Apexcam Tour 4

The Apexcam Tour 4 is a Chinese dual channel dash camera released in May 2019. The Apexcam name is trademarked by the Chinese company Shenzhen Yuqi. Apexcam appears to have stared with action cameras and have expanded to dash cams.

Unfortunately Apexcam does not provide the processor and CMOS sensor specs for the Tour 4. Given the low price point of this dual camera and poor picture quality, we suspect entry level hardware is being used.

Video Quality

The front camera records 1080p video at 30fps with an average bitrate of 12 Mbps. Video quality for the front camera during the day is below average and night quality is poor. Video is choppy and is particularly bad in low light situations.
The rear camera records 480p video at 30fps with an average bitrate of 5 Mbps. While the rear camera is waterproof, 480p video quality is very disappointing during the date and very poor at night.

Features

The Apexcam Tour 4 has a 4″ screen, g-sensor but does not have GPS or WiFi. The Tour 4 provides non-buffered parking mode if you hardwire the dash cam to your vehicle (optional hardwire kit required). Unfortunately the Tour 4 does not come with audio error notifications. It does provide error notifications on the screen but these can easily be missed by the driver.

The camera comes with a suction mount that can swivel 360° to record interactions at your side windows (i.e. police traffic stop). The Tour 4 is a larger camera and not discreet given the hanging form factor with large suction cup.

The camera is lightweight and appears to be cheaply built. Numerous owners have had problems with the SD card slot, suction mount and power cables.

Support

Apexcam does not have a website and is not too responsive to questions resulting in limited support for the Tour 4. We have not seen any firmware updates for this camera since it has been launched. Apexcam provides a 12 month warranty, which is standard for most dash cams.

There are also reports that Apexcam provides free gifts in exchange for 5-star reviews on Amazon. This is likely influencing the rating there.

Known Problems

SD Card Issues

The most common problem with this camera are microSD card issues. Some owners indicate the SD card slot does not hold the SD card. Also note the gap between the microSD card slot and the camera. Numerous owners have lost cards inside the camera. This is indicative of the build quality of the camera.

Loop recording doesn’t work

Numerous owners indicate that loop recording does not work. Make sure loop recording is not set to off. Select 1,3 or 5 minutes. If loop recording is turned on, and loop recording is not functional, the camera is defective.

Broken Suction Mounts

The suction cup mounts appear to be very cheap and numerous owners have broke them when installing on their vehicles.

Sample Videos

There are numerous reviews and sample videos on Youtube for this camera. Look for choppy video, videos in low light and any rear camera video. The quality is subpar in all these scenarios.

Should I Purchase

The Apexcam Tour 4 is a very cheap dual camera from both a price and quality perspective. Video is very disappointing, build quality is below average and support is limited. While the price may be attractive, we suggest purchasing a higher quality dash cam.

Specifications

Published: November 23, 2020