2 mobius died in a week's time, now what do I do or buy???!?!?

[dirkzelf]

At least I really NEED good night recordings, can't cost over 100 euro/usd or thereabout. You think Joovuu is over 100, but if it's really very good, I might pay a little more. Then there's the Foxeer Legend, but I can't find dash cam experiences on that one, only RC stories/clips.

Then there's the other side of the spectrum like the G1W's I'm thinking of using temporally to close the gap to some other / new camera to use in the rig, but for me this one is actually too big to carry around. I use it in trucks, like so (suction cup at the back end of the cabin):

(ignore the handsome guy on the left.. )

or like so (fixed to the dashboard):

You may check out other recordings on my channel you like....

Every day I drive another truck, so there's no final fixed solution option for me, I have a clip that fixes the camera to each truck's dashboard firmly, and sometimes I use it as in the 1st video here, mounted to the back of the cabine with a suction cup.

The camera has to be as small as possible since my suitcase is filled up to the top allready (tools, food, drinks etc... well you know what we truckerd carry around at work.....

In short, I REALLY like the shape/format, and all other things about the Mobius, exept for the night recordings. And I need something like that for less than 100 bucs if possible.

Could you guys provide me with some alternatives with their respective pros's and con's? I am explicitely looking for REAL EXPERIENCES, not just specs listings, so please only tell me your experiences with camera's that you actually use or have used.

 

[MiiHere]

I'm wondering where you purchased your Mobius cameras and if you happened to make sure they weren't knock offs. Mobius cams don't have outstanding night recording, at least in my experience with the 2 I own, but well enough to see what happened, though it can be a bit grainy on completely darkened streets. That said, from what I've seen being on these forums, the camera in the Mobius price range that had similar and decent night recording in well lit areas was the...A118 I believe (or the G1W) - someone did a comparison and you really had to stare at all of them next to each other to decide. In order to improve night recording that greatly you'd most likely need to spend almost double.

 

[dirkzelf]

They are original Mobi, for sure.

 

[snacksthecat]

My understanding was that mobius are somewhat touted for their night recording quality. I'm not sure if you will find an option much better than mobius for night recording.

The videos shot from the back of the cabin look really cool but you might have better luck mounting it closer to the windshield.

 

[MiiHere]

My understanding was that mobius are somewhat touted for their night recording quality. I'm not sure if you will find an option much better than mobius for night recording.

The videos shot from the back of the cabin look really cool but you might have better luck mounting it closer to the windshield.

I'm assuming you mean they won't find a much better option for night recording in that price range? The DOD and SG, which are double or more have better night recording. Though I agree, the lower end cams seem to all match up as far as night recording, though with the Mobius it's best to go with the C2 if you drive more at night. My understanding is the wider lens lets in more light thus creating a better night image, the draw back is that a wider view makes everything a little smaller.

 

[kamkar]

I think that recording from the back of the cab look allright, you will not find dashcams thats signigicant better at night than the mobius.
There are some thats better allright, but not that much better that they will give you a capture of a licenceplate or somthing else small at night.

I have not tried to compare the X camera and my mobius, but the x cam have a large megapixel sensor, and that doesn't bode well for night time performance in any camera.
Comparing with my SG9665GC and the x cam the SG camera see much more at night, but saying that the x cam is by no means a crappy night time performer, i will keep mine in the car for a long time to come i am sure.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/kamkar1-footage.14310/page-5

Perhaps a git 1 camera would be good, its small too but dont have the mobius/x cam shape ?

PS. are you sure the mobius cameras are dead ? i just had mine "die" on me but it turned out it was the memory card, sure SD card can still pass testsoftware, but it will not work in the mobius or x cameras any more.
Put a new memory card in my mobius and it is back up and running.

 

[dirkzelf]

I think that recording from the back of the cab look allright, you will not find dashcams thats signigicant better at night than the mobius. There are some thats better allright, but not that much better that they will give you a capture of a licenceplate or somthing else small at night.

I have not tried to compare the X camera and my mobius, but the x cam have a large megapixel sensor, and that doesn't bode well for night time performance in any camera.
Comparing with my SG9665GC and the x cam the SG camera see much more at night, but saying that the x cam is by no means a crappy night time performer, i will keep mine in the car for a long time to come i am sure.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/kamkar1-footage.14310/page-5

Perhaps a git 1 camera would be good, its small too but dont have the mobius/x cam shape ?

PS. are you sure the mobius cameras are dead ? i just had mine "die" on me but it turned out it was the memory card, sure SD card can still pass testsoftware, but it will not work in the mobius or x cameras any more.
Put a new memory card in my mobius and it is back up and running.

SG9665GC: isn't that another name for the G1W? [Edit: sorry, A118 B40] And if so, why the price difference?

Git1: Maybe, does it do better at night?

I tried multiple SD cards (4 pcs, all FAT 32....) Adata, SanDisk and nonames....

 

[jokiin]

SG9665GC: isn't that another name for the A118 B40 And if so, why the price difference?
.

main housing looks the same, everything else is different, completely different hardware

 

[Street Guardian USA]

This video is a bit old, latest firmware has improved SG9665GC v2 2016 version video quality at night a bit more recently.

 

[dirkzelf]

My understanding was that mobius are somewhat touted for their night recording quality. I'm not sure if you will find an option much better than mobius for night recording.

The videos shot from the back of the cabin look really cool but you might have better luck mounting it closer to the windshield.

I use it mounted in the back to show what the DRIVER was doing at the time of an "event".... and it looks cool too.

Well, Mobius C2 sells for 70 usd ( BTW: is this an original Mobius?), I may have to take it up a notch to 100-120 usd..... for better night recording...

 

[snacksthecat]

I'm assuming you mean they won't find a much better option for night recording in that price range?

I really just meant it quite literally. Night time recording quality will only improve up to a point and then it sort of turns into diminishing returns. I agree with your suggestions, I have an SG and it works really well at night. It might not be the best choice for OP since he's switching rigs frequently (there may be other SG9665GC mounting options that i'm not aware of).

 

[snacksthecat]

I'd definitely recommend looking at the side-by-side section of this forum. It's a great resource to see direct comparisons between different options.

 

[roadbug]

Something which I thought of when I first read the title of this thread was: :"why did 2 cameras die in the same week?" and the first thing I thought of was that the voltage in the truck may fluctuate far enough to damage the cameras. And it could be that if they both died in the same truck and ran fine in other trucks then it could just be that one truck (you mentioned you changed trucks frequently). In any case you might also need some sort of way to "clean up and control" the voltage/current that is supplied to whatever camera you end up getting.

 

[dirkzelf]

Something which I thought of when I first read the title of this thread was: :"why did 2 cameras die in the same week?" and the first thing I thought of was that the voltage in the truck may fluctuate far enough to damage the cameras. And it could be that if they both died in the same truck and ran fine in other trucks then it could just be that one truck (you mentioned you changed trucks frequently). In any case you might also need some sort of way to "clean up and control" the voltage/current that is supplied to whatever camera you end up getting.

My 1st thought also, but..... I use cigarette lighter usb chargers fit for 24VDC, and they (should) spit out a nice standard 5V/2A

Besides , I'm using it for over 3 years like this, so my best guess is that they should have collapsed earlier.
(Just to be clear, it's a pool of about 20-30 trucks, and there aren't quick changes in that particular pool, and besides, they are all new to 4-6 years, so no old baggers here....)

I think I'll send them back to eletoponline to check them out, and see what comes up, right now I can't use them anyway.

For a new one, I'm still uncertain what to use.

Anyone familiar with the Foxeer Legend (1080p/60fps)?

I personally like the Runcam 2HD (Mobius formfactor), but seems unfit for dashcam use....

 

[kamkar]

The foxxer legend and runcam 2 HD are allso alternatives, though i am not sure they both have full dashcam functionalety.
But those too will not give you much better night performance compared to a mobius, they too have a large megapixel sensor and so also small individual pixels on the sensor to capture light.
But as i recall from footage seen from them they are also useable to a high degree ( evaluated from what current sensors in dashcams can do for night recording )

 

[russ331]

runcam 2 HD are allso alternatives, though i am not sure they both have full dashcam functionalety.

Runcam 2 does loop-recording, however, it's manufacturer states in the User Manual that the product is not suitable for dashcam use ...

 

[dirkzelf]

Runcam 2 does loop-recording, however, it's manufacturer states in the User Manual that the product is not suitable for dashcam use ...

View attachment 20739

yeah, they told me it's a temp-issue.... too bad really!

 

[dirkzelf]

Well, eletoponline tells me the both camera pcb's aren't repairable, they can't tell me WHY, but after they received the camera's they tell me they are "just a sales office with limited techtools" ..... ?!?!?

WHAAAATTT!???!

I didn't spent 16 euro for registerred postage to have it looked at by a biff with a screwdriver?!?

But whatever I do, they just come up with the conclusion that the PCB's aren't working, yeah, I knew that before shipping! The idea was to have it checked out by a technician, now it's out of my hands, and I still don't know why the pcb's are dead, let alone if it can be repaired..... sigh.....

The only thing I got was a quote for new pcb's and capacitor with a ever so slight discount (embarrasing really). They think quite a bit of it, but despite they're being very friendly, I found the courtessy from that side pretty poor.

I'm thinking of letting them return the whole thing with one new pcb and cap, and look for someting else, then it would have cost me 55 USD. Or maybe 2 if I consider the postage I already spent and split over the 2 camera's, then I would have 2 camera's back for 46 USD each. What d'you guys think? It's still 24 USD from a new one, but that one would have C2 lens......

The lens modules are still ok. But one is a B lens and one is the A lense and f I want an upgrade I also have to pay for the C2 lens, well, that counts for a complete new one......

The new Xiaomi Yi A12 car dvr has nice enough night footage, although not a very good form factor for me....

Gitup Git 2, same
Foxeer seems to do slighty less good in low light but does have 1080p/60fps
Runcam 2 can't work as a dashcam (get's too HOT according to manufacturer....),

Mini 0805/6 form factor is unusable for me , although 0806 does have dual SD card slots for a whopping total of 256 GB storage......

The new dashcam needs to stand upright upon the trucks dashboard, so basically I need a Mobius with (even) better night recording...... and if possible 60 fps or 1296p.

Oh boy, I wish the Mobius 2 was out allready.....

I did buy a C2 Mobius from Webbex though because I really needed one fast, for an unsettling higher price, and a shocking lack of product knowledge (which I won't go into here), and it still took a week to arrive from the UK.....

Anyway here's a sample of that one at night, pretty good I'd say.