I've never cared for "the best" terms, I'm more into what fits for you and your budget. I got a dashcam and it lasted all but two years, the battery inside "popped" which caused the screen to go all blue. Not sure if the Texas heat or age got to it, my truck is parked in a carport and only gets mild evening sun.

So I bought this one from in 2016 for my front dash Amazon so far it does the job. If you hardwire it in make sure it has constant power even when the ignition is off since it is all capacitor the date and time will reset after so many hours without power.

This one is my rear camera, I got it free with gift cards when it was $25 and it has muted colors, trees are brownish, but it is okay for a rear dash.

The next upgrade I'd like is the YI dash cam

The top-priced BlackVue dash cams and battery packs along with Go Pro 6 not sure I'd leave these displayed in my vehicle, but if you want to spend that kind of money those are top priced.

Look into getting 32 or 64GB sd card and a mount for the mirror, the Texas heat on sticker types or suction will take a toll, mine are suction based and fall off randomly.

You'll find tons of "best of" videos and really will come away more confused. They all do the same basic operations, some link with your phone which is good for showing police or insurance, some track your speed and GPS, so those extras come with a price.

Pro tip: If you're ever involved in an accident or witness to one with a dashcam, do not ever mention you have a dashcam, get the information needed and let the video speak for you to police or the insurance company only.

Between those price points, it's best to stick with the GoPros. You're beyond the price I would pay for any sort of knock off action camera, even if they're marketing slightly better features. The drawbacks of those just aren't worth it. If I were you, I would go with a GoPro Hero5 Black, that does up to 4K30 video, or a Hero6 Black if you can stretch the budget by another $25, giving you 4K60 or 1080p240.

^This ^post ^contains ^affiliate ^links.

At around $400USD I would say you have three options:
Sony RX100 MkI, a Go Pro or your phone.

The S7 has decent camera quality, and while the RX100 will be more durable, I would opt to save the money instead. Image quality from the RX100 might be a little better (you'll definitely have more control over the image).

The Go Pro could definitely work. Those things are built like tanks, my mate takes one hiking and records some nice time lapses and video. However, image quality is poor (probably worse than your phone) and the fisheye effect looks out of place for a hiking video.

IMO, save the money until you have enough to get the RX100 MkIII/IV which will be a noticeable upgrade from your phone.

Edit: Also, the S7 has expandable storage, throw a 32GB micro-SD card in there and that'll be you set for storage.

I thought i'd share what I just came up with.

I am moving to Germany at the end of the month for about two years, and I will be doing a LOT of traveling during this time. To preserve memories and share my experiences I decided to upgrade and change around my camera bag. I sold my d3300 and lenses and wanted a setup for something portable and not cumbersome that I can take in any situation without being annoying.

My activities I want to capture:

• snowboarding
  
• Wakeboarding
  
• Motorcycling
  
• City adventure
  
• Hiking
  
• etc
  
  Here is what I put together:
  
  

  
  

• $450 GoPro Hero6
  
• $550 on Ebay - Sony RX100 MkIII for stills and some video
  
• $99 Zhiyun Smooth q to fly both the gopro, RX100, and my galaxy s8
  
• $27 leg bag to carry it all conveniently
  
• $70 high speed 128gb sd card for gopro
  
• $20 plate to mount gopro to gimbal
  
• $20 mount set for gopro with high ratings and lots of pieces
  
• splurged here... $50 mount for the motorcycle
  
• $25 two extra batteries and charger with 3 ports for GP
  
• $14 charger plus two extra batteries for the rx100
  
• $9 case for the rx100 so I can cram it in and out of leg bag without fear of harming the camera
  
• $14 grip for front of rx100 so it's easier to shoot with one hand
  
• $40 Boya BY-MM1 Micro Shotgun Mic
  
• $9 mount to attach boya mic to gimbal
  
  Grand total: $1377
  
  You can prob get the gopro plate for less but this one moves it the furthest away forward from the gimbal so it's less likely to get in the shot when shooting in superview or whatever gopro calls it these days.
  
  Also you can get a mkIV or higher as some have stated here if you want to shoot in 4k gimbal stablilized with all three cameras (s8 or equivalent phone included)
  
  I know i'm going to get flamed because it's not a sony mirrorless for what I paid, but for me being able to have all of these on me at any time is really helpful. Also you don't always have to carry anything but the gimbal and your cellphone in order to capture good video, which you will always have on you.
  
  Also I was hesitant to save the money on the Boya Mic over the RODE but the sound quality from it is very good.
  
  And one last note, I got the mkIII because I will be using the rx100 90% of the time for stills and very rarely for video. Really the only video with the rx100 will be low light and night video because of the large image sensor for it's form factor.

you'll probably get a ton of recommendations for the panasonic G7 with a reasonably wide lens to fit you all in shot, it's a really excellent little 4k camera for the price.

or if you need to save money for audio/lights etc, you could settle for a gopro hero6 or gopro hero 7. amazon referral links included

Let us know more about your budget for lights and audio, or if you have those bases covered already

Never mind. Here's a link to the Hero6 on Amazon.

I bought three sets of these, three of these main 950lmn a roll of 3m and a couple cams