Linus tech tips on dashcams.

[kantonburg]

He is fairly accurate for low light conditions. In good lighting the Thinkware is probably a little better than he suggested, and if you are parked in good lighting then the Blackvue is a little better than he suggested.

I don't think he was very accurate with regards to the SoCs, a lot of companies use Novatek these days because they have become the best, but there is variety, and Novatek chips are not all identical.

Currently there is a lack of variety in the image sensors being used, which does result in a lot of similarity in performance, but that is just the current situation, wasn't true a couple of years ago, and won't be true in a year or two.

I note that you have the recommended camera!

I do.

Although in the video he mentions the A119V3 being as good as the U1000.

Though 3X the price throwing features out the window and just image quality. Shouldn't the U1000 being 4K (not sure of sensor) be a much better quality image?

 

[Nigel]

The U1000 is normally a little better in sunshine due to the higher resolution. In low light, as in most of his testing, they are about the same due to similar sensor sensitivity and sensitivity being more important than resolution. The A119 V3 has more bitrate than the U1000 in all conditions, so it is trying to store more information, this sometimes gives it the advantage even in good conditions. A119 V3 has a narrower lens which makes up for much of the loss in resolution, at the expense of field of view. You need to look quite carefully to see differences in image quality,

Shouldn't the U1000 being 4K (not sure of sensor) be a much better quality image?

You would expect it to be!

But note that the A119 V3 is single channel, which means it has much less field of view, and it also doesn't have the cloud connectivity, so it should be cheaper. Most people don't find the cloud connectivity very useful though, and the A119 V3 does have an app that lets up upload videos to cloud servers, which is not far off what the U1000 provides. Blackvue do better cloud stuff, but I agree with his comment on Blackvue image quality!

 

[kantonburg]

The U1000 is normally a little better in sunshine due to the higher resolution. In low light, as in most of his testing, they are about the same due to similar sensor sensitivity and sensitivity being more important than resolution. The A119 V3 has more bitrate than the U1000 in all conditions, so it is trying to store more information, this sometimes gives it the advantage even in good conditions. A119 V3 has a narrower lens which makes up for much of the loss in resolution, at the expense of field of view. You need to look quite carefully to see differences in image quality,



You would expect it to be!

But note that the A119 V3 is single channel, which means it has much less field of view, and it also doesn't have the cloud connectivity, so it should be cheaper. Most people don't find the cloud connectivity very useful though, and the A119 V3 does have an app that lets up upload videos to cloud servers, which is not far off what the U1000 provides. Blackvue do better cloud stuff, but I agree with his comment on Blackvue image quality!

The only feature I wish the A119V3 had was wireless with an app. But for under $100 I can't complain.

 

[kamkar]

At least Linus or his writers found their way in here.

 

[kantonburg]

At least Linus or his writers found their way in here.

Not me or Nigel. Was a post deleted?

 

[Nigel]

The only feature I wish the A119V3 had was wireless with an app. But for under $100 I can't complain.

I case you don't know, the A119 Mini has Wifi, which allows you to use the Viofo App to download videos/upload them to the cloud. I forgot the V3 can't communicate with the Viofo app! Of course you need a decent Black Friday discount before the Mini is sub $100.

I have no connection with Linus... Maybe Kamkar meant that his video made it in here.

 

[kamkar]

No i just meant there is a short glimpse of this forum in the Linus video, i cant recall if he actually mention the forum too in the video.
Like all Linus videos it is soon relegated to the dark regions of my memory where there are little to no retention of information.
I do consider this the premiere source of dashcam knowledge, so it should be mentioned, at least i would if i was to make a video like Linus have.

 

[Nigel]

No i just meant there is a short glimpse of this forum in the Linus video,

Ahh, your post makes complete sense now I know what you meant!
I think Google is quite good at bringing people here, even when they know nothing about dashcams beforehand.

 

[kantonburg]

No i just meant there is a short glimpse of this forum in the Linus video, i cant recall if he actually mention the forum too in the video.
Like all Linus videos it is soon relegated to the dark regions of my memory where there are little to no retention of information.
I do consider this the premiere source of dashcam knowledge, so it should be mentioned, at least i would if i was to make a video like Linus have.

I finally finished the video. I saw the forum grab there so I see what you meant now.

Pretty good info on the sensors and he right about manufacturers adding features over quality typically. This applies to every tech area anyway.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Nigel]

I finally finished the video.

Next video to watch:

 

[Lothar]

The most non-car guy comment in existence. Clueless...

The only person that is clueless is one that falls for their marketing...

 

[Dash cams Serbia]

The only person that is clueless is one that falls for their marketing...

People pay thousands of dollars for adaptive susspension system. The price you commented on is very cheap.

 

[Lothar]

People pay thousands of dollars for adaptive susspension system. The price you commented on is very cheap.

True, but you're forgetting that the hardware for this is already on the car and that you already paid for it in the price of the car. This is simply a server side on/off switch that you subscribe to from their "Connected" store.
Just like heated seats, heated steering wheel, and majority of other things that they are marketing from their connected store...The suspension hardware is on the car already.

Eventually, all it will take is for some hacker to break the code and everyone will want to hack/mod their own car similarly to what some do to unlock their phone boot loader, jailbreak their phones, or remove carrier SIM lock.

BMW’s Heated-Seats-as-a-Service Model Has Drivers Seeking Hacks

Connected car companies now charge owners to use physical hardware they already bought—but some are pushing back.

www.wired.com

 

[Dashmellow]

Eventually, all it will take is for some hacker to break the code and everyone will want to hack/mod their own car similarly to what some do to unlock their phone boot loader, jailbreak their phones, or remove carrier SIM lock.

BMW’s Heated-Seats-as-a-Service Model Has Drivers Seeking Hacks

Connected car companies now charge owners to use physical hardware they already bought—but some are pushing back.

www.wired.com

For different reasons, in this case, the "Right-to-Repair" John Deere tractors, the hackers have already been at it.

I think you're right, hacking corporate digital marketing exploitation in vehicles is the next big thing, but it's already here!

A New Jailbreak for John Deere Tractors Rides the Right-to-Repair Wave

A hacker has formulated an exploit that provides root access to two popular models of the company’s farm equipment.

www.wired.com

Hacker Gains Access To Tractor Diagnostics With New John Deere Jailbreak

Hacker Sick Codes demonstrated full root access to multiple John Deere touchscreens in a talk at DEFCON this month.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Vortex Radar]

So I've been driving around with the Camsonic UltraDash Z3 for the past week or so, collecting footage with its ultrawide and telephoto lenses and I'm thinking now about the practical benefits of that added lens. Quick question for those of you who've been running telephotos for a while like @Dashmellow and @TonyM. What are the biggest benefits you've noticed with the added cam? What situations do you find the second lens helping in that the wide angle isn't sufficient with?

I saw mention in another thread about capturing if people are distracted and on a phone for example. Capturing plates farther away can be helpful, but that's more of a backup in case the wide angle can't get it. In case of something like a hit and run, they're gonna be close to you at some point and so it's very possible that the wide angle can get their plate before they speed off. Not guarantees, but probable.

All the stuff like capturing plates of oncoming cars that drive by, does that matter? We're not cops trying to capture plates of every single car on the road. We just need them in certain specific instances and so I'm curious what other situations the telephoto would be helpful in.

 

[Nigel]

We're not cops trying to capture plates of every single car on the road.

Most of us aren't, but there are a very small number of people who do like to report everything they can!

Normally when I want to report something to the cops, it is dangerous overtaking, and then the problem is often motion blur, due to high speeds in low light or winter light, and for that a telephoto is unlikely to help. Sometimes having an A129 Pro 4K does give useful extra detail for reporting things, but that is generally not going to be needed for insurance claims, a 360 camera is more likely to be useful for that.

I think if your wide angle lens/sensor is FHD resolution then a 2nd 1080 telephoto lens is very useful.
If your wide angle lens/sensor is 8K resolution then the telephoto is pointless, whatever the resolution, since the wide angle will give as much detail as can be obtained through laminated windscreen glass with motion blur.
If you have 4K on the wide angle, then there may be some benefit from the telephoto, especially if you take advantage of having the telephoto by using a wider wide angle, but you will probably benefit more by pointing the extra lens in a different direction to cover something not already covered, such as the rear view, cabin view, cabin view from rear, side mirror cameras...

 

[TonyM]

So I've been driving around with the Camsonic UltraDash Z3 for the past week or so, collecting footage with its ultrawide and telephoto lenses and I'm thinking now about the practical benefits of that added lens.

Have you noticed any benefits from using two lenses side-by-side?

Quick question for those of you who've been running telephotos for a while like @Dashmellow and @TonyM. What are the biggest benefits you've noticed with the added cam? What situations do you find the second lens helping in that the wide angle isn't sufficient with?

I saw mention in another thread about capturing if people are distracted and on a phone for example. Capturing plates farther away can be helpful, but that's more of a backup in case the wide angle can't get it. In case of something like a hit and run, they're gonna be close to you at some point and so it's very possible that the wide angle can get their plate before they speed off. Not guarantees, but probable.

All the stuff like capturing plates of oncoming cars that drive by, does that matter? We're not cops trying to capture plates of every single car on the road. We just need them in certain specific instances and so I'm curious what other situations the telephoto would be helpful in.

The exposure metering on a telephoto is less affected by changes in sky brightness, or the dashboard or the hood, since the angle of view is much smaller.

A wide angle camera should always be the primary camera. There's a sweet spot around 130deg AOV that's not too wide, nor too narrow, for a single camera. Having a dedicated telephoto means you can run a wider 160deg lens and not suffer so many of the drawbacks, primarily loss of detail.

A telephoto can offer additional detail that a wide angle camera simply cannot render, typically the behaviour of other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians ahead of you. It gives you a different perspective that might one day be useful, but it would be foolish to run only a telephoto dashcam. I agree with Nigel that a 4K or higher wide angle may reduce the benefit of an additional telephoto camera.

For situations where motion blur from relative movement across the frame is an issue, whether that be an oncoming car or one passing you, the ability to resolve licence plates at greater distance can be helpful. When I was hit by an oncoming car a few years ago I was lucky that the 4K wide angle camera picked up the other car's licence plate at distance. All footage close up was too blurred. I had removed my telephoto for testing other cameras that week - if I'd had my usual telephoto installed it would have been much easier to identify the other car.

I've just started (today) testing a 4K telephoto setup, complete with CPL to help see through car windows. It's early days, but it's looking promising to complement my A139 wide angle camera.

 

[Nigel]

It gives you a different perspective that might one day be useful,

It normally gives you the perspective of you following people too closely, at too high speed, and with erratic steering, and thus most accidents being your fault, while the wide angle shows you following at plenty of distance, low speed and with great care, even when you are not! So for insurance purposes the telephoto is not good, and when submitting reports to the police, do you really want to use a lens that makes your driving look poor?

the ability to resolve licence plates at greater distance can be helpful. When I was hit by an oncoming car a few years ago I was lucky that the 4K wide angle camera picked up the other car's licence plate at distance.

Currently the 2K cameras tend to give the best results on motion blur, not always, depends on lighting, speed, distances, etc., but on average it is the 2K camera that wins, not the 4K that can see further. So how often does a telephoto beat a 2K camera such as the A119 V3?

 

[Dashmellow]

So I've been driving around with the Camsonic UltraDash Z3 for the past week or so, collecting footage with its ultrawide and telephoto lenses and I'm thinking now about the practical benefits of that added lens. Quick question for those of you who've been running telephotos for a while like @Dashmellow and @TonyM. What are the biggest benefits you've noticed with the added cam? What situations do you find the second lens helping in that the wide angle isn't sufficient with?

I saw mention in another thread about capturing if people are distracted and on a phone for example. Capturing plates farther away can be helpful, but that's more of a backup in case the wide angle can't get it. In case of something like a hit and run, they're gonna be close to you at some point and so it's very possible that the wide angle can get their plate before they speed off. Not guarantees, but probable.

All the stuff like capturing plates of oncoming cars that drive by, does that matter? We're not cops trying to capture plates of every single car on the road. We just need them in certain specific instances and so I'm curious what other situations the telephoto would be helpful in.

Yeah, as you know I was the one who mentioned how telephoto dash cams can capture a remarkable level of detail of the cars out in front of you which can be very helpful in identifying unique vehicles among the many on the road that can look quite similar even if you don't capture the license plate.

Of course, the ability to capture clear images of individuals in the approaching vehicle like the driver and passengers as well as what they were doing right before an incident occurs can become vital evidence. This might include such things as texting or talking on a phone, eating, arguing with another passenger or engaging in some other distraction, or making threatening gestures perhaps due to road rage. None of this is sort behavior is usually captured by a standard wide angle dash cam and helpful evidence like this could make a big difference in certain situations.

One of the things I notice time and time again is that my telephoto camera will often capture a license plate of a car approaching at high speed while the standard wide angle dash camera captures nothing but a motion blurred plate number. It is this ability to clearly capture plates at a distance without motion blur that makes all the difference and the reason I like having both cameras.

As I mentioned in my last post on this topic, it is very often the telephoto dash camera that actually tells the story even if it is the wide angle camera that captures the consequences of the unfolding story. So for arguments sake, a telephoto cam may capture a clear shot of the plate number of an oncoming vehicle at a distance right before you get side swiped by a hit and run driver who then takes out your rear view mirror and keeps going. Then you discover that your wide angle camera didn't capture a clear shot of the plate of the car that hit you. This is essentially what happened to @TonyM where it was his other other cameras that saved the day and nailed the other driver.

From my experience, the overall value of having the telephoto is that it works in concert with your wide angle camera to provide a level of coordinated evidence capture you could never achieve with the wide angle camera alone.

So yes, it matters.

Here's a screen grab I kind of like. I'm approaching an intersection from some distance and the telephoto has captured every plate number it sees, including the plate number of the truck two vehicles ahead of me right through the front and rear windshield of the car directly in front of me.

 

[Nigel]

Here's a screen grab I kind of like. I'm approaching an intersection from some distance and the telephoto has captured every plate number it sees, including the plate number of the truck two vehicles ahead of me right through the front and rear windshield of the car directly in front of me.

A 4k camera with with normal FoV could capture all those plates too.

None of this is sort behavior is usually captured by a standard wide angle dash cam and helpful evidence like this could make a big difference in certain situations.

What do you consider to be a "standard wide angle dash cam"?