Polarising filter - done!

[murcod]

B+W Circular Polarising filter attached with some mods to the case (enlarging of the case orrifice where the lense is situated.)

Youtube demo here:

Should work extremely well for getting rid of the annoying dash glare I often get in videos. It attaches via a magnetic ring so can be easily removed for night use (I don't drive at night much, so it will probably be a permanent fit.)

https://www.schneideroptics.com/ecommerce/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?CID=1917&IID=9277 - around AUS $25 on Ebay.

 

[BobDiaz]

Looks very nice.

$39.50 USA from B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/900555-REG/B_W_651074941_Smart_Pro_Circ_Pol_Filter.html

 

[BobDiaz]

One more thing... Could you please show with and without driving videos for day and night.

Thanks

 

[murcod]

One more thing... Could you please show with and without driving videos for day and night.

Thanks

If I had a spare USB power supply I could put two Mobius' together and go for a drive - but I've hard wired all the power supplies into the vehicles.

I'll see what I can do. I don't think it will be a viable option for night driving as the lense does have a heavy tint.

Here's where I bought mine- US$20 including delivery. https://www.ebay.com/itm/400553996710

 

[BobDiaz]

I assumed that you'd just drive down the road with it on and then do a second drive with it off.

 

[murcod]

Side by side would be better, but I think this clearly shows the value in the filter. I need to mark the optimal rotation angle as where I had it - and where I left it- clearly isn't optimal!

By the way, the glare is a lot more prominent in the original unprocessed video clip. At the 54 second mark it is virtually eliminated!

 

[Car Camera Shop]

Side by side would be better...

We have a short video showing how we made a polarising filter for the Mobius and it's effect on glare. It includes some side-by-side footage.

 

[murcod]

Yes, I've actually just received some spare lens caps for exactly the same mod. (thanks JooVuu). The only difference being, I've "gutted" the lens out of one of these: http://connect.dpreview.com/post/0706172319/accessory-review-jelly-lenses . I originally bought the Jelly lens before the B+W filter- hoping it could be fitted straight onto the Mobius. That didn't work so, I decided to use the lens with a spare lens cap (just like you've done)- but buying spare lens caps was harder than expected.

In the meantime, I discovered the B+W glass filter for $20 so purchased one. I'm running three Mobius in two vehicles, so the Jelly lens will still come in use. The B+W has made footage through the windscreen so much clearer, on sunny days the glare was making it impossible to see any detail through the windscreen. (Each vehicle will of course be different regarding the glare.)

 

[Car Camera Shop]

You're obviously happy with the Mobius if you have three of them! We're really impressed with the image quality considering their size but they're maybe not as user friendly as some more mainstream car cameras!

 

[murcod]

There's been some renewed interest in this thread, so I thought I'd update it as the original video has been taken down.

Here are two screen shots and a picture of the Mobius with the lens fitted. Excuse the finger tips in the filter fitted shot.

No filter:

Filter fitted:

Here's the Mobius with it fitted:

Info I posted in another thread:

The case needs to be pulled apart and the aperture for the Mobius lens enlarged - big enough for the B&W filter magnetic ring to stick directly onto the Mobius lens surround. You will then have negligible (to no) shadowing from the filter.

A point to note is night footage will be ruined- and playing around with the exposure setting didn't help me much at all. (If there isn't enough light getting to the sensor then software isn't going to magically make it appear.)

Another point is the filter will need to be rotated to determine the exact position where it will filter out the reflections- just fitting it and not aligning it will not produce good results. So, it could be a PITA removing and refitting it all the time if you do regular night driving.

 

[russ331]

A point to note is night footage will be ruined- and playing around with the exposure setting didn't help me much at all. (If there isn't enough light getting to the sensor then software isn't going to magically make it appear.)

I'm with you, however, there isn't universal agreement...

http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/remove-dashboard-glare-for-less-that-a-quid.4774/#post-57039

 

[xreyuk]

I don't know if it was just my magnetic strip, but I modified the case as Murcod said to above, but my shadowing was still fairly bad. Better, but not as good as the above. It may be that the magnetic bands are different thicknesses.

I've ordered a spare lens cap, and a new, large, polarising filter. I'm going to cut out the filter, and drill a wide hole in the lens cap to see what kind of picture I can get.

 

[murcod]

I'm with you, however, there isn't universal agreement...

http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/remove-dashboard-glare-for-less-that-a-quid.4774/#post-57039

You can see from the pics of those cinema glasses that they're tinted. During the day I'm sure there would be some sort of auto gain control that will help boost the video brightness (up to a point.) At night there is a definite problem- unless you're driving only on well lit roads? Perhaps that person (that said their set up is okay) drives only on well lit roads at night?Note in my two daylight still pics that there doesn't appear to be any major difference in brightness; however in low light it's a different matter. Edit- that guy is also not talking about a Mobius.

Xreyuk - if I could "pair down" the magnetic strip then I would have no shadowing issues. Some other method of retaining the filter would be ideal- so it can be mounted hard against the Mobius lens. Add a keyway to it (so the lens is always replaced in the correct orientation) and it would be a very good system.

 

[atomicorion]

You can see from the pics of those cinema glasses that they're tinted. During the day I'm sure there would be some sort of auto gain control that will help boost the video brightness (up to a point.) At night there is a definite problem- unless you're driving only on well lit roads? Perhaps that person (that said their set up is okay) drives only on well lit roads at night?Note in my two daylight still pics that there doesn't appear to be any major difference in brightness; however in low light it's a different matter. Edit- that guy is also not talking about a Mobius.

Xreyuk - if I could "pair down" the magnetic strip then I would have no shadowing issues. Some other method of retaining the filter would be ideal- so it can be mounted hard against the Mobius lens. Add a keyway to it (so the lens is always replaced in the correct orientation) and it would be a very good system.

Hey bud,just an update regarding the B&W filter i purchased on ebay(I originally bought it for my iphone) is way too small for the B lens(which you already advised in another thread).
Seems I'll have to do a bit more researching to find a bigger filter to fit the B lens on the Mobius.