- 140 Degree Wide Angle / 2" LCD Screen - Rotates 180 degrees
- Recording resolution:1280x960 / 1280x720 / 640x480 pixels
- Anti-shake function, Auto Power On/Off
- Repeat storage by section: 2/5/15 minutes or off
The worst limitation was that the camera focused on the dirt on the windshield and everything else is out of focus. This was even true after cleaning the windshield properly as the minor scratches on the windshield stole the focus. License plates were far from readable and speed limit sign are barely readable.
Minor limitations:
Video can be played back from the camera, but without audio and also cannot be paused. Audio was not usable when the vehicle was moving fast due to road noise, but very usable when moving slowly in town.
The LCD screen always stays on while recording video even when shut. This drained the internal battery quickly.
The good:
VLC player played the video back (including audio) on a Mac without issues.
good suction cup for attaching to windshield
love the LCD display for positioning the camera
Other details:
There is no Infra Red recording... but it has two very bright LEDs you can turn on to record closeups at night.
A 16G memory chip allows these recording times:
1080p provides 240 mins of recording
720p provides 298 min of recording
640p provides 530 mins of recording
The LCD screen seems will fall apart from the main body anytime. The infra-red night vision is not working at all. Have a hard time to set up resolution. The license plate of the car in front of mine is very unclear, I will say unreadable. See the attached video. I set 5-minute recording mode, it works, that's good.My thoughts:
This is obviously developed by a smaller group of designers than most products, but for the price, I think this is an exceptional dashcam.
I simply tossed away the suction cup and used a small spacer and "re-closable fastener" aka "toll tag velco" to hold the camera in place which makes the whole assembly small enough to hide above, and behind, the rear view mirror.
For the video quality no it can't capture plates unless you are stopped behind a vehicle at a red light. I am more concerned with capturing the where-and-when of events though. The way I see it, simply calling out a plate is good enough since you can check the audio later.
The two cons are that the transfer rate of the unit is not fast enough to support live playback when you plug the camera in to a computer. I fixed this with a $1.50 micro-USB reader which simply stays in the ashtray. USB mode takes 8 minutes to copy a five minute video, or I can use the card reader and get it done in 30 seconds. The card reader is more convenient for me needs too since I don't like moving the camera.
The second con is that the auto-record feature works about 95% of the time, so you have to watch the record light to make sure it didn't forget to start with the car.
Other than those two things, this camera works precisely as advertised which is awesome for $30 + a $10 memory card.
One idea for buyers, grab a second memory card and a card reader so you can swap cards to preserve video while still recording if something happens.
I would buy this unit again.do not buy this camera. the quality is very poor and very choppy. The power chord that came with the camera did not work, so I had to buy my own. It does feature auto turn on/off, but sometimes it does not work. It does capture basic footage, but does not have the quality to capture signs or license plates.
CONS:
15 minute recording then it loops, if you stop the recording to save something, you must ensure that you don't let the recorder loop after 15 minutes or it will erase and record over what is already there. That is a huge CON for me.
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