- Unique rear view mirror design + adjustable camera lens + wide viewing angle, easy installation, blend in perfectly with car interior, no windshield mounting required
- Run automatically, automatic on / off when engines on / off
- Loop recording + built-in 2.4" TFT LCD + Instant playback + Audio recording
- Design and made in Taiwan, nice and stable quality.
The controls are simple and the manual that comes with it are well written and clear.
The lens can be adjusted over a wide range to suit adjustments to the mirror's viewing angle.
The 2.4" LCD is sharp and aids in the lens adjustment. It can be switched off when not needed.
The only con is the huge filesize for the recording which is about 800 to 900MB for 5 mins of footage.
A 4GB SD card was included though it wasn't stated in the orders and for that size, it can hold only about 20 mins of footage before the first video file is recycled. It can take a SD card up to 32GB size but I have yet to try it.
The videos are sharp and in the expected quality range of a HD720p camera.
One point to note is that the device's weight (about 320g) may be too much for some car's rearview mirror arm/linkage and it may vibrate or even sag if the arm/linkage was loose in the first place.
So prior to buying you might want to assess your rearview mirror's suitability.
Also thumbs-up to the seller for including a personal thank you note and a quick start-up guide.
Highly recommended for those looking for a simple and good quality in-car camera without paying extras for frills like GPS, G-sensor, or night-surveillance mode etc if you don't need them.
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Built solid, buttons feel good, all in all good quality, on complaints.The power cable is long enough to reach from the mirror, along the head liner, down the A-pillar, under the glove box, along the center console and into the arm rest where there is a plug. There is about a foot of cable to spare after that (installed on a 2008 Acura TL-S).
The power cable DOES unplug from the mirror itself, so you can take it out of the car if you want or move it to another if you can find another power cable. This is a great feature that is not touched upon in the product description.
The SD card ejects from the top, easy to get to.
The camera is off center so your mirror will mount further to the right to sit flush. Mine sits far enough that the passenger sun visor can only go straight down now, not further towards the windscreen.
My mirror is kind of oval so it doesnt fit perfect, kind of a bummer.
The menu is easy to navigate, I got in and set microphone to off and resolution to high. There is a still shoot feature that seems like a waste.
The camera itself has a movable lens so you can fine tune the angle etc without moving the mirror.
So far I'm pretty happy with it, I hope it lasts. The Video is nice but for the most part don't expect to see the plate numbers of other cars.
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BE ADVISED. The video was reduced from 720p to 480p due to Amazon file size constraints.
Here's my first video review. Hope it helps you to decide which DVR is best for you. Most of my comments are written here and not in the video. You'll see many more on YouTube. For this review, I had to reduce the resolution to 720x480 pixels because Amazon limits the video file to 100 mb maximum. The original 1280x720 p video was over 380 mb.
Pros:
-Factory look. Sturdy and sleek.
-Since it looks factory, no one can tell it's a DVR and they wont break into the car to steal it.
-Automatically records and stops. (this depends if the cigarette lighter is switched, turns on when key is inserted)
-Can turn recording off/on at anytime.
-Turn onscreen display off/on at anytime.
-Options to set resolution, on screen display, time, date, etc..
Cons:
-Needs slightly wider adjustment to compensate for rear view mirror use. What I mean by this is if I set the mirror to view the rear window (which is normal), the partial left side of the car is cut. This is even when the camera lens is pointed the the outermost left part. The workaround: I have to move the mirror to point to the left a bit. However, this alters my rear view. Now I dont see the entire rear window but the partial right rear window as well.
-1080p resolution not useable. Im estimating it's about 10-15 fps. Its almost like a slideshow. I dont recommend it because if there was an accident, those critical frames in that fraction of that second may not be recorded at all.
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I thought of getting a dash cam when I saw all of the Russian meteor videos, but wanted a camera that wouldn't attract attention to itself. This seemed like the perfect solution--you really can't tell my car has a camera unless you really look for it.
Since this camera was designed for right-hand drive vehicles, the lens doesn't swivel quite as far left as I'd like it to. It goes far enough left though, in my opinion. It was packaged with an 8GB SD card, which was a nice start. It arrived set for English and included a quick start guide. The clock was not quite set correctly, despite what others have reported on their purchases, but it didn't bother me. Once you get the hang of moving through the menus on this device, it makes sense.
It was a challenge to get it to sit correctly on my mirror, since my existing mirror is somewhat weak. My car mirror would sort of lock and aim onto one "sweet spot" where it would hold, so I adjusted the camera accordingly by sliding the bottom grips toward me a bit, aiming the mirror side of the camera upward. The rubber grippers hold pretty well. This solution helped me to keep the camera's mirror aimed properly rearward. It was about 90 degrees here yesterday and caused my car's mirror to sag down...this is a unique issue in my particular car. I'll have to figure a workaround to tighten the mirror's ball joint in my case...
The power cable hides very well in my headliner and pillar trim. The cable is just narrow enough to fit and hide.
I wanted a camera that will just run automatically, and this one does exactly that. I don't even have to think about it when I get in the car--it just starts rolling when the car turns on (my cigarette outlet switches on and off with the ignition). I picked up a 32GB SD class 10 card for it. It holds about 2 1/2 hours of video in 720 mode. I keep the included 8GB card in the glove box as a backup.
I wish the camera had GoPro-like sharpness. It's hard to make out license plates on the video unless the lighting conditions are right and the license plate is within 20 feet of the front of my car.
I suppose if I see reckless driving or am a victim of a hit-and-run, I'll just speak the offender's license plate number so the camera's microphone can pick it up. The audio can be enabled or disabled with this camera, but I leave the audio recording on for this reason.
I always record at 720p because I heard that 1080i is only 15 frames per second. I have not tried 1080 mode yet.
This camera has a parking mode (records on internal battery power for one minute if vibration is detected while the car is parked), which I haven't used very much. I don't know whether or not the lights come on when parking mode activates--I would hope that the camera stays dark if it rolls on someone messing with my car. Flashing lights on the "rear view mirror" in an empty car would be a "steal me" signal.
I love the clandestine nature of this camera. It's the MAIN REASON I bought it. If I have a confrontation/collision on the road, I want no one to know I have a camera before the police show up. Also, since it's not noticeable, I'm not worried about it attracting thieves while the car is unattended.
If this camera had GoPro-like video, I would have paid $250 for it, maybe more. It's not super sharp video, but I definitely think it is worth the going price. If it can clear my liability on one traffic accident, it'll more than pay for itself.
Also, it's fun to load the videos into editing software and make it roll in super-fast motion!
You can also stamp a number onto the video, such as your own license plate number. On my video I choose to only stamp the last three digits of my plate number (in case I get a viral video, my full license plate number isn't all over the place!).
My uploaded video was shot in 720p mode. I removed the audio and showed different lighting conditions. Keep in mind that the video seen on this review will be slightly degraded from the original video quality. Amazon seems to compress these videos. The white car in the very first shot has a readable license plate, as well as the white car in the very last shot, along with the silver crossover SUV to its right.
I've owned it for several weeks, and so far it's operating very well.
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