My first dash camera review .... ( Budget Dashcam )

It seems to be called Car Camcorder ....

It cost $21 ozzi bananas off Ebay

Now the hook that baited me was the FULL HD ( 1080 ) video capability ..

Now unfortunately , the camera cant do FULL HD ,

Now this is as good as it gets , even at 1080 ( FULL HD ) ..

But the news gets worse , the video is terrible .. Nasty , and is it really HD ???? I wonder cos its so bad ...

Ok .. Video quality bites ..

The sound , camera pics up interference from the engine and sounds like an old film projector ...

Ok for $21 ozzi bananas what did I expect ? To be honest a little more than what I got ..

It is better than nothing , but only just .

I plan on buying / reviewing a budget dashcam perhaps at a rate of one per month or two months ..

I know , but its like flashlights . I could just shell out $100 and get a decent Dash cam or up to $300 or $400 ..

But where is the fun in that ???

I rate this about 3 out of ten ...

It takes video = Thats one

It takes audio = Thats two

It loops the video ( I hope ) = That's another one

It records @ 1 - 3 - 5 and 10 minutes , but the files are a little on the large size ( around 100MB per minute ) for such lousy video quality ..

It is physically small ( Camera ) , and fits out of sight behind the rear view mirror ..

So far its working ..

But so far its looking to be little more than a toy ...

Wow - that thing is a POS…

Looking forward to seeing some more of your reviews ( if the first one has not put you off…)

Thanks for “taking one for the team”. :beer:

A lot like budget flashlights , unfortunately you cant rebuild or use a dash cam as a mod host !

The footage would show who is in the right and who is in the wrong ( better than he said and she said and someones opinion ) .

But if some one hit you and then did a runner , the video quality bites so far as to serve to ID the miscreant .

Now this is a cool thread, I have been thinking about a dashcam, so I am eagerly watching your thread… Thanks…

FYI - ATM I have some 3 more Budget Dash Cameras on order ...

One is local , so should get here this week ( comes with one year warranty ) ..

The other has tracking and is on the way , the 3rd ? Is overdue and the seller is not responding , so come Friday - I will put in a Claim ...

Hit Youtube , some seriously SICK dashcam video , and after watching a few hours of Dashcam footage , I really dont want to go out there without one ..

Plan is to have forward and rear facing cameras in my car , Im just wondering if I should consider a GPS logger ? ( can work for you , or against you )

Dashcams with GPS loggers start @ $50USD and anything under $50USD I consider to be a budget dash camera .

I can live with that video quality given the price. Still viewable to capture accidents etc. With the crashing ringgit we can afford less nowadays anyway.

And I see in Oz you drive on the correct side of the road, that’s nice. :wink:

I recently witnessed an accident right next to my car, on a highway, a truck blew a tyre right when I was overtaking it. It drags all the way to my lane, luckily I was able to speed up in time to avoid the accident. The occupants were not so lucky, the truck did multiple flips, both were thrown out and one of them ended up crushed under the truck. Many people stopped but couldn’t do anything to help, the truck was too big to flip by us, felt so helpless at the time. I am not a queasy person but the image haunted me for days nevertheless.

That was quite the time when I was seriously considering a dash cam, even a cheap one like this will help tremendously in accident investigations.

Just a bit Harsh I think! It still shows enough to show you aren't at fault if a jerk runs a red light and crashes into you, while claiming he had the green...

Looking forward to your future reviews; I'm with you, having seen the footage online, I would like to have a dash cam setup as "just in case" insurance.

That's a sure way to drive yourself a bit crazy. The amount of footage showing dumb/distracted drivers is staggering.

You might try dashcamtalk.com they've got a lot of info on popular dashcams $40 and up. I've got my eyes on a G1W-H.

Got my eye out for the G1WC ( Capacitor rather than battery )

In the long run ( Australia can get hot ) I plan on running Dash cams with capacitors rather batteries ..

But my curiosity needs to be satisfied :

Thanks for the review, the quality is indeed what one could expect from a $20 dashcam.

How feasible is it to put your phone on record mode on the window (or on a holder) while driving?

Not very, since the phone gets very very hot while recording HD for so long. Right now the cheapest quality dashcam is the G1W at Spytech for $39. A real quality camera, the size of a TicTac box and with amazing quality is the Mobius for $70. You won’t believe your eyes when you see how sharp this little thing is.

I would be happy to show the quality if there is interest. I’m part of a dashcam forum at DashCamTalk.com.

I haven’t done extensive tests, but my OnePlus One doesn’t get uncomfortably hot while shooting for extended periods of time, even at 4K unless the flash is on. Not sure about other phones, but I think if plugged in, I think it will be fine in terms of temperature and battery.

Hey, it’s nice to see a guy from DashCamTalk. I was browsing around the reviews and have seen the Xaimo Yi cam, and it seems to be pretty good at $68. Any opinions on it? I also checked some footage from the Mobius and it seems like the white balance is a little bit off, not that it matters for a dashcam, but I’d like to use it as an action cam as well. I see others have been mounting it on their quadrotors as well.

I have a G1W-H — first dashcam — for now, powered from a one- or two-cell power bank in the sunglasses holder pocket up by the rear view mirror, rather than bother running wire.
Definitely recommend dashcam forum at DashCamTalk.com as the place to go for detailed discussion.

The Yi is a nice little camera and they have been improving it slowly. As an action cam, start up is a bit slow. The Mobius is completely adjustable (RGB) and having two have been very impressed by the picture quality and reliability. The Mobius team still continues to improve the camera with the latest being a wider lens and Motion Detect on USB power disconnect, so you have a parking mode.

Both are great cameras. If size matters and you plan to use it as a dashcam, you can’t go wrong with the Mobius, if you want WiFi the Yi is a nice camera for the price. Remember the Mobius has more options, such as extension lenses, live view apps and capacitors.

Thanks GJHS, I’ll look into the Mobius. Seems like a very capable as well as expandable camera.

Thanks, this is a great idea.

As you find some bargains, you will have us all using dash cams.

youre driving on the wrong side of the road :stuck_out_tongue:

Thats ok , so is everyone else !

Yep , personally I think every car should be fitted with dash cam .. Here in Australia now we have a law that simply states that every home needs a "working" fire alarm .. I would like to see another law that that simply states that every car needs a working dash camera ..

I say this as the insanity on Australian roads has become quite intolerable . Almost every time I get in the car I see people ( drivers ) being homicidal . 30 years ago I might see something once every 6 months , these days if I want to see insanity I just need to go for a short drive ..

When I went to school a couple of years ago ( Back to school - Advanced Diploma in IT ) I missed out on dying or serious injury by one second . Each time by some nutter running a red light and each time they missed me ( passing behind me in screaming tire smoke ) by almost exactly one second . ooooh yeah ! , Australians sleep while driving to work . I think they call them power naps , but if I remember your supposed to stop and nap , not drive and nap !

I think a good 50% of Australian drivers need to go back to driving school , the lack of skill these days is shockingly bad .

For now , ill be playing with budget cams . ( Its fun ) + If I find a decent one ( That would be good )

It's unfortunate that this dash cam was " Poor" , but such is life .. And I purchased it for the lack of reviews on it ( You tube has plenty of dash cam reviews ) ..

Just youtube the camera your interested in , and remember uploading to youtube may suffer image loss ( my video suffered a little image loss - but it is bad in anyway )

So what would be a good budget car camera for the car? Here in Texas we have brutal summers with 100F / 40C temperatures days (same as in Oz), the car basically becomes an oven, Would the G1W with capacitor instead of battery be a good option?

Thanks!
AlexGT

Where its hot , capacitors are the way to go ... As well where its crazy cold ..

The dash cam batteries have a tendency to go and flame out when cooking in a car ( apparently ) , and a lot of folks recommend removing the camera when not in use ( PITA )

I guess it would be nasty to go shopping , come back to the car and find it on fire !

Those li-ion batteries , not just a joy in flashlights ...

Here is a question , does any one know where to buy capacitors to replace li-ion dash cam batteries ?

Some dash cams with capacitors

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Dash+cam+with+capacitor&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcapacitor+Dash+cam++.TRS0&_nkw=capacitor+Dash+cam++&_sacat=0