2ch Camera Choice

WildGig

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Gold Coast
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Australia
I have been looking for some time for a 2ch camera for my motorbike. There appear to be 4 realistic options at varying costs and length of delivery.

  • Thinkware M1D – A$770 (Australian stock)
  • Innovv K2 – A$480 (approx. depending on exchange rate, unknown delivery time)
  • Viofo MT1 A$480 (Local stock)
  • Blueskysea B1M – A$260 (but have to wait until mid-Sept for delivery from Amazon)
There is nowhere to actually see any of these units locally so I am hoping that you can help me with some knowledge.

Is the Thinkware really worth 3x the Blueskysea? Is the MT1 any good? Is the Innovv better? So many questions!:unsure:

Thank you in advance for any help :)
 
Blueskysea B1M – A$260 (but have to wait until mid-Sept for delivery from Amazon)
If you go with us finally! Suggest purchase it on eBay. It always has a better price and a faster shipping way!
 
The Thinkware has the advantage of EIS stabilisation, so on rough ground or on a poor (vibrating) mount, it may make for better movies, however a 1080 sensor really isn't enough resolution to get a good result from EIS, it will need to lose too much resolution to allow for correction, and EIS is useless for detail such as reading number plates etc. If you want to make movies get an action camera, although not a GoPro since they are useless once their battery is empty!

The Viofo uses the same image sensors as the Thinkware, along with a good processor that is well proven in car dashcams. Apart from the EIS I'm not sure that it is missing anything important.

Innovv have a history in motorcycle cameras, should know how to make a decent one, but read the Innovv subform on the K2, there do seem to have been a few issues.

The Blueskysea is definitely a cheaper camera, on image quality, ruggedness, waterproofness, etc. There have been a few issues like draining the battery when turned off for long periods (now sorted), but Blueskysea's own cameras are normally good value and come with good service, if your budget is limited then it is worth considering.

The only one of those I've tested is the Viofo, it has good video quality, decent night time performance, and has been reliable. I would like more resolution, but currently 1080 is what you get from motorcycle cameras, otherwise it is hard to find fault:

 
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I'd go for the B1M or the MT1. Blueskysea has a good cam, very good value, great customer service, and great product development/bug fixes. Viofo has a very good cam and good value, but their CS and product development/bug fixes aren't what they once were. K2S could be viable, but one customer has discovered a heat-related issue with their power supply and with the OP being in Australia I can only give it a "maybe" until a new PS emerges.

I own and have used none of these and base my thoughts on what I've seen here on DCT and elsewhere. I do own and use other cams from Blueskysea and Viofo.

Phil
 
This problem only happens if it comes with a GPS module, and this problem was solved within the new batches!
I purchased a few A119 dashcams (car) from you via ebay. Always a good experience. But the last time I checked (a few months ago), your store is gone from ebay??
 
Thank you for all your information & advice. I have decided to go with the B1M, as thanks to estore009 I have found one on Ebay, in Australia, for under A$200 (inc GPS).

Is there a recommended SD card for this unit?

Cheers
 
SanDisk Ultra A1 card and Samsung Evo Plus card, from 32Gb to 128Gb card!
 
It seems we lost one order.:(

Our new released MT1 lens and cables are improved, still looking for motorcyclers for review and test.
If you want to send me one to test, I would be more than happy to review. :)
 
If you want to send me one to test, I would be more than happy to review. :)

There would be a good one- I've never seen a side-by-side test and review of motorcycle cams (y) Tagging @DesertBike in case he's interested.

Phil
 
I changed my helmet last year, and never got round to fitting the (SJ4000 clone) 1080p action cam to the new helmet...
This year, I decided to bite the bullet and set up the camera, but whilst been sat in it's box, it has gone faulty.. just get a power light, and nothing else.

I'm now thinking a better option would be to fit a dual channel camera to the bike, mainly for two issues... better than 45 minutes of battery life, and convenience as in fit and forget.
So... I have spent a long time trying to find something that meets my requirements..
Video quality, ease of retrieving the data (wifi), and unit cost are highest priority, GPS is very desireable.
As it will be mounted under the seat, a screen is not required, but needs to connect to phone via an app.

My issues are, I have researched video quality, and find that my cheap 1080p 30fps helmet cam was far superior to most fitted bike cams... I have absolutely no idea why, as specwise they would be very similar, and therefore in my mind have similar video quality.
If it wasn't for the battery life, mounting issues, and convenience, I would have bought two action cams and tried to fit them to the bike...... but seriously, it's not an option.

So, it looks like I may have to make do with lower video quality, as a substitute for gaining the other benefits.. swings and roundabouts..
There are plenty cheap units for £25 ish... but I can only imagine how bad the quality is.. I haven't seen any footage, and 1080p in name only perhaps, and so I am totally disregarding those.
Looking at the video quality of the higher priced units which are still classed as 1080p, tend to use Sony sensors, which has to be my preference. I appreciate when video footage is uploaded, the holding site tends to compress and degrade it.. but even then, my footage seemed to be higher quality.. (a friend bought a similar GoPro clone, which was shockingly bad, so maybe I was lucky to get a good one)

I have considered lots of dual channel cams, and then always seem to find a reason why not to choose it... for example, Innovv K2, well reviewed, but for what it is, too expensive, but now find it also has thermal issues.. Other models like Blueskysea DV688 (no wifi) DV988 (too big, and poorer image sensors.) and the list goes on.

Also there is a lack of big name companies making dashcams for bikes... Sony, Canon, Nikon, Samsung etc.. and I'm fairly sure they could if they wanted to.. Just loads of Chinese names I have never heard of.. which is exactly why I can only go on recommendations. It's becoming a bit of a nightmare at the moment.
 
Also there is a lack of big name companies making dashcams for bikes... Sony, Canon, Nikon, Samsung etc.. and I'm fairly sure they could if they wanted to..
don't hold your breath, they don't even make dashcams for cars which are far easier to do than bike cams
 
Sony and Nikon do make action cameras, so it's not inconceivable that they might build a dash cam some day. Then again, it is probably not a big enough market for them to be of interest to them. Of the two companies I'd bet it would be Sony and I think they could do a good one. Would love to see them build it around their 1.0"- Exmor RS sensor with an aluminum chassis like the RX0 II.
 
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