Two-minute review
Owning a sports car with a small windscreen area means that some of the best dash cams are a little too intrusive for my needs. That’s why the arrival of the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam is ideal; it’s one of the smaller models on the market. It offers a compact footprint using the sticky pad on your screen, and takes less space in the cabin thanks to its dinky dimensions. I’d say it’s about half the size of a comparable standard dash cam, making it perfect for smaller cars or those working with a limited glass area.
The Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam is available to buy now and is on sale in the US directly from Viofo for $149, although this is currently discounted down to $119.99. It's also available in the UK, again from Viofo, for £119; a further discount brings that down to just £95. While the package contains everything you need to get up and running, there’s no hardwire kit included, so you’ll need to buy this is an add-on if you wish to have a more permanent installation in your vehicle.
Better still, there’s very little to figure out with the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam, since it features a limited number of buttons and ports on its exterior. These include a one-touch button on the back of the unit for capturing and storing a chunk of footage manually, and a microphone button that can also be given a long press during setup to format the memory card. This model takes the usual microSD card, with a 32GB card supplied in the box; it slots into a port on the side, while the power cable does the same. After holding down the button, there's an audio notification that states the card has been formatted, while a red LED on the unit indicates that the dash cam is functioning correctly.
Getting the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam into position proved easy enough, with the option to stick it onto your screen using a 3M self-adhesive pad. This can also be attached to a static sheet, also supplied in the box, removing the need to get gum from the glue directly onto your screen. A 12V connector, with a USB2 Type-C to Type-C data cable, a spare sticky mounting pad , plus a tool for pushing the wires behind interior trim are also included.
I found the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam very easy to position. The base is attached to the camera part with a moveable joint, which allows you to angle the lens to suit the different pitches found in vehicles. Get lucky, and you could get a good view of the road on your first attempt; however, you’ll need to check some test footage on the supporting app since there's no rear screen with this model. It’s not a major downside, however.
In terms of the specification, the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam features Sony Starvis 2 technology, which means you’ll capture solid footage with help from the 5.12 megapixel, 1/2.8-type image sensor. At best, this delivers 2K 1440p video recording, but I’ve found the resulting footage of excellent quality – as you can see for yourself in the video clip included within this review. Considering I tested the dash cam during those dark and dreary winter months, the end results are very usable.
Image quality is further helped by the high dynamic range of the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam, with the HDR doing a very credible job after dark. I found the voice control option on this model impressive, too, which allows you to turn on Wi-Fi functionality or start and stop recordings without you having to use your hands – an obvious boon when you’re driving. The dual 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is handy for moving footage off the card, and also lets you check footage on the app if you have that installed on your phone.
Considering its relatively basic specification, this model does come with 24/7 parking monitoring functionality, although you'll need to hardwire it into your vehicle for this to work. If you’re after a permanent dash cam solution in your car then this would be worth doing. Thanks to the G-sensor, the camera can detect movement in car parks, any sudden impacts, and captures time-lapse footage for good measure.
Should you buy the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
How I tested the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam
- I used it daily over several weeks
- I used it on a variety of journeys
- I recorded video for extended periods
I spent time using the Viofo VS1 Tiny Dash Cam over a period of weeks in the winter months, which meant that it was frequently deployed in dark and damp conditions. The supplementary app was used to check footage and tweak features and functions, while the memory card was also removed and previewed on a laptop so that I could get a closer look at captured content, which also presented the opportunity to check over the audio quality.
The unit was not hardwired into the test vehicle for the duration of the review period, but worked perfectly well being plugged into my car’s 12V socket.
- First reviewed February 2024
