Dashcam with absolute best picture quality?

Satellizer

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Hi everyone! :)

I have a hobby which involves taking videos of scenic drives and roads in my country using my dashcam and uploading them to YouTube (like what FreewayBrent does). In this way, my needs are quite unique - I don't really need or care for bonus features such as parking mode, etc. - my only consideration is the picture quality, and ideally I'd want one with the best picture quality that is possible in a dashcam.

I currently use a Viofo A119 Pro, however with the advent of 4K dashcams I'm looking to upgrade to either a Viofo A129 Pro or Blackvue dr900s-2ch. I'm leaning more towards the Viofo A129 Pro; however, I heard that in terms of picture quality the Blackvue dr900s is the best around so I'm also considering giving that a shot.

However, I've also heard that Blackvue dashcams have a slight 'overlap' in their clips. If so, this would be an absolute deal-breaker for me as it would make editing my videos for upload exponentially harder. I know for a fact that Viofo cameras don't do this - does anyone here own a dr900s and can attest whether it 'overlaps' clips or not?

Hoping to get you guys' input and expertise on this :) If you know of another dashcam with picture quality higher than the one I mentioned, please do tell!
 
I heard that in terms of picture quality the Blackvue dr900s is the best around so I'm also considering giving that a shot.
you generally hear this from two types of people, those that have bought it and feel the need to justify the expense to themselves, and Blackvue dealers
 
The A129 Pro has much better image quality than the DR900S, anyone that says otherwise is wrong!
60Mb/s vs 25Mb/s maximum bitrate, and that is just the start.

Thinkware U1000 is also a possibility since it has a good sensor and does well in darker conditions, but most people prefer the A129 Pro, especially for movie making since the Thinkware has a rather wide field of view and lower quality compression.

The A129 Pro also has a CPL filter available, worth having for movie making.
 
Will if i was to record and share drive videos, then i would use a 4K camera as that would allow me to crop into the frame so i don't have dashboard or A pillars in frame.
Other use regular camcorders for this, one being American roads on youtube ( also been a guest in here at times but i think he have stopped )

you might want to use or upscale to 4K for youtube, it seem that resolution are not as impacted by their conversion as lower resolutions can be.
 
the one scenic drive i have made i recorded with my SJ action camera, and then upscaled to 4K in post production.
But many action cameras are not overly happy about action if it last more than 20 minutes or so, at least not without copious amounts of air rushing over the camera.

Also the still wide angle of a action camera give you dash in the footage, and really that's wasted in a drive video.
 
Something that might be a consideration here is heat: all the high-res cams run hot and while I'm sure you have A/C while driving in the summer, that can affect things till the cam cools down after you've been parked. This applies to any cam really, but the 4K cams tend to run hot right at the ragged edge of reliability.

The best vids I've seen like what you want to record were from a member here who mounted a real videocam between the seats of his car. Unfiortunately I failed to bookmark anything but perhaps someone else can point you to him. No dash or action cam could approach those and still can't.


Phil
 
Yep American roads are hanstj channel on YT, i bookmarked it in my browser a while back.
Sadly he have not been around for a while so no heads up in here about new content he have made.

BTW my nephew are going on a 3 week roadtrip ( route 66 ) to America this summer, good for the kid and i almost wished i was able to join him even if its just a measly 3 weeks.
 
Why not use a GoPro if it's for scenic routes only. You can also use a "normal" dash cam for everyday driving.

I thought the same thing, but GoPros do not have great battery life for road trips (max out at around 2 hours) and current editions cannot record and charge at the same time.
 
even a gopro you can power from a external source, i recorded 2 drives today lasting about 30 minutes each, first one was filmed in 4K hyperlapse, and the home trip in 4K HDR
Powering my Osmo Action from the USB socket, but the same you can do with a gopro i am sure.

Heat might still be a issue though today was sunny but only like 18 degrees C, on a blistering hot day you probably need to have the AC going and a steady stream of cold air blasting the windscreen and camera.

30X hyperlapse are a tad hectic to watch, but my 30 minute drive are just 1 minute to watch.
 
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I am not going to upload my drive home in 4k HDR, no sane person are going to sit watch some dude drive for 30 minutes thru rural Denmark.
You need to speed up in post or use hyperlapse in the camera, but stay with 10 X to have a more reasonable viewing experience. and then your 1 hour drive are just 6 minutes to watch which people will do on youtube.
 
The last time I saw trees going past me that fast I was in a tornado :ROFLMAO:

Phil
 
Yeah 30 X are too wild for little Denmark, might be fine in you are in the US and going thru a large section if prairie style landscape.
Too much on coming traffic or things lining the road and the OCD feel get too strong.
 
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