4 Best Backup Cameras of 2023, Tested by Experts

Aug 11, 2023

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Our top pick is Wolfbox's G840S Mirror Backup Camera.

Backup cameras are one of the best driving aids out there, helping with visibility in what could otherwise be blindspots. In 2018, the Department of Transportation has required that backup cameras come standard in all vehicles, and a lot of cars were including them before 2018 anyway. Chances are if you have a newer car, you probably already have one. But what about if you're driving an older car pre-camera ages? That's where aftermarket backup cameras come in.

Here at the Good Housekeeping Institute, we regularly review and test all kinds of car gear, from the best car accessories to car cleaning products. For the more nitty-gritty car tech though (like the best car buffers) we call on our friends at Car and Driver to pick their brains. To find the best backup cameras, we talked with Associate Commerce Editor Colin Morgan, Assistant Testing Editor Kathrine Keeler and Associate Testing Editor Gannon Burgett, as well as dug through their testing data.

Once you've looked though our top picks, go to the end of this article to learn more about what to look for when shopping for a backup camera and how we chose these products. Looking for more ways to upgrade your ride? Check out our guides on the best car leather cleaners, best car air mattresses and best car air fresheners. You can also check out Car and Driver's original review here!

The Wolfbox G840S is Car and Driver's top pick for backup cameras, and we wholeheartedly agree. It's packed with features: A huge 12-inch display that doubles as a mirror, a dashcam built into the display so you can record what's going on in front of you and (most importantly) a high-quality camera with a solid performance, day or night.

Instead of your typical video feed on your dash, this backup camera actually attaches over your rearview mirror. When it's non-active, it's a perfectly fine rearview mirror, but when you turn it on and put your car in reverse, it turns into a high-definition rear- and front-facing camera. Video feed comes from either the 1080p rearview camera or the 4k dashcam built into the mirror attachment.

Car and Driver found set up to be pretty straightforward, though it does require running a cable though your vehicle. The camera is hardwired into your car's fuse panel, and the video is sent over a cable that ends into a mini-jack that plugs into the overhead mirror display. The mirror display is powered via a 12-volt plug that's the cigarette lighter, which also charges the internal super capacitor so you can grab photos even when your car is off too.

You do have to retrofit the display over your existing mirror, but Car and Driver found that this system is levels above everything they tested and a great overall value. Try not to worry about wiring the car front-to-back either; the 20-foot cord is more than enough to hide it out of sight.

Wiring these cameras into your car can be hard. According to our friends over at Car and Driver though, this backup camera was refreshingly easy to install. They ran the camera cable from the trunk to the front of the car, plugged it into the display and then plugged the display into the 12-volt charger. Done and done. Plus, with a whopping 30-foot cable it should be plenty long enough to reach even the back of RVs and pickup trucks.

Though they did find that the image quality could be better, especially at night, it was more than clear enough to see any reasonable obstacles with relative ease. Between the "plug and play" installation that makes set up a snap and the great price, this product is for sure worth the drop in camera quality.

When you're looking for a system with not a single wire hanging around, this is the one for you. Car and Driver says it's basically a use-as-needed camera that's magnetically attached to the back of your vehicle (or anything you're towing). It's battery-powered and rechargeable via USB-C cable. The feed uses a local Wi-Fi connection to display the backup image on your smartphone through the camera's phone app.

The wide-angle lens did give the testers at Car and Driver a comprehensive view of the backup area, even more so when they mounted it higher on the vehicle. You do pay for the ease of wireless set up though: Every time you want to use the camera, you have to attach the camera and then connect it to your phone's hotspot. A bit clunky for sure, but it's better than running your truck into the fence because you can't see over whatever you've got loaded in the bed. Car and Driver did note that physical installation is straight forward once you find the correct app (there's one for Android and one for iOS), though they found the instructions confusing.

If you're driving anything wide or long, like a motorhome or anything on a hitch, you know the pain that is attempting to back up with all that extra bulk. If you're sporting an older RV, you might even just have to stick someone outside the vehicle to give you the all clear. Garmin might be known for their GPS systems circa a time before map applications on our phones, but they also make some pretty sweet backup cameras.

This tiny camera is wireless between the camera and the display when it's hardwired into a 12-volt power source, though the display does have to be one of Garmin's compatible units, which are sold separately (for Car and Driver's test, they used the DriveSmart 65 GPS). They found that in daylight conditions the view was almost 180 degrees, meaning that everything in the plane of the backup camera was visible. Despite the wireless connection, they found there was almost no lag between the camera and the display. While the sensor stands up both day and night, Car and Driver found that the image quality dropped dramatically at night, noting flares from any light behind the camera. When they blocked the stray light, they did find the image quality improved, however.

While the experts at Car and Driver note that this is not the backup camera for you if you need solid images at night, it might make sense if you have a Garmin display or are okay with shelling out the cash for one.

The experts at Car and Driver busted out their tools and installed each camera they tested near the license plate of their Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX to get a consistant height and angle for each camera. Then they routed any cords back to the display at the front of the car to get a feel for the in-car set up. During this process they noted things like ease of installation, connection issues, cord length and more. Then they recruited their staff members to take a look at the displays, rating them for clarity by setting up five cones in five-foot intervals to gauge camera quality at different distances. They also flipped though each display to see any menus, settings or extra features.

To test a backup camera you actually have to back a car up at some point, so they designed a "special Gear Team Backup Crash Course" (which is a stellar band name) to see if the cameras actually helped the staff not crash. They made a tight "S" from cones and even tossed in real life obstacles like a grill, a minibike and their team mascot — name still pending. Then they threw that thing in reverse to see if the cameras helped make it through their maze.

Car and Driver outlines a few main things to keep in mind when shopping:

✔️ High-resolution imagery: The fanciest backup system in the world isn't going to do you a bit of good if you can't tell what's on the camera. Make sure you check the resolution to ensure you're getting a good image.

✔️ Field of view: In the same vein as a good image, you're going to want to be able to see more than what's just directly behind you, particularly if you're backing up something wide like an RV or trailer. A nice wide range ensures you can see what's behind you and anything that might come across while you're backing up.

✔️ Night vision capabilities: If you plan on backing up at night at all, you'll want to be able to see what you're doing then too. Flares from other cars and lights can wash out a backup camera and make it hard to see, so make sure the camera is coated correctly to deal with those flares.

✔️ Connectivity: There needs to be very minimal lag between what the camera captures and what's displayed on the screen. In general, cameras that are wired to the display have less lag than a wireless one, though the two wireless in our picks had minimal lag, so don't count one out just because it's wireless.

✔️ Additional features: These are things like parking guidelines or collision warnings, not exactly necessary, but very nice to have.

Aside from a few exceptions, "wireless" backup cameras are a bit of a misnomer. Anything you want to permanently install in your car has to have a power source, and a power source means wires. For the camera, this is usually done by wiring the camera into your tail lights, that way the camera only turns on when your car is in reverse. Displays typically use the 12-volt cigarette lighter port, which can sometimes also power the camera through one (very long) connection.

Abigail Bailey writes about products for the Good Housekeeping Institute. While she's not exactly a gear-head, she does have a Master of Science in Publishing Digital and Print Media from NYU, and loves driving her 20-year-old Honda CRV.

Associate Commerce Editor Collin Morgan, Assistant Testing Editor Katherine Keeler and Associate Testing Editor Gannon Burgett from Car and Driver were all consulted for this article, sharing their independent testing, expertise and related insight in all things vehicular. Abigail also consulted with Rachel Rothman, chief technologist and executive technical director for the Good Housekeeping Institute, who oversees auto content for the brand.

Abigail (she/her) covers everything from kitchen gear to mattresses and smart blinds for the Institute, as well as assisting the General Manager in any number of projects. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. in creative writing, as well as earning her M.S. in publishing digital and print media from New York University. Before GH, she worked at LSU Press and The Southern Review literary magazine. In her free time you can find her quilting, cross-stitching or trying to figure out how to squeeze one more bookshelf in her tiny apartment.

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