G90 fitted with 52mm Hoya HD CPL

[reverend]

So my car has serious issues with windscreen reflections so I try and get CPL filters on where possible now to workaround it.

Previously I tried a small CPL I had (27mm) on the G90:

It was too little and caused vignetting etc.

@Sabe used a 30.5mm filter which blends in with the camera better than the 52mm but cannot be re-used easily:

So I took a different route with my LS4xx cameras and went down the route of buying a 52mm filter and the relevant step up adaptor which means I can also use the CPL filter with my DSLR camera.

I bought a 39-52mm step up adaptor from here:

http://www.jackthehat.co.uk/stepping-rings-from-25mm-105mm-p-460.html

This works but the 37-52mm adaptor would probably be better on the G90.

Pictures speak a thousand words so here you go.



You can see with the 39-52mm step up you need a fair bit of 3M tape to keep it hanging on there - the 37mm should be better.

I stuck the Mobius on there to try and get a comparison of how sunny it was today and how bad the reflections are.

So here are some pics from yesterday showing the issues with the reflections - these show the reflections between the Mobus and the G90 were similar without a CPL, in fact the G90 suffered even more than the Mobius.

 

[reverend]

So here are the results - the G90 was struggling with reflections before and the CPL has massively sorted this out:

I'm hoping to leave this in place in darkness with it being a higher quality filter which means it lets more light through.

I'll test further over the next week and get some night samples up.

I need to try this out at some point too:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/close-weave-loudspeaker-grille-cloth-felt-ks50e

And yes the Hoya HD filter is total overkill for a car DVR like this but I can reuse it with my other Nikon

 

[Sunny]

Nice!
Man that CPL looks freakin huge but works great. Dashboard reflection is really bad even with G90 that handles light better.

That gives me an idea.
I think I have a 52mm CPL somewhere in the house.
Need to find it before ordering step-up ring.

 

[Sunny]

Is the 3M tape double sided?
Also, are you sure 37mm will fit? It's easy to add 3M tape rather than stretching the ring.

BTW, 52mm CPL means it's visible from miles.

 

[reverend]

It should but I can't guarantee, so 39 is a safe option as you know it can be made to fit

I'm guessing they're easier to come by over in the US? We're lacking here in decent shops for accessories like that!

 

[Sunny]

It should but I can't guarantee, so 39 is a safe option as you know it can be made to fit

I'm guessing they're easier to come by over in the US? We're lacking here in decent shops for accessories like that!

I see but the less tape, the better look.
I will measure the lens but I don't have a digital caliper so won't be accurate.
If you have a digital caliper, that'll be helpful.

So 3M tape is single sided so it doesn't attach on the ring?

 

[reverend]

No I don't mate which is why I wondered if you did last time

3M tape is double sided so it sticks to both sides - I just left the white bit on some of it to try and get more leverage but it didn't make any difference!

 

[Sabe]

Looks nice.
It's a good idea to use more standard size filters because it's easier to find good quality filters in those sizes. CPL filters are basically the same, but it varies how they deal direct sunlight, so it's nice to have some room where to choose from.

 

[reverend]

It does look better stock but this seems to work well so far

 

[Sunny]

If I don't find my 52mm CPL lens for the Canon f1.8 lens, I'll probably get a 42mm lens that's widely used in Olympus E-PEN style cameras.
You think 42mm will be wide enough not to block the FOV?

Also, there are 37mm CPL kits for Go Pro but I assume they'll be too small for the wide FOV. Hmm...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/171343406210

 

[reverend]

I think it's more critical how close it is rather than the size of it mate?

 

[reverend]

I've done some night time driving tonight and quite happy with the CPL still fitted at night - I'd personally be happy to leave it on all the time.

Nearly had an incident and got a perfect license plate so no issues at all.

It does seem to add a little more noise as the camera sensor is working harder -I'll get a clip up tomorrow

 

[reverend]

Here we go, a bit of front and rear action (no not a multi angle DVD) - G90 with the CPL on up front and the GT680W through the privacy glass at the rear (makes it hard work for any cam) and why I'm hoping a Panorama would cope better - we'll see one day

Try and view on YouTube rather than directly through the Flash interface as it seems to run in low res that way on iPhones.

I'm only watching on a 720p laptop and iPhone as I'm away for a few weeks, but it looks good to me - plate readings are working great which a lot of cams struggle with with xenon headlights (these are updated Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Intense like fitted as standard to high end Mercedes now - unfortunately I'm only in a VW but it makes people slow down as a lot of folks in the UK still associate xenon headlights with police cars )

I'll revisit in a few weeks when I'm back home on the better monitor but this little G90 is turning out to be a very good performer all around - I've got to admit I expected night performance with a CPL to be much worse seeing as the OV4689 has a lower dynamic range than the Aptina sensors.

A quick and dirty comparison of a similar screenshot from the LS460W (which costs more than the G90, step up filter and the Hoya HD filter) - these were taken at totally different times and I'm purely using it as a comparison of brightness and nothing else:

 

[DiversionXj]

Is it me or the ls460 pics seam to be sharper? Could you post a side to side video with the ls460 instead of the mobius, or a simple shot with licence plates in the G90? Great idea with the fitted filter, in some countries they ve got radar cameras in police cars that look like that

 

[reverend]

The LS460W is definitely sharper at night than the G90 - unfortunately I no longer have that camera though so can't do that comparison I'm afraid. The LS460W is the best I've tried at night so far though in terms of the cleanest image. The LS430W is incredibly similar, just with more noise.

This is the video that screenshot was taken from though (first half is the G90 and the second is the rear facing GT680w)

 

[DiversionXj]

The G90 looks decent enough for the price, I think the ls460 costs twice as much. I guess the Panorama S would do a even better job than the Dod, but without a european reseller and a proper waranty it looses a lot of customers now that dashcams are becoming so popular. I wish I had one 7 years ago, would of saved me a lot of money and trouble.
Offtopic, what dual cam would you (more experienced fellow forum members ) recomend for rear and side of the car (fitted as shown in below image) ?

 

[Dionic90]

Wait for the panorama x2.

I have three cams (some people on this forum have four plus!!!) and one is further back enough that it can see at the side windows on both sides plus the interior of the cabin.

Whatever cam you purchase will work.

 

[96902]

32mm cpl + 35mm термоусадка

 

[Sunny]

32mm cpl + 35mm термоусадка

How can you rotate CPL on shrink tube?

 

[96902]

easy to spin. I did not put on the same glue