Garmin Dash Cam 55

@lacibaci Im lacking hardware
A12 firmware structure is different to a7/a5/a2 therefore I cant really test any modifications.
 
I use it for a month now... and i'm not verry happy, because now, when the temeperature rise, i see often the warning that the device was too hot and has automatically powered down... ;(

i1h9v7.jpg


And i must manual click on "Dismiss" ... so the recording begins....

Here are two sample videos:


 
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It seems that it may be focused in too closely- everything is sharp up close but not in the distance. Still pretty good though so consider that a minor complaint. The over-temp issue is more serious. If that occurred while driving one could miss it, or at best fiddling with the cam to dismiss the warning distracts you- not good while driving 😱

Overall I think they're getting close but haven't quite yet hit the target- dashcam needs are not the same as action cams or GPS units and it seems more that they don't understand those needs than a lack of quality overall. Other than the mount it appears that some minor tweaking at the factory and with firmware could fix these things 😉

If their designers get more aligned to our specific needs Garmin will apparently be a strong contender in the market 😎

Thanks to all for sharing your experiences 👍
Phil
 
its bitrate is 20k but as if like 6k with me
 
SawMaster said:
It seems that it may be focused in too closely- everything is sharp up close but not in the distance. Still pretty good though so consider that a minor complaint. The over-temp issue is more serious. If that occurred while driving one could miss it, or at best fiddling with the cam to dismiss the warning distracts you- not good while driving 😱

Overall I think they're getting close but haven't quite yet hit the target- dashcam needs are not the same as action cams or GPS units and it seems more that they don't understand those needs than a lack of quality overall. Other than the mount it appears that some minor tweaking at the factory and with firmware could fix these things 😉

If their designers get more aligned to our specific needs Garmin will apparently be a strong contender in the market 😎

Thanks to all for sharing your experiences 👍
Phil
Click to expand...
There is a lot to like about 55:
- build is solid
- excellent sound
- menu and settings are very polished
- side buttons are good size not hard to press, but have a nice "click" feel
- GPS performance is stellar (instant lock in my garage)
- Date/Time settings (or the lack of, automatically setup even time zone/DST)
- all "driver assist" functions work as advertised (Forward collision warning, LDWS, Traffic moving)
- voice control - it actually works very well. On other cams I can never remember which button takes a picture or mutes microphone...
- available park mode module
- inexpensive extra mounts available to purchase

Don't like:
- recording quality (low bit rate)
- battery instead of capacitor
- no video out or HDMI
- file naming
- GPS info embedded in video files

Don't know yet:
- mount - It's a good idea, very low foot print, camera is easily adjustable after mounting. Not sure how stable it will be...

That's all for now.
 
Jest said:
I use it for a month now... and i'm not verry happy, because now, when the temeperature rise, i see often the warning that the device was too hot and has automatically powered down... ;(

i1h9v7.jpg


And i must manual click on "Dismiss" ... so the recording begins....

Here are two sample videos:


Click to expand...
Saw a reply from Garmin about the high temp shutdowns:
"The Garmin Dash Cam 45 and 55 are designed for the automotive environment. It is normal and expected for the unit to become warm during use. An upcoming software update will prevent any premature shutdowns in elevated temperatures."
 
New firmware 2.70 was released today (fixes premature thermal shutdown)
 
Here's some video shot with the Garmin NuviCam and Garmin Dash Cam 55 at the same time. Well, the same time if you line it up right. I still have no clue how to edit videos.

Nuvicam Raw 1080@30 FPS
Dash Cam 55 Raw 1440@30 FPS

I noticed the 55 has the option for "1080p, 30fps, HDR" and just "1080p, 30fps". Have you played around with that at all?
 
Looking good. I tried other resolutions but came back to 2560 × 1440. This looked the best to me. Have you updated firmware on 55?
 
So does the firmware update actually fix the overheating? Overheating is a hardware problem not a software problem...?
 
Matthew Pumar said:
So does the firmware update actually fix the overheating? Overheating is a hardware problem not a software problem...?
Click to expand...
If I had to guess, they set it too aggressive. I would think the new limit is higher but still within tolerances.
Summer is here so I'll keep an eye on it. If it doesn't work, I'll send it back.
 
lacibaci said:
Looking good. I tried other resolutions but came back to 2560 × 1440. This looked the best to me. Have you updated firmware on 55?
Click to expand...

Yep. I actually had it hooked up to Garmin Connect/Express/whatever before I had it in the car.

Matthew Pumar said:
Their website says it's unavailable for 3-5 weeks. Maybe they are making some hardware changes to address the problem?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/567282
Click to expand...

That really just means it's backordered. Garmin doesn't really do backorders on their website. They'll also send product out to retailers before they sell it on their own site. The site has been saying 3-5 weeks since the thing was announced back in March.
 
Even with the 2.70 update, my camera turned off in parking mode due to high temperatures.

It started right up when I turned on the car. I'm not sure if it cooled off or if there's some difference in operation.
 
LostDragonist said:
Even with the 2.70 update, my camera turned off in parking mode due to high temperatures.

It started right up when I turned on the car. I'm not sure if it cooled off or if there's some difference in operation.
Click to expand...
Did you contact Garmin? I'd like to now what they have to say about this.
 
LostDragonist said:
Even with the 2.70 update, my camera turned off in parking mode due to high temperatures.

It started right up when I turned on the car. I'm not sure if it cooled off or if there's some difference in operation.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it was because of high temp? Mine was turning off as well and then I discovered that the parking mode has a default time out mode 2 hours (can be disabled or configured to a different value)
 
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