Dash Cam with Optical Image Stabilization?

My Nokia Lumia 920 has optical image stabilization (OIS). Not digital, but optical. The latest LG flagships also have OIS.

I have actually been using my Lumia 920 as a dash cam for the past year or so. But I have been having difficulty finding the right kind of mount for it too. I used to think that if I got a most rigid mount, it would get rid the jitters in the video. I was wrong. The last mount I had was made of metal, and it was ROCK SOLID. But, its rigidity ended up picking every little vibrations of the car, producing a jittery and wobbly video. I guess my phone's OIS is not strong enough to dampen those little but strong vibrations of the car. The old mount I have been using is made of plastic and more "flexible", combined with the phone's OIS, I have produced much more stable videos.

I could opt for a dedicated camcorder. Many YouTube time-lapsed dash-cammers are using these camcorders mounted on a tripod inside their car. But for me personally, I don't have enough space in my car for such setup. I prefer mounting my dash-cam on the windshield. These camcorders are not really suitable for windshield mounting.

Having experienced the benefits of OIS, I am looking to find a compact light-weight OIS-enabled dash cam. But I agree that it will indeed add manufacturing cost these dash cams. I am kinda expecting a dashcam with OIS at G1W price point (which $50-60ish). Gosh, I am too cheap, aren't I? Lol!
 
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The reason I am asking this is because I am also using my dash cam to create time-lapse videos, such as this one:
I think the issue there may be that your dashcam mount is not steady enough?

With the very short and inflexible mount and the very light weight of my Mini 0803, it really doesn't move at all relative to the windscreen, certainly not at noticeable frequencies. Longer and less sturdy mounts and also heavier cameras will be more affected by vibrations. The screen is firmly attached to the body which is stabilised by 4 expensive monotube gas-oil vibration dampers which along with 4 steel coil springs and polyurethane suspension bushes remove almost all movement that could spoil a video.

There could also be issues with the road surface but if the road is causing an issue that's not sorted by the suspension then it would be over such a long period that an optical lens stabiliser could not have any hope of doing anything about it. Professional film makers would use a mount which stabilised the whole camera but which would probably occupy half your vehicle!


Your best bet is to remove the movement in post processing, there are several pieces of software that could probably sort your issue completely.
 
I think OIS would be a nice addition to a good dashcam, but preferably not at the expense of other dashcam-friendly features. Is it generally needed for dashcam-like uses? Not really. I don't think shaky video is too much of an issue with most of the dashcam videos I've seen, but on a higher end fully featured camera it would be a nice to have feature.

Also keep in mind that IS, be it optical or sensor-shift, uses a gyroscope to detect and adjust to movement. This could be combined with some more advanced logging capabilities that would record pitch, yaw, accel, decal, etc... This information could be handy in a collision investigation, or fun to show off to your friends when you post YouTube videos of yourself doing donuts.
 
I always find image stabilization in a dash-cam setting to look very odd. Stuff that shouldn't be moving suddenly is. It's almost like being in ****pit view of a video game.

I own both a HDR-AS15 and the new HDR-AS100. They both offer image stabilization which is indeed NOT optical. The AS15 softens the picture something fierce, but the AS100 does a much better job. I actually think the AS100 has a bigger sensor and should have the capability to hit 2k (especially since the pro mode is a whopping 50mbps instead of the regular 28mbps).

I run mine with suction cups, and you can check out the quality in my youtube videos. On my dashcam channel it's still all AS15 (will transition to the AS100 in a video or two) and on my vlogging channel the latest vlogs feature the AS100 view trough the window and the AS15 pointed at my mug. Also, with a 64gb card in the AS100 running pro mode you get 2h38m I believe, the AS15 running in the highest setting does 2h46m with just a 32gb card. The battery dies before you get the card full though, and the AS15 is really susceptible to overheating on 100 degree days after being on for around 30 minutes recording. This is when not running AC, with AC on I never had it overheat. The AS100 has never overheated on me. That white body really helps out!
 
I agree, and the price undercuts the go-pro. On top of that fact the mounting solutions work great for a dashcam person. It lacks the features of a real dashcam, but if you do other videos besides dashcams only I think it does great!
 
I think the issue there may be that your dashcam mount is not steady enough?

With the very short and inflexible mount and the very light weight of my Mini 0803, it really doesn't move at all relative to the windscreen, certainly not at noticeable frequencies. Longer and less sturdy mounts and also heavier cameras will be more affected by vibrations. The screen is firmly attached to the body which is stabilised by 4 expensive monotube gas-oil vibration dampers which along with 4 steel coil springs and polyurethane suspension bushes remove almost all movement that could spoil a video.

There could also be issues with the road surface but if the road is causing an issue that's not sorted by the suspension then it would be over such a long period that an optical lens stabiliser could not have any hope of doing anything about it. Professional film makers would use a mount which stabilised the whole camera but which would probably occupy half your vehicle!


Your best bet is to remove the movement in post processing, there are several pieces of software that could probably sort your issue completely.
His issue may be he is recording from a Heavy duty pickup, or a commercial trucks. They feel poorer quality Asphalt jobs or need of a Asphalt job more so than any other vehicles.
 
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