The RoadHawk HD-2 uses the best components available to provide drivers with crisp, SuperHD footage and unrivalled low-light / night vision, ensuring that you are completely protected in all conditions.
What is it?
The Roadhawk dash cam (HD-2) is designed and developed in the UK. The new addition to RoadHawk's portfolio looks extremely similar to other RoadHawk products, but what's inside is what really makes the difference. The HD-2 is able to provide Super HD images by recording at 1080p at 60 frames per second, giving you crisp, indisputable evidence in the event of an accident."
The HD-2 is the only dashcam we have tested that doesn't have an integrated screen. We believe this is a deliberate safety decision that Roadhawk have made that ensures its devices are both legal to use and don't distract the driver. As Roadhawk mainly target the business market this is probably a good decision, however, perhaps a fold-down screen may be the answer?
Update: September 2023
The Roadhawk HD-2 dash cam is very difficult to get hold of nowadays, so we suggest looking at a more up-to-date model. The Road Angel Halo Ultra dashcam was recently tested by us, and received our Gold Product Award - mainly because of its great build quality, 3 year warranty and excellent 4k snapshot and video recording quality.
The Roadhawk HD-2 boasts some impressive hardware. It uses the Ambarella A7L chipset, which is one of the most advanced chipsets on the market, as used in some of the world's leading action cameras such as GoPro. It uses 'High Dynamic Range' (HDR) which allows the camera to meter for light and dark areas of video, then combines them to create the best possible image quality at all times in all lighting conditions.
It also boasts an 'Electronic Image Stabilisation' ensuring that this RoadHawk dash cam's footage is able to soak up vibrations while driving, keeping the footage stable and crisp without any blur. It also includes a 3 Axis G-Force Sensor, allowing it to detect the impact of a collision automatically. It then permanently saves the clip, but this can also be done manually by pressing the 'Event' button.
We were concerned about the direction that the Roadhawk HD2 was recording in, as due to the lack of LCD screen you can't be sure, but in reality, if it looks right, it probably is. The viewing angle seems to make up for it being slightly out of line. Roadhawk supplies two types of mount - A suction mount, and one that sticks permanently to the windscreen.
There are two LED lights on the back, one to show you it is recording and another to show that it has a GPS signal. These are also accompanied by a voice notification ('GPS Signal Detected').
The GPS coordinates aren't displayed at the bottom of the video file. You need to install Roadhawk's dedicated software to view location data, which is displayed on a Google Map as you play the video. The dash cam can't be connected directly to a PC - you need to remove the memory card from the dashcam and plug it into your computer. A USB adapter comes in the box, for use if you don't have a memory card reader.
This was one of the high-range dashcams we tested that has a RRP of £250.
How we tested it?
We tested the dashcam individually over a period of time and as part of a group test, so we really put it through its paces and allowed us to see what it would be like to live with on a day-to-day basis. We followed the manufacturer's recommendations when setting up the dash cam and we tested it in both daytime and nighttime.
We Liked:
· It was easy to setup, you can get away with just plugging it and sticking it to your windscreen.
· I would say this is the best video quality we have had out of all the Dashcams we have tested so far (see our video below and our comparison video). Even in low-light, the quality was good.
· It has an obvious and easily accessible 'Event' button (marked as 'E') for you to permanently save a clip.
· It can also be connected to commercial tracking systems
We didn't Like:
· No LCD screen - we would have loved to have an LCD screen on this too - if nothing more than to make sure it's lined up corrected or just to view the video at the roadside.
· Changing the settings is a little more complicated than it needs to be. You need recordings on the dashcam, before plugging it into a computer to change the settings.
Video Example
Overall:
This Dashcam is aimed more towards the business market rather than the consumer market, and the price point reflects this with a RRP of £249. I think the only thing that could improve the Roadhawk HD-2 dash cam is an LCD screen (and being able to change settings with it) as the video quality is superb. So, should you get this camera? For most people, this will probably be out of budget, but if you drive for a living or do a lot of driving then it would certainly be worth it.
Specifications:
| Recording Quality | 1080p, 720p |
| Speed Camera Alerts | No |
| GPS Mapping | Yes |
| G-Sensor | Yes |
| Event Recording | Yes |
| Video Resolution / Frame Rate | Full HD (1080p) @ 30fps HD (720p) @ 30/60fps |
| File Format | MP4 |
| Viewing Angle | 135° (diagonal) |
| Memory | SD up to 64GB |
| Memory Card Provided | 8GB |
| Internal Battery | Yes (emergency safe power down and save) |
| Manufacturer Warranty | 2 Years |
| Image Stabilisation | Yes |
| Mic | Yes |
| Speaker | Yes |
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