Aukey DR-02 lightning deal (A119 vs DR-02)

TonyM said:
Did you intentionally swap group A and B this time? :sneaky: It was confusing me until I worked it out!
Hint: you can see one camera in the view of the other....;)

This time I prefer camera B, though both have managed a good exposure across the bright and shadow areas.
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You caught me! I was trying to be like my optometrist: “is it better with 1 ... or better with 2 ...”; then she’d swap the lenses but keep the numbers the same. Hah.

You, homeslice, are correct! Despite my switcheroo, you picked the DR-02 in both cases. And I have to say, I agree with you. I am very impressed with this cam. Overall, it’s very well built, and the firmware is solid, intuitive and responsive. IMHO, it produces a better image than the A119 and is overall a better cam for the price. Believe me, I am as shocked to hear it as I am to say it. I believe the OV4689 sensor gives the A119 an overly “yellow” image and that ruins it for me. The A119S might be better in this regard due to the Sony sensor.

I’ve gone back and edited the original posts to identify the cams. As mentioned, I will post video footage of the cams mounted in the same place with identical settings (in my previous pictures, the A119 was set to 1080p/60fps with WDR-ON and the DR-02 was at 1080p/30fps with no WDR) and offer my final thoughts.
 
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I'm currently evaluating my DR01 vs my SG9665GC, so may have similar comparisons to assess shortly. I'm very impressed with what Aukey have achieved with these cameras. Time will tell if they are durable and whether there are any firmware updates.
 
TonyM said:
I'm currently evaluating my DR01 vs my SG9665GC, so may have similar comparisons to assess shortly. I'm very impressed with what Aukey have achieved with these cameras. Time will tell if they are durable and whether there are any firmware updates.
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Definitely do this. Many times I've wondered how this would compare to the GC, considering they use the same sensor and processor. Even the body is more similar to the GC than the A119.

If
A119 >= SG9665GC (as some have said)
and
DR-02 > A119 (imho)
then ...

As for durability, we're guaranteed it will work for 2 years.

$52 for all of this?!
 
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jokiin said:
it's not actually, despite what they say it uses
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Well, you can't leave us hanging. Are you implying "fake" Sony sensors?

I'm interested in truths. Please expound. We will all benefit.
 
Gabacho said:
I wonder if they will still be in business in 2years to honor the "warranty"?
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I've never bought anything from them before this product, but they're a pretty well known brand who've been around a while and make a wide variety of products (like a budget Anker wannabe).

Whatever they are they're certainly not a fly-by-night operation.
 
M Basta said:
I've never bought anything from them before this product, but they're a pretty well known brand who've been around a while and make a wide variety of products (like a budget Anker wannabe).

Whatever they are they're certainly not a fly-by-night operation.
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Actually, I agreed with every point you were making. My only concern was that to introduce a cheap (in price) new product untested in real life situations, and then offer an industry leading warranty just seems to me to be unnecessary hype.
 
M Basta said:
Well, you can't leave us hanging. Are you implying "fake" Sony sensors?
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hardware spec is not what they claim, it's a budget product and does well for what it is, there are other products around in less attractive form factors that run identical spec to this one
 
Gabacho said:
Actually, I agreed with every point you were making. My only concern was that to introduce a cheap (in price) new product untested in real life situations, and then offer an industry leading warranty just seems to me to be unnecessary hype.
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I think this is their 4th or 5th low priced dash cam going back a couple years, so they're not total novices in this space.

As for the warranty, it's not unique to this product. As far as I can tell, all of their products purchased from AukeyDirect on Amazon have a 2 year warranty (link below), which states equal or greater value replacement in the event your product becomes unavailable. Key point here is this warranty is tied to their relationship with Amazon. I doubt they would jeopardize that relationship. Every time I've appealed to Amazon (twice ever) I've come on the wining end as the seller quickly ceded.

AUKEY Warranty: https://www.aukey.com/warranty
 
jokiin said:
hardware spec is not what they claim, it's a budget product and does well for what it is, there are other products around in less attractive form factors that run identical spec to this one
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Do you mean the sensor specifically? Or the NT chipset?

I'm not doubting you (because of your solid history on this board). I'm just trying to get an understanding of what you're referring to specifically.
 
jokiin said:
neither the sensor or the processor are the same as what we use in the GC, they're talking things up a bit I guess
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C’mon Ric, you’re better than this.

Imagine the Aukey owner going on some influential Chinese message board claiming that StreetGuardian “fudges” things. Then when pressed for clarity he replies with innuendos and vague generalities. I learned in Junior High that kind of person should not be trusted nor taken seriously.

Now, I’m obviously not putting you in that category and, as I mentioned already, give you a huge benefit of doubt given your history. But I personally think it would serve you better than to step out and make accusations then just say “I guess”.

I understand you’re speaking on behalf of the GC so the following may not apply to you, but I’d be interested in your insight nonetheless.

This cam outperforms the A119 in picture quality, as evidenced is in thread and with more footage to come (imho ... that’s key because I’m open to someone pointing out to me where I might be wrong on this). I’m neither a photographer nor have the technically developed eye like, say, you or @Dashmellow have.

Otherwise, if it’s agreed the image quality is better, and the chipset is a step or two down form the one in the A119 or it’s fake or they’re using fake “Sony” sensors or whatever, how is Aukey able to achieve such results? A picture says a 1000 words, right? Also, I think focusing on the price point as validation of whatever is a mistake, because remember this was a flash sale. I’ve seen the Spytec A119 WITH GPS for sale at $70 on Amazon and this cam has historically priced in the $70-100 range, which is similar to the A119’s typical range. And given the capabilities for scale for a company the size of Aukey, it’s not a stretch to conceive that this cam is realistically priced for its claimed components.

What I know so far:
- excellent, responsive customer service to date
- solid build quality
- better image than the A119, day and night
- solid warranty
- company has good/strong history in other product categories and other cams as “Amazon’s Choice” (though admittedly I have no idea what it takes for Amazon to tacitly recommend a product)
 
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jokiin said:
has different processor and sensor to the GC
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And in this particular case, one quarter the price of the SG9665GC, twice the warranty period, responsive customer service, solid build and excellent image quality.

My God Ric! When we are constantly bombarded by the hyperbole and promotional propaganda we hear from Street Guardian USA about your products how can you accuse a competitor of "talking things up"?
 
Dashmellow said:
And in this particular case, one quarter the price of the SG9665GC, twice the warranty period, responsive customer service, solid build and excellent image quality.

My God Ric! When we are constantly bombarded by the hyperbole and promotional propaganda we hear from Street Guardian USA about your products how can you accuse a competitor of "talking things up"?
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if a different spec is claimed to what is used then I would call that talking it up
 
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