9 Best Body Cameras in 2024 (Discrete but Durable) (2024)

The best body camera will protect the public and the user. It provides a record and context for incidents that happen at high speed. The good news for everyone is that body cameras are now very affordable.

We’ve put together a list of the best body cameras out there. Some we’ve chosen are action cameras. But all will work well if you match your requirements to the features. Our top pick is a traditional body camera. The BOBLOV M7 has a robust case, a color screen, and a rotating body mount.

What Is a Body Camera?

Worn on your clothing, a body camera allows hands-free recording of what is happening in front of you. Typically, law enforcement officers, security guards, or door staff wear them. They provide clear evidence of what happened leading up to and during an incident.

Before we look at the details of the cameras we’ve selected, here is a summary of all our recommendations.

What Is the Best Body Camera?

We’ve looked at the features, specifications, and practicality of these cameras. All of them should serve you well. Work out in advance what your needs are, and then match the camera to your needs and budget.

The BOBLOV M7 is a sound choice if you need a recording device that can run for several hours between charges. It also has plenty of other features. A color screen to review your footage is a bonus. The clip allows up to 180 degrees of movement, which increases the number of mounting options.

The 179-degree viewing angle means there won’t be much that happens in front of you that goes unrecorded. And if the action happens at night, everything up to 10 feet (3.3 m) away will be captured in infrared.

The footage is time and date stamped for security. And these stamps can neither be removed nor tampered with. And for good measure, it also records the GPS coordinates. That can be a real bonus.

Loop recording and dashcam capability add to the camera’s versatility. You can connect it to a power source for uninterrupted operation. Overall, the BOBLOV M7 does everything you need in a bodycam. And it does it to a high standard at a good price.

The CammPro 1826 is a more expensive camera. You get improved battery life, but you lose Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s likely that these two things are connected. So the 11 hours recording time is impressive. But you’ll have to connect via USB to download the footage.

The IR performance is significantly better, with a 50-foot (15 m) detection range. The field of view is 140 degrees. This is less all-encompassing than the BOBLOV PD70. But it does bring you a little closer to the action being recorded.

One slight shortcoming is that it only has onboard memory. The proprietary software only works with Windows machines. Other than that, the CammPro is an attractive choice of camera.

The BOBLOV KJ21 is one of the cheapest in this review. It has 1296p recording. If you lower the resolution to 1080p you can get up to 10 hours of footage. The IR lights will capture images up to 33 feet (10 m) away.

There’s no Wi-Fi, so you download via a USB connection. And you can always review the footage on the 2-inch color screen. That footage can be stored on a MicroSD card up to a maximum of 128 GB.

There’s a USB charging dock and dashcam mode. So the camera can be used as a dual-purpose dash/bodycam. To capture the start of any incident, the camera records for 1 minute before pressing the record button.

It’s not as well-connected as the PD70. And its IR isn’t as good as the CammPro. But the BOBLOV KJ21 is significantly cheaper than either of them. It makes a good case for a budget, entry-level bodycam.

The advantage of the Veho Muvi HD10X is its tiny size. It’s almost a spy cam rather than a body cam. It would easily slip into a pocket and is less obvious and obtrusive than any of the more typical bodycams. One of its target markets is the action cam user.

So it’s not a typical body camera. Its small size does come with some drawbacks. The video is only 1080p and there is no IR capacity. And there’s no screen or Wi-Fi.

That sounds like a long list of negatives. But if you’re looking for a body camera that can work with normal clothes, it’s worth considering. You won’t need a special harness. You could easily clip it to a shirt or jacket. The Muvi is perfect in those situations.

The Rexing P1 is built with the law enforcement of security professionals in mind. It is housed in a sturdy water- and shock-resistant body. There is a Panic Mode which activates a siren and flashing beacon. It’s perfect for alerting nearby colleagues. A 2-inch screen allows instant review of the footage.

Battery standby of 20 hours and recording of 10 hours allows a whole shift to be recorded. And if that shift is at night, the IR LEDs provide coverage up to 50 feet (15 m). To make sure the captured footage remains available, the files are password protected.

The 1080p video resolution and lack of Wi-Fi are perhaps subpar for the price. But the picture quality is actually perfectly adequate for its uses. The Rexing P1 is well worth considering if you want an all-day body camera.

The Insta360 Go 2 doesn’t pretend to be a bodycam. It is an action camera. As such it is a popular GoPro alternative. So it lacks some features that you find on a traditional body camera. There’s no IR and battery life is very short. Even with the charging case, you’re limited to fewer than three hours.

On the other hand, it has features that many body cameras don’t. Astonishingly good image stabilization means that footage will be steady. Even if the person wearing it is running. It is fully waterproof to 13 feet (4 m). And it has easy magnetic mounting possibilities. This means you don’t even need to clip it to anything.

Although this is an action camera, it could be what you need for a body camera. It’s far from cheap. The video technology and action camera features come at a price.

But, you might only need to record occasionally during a shift. In this case, the Insta360 will provide you with peace of mind. Its 360-degree sibling was our top pick for the best 360 camera this year.

The BOBLOV A22 is very small for a body camera. And it is very inexpensive. Despite this, it has a decent set of features. There’s the night vision capability courtesy of the four IR LEDs. It has a one-touch video or recording. In fact, it looks more like a digital voice recorder than a bodycam.

The fixing clip has a tripod screw mount. Combined with the 180-degree rotatable lens, this increases mounting options. One limitation is the maximum recording time. Up to ten hours of recording is possible with the battery’s capacity. But each video is limited to ten minutes. So it’s not a camera you can set to record for a whole shift and forget.

That said, it’s easy to wear and gives a solid video performance. As a record-when-you-need-it body camera, the A22 offers unbeatable value for money.

The DJI Action 2 is another action camera that could double as a body camera. It has excellent video resolution. And its image stabilization is about as good as it gets. It’s also waterproof down to 33 feet (10m). Combine all this with a range of flexible mounting options, and it has a lot to recommend it.

It does have shortcomings as a body camera. There’s no IR capability, and recording time is very limited. This is true of any action camera. And it is very expensive.

However, it could be worth considering. Maybe you want an action camera and want to use it occasionally as a body camera. In this case, the DJI is worth a look.

The Transcend DrivePro Body 30 has a number of features designed to appeal to the professional user. There is a six-camera docking and charging station, for instance. This has ethernet for ease of file transfer. And a team of linked cameras will sync together. So if one is buffering its video, the others will make sure they are recording.

These features are in addition to high-quality video resolution and night vision. Wi-Fi streaming to smartphones and easy setup via Bluetooth are also handy features. You’ll get up to 12 hours of recording from the battery. And the internal 64 GB memory is more than enough storage.

The Transcend is a body camera with great features. It’s not the cheapest, but it is clearly targeted at the professional user. If you work in a team, it is a strong contender for the best body camera for you.

What to Look for in a Body Camera

Body cameras have revolutionized how we see law enforcement officers. Literally how we see them. And some features are more important than others. The best body camera for you will have the features you need for your situation. Here are some important things to consider.

Connectivity

How does the camera connect to the outside world? At the least, it will have USB. Wi-Fi is useful for monitoring what the camera is seeing. And it makes transferring files easy. It might also allow easy setup of the camera’s features. Bluetooth can also help set up the camera’s features and transfer files.

Memory and Storage

Some cameras have built-in memory, others use memory cards. The advantage of memory cards is that you can swap them out to transfer files. The camera is not tied up in the file transfer process.

On the other hand, it’s possible to lose the card. The same concern applies to file deletion. This is addressed by cameras that require a password-protected computer-linked process.

Ease of Use

Let’s face it, the body camera is not designed to be used in pleasant situations. It is there for when the trouble starts. And it is next to useless if you can’t quickly and easily activate it. Especially if it’s winter and you’re wearing thick gloves.

So look for cameras that have big, easy buttons. Or ones that can record continuously. This means you’ll never miss an incident.

Video Quality and Night Vision

If any of your work involves low light, then you need night vision. Look for a camera with infrared LEDs. The footage won’t look pretty, and it will be monochrome. But it will be usable and might even reveal details you didn’t see in the moment.

Conclusion: The Best Body Camera

Technology advances and becomes cheaper all the time. This means that there’s no excuse not to protect yourself with a body camera. Our recommended pick is the BOBLOV M7.

It has a great blend of features and affordability. We like the Wi-Fi connectivity, 128 GB of storage, GPS logging, and 12-hour battery life. The camera is also easy to use and very reliable. These are the reasons we chose the BOBLOV M7 as our top pick for the best body camera in 2023.