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

Micro SD card =

These things can corrupt simply by looking at them sideways , I have had micro SD cards corrupt so badly as to become un usable simply by removing them from the device they were in .

Micro SD cards Suk Hard for reliability ..

SD card =

My brother got a $200+ Dash cam that takes a SD card because the Micro SD card is a horrible storage platform .

SD cards are not that great either , I use plenty in my Digital SLR's and from time to time they corrupt for no reason what so ever .. I have had several become un usable after corrupting .

So if you are after serious long term reliability , I dont think any dash camera can offer it ATM . You are essentially taking your chances in an imperfect world .

So just like with anything , it would pay to check from time to time that everything is working as it should ..

I would check weekly to make sure your dash cam is working , let the card fill and then check the camera is over writing non protected files .

SO ? How long before the card corrupts ? , possibly becomes useless ? With Mocro SD ?

It would pay to check , just like with li-ion batteries , otherwise you may be driving around without a working dash cam

I'm considering this quote for my sigline, at least it made my morning :-)

I must have really good luck with SD and microSD. I’ve never had a single card corrupt or fail. I use them in the trailcams, depth finders, old phones, and cameras. Around 15 currently in use/rotation from 2-16gb capacities.

I’ve still probably got another 10-15 old ones in the 32-512mb range sitting in old cameras, lol.

I could definitely understand them failing in Dashcams with the massive amount of writing and rewriting going on constantly.

Probably Im to blame partly , for going for untried or unproven cards ..

If you find a brand that works , it might pay to stick with it , I have no brand loyalty so buy what ever the mood takes me . ( Probably a bad thing in memory cards )

ATM all my Toshiba cards are doing relatively well , I dont recall having any corruption issues with them ..

If the information you are recording is super important , it might pay to just buy a premium card ..

But for my MP3/MP4 players I use budget cards ( 2Gig ) and I have lost 2 or 3 so far ( dies after being removed ) as I wanted to change the music ...

Same with my SLR Digital cameras , I think I have lost 4 SD cards in 3 years .. Simply refused to work after a few months of use .. ( recovery was not possible )

Other cards corrupt on a regular basis , so now I format every time I remove images from the cards .. Seems to have slowed down the corruption rate

Clarinda! - just a couple of Ks around the corner from me. Funny to see local footage for a change.

I think impatience plays a big part; there seems to much more "I can fit in there" if you leave even a short buffer zone these days. Then there are the ones who insist on flying up the inside in a lane that is clearly blocked and just expecting you to make room for them to barge in.

Unfortunately incompetence seems pretty rampant too. Drivers who can't keep their car in a single lane or who have no idea of where to find their indicators.

Then there is just plain stupid. My favourite was a chick in her early 20s a couple of years back eating a bowl of cereal with both hands as she drove up Warrigal Road one morning on the way to work.

(As a kid, I remember my dad steering with his knees many years ago so he could fill his pipe, but that was on sparsely populated country roads and he always grabbed the wheel if there was oncoming traffic.)

I look forward to more dashcam reviews as I've been thinking of gettting one myself. Every day you see something that makes you shake your head in disbelief! Could make for some very interesting local "best-of" compilations.

Just one question. If the camera only saves a few minutes of video before overwriting, it may not be much use to you in an accident unless you can actually turn it off. Otherwise, wouldn't you just end up with footage of the aftermath?

There should be a G sensor ! , Im not sure about this one ...

But I have posted a review of the 2nd camera to arrive , and it has a functioning G sensor and locks files so they wont be over written .

ATM I have 2 16Gig Micro SD cards for testing , a CLASS 4 and a Toshiba Class 10 ..

2nd Budget cam is here = https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/34007

Just waiting on two more ,

I bought a cheap dash cam and like many find, you get what you pay for. Yes it works but as per old570’s experience it’s not just worth it as the video quality isn’t what you expect. 720 to 1080 is what’s needed. Probably MP4 too over .AVI

Im doing the budget ones ( not previously tested or results posted )

There is little point retesting Dashcams previously tested and results posted on Youtube ..

What ever you chose . make sure you Youtube the camera first before buying .. Im hitting uncharted waters ! ( Because I want to know )

Anyhow , keep in mind a plastic lens can do only so much .. Want better quality , go glass lens on your camera . But remember , what ever your interested in .. YOUTUBE it and see if you can live with it ...

Also any working camera is better than no camera , your insurance company will love you if you can provide video ( seriously )

Im seriously thinking G1W-c ... ( For a long term camera ) , but I still want to sample the budget offerings ..

Even If I end up throwing them in the trash !

The video quality is still better than 80 % of the Russian Car crash videos we see on Youtube, and better than the $ 26 dollar one i bought from *beep*bay.

Today’s effort with the G1W-C:

This thing has a 120 degrees lens. A 90 degree would give a more true to life perspective.

The video quality seems pretty good, thanks Suncoaster.

That was into the sun, so it’s pretty glarey.
And at night the camera could be better.

I have a dr32, been in use a couple of years but the internal battery has failed and it cannot hold date/time so needs setting each trip now. It was fairly good quality but did freeze a couple of times.

I have just ordered the street guardian (nearly went for GW1 but SG supposed to be better although not so budget) for the front and the Mobius for the rear (and maybe my drone). Both get great reviews on dashcam forum.

Ordered the G1W-c about one hour ago ...

street guardian = Yes , looks very nice , cheapest price I have seen = $199 USD

DR32 looks nice @ $70USD on ebay

Innovv C3 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPY9oBfYeoM

Suncoaster, you nearly had the Astra in the Merc's sights.

Shpkorea for the SG, they are the recommended supplier on dashcam, I paid $179 for the basic package which works out about £120 for me.

The Mobius is far cheaper at $68 (£45) from seller eletoponline365

I’m on there with the same screen-name. More dashcam info there than anywhere else including manufacturers, sellers, and development people along with real-life users. Don’t buy without researching there or you’re going to waste your money!

Dashcams, much like flashlights, have a lot of fakes on the market, and similarly some are OK while some are junk. Also some can be modded- mainly lens swaps and going from batteries to Super-Caps, but some can swap firmware too.

In general I’d recommend the capacitor versions wherever you consider your summers to be hot. It is well-known that the LiPo batteries these use can swell, burst, and simply die in very short order in anything above moderate heat. Some are easily replaceable, some need your soldering station. Also many go out of focus in the heat- this is less of an issue with most Cap-based versions. These can be very finicky with the SD cards they like- best to try the ones recommended and not to expect anything else to work correctly no matter how well it works in other devices. Some can upgrade to a larger card if you go at that correctly and have some luck, and some just can’t. Also with most of the cheaper ones, the motion-detect and shock-sensor modes simply don’t work and need to be turned off if you want the darn things to otherwise work correctly.

Specifically, I can’t recommend the G1Wc. My first one died in the heat a couple weeks after purchase. It acted like an overheating electronic component. The replacement was DOA with an identical problem. It’s replacement was OK for several days but yesterday it shut itself down while I was driving. Now a lot of people haven’t had problems with these- maybe mine are all from a bad batch, I don’t know. The G1Wh and other battery versions (only the non-fakes) seem to be very good for the price.

I’m now trying a Mobius, a few dollars more but a much better camera in every way. It’s also tiny- something I also like in flashlights. The other folks using these love them; few problems, great development, very versatile, best bang for your buck in that price range. The high-end cams are amazing but you pay dearly for them.

Last, the forum mentioned has a list of recommended sellers. Not so much for service etc, but a list of those who do not sell fakes- buy elsewhere at your own risk. And like here it’s chock-full of real-life user reviews, comments, tests, and comparisons. Plus the people are all nice and helpful- just like here.

Phil

Yeah, some of these cheap cameras have horrible compressed video. My dad just gave me a Go Pro Hero (an old one) that I can hopefully make use of… which seems to have better video than some of these new budget cameras.

A lot of these dash cams lack ventilation , any that I plan on using will be modded for better ventilation ...

All it takes is bright sunlight , a good angle , and the dashcam can cook . ( Dont need to be hot weather )

I will be making use of a cutting disc and my motor tool .

HD video can make any camera heat up. When I use my smallish black magic camera, that thing cooks when it’s a bit warm outside.