, such as Vantrue's E360 dashcam, which offers 5.2k clear video quality.
When Should You Use a CPL Filter for Your Dashcam?
Applying a CPL filter while driving during the day, particularly on sunny days when the glare from the dashboard or windshield can be bothersome, is advisable. It is also beneficial when one is driving around glass structures, as well as over water or on wet roads, which can reflect sunlight.
CPL filters work best in brightly lit places where other conditions allow for clear contrast footage from the dashcam. However, for night or low-light situations, it is better not to have the CPL attached or rotated due to potential dimming. Daytime driving calls for a CPL while nighttime driving needs the CPL filter removed or altered.
How to Choose a Suitable CPL for Your Dashcam?
Understanding how to choose a CPL filter for your dashcam involves paying attention to several aspects. Follow these guiding points to make the right decision.
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Compatibility with Your Dashcam: Check to see if your dashcam brand and model have or supports CPL filters. Some filters are designed for specific brands or lens sizes.
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Size and Fit: Check that your CPL filter is suitable for the dashcam’s lens diameter. Using the wrong size may lead to image quality issues or, worse, the filter may not fit at all.
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Quality of the Filter: Filters constructed from high-quality multi-coated glass, which mitigate glare and retain image sharpness, should be on your list. Cheap plastic filters will lead to degraded video quality, which isn’t worth it.
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Adjustability: The CPL you choose should allow for easy rotation. This means you can always adjust the angle of the reflection blockage depending on the light and the direction you are driving towards.
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Installation Method: Look into clip-on, adhesive, or even magnetic designs. Magnetic filters are extremely handy, especially with frequent adjusting or cleaning, because they are so easy to take on and off.
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Light Transmission: Some CPL filters reduce the screen’s brightness to some extent. It’s best to choose options that don’t reduce light transmission too much so your dashcam can operate optimally.
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User Reviews and Ratings: Look up reviews on the CPL provided by other users to confirm the CPL's performance in practical situations. The reviews will assist in identifying challenges of fit and performance before purchase.
Conclusion
A CPL filter is one of the best accessories to add to your dashcam if you drive frequently during the day. This filter minimizes glare, increases image definition, and ensures your footage is sharp and detailed. Though not everyone needs a CPL filter, it is a beneficial addition for those seeking high-quality video footage. Make sure it fits your dashcam and matches your driving conditions. Your dashcam can work flawlessly in diverse lighting with the proper filter.
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