Cobra SC 250R True 4K Dash Cam Review

It’s always smart to have protection for yourself. After all, it’s not Mayberry any more.  Crime and accidents can happen. Having a dashcam is a smart investment in your safety. Up for review today is the Cobra SC 250R. MSRP is a fair $259.

 

Features and specs:

Key Specs

Front Resolution: 4096 x 2160 (4K)

Rear Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)

Front Field of View: 140 degrees

Rear Field of View: 120 degrees

Max Capable Camera Views: 3

Screen Size: 3"

Memory: 32GB microSD Card (up to 512GB)

Built-In GPS

Dual Band Wi-Fi

Bluetooth® Connectivity

USB-C

G-Sensor

 

Features

Heads-Up Navigation

Accessory Camera Capable

Loop-Cycle Recording

360 Alerts with the Drive Smarter® App

Emergency Mayday Alert

Automatic Incident Detection & Reports

Parking Mode & Motion Detection

Trip Clips

Privacy Mode

Extreme Temperature Protection

Cloud Video Management

Night Vision (Accessory Interior Camera)

On-Screen Display Languages: English, Spanish, French

 

Unit Dimensions

Weight: 0.36 pounds

Height: 2.56"

Width: 3.27"

Depth: 1.3"

 

The Cobra SC 250R came in a nice-looking color printed box, with photos and specs of the dash cam. Opening the box revealed a well-protected dash cam, held in place by custom cut cardboard. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic, with some metal. Quality of materials used, as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the cable, cable management kit, power cord, 32 GB SD card, and owner’s manual.

 

I really like the design of the Cobra SC 250R. It’s smart to have a dashcam. But with the Cobra SC 250R you actually get two. The main camera attaches to the front windshield. The second camera is a rear-view camera. It attaches to your rear windshield, to record what happens behind you. So if anything happens in front of behind you, the Cobra SC250R will record what happened. Or instead you could mount the 2^nd camera to record what happens inside the car.  This could be an excellent security feature, especially for Uber drivers, for example.

 

The Cobra SC250R is also loaded with features. First of all, it records in 4K. So if something does happen and you need to review the footage, you’ll have great resolution to be able to see what happened. But it’s not just video, it records audio in the car as well.  You also get alerts on your display. This includes Red Light and Speed cameras. There’s also the Drive Smarter app, which connects you with a community of drivers, to provide shared alerts on your display. And if that wasn’t enough, through a subscription you can also get heads up navigation with its built-in GPS.

 

The functionality also doesn’t stop there. The Cobra SC250R provides a generous 3-inch display. It also is designed to work with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. So the notifications you get, can also be seen on your car stereo receiver.  And for any fun road trips, you can even create condensed time-lapse videos to re-live those fun scenic drives.  There’s also privacy mode, where you can pause recording video and audio.  Thanks to the built-in Wi-Fi and the Cloud, you can also store, edit, and share the videos. In the event of a severe impact, you can even send a Mayday Alert to your designated contact person.

 

Installation was very simple, thanks to the included sticky glass mounts.  The Cable Management kit even comes with plastic management clips, to assist with your installation and keeping wires out of the way.  Now that it’s mounted, it’s time to put the Cobra SC 250 thru its paces.  You’ll want to start by downloading the Drive Smarter app on your smartphone. Once you have the app open on your smartphone, you can pair it with the Cobra SC 250R and download the latest firmware. You’ll also need to create an account. And once connected to the Cobra SC 250R thru the app, you can receive alerts thru the database, such as red light cameras, Speed cameras, and speed traps.  Setting it up thru the menus was also very simple and straight forward. Now that it’s fully installed, lets see how it performs.

 

The Cobra SC 250R was simple to use, and performed very well.  The 3 inch display provided sufficient resolution to see very well what the camera’s are recording.  Most of the screen shows what it in front of you and recorded on the main camera.  Up in the corner is a smaller picture-in-picture of the real camera.  Colors were more vibrant than I expected, and had not just good resolution, but also had nice saturation of all the colors.  The image on the display was also a little brighter than it was outside, which means when it’s dark out the image being recorded would also be brighter than it is outside. So it gives great low-light performance with a bright lens. 

 

When it comes to night driving, the Cobra SC 250R also performed very well.  While there was a little bit of graininess, overall a great looking image was produced.  And while brightness was much lower than during the day, there was still good color to the images.  Resolution was also better than expected with good details of the images being recorded.  And color saturation was only a little on the low side.  The rear facing camera also provided similar performance.  So even at night, the Cobra SC 250R provided a great looking image.

 

Cobra provides good quality products, and our experience with them has supported that.  I was happy to see that the reputation continues.  It’s a well-made product, that also provides a great image.  And they are very fairly priced at $249.  If you are in the market for a dashcam, the Cobra SC 250R should be on your short list.  Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, the Cobra SC 250R has earned our Highly Recommended Award.  For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.cobra.com.