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Garmin Dash Cam Mini 3

  • Writer: John Nickolls
    John Nickolls
  • Jun 11
  • 2 min read
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Chapter 1 – Meet the Beast in a Micro Body

Dash cams have evolved from bulky gadgets into sleek guardians you barely notice. The Garmin Dash Cam Mini 3exemplifies this trend — pocket‑sized, horizontal‑format, and packed with essentials like 1080p HDR, a 140° lens, voice control, and a built‑in polarizing filter. It balances stealth, quality, and connectivity, targeting drivers who want peace of mind without compromise.

Design & Build – Discreet Yet Durable

  • Ultra-compact, nearly invisible on your windscreen

  • Landscape format for better mounting

  • USB-C powered

  • Durable, heat-resistant up to 60°C

Image Quality

  • 1080p HDR @ 30fps

  • Excellent daylight capture

  • Good colour accuracy

  • Built-in Clarity™ polarizing lens reduces glare

  • Night footage is decent but not class-leading

Features & Integrations

  • Voice control ("OK Garmin")

  • Automatic incident detection

  • Garmin Drive App + Vault

  • Optional parking mode (needs hardwiring)

Chapter 2 – Set It, Forget It, Protect It

Installation

  • Magnetic adhesive mount with 2 options included

  • USB-C connection with dual-USB car charger

  • Optional hardwire kit for full parking protection

App Setup

  • Bluetooth & Wi-Fi pairing

  • Garmin Drive app: live view, settings, footage downloads

  • Vault cloud: 24hr free storage, paid tiers available

Day-to-Day Use

  • Voice commands work reliably

  • Loop recording with G-sensor protection

  • Class 10 UHS-I microSD required

  • MP4 file format, simple to manage

Chapter 3 – Real World Testing

Day Driving

  • Sharp footage, wide lens, no distortion

  • Captures signs and plates cleanly

Night Driving

  • Urban streets: good

  • Dark rural: moderate detail, some motion blur

Glare & Polarizer

  • Reduces dashboard reflection

  • Maintains clarity in bright sun

Weather Handling

  • Performs well in rain and drizzle

  • HDR may slightly overexpose dark spots

Voice & Storage

  • Commands responsive even with background noise

  • Clip sizes: ~80–100MB per minute

Chapter 4 – Mini 3 vs The World

Comparison Table

Model

Res

GPS

CPL

Price

Verdict

Mini 3

1080p HDR

No

Yes

£110

Great stealth cam

Mini 2

1080p HDR

No

No

£95

Budget alternative

Viofo A119 Mini 2

2K

Optional

Optional

£115

Best for detail/night

Vantrue E1 Pro

4K

Yes

Yes

£135

Premium all-rounder

Nextbase Piqo

1080/1440p

No

No

£130

Stylish but limited

App & Feature Showdown

  • Garmin Drive app is user-friendly

  • Vault cloud adds value

  • Viofo and Vantrue offer better night clarity and GPS

Chapter 5 – Final Verdict

Pros

  • Ultra compact

  • Great daytime video

  • Polarizer built-in

  • Solid app and voice control

Cons

  • No GPS

  • No buffered parking mode

  • Not ideal for pitch-dark roads

Ideal For:

  • Urban drivers

  • Campervan owners (hello, Vanilla!)

  • Stealth setups

Not Ideal For:

  • Rural night driving

  • GPS-tracking enthusiasts

Nix’s Pro Tips

  • Use a 128GB microSD

  • Mount behind mirror

  • Enable voice control

  • Pair with GPS-enabled front cam if needed

Summary Grid

Feature

Rating

Design

10/10

Video Quality

8/10

Night Performance

6/10

App Experience

9.5/10

Ease of Use

10/10

Features

7/10

Value

9/10

Final Word

The Mini 3 is the best dash cam for users who want reliability, minimalism, and a product that “just works.” It might not impress with flashy extras, but it quietly outperforms in real-world scenarios.

Ready to upload to your Wix blog and share with the dash-cam curious world? Let’s do it!

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🚐 VANILLA — THE ESSENCE OF FREEDOM

​People often ask where my drone footage comes from — how I find those remote beaches, quiet lochs, or golden ridgelines at sunrise.
The answer isn’t just in the air. It’s on four wheels.

Meet Vanilla — my VW Transporter T6.1 campervan, my rolling HQ, my drone command centre, and quite honestly, my partner-in-flight.

She’s not just transport. She’s the bridge between earth and sky — a machine that lets me live the story I capture through my lens.

Where It All Began

Vanilla came to life at Leighton Vans, where form meets finesse. She was sculpted with their LV-R bodykit, an upgrade that gives her those beautifully aggressive lines and that unmistakable road stance.
Her 20-inch black LV alloys anchor her to the tarmac with quiet confidence — purposeful, poised, and just a little bit smug.

The interior conversion came from Rock N Roll Campers, who turned an empty shell into something that felt alive — soft finishes, clever storage, a rock-solid bed, and that rare thing in a van: soul.

Later, the wizards at Supreme Conversions joined the journey, fitting the awning rail, upgrading her with Transporter HQ headlights and rear lights, and, most recently, installing the stunning Fiamma F43 Van awning.
It’s the kind of awning that unfurls with elegance, like a curtain revealing a stage — the stage where I plan flights, sip coffee, and wait for the light to get just right.

Inside the Machine

Vanilla’s interior is less “campervan” and more “creative sanctuary.”
Every inch is refined: Crib 5 insulation, full sound-deadening, soft carpet lining, and commercial LVT flooring over solid birch ply.
Her Egger HPL furniture gleams softly under warm LED lighting, and her Rusty Lee ¾ bed folds out like a promise of rest after a long day’s flying.

The Skyline pop-top opens to the sky — the same sky my drones inhabit — a seamless link between my ground base and my flying machines.

Outside, the Fiamma F43 Van awning rolls out to create an outdoor workspace: laptop on the table, controller in hand, the hum of the inverter behind me, and the quiet ticking of a cooling drone on the table beside a steaming mug of ginger tea.

It’s not camping. It’s creative engineering in motion.

Powering Creativity

Drone photography isn’t a 9-to-5 hobby. It’s early starts, late edits, and always chasing the right light.
That means Vanilla has to be completely self-sufficient — and she is.

Her power system is rock solid: an Exide EZ850 100 Ah AGM battery managed by a Victron Orion Smart DC-DC charger and Eco-Worthy solar controller, topped up by her XINGCO 120 W solar panel bonded to the pop-top.
It means while I’m flying over coastal cliffs, Vanilla’s quietly charging batteries, cameras, laptops, and the occasional air fryer.

Add in a Victron SmartShunt (so I can track every watt in real time), a Jackery Explorer 1000, a Jackery 240, an Anker 165 W power bank, and a YABER jump starter pack, and you’ve got enough power for a week’s expedition.

Every drone, every camera, every edit — charged, logged, and uploaded before the next take-off.

Fuel for the Pilot

You can’t create on an empty stomach, and Vanilla’s kitchen is a masterpiece of compact design.
A CAN twin hob and marine sink, powered by Campingaz 907, forms the core of her galley.
A 50 L compressor fridge keeps everything crisp, while a toaster, kettle, and Cadac BBQ handle the rest.

But here’s where the magic happens — the Cosori air fryer and Vango Sizzle Double induction hob.
The air fryer is perfect for hot chips at midnight or golden toasties on misty mornings. The induction hob? It’s quiet, precise, and efficient, perfect for cooking while editing the day’s footage in cinematic silence.

When the Fiamma awning is out and the Vango Faro Air III awning is set up alongside, Vanilla transforms into mission control.
Power. Food. Shelter. Wi-Fi. Everything I need to capture the world from above — all in one parked masterpiece.

Warm Nights, Cool Days

Vanilla handles Britain like a pro.
A Webasto diesel heater keeps her toasty on winter shoots, and the factory air-con cools her down when summer edits stretch into the evening.

Her Transporter HQ 69 mm dimmable LEDs light up the interior like a studio set, while BioLite and Vango lanterns add soft ambience — perfect for working late or simply reflecting on the day’s adventures.

Outside, those Transporter HQ Audi-style headlights — installed by Supreme Conversions — slice cleanly through darkness. Her rear lights gleam like runway markers. Her LV-R bodykit and alloys catch the glow of twilight like a film reel catching fire.

She’s not a van. She’s a silhouette of intent.

Connected Everywhere

Vanilla runs her own internet.
Her ZTE Link mobile Wi-Fi router keeps me online for live drone tracking, software updates, uploads, and the occasional cheeky YouTube binge.
She’s a digital basecamp — blending travel, work, and creativity into one smooth system.

After the flights, I unwind with the Nebula Capsule 3 Laser projector (Beamy) and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (“Blazey”), projecting straight onto the pop-top.
A Bose Bluetooth speaker fills the cabin with music — sometimes Depeche Mode, sometimes silence, depending on the edit.

Vanilla doesn’t just take me to my subjects — she lets me stay there long enough to fall in love with them.

Safety and Smarts

She’s fitted with a Scorpion Tracker, adaptive cruise control, crosswind assist, and parking sensors — because adventures are better when you can relax behind the wheel.
Her systems talk to my phone via Victron Smart apps, and her power integrates perfectly with Apple HomeKit, giving me complete control even from the driver’s seat.

Out There, in the Light

Vanilla has been everywhere my drones have flown — the NC500, Cornwall’s cliffs, the Welsh mountains, the Lake District, and countless nameless lanes that all lead somewhere unforgettable.

She averages a reliable 35 mpg, purrs happily on long drives, and provides the calm between flights.
When I’m parked under her awning, the kettle bubbling, batteries on charge, and the drone footage downloading, there’s this moment — stillness, satisfaction, and gratitude.

Vanilla isn’t just part of the Nix Drones setup.
She is the setup.
Without her, half my story wouldn’t exist.

Her Signature

Her logo says it all — a clean white silhouette with her pop-top raised, VAN in orange, ILLA in white, and below it, her creed:
“THE ESSENCE OF FREEDOM.”

That’s what it’s all about — the freedom to chase light, to capture beauty, and to live unhurried in a world that’s always rushing.

VANILLA — The Essence of Freedom.
The road half of Nix Drones.
A creative base on wheels.
A companion built for the horizon.

Would you like me to finish this with a short homepage hero caption (like “My mobile flight deck — the campervan that powers every Nix Drones journey”) and a perfect SEO snippet to link Vanilla’s story directly to your site’s drone photography focus?

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