2014 DOD LS460W Sony Exmor CMOS, ISO3200, F1.6, WDR, 3DNR, 5x GPS, HUD

niko

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At Hong Kong Trade Show April 2014 DOD Tech has presented LS460W which is using Sony Exmor CMOS sensor ( more likely IMX122LQJ ? ). It same has nearly the same specifications as LS360W , only difference is that GPS antenna (G-mouse) is built in into bracket mount.

Initial price is 240USD


DOD LS460W (1).jpg

DOD LS460W (5).jpg

DOD LS460W (6).jpg

DOD LS460W (7).jpg


DOD LS460W (8).jpg
 
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I'm intrigued to see how this fares with the Panorama seeing as this has a good quality Sony sensor but also with a bigger aperture lens.

Maybe a Panorama 3 will be along :)

Are these new ones are confusing me but this should be a high quality dash cam indeed and nice to see they're finally trying something new.
 
Hi Niko.
I have problem with my new LS430W:
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/issue-in-focus-and-sharpness-of-the-camera.6311/#post-74658
The seller ask me if i want that he will replace my camera in another LS430W or that i will wait to the end of August and he will send me a new LS460W.
What do you think? should I wait for the new camera or take another new LS430W?
What will be the differences between them?
The Sony Exmor CMOS sensor is alot better then the Aptina AR0330 CMOS sensor?
I'm afraid that the new LS460W will have problems.
At Hong Kong Trade Show April 2014 DOD Tech has presented LS460W which is using Sony Exmor CMOS sensor ( more likely IMX122LQJ ? ). It same has nearly the same specifications as LS360W , only difference is that GPS antenna (G-mouse) is built in into bracket mount.

Initial price is 240USD


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Personally I'd take the LS460W as it should be superior at night time - whether we'll have another situation like the Ambarella A7 devices where the firmware needs a lot of work remains to be seen with this wave of devices.

If you don't do night time driving then either should be fine and the LS430W is a proven platform.

Some of the first Youtube videos are looking very good indeed for the LS360W and LS460W though.

 
Wish there will be more new camera use Sony CMOS.
For the DOD product, we don't have chance to sell it, also the price is too much higher.
We are going to sell a new action camera use Sony COMS and support WIFI, the price is much better than DOD.
 
Well it landed today - first impressions are that the image in the day seems similar to the G90 - ie clean and noise free. It does seem softer than the image on my LS430W but maybe the lens isn't quite as in focus. That big red dead thing on the windscreen could be causing issues too so I'll get that sorted first of all and see how it goes.

It's not too happy with the reflection of my grille and I have a CPL filter landing this week so will see how that compares for plate reading.

Firmware on there is:

FG1406260EN11
E00ECA00A01

Here's the raw footage:
https://mega.co.nz/#!8cEElRSA!i1PFw1kxky0iyHTIm7ZRPbigzQFH1dp3W1yUgHCTi3E
https://mega.co.nz/#!QMdj3KKC!WlXMAwflO95UMLi-MzkEEBKsD0K3LzOHt0EQhbawfbs

And the same footage on Youtube (looks worse as it's still processing I guess)

The biggest test will be the night video!

Bitrate is similar to the LS430W / 402G I have at just over 15Mbps.

It appears to be CBR rather than VBR like the 402G video is although maybe it will jump around in better weather or dark.

Video is in the CARDV/MOVIE folder.
 
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The footage seems to work perfectly well in RegistratorViewer with GPS etc all working fine, guessing it's the exact same format as the previous DOD cameras.
 
Right then night footage.....

Raw:
https://mega.co.nz/#!BNtxSLhL!ei50kHZ5C76mOrEjivVzYzJWKVJ9zEI7Hac3TOeprjI
https://mega.co.nz/#!wIVR0JYA!0my9D8xm83ZSMdPvDPfW2qhvY_Anzgp3eKXCIA5etNA
https://mega.co.nz/#!cZUlSKBJ!TEfVo8XD-fQywlpXATzBoTzLtEOsN2eQ4DRLco1WckQ

Youtube:

It's a shame you can't turn WDR off on this model to see how it compares as the sensor should be much cleaner at night.

Quality is a bit better than the G90 I tried recently.

I'll get the car washed tomorrow to see if it makes any difference to focus etc.
 
Again, just like the ls430w, the ls460w the night vision is very ordinary, the fact that you cant even see a rego plate from 2 meters behind a vehicle is disturbing. I was following a stolen car the other night with a 430, I could not read the rego plate at all. it was all to bright and the reflection distorted the plate far too much. in these demo video it seems that the reading of rego plates at night is not going to happen... I thought WDR was to fix this issue on the dashcams. Is there a lens that we can put in front to make this effect go away? for a new camera, and night shots like this, I am very disappointed. On a good note - it seems the 460 handles the noise in low light better than the 430, no hashes seem to be in the video.. I wonder if the firmware can be installed onto the 430?
 
The numberplate problem is common with reflective numberplates and xenon headlights - over in China I think they are neither from looking at their videos.

Niko explains it better here:
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/reading-license-plates-at-night-hid-xenon-standard-bulbs.1444/

I think the firmwares are different as this should be driving the Sony sensor rather than the Aptina - this definitely needs work in the firmware though.

It won't help at all I have updated Xenon headlights in the car - they're Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Intense so as bright as you can legally get plus they're a higher colour temperature than normal (between 5 and 5.5k)

The current performance doesn't seem as good as it should be on this camera - numberplate reading is currently worse than the LS430W in the daytime from my footage so far but it's early days I guess whereas the Novatek 96650 and AR0330 combo has been tuned to within an inch of it's life!

I'll give it more time to see how it handles better weather etc but I am thinking of sending it back as it does not currently meet the marketing blurb - it definitely needs further tuning.
 
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So you say to take new LS430W and not wait for the LS460W?
Can you put the LS460W and Nextbase 402 next to each other and compare the videos?
 
I've got to admit I thought ISO figures where 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and so on!

I'm half wondering if it's the noise reduction causing the softness as it's having no end of problems with my speaker grille.

5oz3gw.jpg


The A7 devices I've used had the same problem with this and I have a CPL on the way to see what difference it makes to this one in case this is what is tripping it up!

I don't have any side by side footage but here's a similar shot from the two - this isn't a fair comparison as lighting is different so they respond differently. I'll get a proper side by side over the next few days:
2e3zjfb.jpg

2a4rgcy.jpg


It is capable of decent footage:
wrjfqv.jpg


It locks GPS quickly - it took 9 seconds after being parked up all night and 2 seconds after I nipped into the shops.
 
Bit of a random one but you can get these into engineering mode by dropping a file into the root of the memory card called 'engmode' - should work on most of the DOD type devices.

You get access to a calibration menu with the following options:
1. Format SPI
2. ECS
3. Bright Defect Pixel
4. Dark Defect Pixel
5. ISO
6. AWB
7. WriteAWBGS
8. Cal Status

I couldn't get into the status menu, will have a nosey around the rest.
 
Got mine form DOD uk

there is my pics review:

Marcus 5 vs LS330W vs LS460W vs G1WH (with ls388W firmware)
the same light conditions, the same time and settings (default)

big comparison of the top 4 cameras on the market (1:1 scale):

out.php


out.php
 
DOD LS460W:
Pros:
+ exellent performance in low light conditions (no.1 ?)
+ compatibile with 64GB and 128GB memory cards (sandisk 128GB)
+ LS430W now can format sdxc memory cards to FAT32 without PC (camera formatting all memory cards automaticly to FAT32)
+ new feature: Time - Lapse (the same option like GT550WS - "Parking Guard")
+ ISO stamp (top-left corner)
+ Now i can use my CPL filter (picture quality is still exellent with it).


cons:
- when is hot (in car) camera losing focus.
 
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Ah potentially my focus issues are more heat related - isn't that cheap lenses though?

I've just done A/B comparisons with other clips here and the LS460W is definitely better than the G90 - have you got any night footage yet as I'd like to see how yours stacks up against what I have here please?
 
Bit of a random one but you can get these into engineering mode by dropping a file into the root of the memory card called 'engmode' - should work on most of the DOD type devices.

any chance of getting hold of that eng file ? or a link to it please..
 
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