This affordable camera offers a range of functions rarely seen at this price point. There is a front-facing wide-angle camera with 170 degrees of coverage, a cabin-facing camera with 160 degrees, and a separate waterproof rear camera offering 160-degree coverage.

The front camera is high-definition with 1920x1080 recording to capture facial details and licence plates. It features a large aperture to capture images in low light conditions and features Wide Dynamic Range. My home security cameras use WDR to compensate for dark and bright areas, allowing a balance between brightness and darkness and improving image quality. WDR lenses are especially effective in filming through windshield glass, which can confuse a camera’s light meter. The front camera is not adjustable on the XYZ axes, limiting where to place the camera for optimal coverage.

The camera is small and does not block vision when mounted on your windscreen. The long cable can be routed around your windshield frame to be (almost) invisible.

The interior camera is 720P, sufficient to monitor the cabin if you drive commercially. The interior camera is adjustable on the Y-axis (up and down).

The third camera mounts on your licence plate holder and must be hardwired to the head unit and a power source. The cord is long enough to work on my full-size pickup truck, and the power connection cable is fused and easy to install for even a clumsy backyard mechanic like myself.

The instruction sheet is clear (though the type was tiny for my aging Boomer eyes), and installation is a breeze. TOPGOOSE even includes an SD card for plug-and-play.

A built-in accelerometer will automatically lock down the video on the SD card when it senses impact from a collision.

After hardwiring in the back camera, the Mongoose can be set up to monitor movement and collision detection when your car is parked. The camera is grainy to save on storage but more than sufficient to document people around your vehicle.

One convenient feature of the TOPGOOSE is built-in WiFi, allowing you to review and save video on the card directly to your phone without removing the SD card and using a computer to read the disk. Too often, I find those tiny SC cards rocketing through space when I eject them, never to be found. The WiFi is convenient.

In conclusion, the TOPGOOSE cam is an affordable, well-made unit that provides crisp documentation of what you meet while driving on the road and monitors your vehicle 24/7 when parked. I plan to buy another unit for my car. The only thing I would change is movement on the X and Y axes for the front camera.