Dashcam vs Action Cameras

[TonyM]

Out of curiosity, I compared three of my high resolution action cameras against my A119 to see how they perform as a dashcam.

Xiaomi Mijia Mini - 4K 30fps - 100Mbps
GitUp F1 - 4K 30fps - 60Mbps
GitUp G3 - 1440p 30fps - 36.5Mbps
Viofo A119 - 1440p 30fps - 24Mbps

This is the same road where I had a minor accident last year, being hit by a driver who did not stop, so for me being able to capture the number plate of an oncoming car is important.

100% crops from original videos (best frame chosen from each video - not the same frame for each camera)

G3


F1



Xiaomi Mijia


A119


The action cameras have equal or higher resolution than my A119 and higher video bitrates, but they also have 145 to 170 degree wide angle lenses with smaller apertures. When it comes to resolving the details in things like street signs or passing cars the A119 performs better than the rest, although the Mijia is not far behind.

The requirements for dashcam use are different from regular action cameras, so I am not surprised that the A119 does best in this comparison. Dashcams and action cameras are very good at what they are designed to do. The Mobius 1 was one action camera which made a successful crossover into dashcam use a few years ago.

 

[kamkar]

Nice.

I do wish one could get "race" firmwares for dashcams with a tad bigger bitrate, it dont take much roadside "stuff" to trip the cameras and get them to cough up blocks.
For the most the original footage are not that bad in these situations, but trying to upload that to youtube and when they do their "magic" on the footage it just turn horrible.

I know myself i have to once in a while forego uploading something as the footage just look horrible when it hit youtube.
So while the footage are fine for its main purpose, some times sharing it online can get really ugly not only from the display of poor driving in the footage.

 

[TonyM]

Nice.

I do wish one could get "race" firmwares for dashcams with a tad bigger bitrate, it dont take much roadside "stuff" to trip the cameras and get them to cough up blocks.
For the most the original footage are not that bad in these situations, but trying to upload that to youtube and when they do their "magic" on the footage it just turn horrible.

I know myself i have to once in a while forego uploading something as the footage just look horrible when it hit youtube.
So while the footage are fine for its main purpose, some times sharing it online can get really ugly not only from the display of poor driving in the footage.

Yes, you can't really determine video quality from watching YouTube clips. That's why I always include full frame still images to show what the actual footage looks like.

I'm currently beta testing an action camera which does use a higher bitrate, and that makes a noticeable difference in roadside detail