First post, but maybe I should have browsed here before I bargained for a Taiwan made 'Carcam' branded dashcam in a Hong Kong store last year, getting it for about US$40 - $50. It appears to be a K5000, which I wanted for its assumed better night performance, but its firmware (DVPLS100B06.110531) doesn't match any listed in Dashcamtalk's K2000/5000 FAQ. The only visual difference to K5000 images in the FAQ article is the swivel lens has a central strip of grip indents top and bottom that vary in length. Everything else seems the same externally.
I've hardly used it, however, because I can't turn on the ring of 8 LEDs around the lens. In fact, I'm wondering if they're even real LEDs. The 'Rodad Safety Guard' manual that came with it suggests the 'down' [<] button switches between day/night modes and the two bright LEDs on the main case either side of the lens is supposed to come on automatically in low light.
Firstly, my [<] and [>] ('up/down' buttons in the manual) work an undocumented (in the manual) digital zoom when in camera mode and have nothing to do with the functions listed for them in the manual - image rotate, LCD off/on and day/night modes. I have to use the menu to accomplish these things and even then the ring of 8 LEDs don't light up, or if they're IR LEDs, the night image is only improved when the 2 main LEDs are lit up via the menu. Maybe the wrong manual came in the box, since the text on the box mentions digital zoom.
I followed Dashcamtalk's K2000/5000 FAQ to try and save the firmware, but my 'K5000' doesn't drop into the engineering menu using the suggested ON sequence. In fact I tried just about every button combo I could think of while turning it on, but no hidden menu appeared. So I guess I don't have a regular K5000, but it does work reasonably well, at least in daylight. It handles a class 10 32GB card OK too, but I doubt it does true 1080P - jumpy playback. HDMI output works too. Audio is awful, but apparently this trait actually confirms a K2000/5000 heritage :roll:
I was about to give it away to a friend, but maybe someone can suggest a firmware fix, assuming I could get menu access, or at least tell me what model I possibly have. Maybe even direct me to a more appropriate manual, if there is one. Thanks!
I've hardly used it, however, because I can't turn on the ring of 8 LEDs around the lens. In fact, I'm wondering if they're even real LEDs. The 'Rodad Safety Guard' manual that came with it suggests the 'down' [<] button switches between day/night modes and the two bright LEDs on the main case either side of the lens is supposed to come on automatically in low light.
Firstly, my [<] and [>] ('up/down' buttons in the manual) work an undocumented (in the manual) digital zoom when in camera mode and have nothing to do with the functions listed for them in the manual - image rotate, LCD off/on and day/night modes. I have to use the menu to accomplish these things and even then the ring of 8 LEDs don't light up, or if they're IR LEDs, the night image is only improved when the 2 main LEDs are lit up via the menu. Maybe the wrong manual came in the box, since the text on the box mentions digital zoom.
I followed Dashcamtalk's K2000/5000 FAQ to try and save the firmware, but my 'K5000' doesn't drop into the engineering menu using the suggested ON sequence. In fact I tried just about every button combo I could think of while turning it on, but no hidden menu appeared. So I guess I don't have a regular K5000, but it does work reasonably well, at least in daylight. It handles a class 10 32GB card OK too, but I doubt it does true 1080P - jumpy playback. HDMI output works too. Audio is awful, but apparently this trait actually confirms a K2000/5000 heritage :roll:
I was about to give it away to a friend, but maybe someone can suggest a firmware fix, assuming I could get menu access, or at least tell me what model I possibly have. Maybe even direct me to a more appropriate manual, if there is one. Thanks!