720P HD MOTION DETECT CAR VIDEO CAMERA RECORDER DVR 2.5" TFT LCD Screen 1/4 color CMOS HD Sensor

• 720P HD MOTION DETECT CAR VIDEO CAMERA RECORDER DVR 2.5" TFT LCD Screen 1/4 color CMOS HD Sensor
• Color Video
• Color display
• Time and Date
• Format: AVI

I had purchased an almost identical model dash camera from the same supplier almost eight months earlier. Which really did exceed my expectations, just as this model it contained no IR led's which can cause window glare from within. This model doesn't have the low light level of sensitivity as the earlier model, also the fisheye lens and smaller magnification takes some getting used to. The camera though it doesn't have the same IR sensitivity which actually gives a much better color picture, I kind of liked the purple hue to the trees in the previous model. You cannot really get any idea of the true picture quality through the small screen provided and that's not really its intended purpose. When reviewing the video on a computer, this model had much better pixilation definition; you could actually read a license plate of a car into front of you, unlike the previous model. But once again the magnification is somewhat less, though the fisheye lens does provides a great view of the area in front of the vehicle. Overall, I like it; it does exactly what I need it to do with acceptable quality. If I was to say one more thing, this past summer here in California, we had some exceptionally hot days during the summer. The model I purchase previous was subjected to some very sever heat in the car, and hence the plastic case deformed quite a bit. Surprisingly the device still works perfectly, though I made my own sun visor mount to keep the camera out of the window and away from direct sunlight. Making your own will greatly increase the life of your dash cam.

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This unit does work and records video. I have it set to the highest quality video setting and set to record 15 minute intervals with the audio turned off. Each 15 minute file is about 1GB in size.

Pros:

1) Does come on and record when power is applied via 12V adapter.

2) Fairly wide field of view (via a fish eye lens). I haven't measured it but the advertised 120 degrees may be a stretch.

Cons:

1) very poor video quality. The camera is by no stretch of the definition "720P" as advertised. I couldn't make out the license plate number of the vehicle that I parked behind on a sunny day. When driving down the road, the camera sees a large portion of the sky causing it to darken the rest of the picture making the road and surrounding area very dim. When stopped at a traffic signal, you might be able to tell if the signal was red or green. To get an idea of night recording quality you could put on your darkest pair of sunglasses. On the plus side, it picks up the traffic lights a little better at night.

2) fish eye lens captures a large portion of sky and dash. I have it mounted on the windshield so the camera is at about the mid point and adjusted so that the passenger pillar is just barely visible. About 25% of the video is of the dash and about 25% is sky. That leaves about half of the video recording actual useful information. The only time it's an advantage is when going through traffic lights the signal is on video as you pass almost underneath. The main reason that it's an advantage is, that's the only time that you're close enough to the signal that the recording actually shows what color the light was.

3) "reset" button puts language into Russian. Fortunately, I had been through the menu once and I remembered where the language sub-menu was.

4) audio is just about useless. I just turned it off.

5) view screen has very narrow view angle. This isn't a major drawback since you only use it to point the unit initially and then fold the screen up.

Summary:

You might be able to use the video from this unit to prove that you didn't run a red light or that you stopped at a stop sign or that the other guy pulled out in front of you. If you need any level of detail, then this camera is not for you. I give it one star (okay 2 stars but let's be honest, the first star doesn't count because amazon won't let you give it zero stars) just because it does the basic functions. I'll be looking for a better unit and I might put this in the back window.

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Power connection was flaky and internal battery would not charge causing all settings such as date & time to be lost when powered off.

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Well I just got the unit. I'm almost surprised that it works at all for such a low price for what it is advertised to do. My first big hurdle will be to decipher the menus as they are all in Chinese. No manual was included so this will be a big guessing game. Hmmm, do I press button one while holding button two, or just push button one for 3.35 seconds. LOL :)

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Because I use ratings to make my purchase decisions I am paying forward on the idea with a review myself.

took a while to get used to the screens/menus/controls as the instructions were no help. resolution is fine, you must let it format your card to get the various record times. I bought this cheap one for proof of concept but have not felt the reason yo upgrade.