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S**A
READ RHIS BEFORE BUYING! FULL DISCLOSURE OF PROBLEMS
READ THIS BEFORE PURCHASING! FULL DISCLOSURE.This camera has been problematic since I got it! See problems to look out for below:1. It drains my battery if I leave my car parked for 4 days or more. When I go back, my battery is always completely drained and the camera was installed by a professionally trained electrician & mechanic.2. It doesn’t record continually, there will be gaps in the video. Something happened and when I went back, it only recorded bits and pieces, some days and times were skipped out. This has happened multiple times3. Speed stamping works on and off. Not consistent And may not be able to exonerate you if you’re stopped wrongfully for speeding.4. Recently the camera has been rendered useless because the power on song and picture with the car is stuck on the screen. The power on chime is stuck on a never ending loop. Nothing is recording at all. Even after a firmware update.5. The camera doesn’t turn on automatically when you turn on your car every time. Sometimes you will have to check it is recording before you drive off and check during driving because it shuts off At times.6. Ive never been able to contact customer support for help.The camera worked a little at first but it had problems from the beginning.
M**1
Strong hardware for price point; Suggested software choices are weak.
Okay, Overall, good investment.Perks:GPS Speed reading right in the video; no need for complex software to pick it out and append it via csv or other text based fileCompactEasy to installEasy menu navigation, once you see how the interface worksIncludes everything but the SD card and Park GuardAudio is actually good. It isn't GREAT but it's good indeed.Daytime video is EXCELLENT.Oh right, and resistor powered instead of battery.Downfalls:Seems to run hot, at least for me. I've been running with the display off and it doesn't seem to save heat. By hot, I mean 130F+ and it's not even been over 55 outside the past two weeks. If the cutoff is 160, then this camera won't survive the summer either where Oregon Summers average the mid 80s and peak in the 105-110 range.Night viewing isn't great in low-light situations. But for most cameras in cars, this is par for the course. If you get a car stopped in okay lights, You'll be fine, but don't expect to get a plate from 2 or 3 carlegths back while moving.Remote failed to work for a couple days until I removed the camera from the head mount to extract video; once reconnected the remote has worked fine. (Keep that for a troubleshooting step)Personal Gripes: The video files are NOT sorted in such a way that the READ ONLY/LOCKED files are isolated for future viewing. You Kinda need to remember which ones were locked (Rightclick>Properties can tell you if its read-only or not, but that's an annoying little process and time killer) OR download one of the video software options included in the help file on the camera. (You'll need to install SD and format the camera before you get that, AND THEN you have to connect the CAMERA BODY to a PC; That way you'll have the help file which is an HTML file/link to the actual site for the camera.You cannot connect a computer to the head unit (which is what I would have preferred)Cable running from the front to the back is STUPID long for a small pickup; Maybe offer size options for those of us with smaller vehicles? Likewise, longer options for bigger vehicles. 20 feet for a pickup cab that spans maybe 8 feet is mighty overkill. I only use about 65% of the cable including running it through the barely-there headliner they used in Toyotas in 1993.Things to note that I really could care less about that someone else might want to know about:CPL filter is a little picky, but very handy.I have the hardwire kit, i just haven't found a suitable way to install it in my 1993 Toyota pickup.Notes that are sort of important:For GPS Speed to read out and be put on your video:MUST have camera mounted to the head mount. If the connection isn't quite right, the GPS module won't activate. it's built into the head mount. NOT the camera. Must also enter the menus and turn on GPS Logging/Stamping AND Speed Display.GET A CLASS 10 OR BETTER MICRO SD CARD. $40 for a 128GB card which is the max the camera can handle. Just. Don't skimp here.The software options I mentioned earlier ONLY LET YOU WATCH THE VIDEO. You CANNOT trim the video clips for upload/saving with these pieces of software. And as most of us know, the majority of editing software that allows for Picture in Picture require licenses to put BOTH cameras on the same video. I found a solution for it, but be aware of that before you get too frustrated with it. VSDC Video Editor works fine, just a little non-intuitive for me to trim files but I'm getting used to it.Feedback for later: A two-button controller would be nice; Currently you tap for a screenshot and hold to lock a clip.A second button on the controller for either: Toggle screen mode (front/rear/off) Mic Mute, or other necessary dynamic feature. Those two are just first to mind. (Idea: tap to toggle mode, hold to mute the mic)The software suggested for this camera are OKAY, but one of the options defaults to what I'm assuming to be Mandarin or Japanese; can't tell which. And the Speed/G-Force indicator on that same software is VERY inaccurate.Would be EXCELLENT to consider either suggesting software to do these tasks in one suite or source and build their own. For an average user, the task of extracting video is a bit daunting for the purpose it was bought for: Two angles in one shot.And I'm not an average user.Make the USB connections on the mounting head support data transfer. Please. It saves me needing to pull the bloody thing out of my truck to pull video; I'd rather sit in the cab with my laptop running from the USB connection I gave it and jump right from USB charge deck to PC transfer I dont use the included charging deck, for this purpose.Overall, for the money, OUTSTANDING camera. Half the price of its top-range rivals. Sure you don't get Every little thing those top level entries give, but you can't compare an apple to an orange.UPDATE: Bought a second one for my 1997 Thunderbird, DID NOT buy the Park Guard because I still hadnt used it for my Toyota. You do need 2 'add a circuit' or 'fuse taps' to make this work, and a pair of wire strippers/crimpers are helpful too, as well as a test light. Yellow needs to go to a fused connection that is ON WITH KEY (either ACC or RUN, I prefer ACC) and the other one needs to be ALWAYS HOT, such as your interior lights (Since they're always given power, you can override the on/off with the dimmer in Fords), and a ring terminal to tap into a ground under the dash. I just used a bolt that was in the dash structure. Once I figured out all that it was a breeze.I keep suggesting this camera to people that want or need one. It may not be perfect, but for the price tag, you still can't beat this.
K**N
Too hot to work
Well, I had high hopes for this. But sadly, it's just alright. Don't get me wrong, this is a GREAT dash cam, but I was looking for one that could take serious heat because I live in the Caribbean.Although this one says it can operate up to 60C, they neglected to mention that the camera will get up to 60C all on its own. And that's before you even factor in the environmental temperature.The first day I left the camera in parking guard mode for about two hours, when I got back, the temperature reading on the camera said 95C! (that's about 203F for you yanks). I was surprised the camera was still working at that temperature, but I know that wouldn't possibly be sustainable in the long run. So essentially, I can't use the parking guard feature at all.Daily temperatures here average around 32-33C, ALL YEAR ROUND. Getting as high as 37C on hot days (and that's just air temperature. Real feel is never below 35C and regularly crosses 40C). So you can imagine how hot our cars get down here.Apart from that, this camera works really great.There just doesn't seem to be any dash cam out there designed to work in the tropics.
Trustpilot
3 days ago
2 weeks ago
