Need RELIABILITY

[Mike007]

I just returned my second dashcam (Rexing F9) and I'm sure the replacement will fail soon. Can anyone offer suggestions on a cam that is not plagued with defects that you can depend on? Thinking of going the action cam route. If it locks up or can't be trusted to actually be recording then all the features in the world are worthless. Reviews are useless because no one seems to mention long term reliability. Oh it has 7 bazillion fps and dials 911 for you but it craps out after 3 months just before some teen texted his way into your fender.

 

[Dashmellow]

Reliability in the forms of hardware dependability in all conditions and never fail video capture are probably the two most important things to look for in a camera. For my money the original Mobius 1 camera has been the hands down winner along with the SG9665GC Street Guardian as a very close rival for the title.

 

[knapp7]

I'm with you. I asked the same question about 2 months ago and was extremely disappointed in the few responses received. Figured a forum like this would have a wealth of info. I was hoping to see some consensus around reliable brands, but the answers I got were long on preaching, short on specifics. So to your point, the only 2 brands I've consistently heard good reliability comments about are Mobius and BlackVue. On the other hand, lots of complaining about the Mini Series cameras. Personally, I wouldn't touch a Viofo with a 10-foot pole, in spite of all the rave reviews. Like you, I've returned 2 A119/A119S cameras now for various failures. Personally, and with absolutely no evidence other than my own readings to back it up, I'd buy with a fair degree of confidence a Vicovation, Lukas/Qvia, Thinkware, XiaoYi, Transcend, or Street Guardian brand, but probably not a DOD. Other brands, I simply don't know. But after surfing this forum for 3 months now, I've also read a lot of problems with most every brand including the ones I suggest. Beginning to think that generically, dash cameras are a very fragile product (especially when you add the user into the picture) no matter what you buy. Basically I think to some degree you get what you pay for with dash cams, although features and quality vary so much it is tough to judge. Add in lots of marketing hype and brand loyalist, and it is almost an impossible task to discern. Plus, there are simply a lot of players in this market. Consolidation has not weeded out the poor manufacturers yet. Given how realitively young this industry is globally and low market penetration in big markets like the USA, it will probably be some time yet before any of that changes. As always, with my opinion and $5 you can still get you an Iced Coffee at Starbucks

 

[DT MI]

I've been running 2 SG9665GC V1 cameras since their original release about 2 years ago with no hardware issues at all. Also have a V2 since a couple months after they were released with the same reliability.

Also have 2 A118-C cameras purchased from SpyTec for well over a year ago now, no issues. Note however that since I bought the A118-Cs they are now produced by multiple manufacturers so what you get now likely will not be what I have.

 

[SawMaster]

I agree with Dashmellow's selections. Something which some people can't seem to grasp well is that any mass-produced product, no matter who makes it, will have a small percentage of dud products reaching the consumers. Anybody can be the unlucky slob who gets one of those Given the relative complexity and low cost of dashcams compared to professional-grade video recording equipment I'm pretty impressed with the better cams

All too often we see somebody who got a dud crying loudly that all those cams are crap of the worst kind and that the seller is a crook. Sometimes their problems are self-caused which they refuse to believe even when numerous people try to explain that to them. But sometimes their complaints are valid and then you begin to see others discovering the same issues and reporting that. You've got to sort through the difference yourself One of my life rules applies here too: You don't get what you don't pay for. You want best reliability, then you've got to pay for that. Oddly, these two cams mentioned are far from the most expensive ones, and many of those more costly cams are far less reliable. Go figure

Just remember, these are cams meant for general consumer use. They are not meant for use where life or death could hang in the balance, nor are they even intended to be used by professional video recorders whose entire career may hang on getting one shot just right in the one chance they have to do it. Even as impressed as I am with my Mobius, I wouldn't stake my life or career on it. Being electronic it can completely fail at any time without warning, so it gets a back-up to increase my chances of having at least something no matter what it does. IMHO that is the best approach to reliability so that's what I recommend Get a Mobius or SG9665GC (or both) and make sure it's not your only cam, then check and maintain them all as you go along knowing that there's not much more anyone could do at any price.

Crossed fingers and rabbit's foot are optional

Phil

 

[jokiin]

I agree with Dashmellow's selections. Something which some people can't seem to grasp well is that any mass-produced product, no matter who makes it, will have a small percentage of dud products reaching the consumers. Anybody can be the unlucky slob who gets one of those Given the relative complexity and low cost of dashcams compared to professional-grade video recording equipment I'm pretty impressed with the better cams

I would love to never have a problem product go out but it's not at all realistic, the richest tech company in the world (save you looking it up, Apple) can't do it with all the money and resources they have so what hope do we have, reality is you will get some percentage of product that has issues, it's impossible to avoid, when you get down to it the difference I think is if or when you do have problems how is it addressed, do things get sorted with a minimum of fuss or are you left to your own devices with little or no support, there's an awful lot of poor service out there, even from some of the bigger players which is inexcusable I think

 

[Deleted member 46308]

I would love to never have a problem product go out but it's not at all realistic, the richest tech company in the world (save you looking it up, Apple) can't do it with all the money and resources they have so what hope do we have, reality is you will get some percentage of product that has issues, it's impossible to avoid, when you get down to it the difference I think is if or when you do have problems how is it addressed, do things get sorted with a minimum of fuss or are you left to your own devices with little or no support, there's an awful lot of poor service out there, even from some of the bigger players which is inexcusable I think

+1

 

[thancam]

If you have so bad experience then i will vote +1 for mobius 1.

A year ago, I used to have a very difficult customer with trouble car. I sent 4 replaced 0805 and this car keeped make these minies die. So i did sent a mobius to replace. Problem solved
Ps: then i asked him: his car's Ford. This mean the mobius is runnng non stop since then .