This 4K dashcam is basically an action cam for your car

I’ve never been the first to hop on new tech. Call me a dinosaur in an increasingly digital world, but I still like doing things the old-fashioned way: manual transmissions, gas motorcycles that require a real clutch, physical buttons instead of touchscreens, and the occasional bit of mechanical noise.Maybe that’s what kept me away from dashcams until now. But considering how chaotic everyday driving has become, I couldn’t say no when DDPAI reached out to let me test their new Z90 Master.Since this is my first-ever dashcam, I don't have a personal baseline for comparison. That said, I knew DDPAI was a major player in the market. It's a Chinese manufacturer offering nearly 20 models, at least according to their store listings. The Z90 Master is their latest flagship unit, priced at US$299.While I haven't owned one before, I’ve seen plenty of dashcams in other vehicles, and the Z90 Master certainly isn't the most discreet option available. It’s fairly chunky, weighing in at 0.45 lb (204.5 g). The front camera records up to native 4K, or 3K at a smoother 60 frames per secondDDPAI The main housing features a 3-inch screen with four control buttons underneath. A microSD slot sits on one side, while the other holds the USB-C power input and rear-camera connector. The lens module swivels, making it easy to dial in the correct angle for your windshield.The rear camera is noticeably more compact. It also features an adjustable lens, running off a single cable connected back to the main unit. For my Jimny, the included wiring was long enough to route between both cameras, and it should offer plenty of slack for most standard vehicles.The overall package can be expanded with an optional 4G module, allowing you to check live video feeds remotely from your phone while parked. There’s also an optional third interior camera designed to monitor the cabin. Since I didn't test either add-on, my review focuses strictly on the core setup: the front- and rear-facing cameras.Video resolution is easily one of the Z90 Master’s strongest selling points. The main front camera captures up to native 4K, or 3K at a smoother 60 frames per second. The rear camera handles secondary coverage, while the optional interior camera shoots at 3K (2880 x 1620).With a Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678 8MP sensor and DDPAI's RealCube AI image processing, the system automatically tunes contrast and clarity for impressive low-light performance. You also get standard safety features like collision detection, which locks HD clips upon impact, and a forward vehicle start alert, which notifies you when traffic ahead begins moving. The rear camera handles secondary coverageDDPAI Admittedly, impact detection is far more practical than traffic alerts (if you need a chime to tell you the car ahead moved, you might have bigger problems). However, even on its lowest sensitivity setting, the G-sensor was far too trigger-happy, locking emergency recordings every time I drove over a basic speed bump.A three-axis G-sensor handles this monitoring. You can even open the app to view live G-force data as you drive. The Z90 Master packs several extra features, including route planning, voice commands, GPS tracking, and a 5-fps parking time-lapse – though I suspect most drivers will rarely touch them.The real highlight for me is the DDPAI companion app. It gives you full control right from your smartphone, letting you toggle camera feeds, stream live footage, review past clips, and tweak settings like resolution, exposure, timestamps, and alert toggling.DDPAI provides three power options in the box: a standard 12V socket plug, a direct fuse-box hardwire kit, or an OBD connector. I opted for the OBD route. That made the electrical connection effortless; the only real work was routing and hiding the cables behind the interior trim. The front module boasts a memory card port on one side and a USB-C power and rear camera connector on the otherDDPAI After a month of daily driving with the setup in place, here is where I landed.The Z90 Master’s clear highlight is its image quality, which goes a long way toward making it easy to live with. The front camera uses a 135-degree field of view, which introduces minor edge distortion, but that's the price for capturing a broad swath of the road ahead. The rear camera is slightly tighter at 126 degrees, but still offers plenty of coverage behind you.The mobile app is smooth, and most settings perform as expected. My biggest issue, however, was a persistent glitch where the unit would randomly power down while driving.It happened regularly: the unit would shut off, then reboot itself twice before returning to normal mode. I flagged this with the DDPAI team, who confirmed it was a known bug affecting some review units and noted that a firmware patch is in development to resolve it. The Z90 Master lets you track everything straight from your phoneDDPAI Beyond that quirk, the Z90 Master does its primary job exceptionally well. The video quality is so crisp it could double as an action camera for capturing road-trip POV footage. The extra software gimmicks, however, remain a bit hit-or-miss.There is plenty to appreciate here: sharp imaging, wide coverage, solid rear video, and enough utility to be far more than a simple windshield ornament. But some smart features lack polish, and clean wiring installation requires a bit of effort. If you’re doing a permanent install, though, the setup eventually blends into the background – which is exactly what a good dashcam should do.At $300, the Z90 Master nails the single most critical job: capturing clear, reliable footage when something goes wrong on the road. It isn't perfect, and a few headline features look better on paper than in practice, but if your top priority is clear footage over endless software tricks, it makes a compelling case for itself.Source: DDPAI