How is Your Vico MF3 going?

Happy to report that the SD card containing the latest Firmware Update sent by Chris from Dashcam Central .. has arrived today.

BINGO ... all good .. and will be giving it a workout shortly.

Huge thanks to Chris .. and of course .. to Jokiin and SGU for their ongoing assistance .. and wiseness. :D


* Holding my breath .. and hoping the future of my lovely Dash Cam is a happy one.

I'm an 'SD card is half empty .. not a half full' kinda Guy.


Edit: Being a n00b at this stuff .. it must've been something I didn't do correctly.
I'm a tad wiser now .. only that doesn't guarantee I'll get it right the next time.
I guess I can continue living on the edge.
 
Purchased one of those cig lighter input splitters today .. so that I can use both the Dash Cam and Garmin GPS unit at the same time.
It has a battery charge tester in it (AU$14) .. which I thought was pretty cool .. as I'm always wanting to keep an eye on the Battery charge.
I regularly charge it anyway .. with one of those small C-Tek chargers that I got for my Scooter that also does Cars. I never know how low the charge is cause I do a lot of short trips.

I'll probably put up with the wires dangling around until I get a rear Cam .. then get the front and rear Cams hard-wired .. and maybe a switch installed in the Dash for the Garmin GPS .. as unlike the F&R Cams .. I'd only want the GPS occasionally .. and wouldn't leave it sitting attached to the windscreen.
 
Well, that's disappointing. My VicoVation MF3 looks like it has flaws in it ... and crapped itself tonight.

Yesterday, after travelling to buy another SD card for another MF3 for the rear window, when I started the Car up to return home .. the MF3 didn't start recording .. no red light on, only I didn't notice until about 10 mins later ... when I then pressed the power on button and it started recording. This was the first sign that something was wrong, only I dismissed it.

Tonight, when starting the Car .. it started making 2 noises ... one was like a rapid quacking like a Duck sound, I kid you not ... and the other was a rapid beeping sound like a sped up high pitched beep that a smoke detector makes. I tried to turn it off ... but pressing the button would not respond .. tried many more times but not responding. It was still recording and the red light was on. No response from the menu button ... and when removing power, it continued with the 2 sounds for around another 15 minutes until it drained the battery.

I had it plugged into a 3 lighter input, as I had for the last couple of weeks, no problem. Yesterday it ran with my Garmin GPS .. this time it was running without GPS connected. Sockets were checked to make sure they were plugged in correctly.



It lasted almost 4 weeks ... and had very light use .. at a guess ... less than 10 hours use.
The timing was perfect, as I was really happy with this Cam .. and as mentioned, bought another 64GB Transcend SD card this morning with the intention of buying another one. I had been tossing up between another MF3 or an OPIA2.

Very disappointed
 
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Well, that's disappointing. My VicoVation MF3 looks like it has had it ... and crapped itself tonight.

Yesterday, after travelling to buy another SD card for another MF3 for the rear window, when I started the Car up to return home .. the MF3 didn't start recording .. no red light on, only I didn't notice until about 10 mins later ... when I then pressed the power on button and it started recording. This was the first sign that something was wrong, only I dismissed it.

Tonight, when starting the Car .. it started making 2 noises ... one was like a rapid quacking like a Duck sound, I kid you not ... and the other was a rapid beeping sound like a sped up high pitched beep that a smoke detector makes. I tried to turn it off ... but pressing the button would not respond .. tried many more times but not responding. It was still recording and the red light was on. No response from the menu button ... and when removing power, it continued with the 2 sounds for around another 15 minutes until it drained the battery.

I had it plugged into a 3 lighter input. Yesterday it ran with my Garmin GPS .. this time it was running without GPS connected. Sockets were checked to make sure they were plugged in correctly.



It lasted almost 4 weeks ... and had very light use .. at a guess ... less than 10 hours use.
The timing was perfect, as I was really happy with this Cam .. and as mentioned, bought another 64GB Transcend SD card this morning with the intention of buying another one.

Very disappointed

It is still under warranty..... send me a PM or e-mail me direct ...you have my private e-mail...we'll sort it out quick as we can.
 
Thanks Chris ... will do
 
Well, that's disappointing. My VicoVation MF3 looks like it has flaws in it ... and crapped itself tonight.

Yesterday, after travelling to buy another SD card for another MF3 for the rear window, when I started the Car up to return home .. the MF3 didn't start recording .. no red light on, only I didn't notice until about 10 mins later ... when I then pressed the power on button and it started recording. This was the first sign that something was wrong, only I dismissed it.

Tonight, when starting the Car .. it started making 2 noises ... one was like a rapid quacking like a Duck sound, I kid you not ... and the other was a rapid beeping sound like a sped up high pitched beep that a smoke detector makes. I tried to turn it off ... but pressing the button would not respond .. tried many more times but not responding. It was still recording and the red light was on. No response from the menu button ... and when removing power, it continued with the 2 sounds for around another 15 minutes until it drained the battery.

I had it plugged into a 3 lighter input, as I had for the last couple of weeks, no problem. Yesterday it ran with my Garmin GPS .. this time it was running without GPS connected. Sockets were checked to make sure they were plugged in correctly.



It lasted almost 4 weeks ... and had very light use .. at a guess ... less than 10 hours use.
The timing was perfect, as I was really happy with this Cam .. and as mentioned, bought another 64GB Transcend SD card this morning with the intention of buying another one. I had been tossing up between another MF3 or an OPIA2.

Very disappointed
Hard to say what happened there, but it's possible something with the card is off. Your a MAC user correct? Do you format the card in the camera after viewing your files on the MAC? There is an implication that MAC might leave some kind of files on the card that could mess with the camera. Always good to format in the camera after using the card on your computer.
 
Yes I am a MAC user. No, I don't format the card each time I watch the Videos.

I heard you should format your card say once a month .. which is just about up. Been working fine so far. Pressing the menu button had no response.
I have no idea what has gone wrong here. I'll go plug it in .. and start up the Car and see what happens.
If I can get into the menu .. I can format it and clear all the files
 
Yes I am a MAC user. No, I don't format the card each time I watch the Videos.

I heard you should format your card say once a month .. which is just about up. Been working fine so far. Pressing the menu button had no response.
I have no idea what has gone wrong here.
Good idea to format the card in the camera after every use in a MAC. I'm not a MAC user, so I'm just relaying information I've heard. I've had an Opia2 lock up on startup (first time I started the Opia2 for testing) until I formatted the card in my A119 first. It was a bit odd, but sometimes strange things occur. True for all dash cameras.
 
Hmm .. well whadoyouknow .. It started up like nothing had happened. I took the 3 way input out and plugged it direct into the cig lighter.
Then went into the menu and did the format. It asked whether I wanted to delete all ... which I pressed ok. It said 'successful'

Cheers CYA ... and Chris .. thanks for responding ... I'll see how it goes for the time being.


Thanks for coming, folks :D
 
If you can't format the card in camera try doing a full format in the computer first then try formatting in the camera
 
Cheers jokiin .. I'll remember that

Yeah .. I guess if something goes wrong with your Dash Cam ... there's a good chance it's an easy fix .. rather than freaking out and hitting the panic button. :D
I guess sometimes it's best to go make a cup of Tea, take a Bex ... and go have a lay down. An oldie but a goody. lol

I'll take CYA's tip and format the Card after having it in my Computer .. when put back in my Cam
 
I put the SD card in the reader, and then into my MAC .. and used Disk Utility to run First Aid and check the SD card. All good. Then put it back in my Cam ... did the Format and went for a drive hoping to charge the Lithium battery to restore it to good health seeing those sounds ended up flattening the Lithium battery in the MF3.

I remember reading that Lithium batteries don't like being totally discharged .. seems ok now?

I have the CPL filter .. and keep it on at night. I've noticed that it has lightly rained, and when watching the Video ... because the road is wet, my low beam headlights do not light up the road in front... so it ends up black until a street light appears. Does this also happen to you folks? Mine is a 2004 Mazda 3 .. and wondering whether headlights back then were like this ... and they have stronger and brighter headlights these days? Watching some of the YouTube Videos ... the Car that is sometimes used is a SUV ... where I would expect the headlights would be stronger .. perhaps with a second set being used?

Is there any point in say adjusting the exposure up a notch in menu to try and get a bit more light in .. seeing I have the CPL on, especially at night ... or wouldn't it make much of difference? Taking the filter off every night is a bit of an inconvenience .. so I'd prefer to leave it on all of the time.
 
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I put the SD card in the reader, and then into my MAC .. and used Disk Utility to run First Aid and check the SD card. All good. Then put it back in my Cam ... did the Format and went for a drive hoping to charge the Lithium battery to restore it to good health seeing those sounds ended up flattening the Lithium battery in the MF3.

I remember reading that Lithium batteries don't like being totally discharged .. seems ok now?

I have the CPL filter .. and keep it on at night. I've noticed that it has lightly rained, and when watching the Video ... because the road is wet, my low beam headlights do not light up the road in front... so it ends up black until a street light appears. Does this also happen to you folks? Mine is a 2004 Mazda 3 .. and wondering whether headlights back then were like this ... and they have stronger and brighter headlights these days? Watching some of the YouTube Videos ... the Car that is sometimes used is a SUV ... where I would expect the headlights would be stronger .. perhaps with a second set being used?

Is there any point in say adjusting the exposure up a notch in menu to try and get a bit more light in .. seeing I have the CPL on, especially at night ... or wouldn't it make much of difference? Taking the filter off every night is a bit of an inconvenience .. so I'd prefer to leave it on all of the time.
Try boosting the EV setting and see if you like it.
 
I was reading a couple of reviews of the MF3 ... one said that the bitrate is 22-25,000 kbps and the other said it is 19,000 kbps

I thought the higher the bitrate the better, seeing the resolution is 1440p
jokiin reminds us that higher numbers don't necessarily mean it is better

I have emailed VicoVation back to ask them why they lowered the bitrate in their last firmware, and look forward to their reply.

Previously, the footage was a bit jerky occasionally and frames froze for a second fairly regularly
After Firmware, there is no jerkyness ... and a frame freeze is rare now .. so it would appear that the Camera could not handle the higher bitrate.

Anyone throw any light on this? Is 19 kbps enough for 1440p resolution? The email said the OPIA was around 18.5 kbps
 
I was reading a couple of reviews of the MF3 ... one said that the bitrate is 22-25,000 kbps and the other said it is 19,000 kbps

I thought the higher the bitrate the better, seeing the resolution is 1440p
jokiin reminds us that higher numbers don't necessarily mean it is better

I have emailed VicoVation back to ask them why they lowered the bitrate in their last firmware, and look forward to their reply.

Previously, the footage was a bit jerky occasionally and frames froze for a second fairly regularly
After Firmware, there is no jerkyness ... and a frame freeze is rare now .. so it would appear that the Camera could not handle the higher bitrate.

Anyone throw any light on this? Is 19 kbps enough for 1440p resolution? The email said the OPIA was around 18.5 kbps
I believe it's a variable bit rate, so it will fluctuate. Also, different resolution settings will have different bit rates.
 
Update

VicoVation replied saying that they lowered the bitrate down to 19 kbps to make it more stable ... which it does now appear to be, with no frame freezing or jerkiness.
 
Dammit ... this VicoVation Taiwanese mob are sooooo boring.
Rarely any complaints about their products being posted up ... *Yawn*

Always have to go check out some other brands to get any action around here :p
 
Dammit ... this VicoVation Taiwanese mob are sooooo boring.
Rarely any complaints about their products being posted up ... *Yawn*

Always have to go check out some other brands to get any action around here :p

Hi Moon
I just bought a Vico FM3 .... joining the club.

Is your still working properly?

Do you find its beneficial to have the CPL?
£30 seemed a bit steep for I guess a very mundane CPL ... but then Hoya dont make a 30mm one.

If you think its a good add on I was thinking of buying a 30mm-52mm step up filter converter and then getting a 52mm Hoya Pro D1. CPL, which I could use on my canon 50mm camera lense if this toy flakes out.

I think I read that you also bought a Vico Opia2? How did that pan out and compare to the FM3.

The more I read the more I get the feeling the Opia2 has won the race :(

Which has the better picture?

I also assumed that Vico after the Opia2 were using high quality Capacitors. Are you sure they dumped those and went back to batteries for the FM3.

Just awaiting my SD card to arrive.
Can one power these up without the SD card in it?

Like you I detest upgrading firmware, a real fear grounded by having a 54 MPS Canon, that if you get t wrong can brink the camera irreversibly :(:(:(:
Did 4.2 work well for you?
 
Update

Received a reply from VicoVation about whether the MF3 model is still in production.

"The model will soon phase out.
We are not sure whether there’s still stock in Australian distributor."

Not done just yet ---> on life support :unsure:
 
Update

Received a reply from VicoVation about whether the MF3 model is still in production.

"The model will soon phase out.
We are not sure whether there’s still stock in Australian distributor."

Not done just yet ---> on life support :unsure:

Thanks for the heads up.
Thats why you didnt get a new one .. sounds like Au distributor has exhausted their stocks.
I do think it is a shame.
 
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