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

[Hasilyin]

So I just bought myself an LS460W, and I have to say it performs pretty well out of the box ... I haven't tweaked the settings yet, but so far I'm pretty satisfied.
I didn't really notice any focus issues YET. I guess I'll have to wait until summer for the heat to kick in!

I don't know what the firmware version is on your devices, but mine's HG201411060EN12 (I believe it to be the latest FW).
However, I find it quite disturbing they're so slow with FW updates (and the fact they delete it from their websites). Is the mediafire link still working? If not, is there anyone who still has the FW somewhere? I'd like to get my hands on it, I'd like to give it a shot at editing it myself.

Up until now I'm happy with the overall quality, but I never trust these 'specialized' companies. I'm pretty sure they just re-brand a vanilla device and make their own edits of the firmware.

 

[jokiin]

no idea what version it is but yes still there http://www.mediafire.com/download/plgrxwngpb5dia1/LS_460W_firmware.rar

 

[Hasilyin]

no idea what version it is but yes still there http://www.mediafire.com/download/plgrxwngpb5dia1/LS_460W_firmware.rar

Awesome! Thanks jokiin!

Also, I've been researching some things about DOD. It seems that DOD and Tiotech share the same building (which is Building 3). For DOD I can't find more than the buidling, but Tiotech is found on 6/F. Another company housing there is Shenzhen Kixin Electronics Co Ltd on 4/F. I suspect they're all part of the same Chinese electronics company. Which one that is, we'll never know. They're pretty shady about how things REALLY work around there.

 

[jokiin]

they're a marketing company

 

[Hasilyin]

Indeed they are. I found out that the Dragonmen Group has several subcompanies working for them, each of which claiming they're manufacturers with their own factory. Obviously that is not true, since the components of all the products of these companies are extremely similar. The mounting bracket for example is the EXACT same as the one used by DOD/Tiotech.

But even the Dragonmen Group is most likely part of another company, which in turn is probably part of another company/group. Meaning that the development of new features, upgrades, firmware will take ages. Even for a small change in the firmware. These are all-round companies, solely focusing on profit gain from all possible branches. They're not specialised in anything in particular, they'll just do anything to make more money(doesn't mean they deliver crappy products though).

Also, I think the structure is built like this to conserve anonimity of the actual factories. Remember the Foxconn controversies? Remember the reaction of the brands involved? "We didn't know!". This way, companies and brands don't get hated on or publicly shamed. Of course they know what the work environment is, but they can just deny that they knew.

 

[jokiin]

They tell lots of stories, plenty of buyers fall for the spiel and don't do any checking I guess, they sell a hell of a lot more cameras than I do, I'd rather sleep at night though

 

[Hasilyin]

They tell lots of stories, plenty of buyers fall for the spiel and don't do any checking I guess, they sell a hell of a lot more cameras than I do, I'd rather sleep at night though

Indeed. If I had known this before, I would've put in more effort to research the manufacturers. But it seemed legit at that particular moment. And a pretty good bang for the buck. Next time though, I'm buying with a company that actually designs these cams themselves.

 

[jokiin]

If it works ok and you're happy with it is ultimately more important than who pretended they made it

 

[Hasilyin]

If it works ok and you're happy with it is ultimately more important than who pretended they made it

That's not completely true in my case. I don't really trust companies that do this. Their support most of the time is just heinous. They'd rather send you a new product instead of giving solutions. Ultimately, you're stuck with the same, broken product, since they have no control over updates or actual repairs.

I'd rather spend double the money, knowing that it isn't being built by mistreated children and knowing that there are people working on said product. People that actually care about their product. It makes for far superior quality.

 

[jokiin]

Most brands you see are made by other companies, nothing wrong with that but it's how it's supported that is the issue

 

[Hasilyin]

Most brands you see are made by other companies, nothing wrong with that but it's how it's supported that is the issue

Of course. It's almost impossible to start building products from ground up yourself. You need other companies doing that for you. You can't possibly make the plastic casing, lenses, chipset, circuitry, ... all by yourself. It has to be outsourced towards companies that are equipped for this.

What I mean is, companies like DOD just take a finished wholesale product, slap their logo on it, and boast about how cunning they are. They don't develop, they just sell. Therefore, they can't support either, since their knowledge about the product is as big as the supportfile they received with it.

I'd rather have a company that designs a product and has it built by Chinese factories. At least they have an active engineering department. With companies like DOD, they probably don't even contact the manufacturer for the majority of issues. They'll just say "Return the product." and "Our team of highly retarded engineers is looking at the issue as we speak.". The only 'solution' you get is the same product, instead this time it's a new unit instead of a repaired one. The issue itself won't be taken care of, and the devices will never be updated. Only the really big issues will be forwarded to the manufacturer.

Like I said, I'd rather pay $300 instead of $150, knowing that it'll be improved over the course of time.

 

[jokiin]

they do actually do development, problem is because they try and make out they're something that they're not they end up trying to hide things so don't release firmware etc as they come undone when people start poking through the code and put two and two together and realise that the hardware spec doesn't match what they say

 

[Hasilyin]

they do actually do development, problem is because they try and make out they're something that they're not they end up trying to hide things so don't release firmware etc as they come undone when people start poking through the code and put two and two together and realise that the hardware spec doesn't match what they say

What kind of development do they do if I may ask? (just a clean question, I really don't know what they could do ...)

 

[jokiin]

What kind of development do they do if I may ask? (just a clean question, I really don't know what they could do ...)

hardware and software, not all models but some of it is their work, they just like to overstate what they do, it obviously works for them, they do plenty of business, not the type of business I'd like to be doing but each to their own

 

[reverend]

I'm guessing they've fixed the focus issue in heat as if I was suffering from that problem in the UK you guys should definitely have seen it through your summer?

 

[jokiin]

I'm guessing they've fixed the focus issue in heat as if I was suffering from that problem in the UK you guys should definitely have seen it through your summer?

not a big seller here

 

[msman]

Does the LS460W have continuous recording? Or does it reach a certain file size and stop recording then you have to press the record button again?

I have the LS300W and when it reaches 36 minutes it stops recording and does not create a new file automatically. This is frustrating as I'll have to continuously keep watch on the cam to make sure it's still recording.

 

[jokiin]

any reason you don't use loop recording?

 

[msman]

any reason you don't use loop recording?

I use the cam for work and I use it for the whole 12 hours. The main reason is that I keep the recordings for a number of months in case a complaint arises, which has occurred before and luckily I had the recording.

 

[jokiin]

only problem then is you have to keep archiving the footage as without looping it will stop recording once the card is full

what size card are you using?