Zenfox T3 Triple channel dash cams free test invitation, limited quantity

Nigel said:
There are no reports of them melting, so describing it as a "problem" is questionable. Clearly it has a limited temperature range, but all cameras do, and when outside that range it appears to cope well by limiting the number of channels, so you could see this as a successful design. If it was to start shutting down cameras while driving then it would be more serious, but still 1 channel is better than molten plastic!

In the end, it is up to Zenfox to decide on if it is a problem or not, and to decide on if the expense required to fix it is worth while. If you are testing then you should supply Zenfox with the data needed to make that decision, for example what outside temperature is needed for parking mode to shut down channels, how many hours per day it is shutting down the channels for, does it ever shut down channels during normal driving with the aircon on? Testing should provide data, opinions are also useful, ultimatums are not useful.
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I've given as much data as I can provide, as I don't have a thermal thermometer to measure the exact temperature. I am sure Zenfox can easily replicate the scenario by "baking the camera" in a test oven or having his development team perform a test. I also went on to describe that the rear and interior cameras return on their own after the camera reaches a safe operating temperature. Again, no thermal thermometer to measure what temperature that might be. Another task for his development team to measure.

Your expectations for beta testing are unrealistic. Even if I had a thermal thermometer, I am not sitting in my car watching the dash camera every moment for a couple hours to see when it overheats. Nor am I going to repeat the same test to measure the exact thermal temperature that must be reached for the rear and interior cameras return on their own.

Feel free to get a test dash cam and perform these tests at your leisure @Nigel. The UK is having some nice 30C days this week, so hop to it my friend!

Far as a problem goes, this isn't subjective. The T3 has a serious, definitive issue. Whether Zenfox chooses to invest money on resolving the concern or ignores our advice, isn't a matter for much debate. If Zenfox goes for production without addressing the overheating problem, he'll end up having a ton of unhappy customers if he advertises support for parking mode. The camera is easily eclipsed by models that can do front + rear recording and parking mode without overheating. So why buy a neutered product that can only record from the front when parked?
 
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I'm not quite that dedicated in my testing duties, but will work on it. Unfortunately my T3 is behind the mirror on the passenger side, so is not visible while driving and currently takes quite a bit of time to download tens of gigs + hundreds of 1 minute files to review for anomalies after returning home.

KuoH

kamkar1 said:
hehe i have actually had cameras on cameras, but it was a jovuu X cam i used aimed at the mini 0906 i was testing.
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kuoh said:
I'm not quite that dedicated in my testing duties, but will work on it. Unfortunately my T3 is behind the mirror on the passenger side, so is not visible while driving and currently takes quite a bit of time to download tens of gigs + hundreds of 1 minute files to review for anomalies after returning home.

KuoH
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Monitoring how long it took the T3 to freeze isn't useful data. As you aren't in the car to measure the thermal temperature when it happens. So one day it could take 2 hours to freeze and on another day which is hotter, 45 minutes. You'd literally need to chill out in your enclosed car watching this thing minute by minute to capture the data. No Thanks. I do however nominate @Nigel for that position since he seems eager and willing to fill the roll.

Other alternative, go check on your car every few minutes by the minute. However, you won't know the "exact" moment it froze and the temperature of the car and camera when it happened. Only a baseline since a few extra minutes in the sun can add several degrees.

I, like you, am not that dedicated to go to the far ends of the earth to find out why the T3 is having problems. I think I've highlighted numerous issues, so I gladly pass the reigns to those who want to expand upon these data points through any methodology they see fit.
 
Heh... Finally had time to drive with the new firmware and freshly formatted Sandisk High Endurance 128gb.

The dash cam is plugged into a Blackvue B-112 with the original power adapter from Zenfox, so the dash cam is recording non-stop until the battery dies after trips in 3 minute loops.

Outside temperature is roughly 65*F - 73*F where I live and area we were driving around in.

Timeline:
9:26 AM start of the day
10:14 AM rear camera cuts out leaving front and interior camera only
10:58 AM interior camera also cuts out, only front camera recording
11:08 AM interior camera comes back on
11:18 AM rear camera comes back on
12:31 PM rear camera cuts out again
12:41 PM interior camera cuts out again
1:10 PM front camera cuts off recording to a few second (stopped basically)
1:20 PM front camera resumes recording
1:33 PM front camera cuts off again
1:43 PM front camera resumes recording
1:53 PM front camera cuts off again
2:03 PM front camera resumes again
------this cycle continues until 4:43 PM and only the front camera continues to record.
 
I don't think it's necessary for us to measure the temperature trends to that degree of accuracy. That information can be calculated to a generally representative range as well as easily tested and confirmed by the design engineers. We simply need to report on whether it is capable of performing to an acceptable level for the average owner in real life conditions. The runtimes and general ambient conditions we report can give others some idea of whether the current limits are close or far from our expectations. Whether that's already at the hardware's absolute limits or if there is still some safety margin to extend the operating temperatures further is up to Zenfox to decide, but it's safe to say the T3 is not yet at the level of reliability needed for long term parking mode use in warm to hot climates. It is a bit surprising to me that this is already available on Amazon for next day delivery, so I guess it's now in full production.

KuoH

HonestReview said:
Monitoring how long it took the T3 to freeze isn't useful data. As you aren't in the car to measure the thermal temperature when it happens. So one day it could take 2 hours to freeze and on another day which is hotter, 45 minutes. You'd literally need to chill out in your enclosed car watching this thing minute by minute to capture the data. No Thanks.
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kuoh said:
I don't think it's necessary for us to measure the temperature trends to that degree of accuracy. That information can be calculated to a generally representative range as well as easily tested and confirmed by the design engineers. We simply need to report on whether it is capable of performing to an acceptable level for the average owner in real life conditions. The runtimes and general ambient conditions we report can give others some idea of whether the current limits are close or far from our expectations. Whether that's already at the hardware's absolute limits or if there is still some safety margin to extend the operating temperatures further is up to Zenfox to decide, but it's safe to say the T3 is not yet at the level of reliability needed for long term parking mode use in warm to hot climates. It is a bit surprising to me that this is already available on Amazon for next day delivery, so I guess it's now in full production.

KuoH
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Link on Amazon? I'm not seeing them when I look. Are you sure it's not someone who got a few off Zenfox and grey marketing them? Is it Zenfox officially selling these cameras?

I would truly hope he wouldn't be putting his product in the wild during a beta test. I know the urge to recoup an investment is strong, but the repercussions are far worse. Upset customers who get a product that's still having the bugs worked out.

I can't answer if there's a greater tolerance for tweaking the temperature threshold. I've brought to light the 2 hour time jump, overheating, and overly dark night image problem. And people seem to beat me to death for being critical of these issues. I thought the whole point of beta testing was to bring problems to the manufacturers attention and get them corrected. Especially being the overheating flaw is now being confirmed by others. I mean the camera isn't surviving 65-73 (18-22C) before overheating per @runtohell121 test. That's not good.

I'll continue to run the camera and let people know what I find, but I don't have the equipment to elaborate further or I gladly would offer a more concrete assessment. My gut tells me though this may well go beyond a firmware tweak and be improper cooling due to the heat generated from all three cameras. But without being able to measure the exact points of failure with an Infrared Thermometer, it's hard to say the camera's tolerance. I simply have no need to go out and buy one for a one time purchase. So I hope someone who owns one can offer more insight.

We're a collaborative effort and your input, my input, and everyone else's will hopefully get Zenfox onto the right path for a marketable product.
 
It shows 16 in stock and I can add to cart for prime delivery tomorrow.

KuoH

T3 cart.webp


jokiin said:
unavailable, looks like they're getting ready though
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jokiin said:
showed unavailable, perhaps that's a region locked thing
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Correct. The same thing I see, EXCEPT try entering in a United States Zipcode. Select deliver to and enter in 11211. It'll say only 16 left in stock. So apparently these things are available for purchase. Not a business plan I would undertake, especially while the product at hand is undergoing testing, and appears to have a serious issue with overheating. However, I have no financial stake here, so my peon opinion means little.
 
That is an interesting move on Zenfox part. Only they know what is in their plate, but for the short time we have tested this units, I personally don't think they are ready to hit the market if those units are carrying the same hardware and firmware with the current issues unfixed. All I can say is, to wish them luck as well to the customers...
 
A question. I don't remember seeing Zenfox said this a beta testing. More of a review.

Also the T3 package I got looks like a full retail pack.

If it's really a beta test sample then I would have just receive the T3 with the rear cam without any accessories like Viofo who only sent out the A129 Pro front cam only during their beta testing before final version of the A129 Pro with the full retail pack.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Jeremy Wong said:
A question. I don't remember seeing Zenfox said this a beta testing. More of a review.
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I think it is both, some people here are good at reviews, others are good at testing, both are very useful if you want to get your product ready for market. Even feedback on the giftbox can avoid issues, for example with language differences between countries, first impressions with the quality of the box can be important for those unboxing videos.

The words "test" and "review" both appear in your quote.
 
Well there's still time to fix the discovered issues before many are sold, but if that doesn't happen PDQ this one will be another JoooVuu 😵

It is neither a good sign to see it being sold without the fixes, nor is that a good approach to marketing. I'm pretty sure people aren't going to want a multi-channel cam which shuts down all but the front cam in even modest heat- everyone everywhere is going to encounter this issue as things are now 🙁

Once a good reputation is lost, it's darn near impossible to recover it completely and even getting most of it back is a herculean task which takes a lot of time.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
Once a good reputation is lost, it's darn near impossible to recover it completely and even getting most of it back is a herculean task which takes a lot of time.

Phil
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As they say, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression
 
Jeremy Wong said:
A question. I don't remember seeing Zenfox said this a beta testing. More of a review.

Also the T3 package I got looks like a full retail pack.

If it's really a beta test sample then I would have just receive the T3 with the rear cam without any accessories like Viofo who only sent out the A129 Pro front cam only during their beta testing before final version of the A129 Pro with the full retail pack.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Well if test and review meant our product was ready, give feedback, then this endeavor was flawed from the start. No company wanting to make a splash and good first impression would release this product in its current state. To the contrary, any product that was intended for sale should be delayed or pulled. Being Zenfox feels otherwise, I see this company being short lived. First impressions matter and anyone who purchases this product is in for some unwelcome surprises.
 
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