Search summary for Ambarella A2 and A5 powered dash cams

[northsouth]

Hi all,

First I have to say this site is a gem! I'm very lucky that I came across this site last night on Google.

Here's how the story began:
I was asked by my dad yesterday to search for a decent quality dash cam. As I am writing now, I've spent almost 7 hours reading and gathering information about dash cams from scratch. I have to say I'm still dazzled by the numerous types,shapes and specs of dash cams. I really hope I can get some expert advise here on which dash cam to buy.

My selection criteria:
1. Affordable price: USD$100-$200
2. Big Aperture F2.0
3. Focal length f=3.2mm, the larger the better so the camera can see more clearly the number plate in the front (correct me if I'm wrong here)
4. Good 5MP CMOS sensor 1/2.5" or 1/3" at least
5. GPS, G-sensor
6. Good chip Ambarella A2 or preferably A5 (did my homework from: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=377&start=40)
7. Decent daytime AND night recording (yes this is what we all crave)

So I came to two options: 1. GS9000 or 2. S1000


GS9000

GS9000 is probably the latest model on the market, it seems to have good built quality. Recording quality seems also acceptable but apparently according to some first hand users, GS9000 do have some battery and over-heating related issues (refer:http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1191&p=12053&hilit=gs9000#p12053).

I've found a few eBay selleers that claim their GS9000 use Ambarella A2 chip. They all look the same to me though.
1. $116.75
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Full-HD- ... 3f23b4f5d1
2. $118.99
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Full-HD- ... 4ac3e8c70d
3.$109.99
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Full-HD-1080 ... 27d28d53d6
4.$149.49 This is an interesting one, this is the only seller who clearly states the cam uses "A2S70".
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2013-NEW-GS9 ... 4ac2b09656



S1000
$107 Apparently it uses A5 A530 chip, which should have better night image compared to A2.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261178241774

Day time recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFCF-Zwoi4

Night time recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYHmUke2tms

Both the day and night recording are outstanding. (Well, provided if they were genuine clips )

Not sure if this is the same S1000, DashCamTalk also has a S1000 night recording on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM_1j0p6s3k
Perhaps we need a confirmation from the admin guys.

Compared with the first S1000, the recording quality seems just average. Also it's a pitty that S1000 doesn't have GPS.

By the way I also found a dash cam that says it uses of Ambarella A9 but I'm quite sure it's just deceiving.
$98
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251247814789


So guys here is my summary, please share with me your thoughts. If you know even better dash cams please do not hesitate to post here. Much appreciated.
Any cameras that offer parking mode are also welcome.

 

[jokiin]

that last one says the CMOS sensor is an A9, the chipset is just mentioned as being Ambarella most often in this model it's A2, going by the specs it's an A2S70, only the 720p mode varies between the A2S70 and A2S60, nothing that really matters for dashcam use

A5 doesn't equate to better night mode in itself, the A5 was capable of working with different CMOS sensors which were capable of delivering good night time results, I say was because some of these sensors are now available in a version that works with the A2 so you're going to see much better night results on the A2 platform very soon, previously you'd say A5 had the edge due to sensors they worked with, the A5 suffers heat issues though, the A2 with a good CMOS I think you will find is going to be a far more stable solution, probably a month or so before you start to see these in the market in reasonable quantities, something that people are working on now

the A7 is going to be much more popular by the end of the year though I think, it's purpose built for automotive use, smaller form factors are possible and it runs much cooler and works with the widest variety of sensors, this is going to be a good solution

 

[northsouth]

that last one says the CMOS sensor is an A9, the chipset is just mentioned as being Ambarella most often in this model it's A2, going by the specs it's an A2S70, only the 720p mode varies between the A2S70 and A2S60, nothing that really matters for dashcam use

A5 doesn't equate to better night mode in itself, the A5 was capable of working with different CMOS sensors which were capable of delivering good night time results, I say was because some of these sensors are now available in a version that works with the A2 so you're going to see much better night results on the A2 platform very soon, previously you'd say A5 had the edge due to sensors they worked with, the A5 suffers heat issues though, the A2 with a good CMOS I think you will find is going to be a far more stable solution, probably a month or so before you start to see these in the market in reasonable quantities, something that people are working on now

the A7 is going to be much more popular by the end of the year though I think, it's purpose built for automotive use, smaller form factors are possible and it runs much cooler and works with the widest variety of sensors, this is going to be a good solution

Hi Jokiin,

Thanks the prompt reply. I'm really happy you are here.
Would you recommend to just wait one or two months for the new A2 version? Is the GS9000 listed here any good? Do you reckon I'm being realistic to get a decent cam around $100 mark?

I look forward to the A7.

 

[jokiin]

anything for $100 is missing something, features, performance or build quality, you can't deliver all three at that price, 1 to 2 months yes you'd certainly have a wider range of cams to chose from

 

[Adam42]

that last one says the CMOS sensor is an A9, the chipset is just mentioned as being Ambarella most often in this model it's A2, going by the specs it's an A2S70, only the 720p mode varies between the A2S70 and A2S60, nothing that really matters for dashcam use

A5 doesn't equate to better night mode in itself, the A5 was capable of working with different CMOS sensors which were capable of delivering good night time results, I say was because some of these sensors are now available in a version that works with the A2 so you're going to see much better night results on the A2 platform very soon, previously you'd say A5 had the edge due to sensors they worked with, the A5 suffers heat issues though, the A2 with a good CMOS I think you will find is going to be a far more stable solution, probably a month or so before you start to see these in the market in reasonable quantities, something that people are working on now

the A7 is going to be much more popular by the end of the year though I think, it's purpose built for automotive use, smaller form factors are possible and it runs much cooler and works with the widest variety of sensors, this is going to be a good solution

The Ambarella A5 is far more powerful than the Ambarella A2. Does better frames per second and far better at night.
I have bought both Ambarella A2 and A5. Neither of them get hot at all so I am not sure why you say the A5 gets hot.
Maybe fake ones do but the real mckoy ones are fine.

 

[Adam42]

anything for $100 is missing something, features, performance or build quality, you can't deliver all three at that price, 1 to 2 months yes you'd certainly have a wider range of cams to chose from

Yes. Leant that lesson the hard way.

The fake ones will last years but won't do a good recording or getting a gps signal may never work.
Some use lessor processing chips which is why the quality is so poor. IE GS1000's.

Came to the conclusion like many others that the gs1000's were ok in their time but since the later processing chips these
older gs1000's are rubbish compared to the later cams.

 

[Adam42]

that last one says the CMOS sensor is an A9, the chipset is just mentioned as being Ambarella most often in this model it's A2, going by the specs it's an A2S70, only the 720p mode varies between the A2S70 and A2S60, nothing that really matters for dashcam use

A5 doesn't equate to better night mode in itself, the A5 was capable of working with different CMOS sensors which were capable of delivering good night time results, I say was because some of these sensors are now available in a version that works with the A2 so you're going to see much better night results on the A2 platform very soon, previously you'd say A5 had the edge due to sensors they worked with, the A5 suffers heat issues though, the A2 with a good CMOS I think you will find is going to be a far more stable solution, probably a month or so before you start to see these in the market in reasonable quantities, something that people are working on now

the A7 is going to be much more popular by the end of the year though I think, it's purpose built for automotive use, smaller form factors are possible and it runs much cooler and works with the widest variety of sensors, this is going to be a good solution

Hi Jokiin,

Thanks the prompt reply. I'm really happy you are here.
Would you recommend to just wait one or two months for the new A2 version? Is the GS9000 listed here any good? Do you reckon I'm being realistic to get a decent cam around $100 mark?

I look forward to the A7.

Stancom has the Ultra Pro out with the A7L which is the next model up and they have a ultra hd one coming with the a9.
Where will it all end in up. Cams at 1080p now are very good. The one I have works wonderfully well. The colours on the
pro stancom one is the best I've seen out of any cam. They only seem to be available in Australia. Quite a few stores selling them now.

There was a store selling them up at Innaloo which is a suburb of Perth.

 

[jokiin]

The Ambarella A5 is far more powerful than the Ambarella A2. Does better frames per second and far better at night.
I have bought both Ambarella A2 and A5. Neither of them get hot at all so I am not sure why you say the A5 gets hot.
Maybe fake ones do but the real mckoy ones are fine.

haven't seen any fake A2 or A5 chipsets so not sure what you mean :shock: maybe they're out there but I haven't seen this personally, I have seen two suppliers that are claiming to have developed their own chipset, one is using Ambarella and the other is Novatek, in both cases the chipsets have been screen printed with a different logo to make it appear to be something that it's not, it's a marketing move I guess but can't say I agree with their tactic


the A5 can do better at night when combined with the right sensor, it's not just processor speed that determines that, A2 was never capable of working with these sensors so would always be behind in night time results, there are updated sensors available now that work with the A2 though that will breathe new life into this model, ultimately though they'll all make way for the A7L-A which was purpose designed for automotive use, the A5 has already been dropped by many in favor of the new A7 version, the A5 has had heat issues among other problems, Ambarella have helped make the decision to move to the new platform easier by dropping the price of the A7 to match the old A5 price, I think there are some cams out that are using A7 processors rather than the A7L-A, rushed to market I guess, might come back to bite them

 

[northsouth]

I've raised the mark to $200 now and am tempted buying Mio 368 or 388 mentioned in other post by Niko.
But it's so hard to decide as you now know the predecessor A7 is due this year.

By the way, there's Novatek NT96550 chip which has been reported better than A2S70+Apita or A7+Apita combinations.
Does anyone know if any of the dash cams out there use NT96550?

 

[jokiin]

I've seen some good results with the Novatek but it's not a chipset we work with so don't really know a lot about it, we place a lot of emphasis on image quality but there's more to a dashcam than just the image, I'm not sure how capable the Novatek is in other areas, possibly it's good but it's not what we're familiar with, Ambarella has far greater market share so more development perhaps, it suits our use anyway for the foreseeable future at least

 

[Gurkha9]

Does anyone know if any of the dash cams out there use NT96550?

The DOD LS300W and OEM equivalent TioTech GT300W use the NT96550 along with a good sensor

 

[billknow]

Does anyone know if any of the dash cams out there use NT96550?

The DOD LS300W and OEM equivalent TioTech GT300W use the NT96550 along with a good sensor

Many manufacturer use NT96650 in china now, i think the best one is DOD LS300W(GT300W).

 

[e30blitz]

Us blackvue getting a look in


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[e30blitz]

Is blackvue getting a lookin ,


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[spytec]

We have some sample models of gs6000s with A7s (made by the same manufacturer of the GS1000 Orange). The video quality is almost the same as the A5 for day light but is much much better without light. The difference is striking. Video is quite good for the A5 and A7 but still not as vivid as the best from Korea in my opinion but obviously this could be due to other factors. We are waiting for a dual camera A7 solution from this manufacturer coming out hopefully next month which should be interesting.

 

[niko]

I've raised the mark to $200 now and am tempted buying Mio 368 or 388 mentioned in other post by Niko.
But it's so hard to decide as you now know the predecessor A7 is due this year.

By the way, there's Novatek NT96550 chip which has been reported better than A2S70+Apita or A7+Apita combinations.
Does anyone know if any of the dash cams out there use NT96550?

i have in hand G1W and G2W both with NT96550 cpu ( see my topics ).
After tests i must say they are both good dash cams within that price range, but sure can not compare with 150-200usd dash cams.

 

[jokiin]

Is blackvue getting a lookin ,


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many better cameras than Blackvue, they really need to lift their game