Blacksys CH-200 Video Review

USDashCamera

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
1,275
Reaction score
739
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Country
United States
Hey guys, got another video review this time of the Blacksys CH-200, follow up to the CH-100B. This was sent to me for review by @BlackboxMyCar for an honest review. I am just gonna list my main pros and cons below but watch the video for my full opinions:

Pros

  1. 1080p front and rear, CH-100B had 720p in the rear.
  2. 256 gb micro sd card support, thats more than Blackvue or Thinkware
  3. Motion detection zone controls (in the app you can turn on/off 12 different zones that will be set off my motion detection so you can avoid things like trees blowing in the wind.
  4. Independent controls for the rear camera such as brightness, LED light, and motion sensitivity.
  5. Slightly cheaper than the top of the line Blackvue and Thinkware cams at $350 with GPS and WiFi.
  6. Built in low voltage and high temperature cut off like the Thinkware cams, but unlike the blackvue cams (besides the LCD models which do have that built in for some reason).
  7. Automatic parking mode with buffered recording. Saves 10 seconds prior to motion detection or impact detection plus 20 seconds (or until the motion stops) after.
Cons

  1. Low bitrate, about 9 mbps front, 7 mbps rear.
  2. Sony Exmor sensor front and rear which is behind the Sony Starvis Blackvue, Thinkware, and even some cheaper cameras are using, giving it just sub-par video quality for a 2 channel camera in 2017.
  3. Not a fan of the form factor, this is just personal preference, but it looks ugly and not discrete like many other cameras. It also includes GRAY adhesives instead of black or clear.

Video Review:

 
Cons

  1. Low bitrate, about 9 mbps front, 7 mbps rear.
  2. Sony Exmor sensor front and rear which is behind the Sony Starvis Blackvue, Thinkware, and even some cheaper cameras are using, giving it just sub-par video quality for a 2 channel camera in 2017

1 is a bigger issue than 2, just using the better sensor would have little gain with such low bitrate, the standard Exmor sensors are capable when done correctly, there's likely some good reasons why they can't reliably run higher bitrates though
 
1 is a bigger issue than 2, just using the better sensor would have little gain with such low bitrate, the standard Exmor sensors are capable when done correctly, there's likely some good reasons why they can't reliably run higher bitrates though
Yea I am sure you are right, after all I have seen Sony Starvis cams that look way worse than other Starvis cams. But either way, it was sort of disappointing compared to the F770 which has been available for at least a year now.
 
Yea I am sure you are right, after all I have seen Sony Starvis cams that look way worse than other Starvis cams. But either way, it was sort of disappointing compared to the F770 which has been available for at least a year now.

Thinkware is a much bigger concern than Blacksys are, they should be a long way ahead of the game
 
Yea I am sure you are right, after all I have seen Sony Starvis cams that look way worse than other Starvis cams. But either way, it was sort of disappointing compared to the F770 which has been available for at least a year now.

Speaking of Starvis, I can't say I notice much of a difference between the F770 and F800, maybe in the darkest of streets but there's also more noise in those situations with the F800.
I haven't gotten around to doing a side by side comparison but as you mention in the review, I'm curious if whether there's any appreciable difference as far as picking up license plate goes
Realistically the market price of the F770/F800 2 channel setups is about 20% more than the CH-200

Looking at DR650S and DR750S so far I feel the same way, higher bitrate and newer sensor but the front video is not appreciably better. Rear camera I can tell you without a doubt the DR750S is heaps better.
I will have to do more in-depth testing on the 750S though and try the sports mode on/off. We've just got a pretty big backlog of all the tests/reviews we want to do with so many new releases this Summer/Fall
 
Speaking of Starvis, I can't say I notice much of a difference between the F770 and F800, maybe in the darkest of streets but there's also more noise in those situations with the F800.
I haven't gotten around to doing a side by side comparison but as you mention in the review, I'm curious if whether there's any appreciable difference as far as picking up license plate goes
Realistically the market price of the F770/F800 2 channel setups is about 20% more than the CH-200

Looking at DR650S and DR750S so far I feel the same way, higher bitrate and newer sensor but the front video is not appreciably better. Rear camera I can tell you without a doubt the DR750S is heaps better.
I will have to do more in-depth testing on the 750S though and try the sports mode on/off. We've just got a pretty big backlog of all the tests/reviews we want to do with so many new releases this Summer/Fall
Yea I mentioned in the review I thought the F770 looked better than the CH-200 but when it comes down to it, I didn't feel like it gave an advantage for reading license plates. As jokiin said the newer sensor can be held back by the low bitrate.

maybe ill do a 490 vs 750s test too.

I really wish I had a car again, doing 2 ch testing is a pain in my ass with a truck that has a topper.
 
Back
Top