Expensive dashcams worth it?

[RLS]

The mobius cams tend to record hour after hour without issue. Although originally designed as an action cam once a supercapacitor was installed the mobius have worked for years while recording hours of video each day.

LOL right on!

I have probably 10 or more Mobius V3’s, a useless M2, and the latest Maxi. All of them are equipped with super caps lol.

Mobius cams are set and forget. I haven’t really had any issue with them. They aren’t picky on memory cards, even Sandisk lol. I run 256GB memory cards, even the 400GB Sandisk A1’s haha. I’ve tested a good amount (this is just the memory cards I bought this year):

Audio isn’t the greatest tho. I do like the ability to use the AV out cable.

Most of mine have aftermarket M12 lenses that I’ve installed.

The M1 V3 is definitely a fun platform to mess with.


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[Nigel]

Mini 0906? I have one of those too LOL. Have you read the amazon reviews for it? How about the mount issues with most Mini cameras? Definitely go take a look.

Sigh. You really need to try some other dashcams, along with taking all the reviews on this forum, on Amazon, etc, with a grain of salt (as you do so with mine).

Many reviewers compare dashcams that the manufacturers provide them, whether it be here or Amazon lol. As for me, I have purchased every dashcam to date, with my own money. I have no reason to be biased. I just compare for myself, take things apart (habit of mine; I used to specialize in reverse engineering lol), test in various vehicles, and test multiple dashcams in each vehicle lol.


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I have the Mini 0906, 0903, 0806 and 0803.

The only one that I've had real problems with is the 0903 which I wouldn't recommend to anyone, although I did think it was a nice design. The others are all designed to be cheap and like most cheap things there are some downsides, they don't give the best image or sound quality, but they are cheap and have all worked reliably for me. The 0803 I replaced the battery once and it was still working when replaced by the 0806, the 0806 was still working fine when it got replaced by the 0906, the 0906 was still working fine when it got replaced by the Viofo A129 which is a much better camera, but more expensive. Each of the mini cameras has been a significant improvement over the previous, except the 0903.

Currently in my car I have a Viofo A129, a Blueskysea B1W and a Vantrue T2. All very different cameras, each with it's advantages and disadvantages. I like the B1W and A129, happy to recommend those to anyone. The T2 I wouldn't recommend to most people, but it will run parking mode off the car's OBD socket for a month without flattening the battery, and the radar motion detector is very reliable and much better than any of the competition using image sensor motion detection or g-sensor impact detection.

 

[venezian]

just want to point out that warranty is not covered only if they can prove that what you did caused the problem. There's nothing wrong with fuse taps and careful how you wire through the headliner down the A pillar not to get in the way of the curtain airbags.
Dealer didn't care about it on my Audi and now Toyota doesn't care.

 

[beaumont]

A question for RLS in relation to the QVIA QR790. Is it possible to turn off all the things like Lane Change warnings and Front Collision warning? Thanks

 

[RLS]

A question for RLS in relation to the QVIA QR790. Is it possible to turn off all the things like Lane Change warnings and Front Collision warning? Thanks

Yes, you can turn off all those useless features on the QR790. I believe they are disabled by default?

For all my cams, I leave them off... driver assist features... are all just distractions in my book.


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[jokiin]

For all my cams, I leave them off... driver assist features... are all just distractions in my book.

the only way those can work reliably is if they are an integrated part of the vehicle, fixed installation and aim, inputs from the vehicle, speed, indicators, braking etc, no aftermarket version is going to work correctly, in my opinion it discredits the product to have a non working feature just for the sake of marketing

 

[RLS]

I have the Mini 0906, 0903, 0806 and 0803.

The only one that I've had real problems with is the 0903 which I wouldn't recommend to anyone, although I did think it was a nice design. The others are all designed to be cheap and like most cheap things there are some downsides, they don't give the best image or sound quality, but they are cheap and have all worked reliably for me. The 0803 I replaced the battery once and it was still working when replaced by the 0806, the 0806 was still working fine when it got replaced by the 0906, the 0906 was still working fine when it got replaced by the Viofo A129 which is a much better camera, but more expensive. Each of the mini cameras has been a significant improvement over the previous, except the 0903.

Currently in my car I have a Viofo A129, a Blueskysea B1W and a Vantrue T2. All very different cameras, each with it's advantages and disadvantages. I like the B1W and A129, happy to recommend those to anyone. The T2 I wouldn't recommend to most people, but it will run parking mode off the car's OBD socket for a month without flattening the battery, and the radar motion detector is very reliable and much better than any of the competition using image sensor motion detection or g-sensor impact detection.

Glad to know that you’ve had good reliability on the Mini series. I recall purchasing the 0906 on Amazon for $129, and the A129 recently had a sale/deal of the day(?) where it was under $140. Once again, the A129 is a really good deal for what you pay for. I will prob install a custom mic array, or maybe just convert it so I can have an extension mic plugged in.

I have a T2 on the way. Just wish they wouldn’t always stick with suction cup mounts. But definitely curious about the motion detection. Sadly, I can’t use the OBDII feature since most of my cars have something already connected to the OBDII access port :/

I’ll wire it up to one of my B124’s or Cellink Neo’s.


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[stehanson]

Sigh. Just go open up your own. You are stubbornly persistent. Your observations are alright I guess.


Anyways: no. There is no shielding between as card slot. Yes, it has a remote mic unit. Not the best solder, thin wires, and then taped to the shield. Feel free to check the quality of your own. As for the foam, it’s pretty cheap, and the mic unit isn’t even held down by the tape (the wires are), so the unit can easily “bounce” around on the foam.



Have you even used other dashcams personally? One reviewer saying it’s too good... in relation to what?

Your visual analysis is all in theory. Have you ever worked in the consumer electronics industry? Everything can seem great on paper, but how often does that follow through to real-world performance? As for me, I used to work in R&D for a world renowned audio consumer electronics company. Which is why I throughly test, disassemble, modify, etc, rather than sit back and visually analyze


Anyways, lemme find a video from my SG, with my louder exhaust, windows down.


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Talk about a condescending attitude and posts- sigh

Come on guys,we all have opinions but snide /sniping comments are not conducive!
#rantover

 

[Nigel]

Glad to know that you’ve had good reliability on the Mini series. I recall purchasing the 0906 on Amazon for $129, and the A129 recently had a sale/deal of the day(?) where it was under $140. Once again, the A129 is a really good deal for what you pay for. I will prob install a custom mic array, or maybe just convert it so I can have an extension mic plugged in.

I have a T2 on the way. Just wish they wouldn’t always stick with suction cup mounts. But definitely curious about the motion detection. Sadly, I can’t use the OBDII feature since most of my cars have something already connected to the OBDII access port :/

I’ll wire it up to one of my B124’s or Cellink Neo’s.


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Yes, A129 is much better than the 0906 if you are paying roughly the same price!

A microphone socket would be nice, hardly anyone would use it but maybe nearly as many as use the AV socket!

On the T2, as suction mounts go it is a very good suction mount, and while I would never want a suction mount for my main camera, it does make for an easily movable camera when you swap vehicles. Mind you, it is impossible to press the lock button without having to realign the camera afterwards!

Get an OBDII splitter cable, then you can plug it in. (Not actually tried that, don't know what they do with the data lines.)
The OBD adaptor has the advantage of a low voltage cut off, although it never empties the battery anyway!

 

[Nigel]

Talk about a condescending attitude and posts- sigh

Come on guys,we all have opinions but snide /sniping comments are not conducive!
#rantover

He is from the USA

 

[RLS]

Yes, A129 is much better than the 0906 if you are paying roughly the same price!

A microphone socket would be nice, hardly anyone would use it but maybe nearly as many as use the AV socket!

On the T2, as suction mounts go it is a very good suction mount, and while I would never want a suction mount for my main camera, it does make for an easily movable camera when you swap vehicles. Mind you, it is impossible to press the lock button without having to realign the camera afterwards!

Get an OBDII splitter cable, then you can plug it in. (Not actually tried that, don't know what they do with the data lines.)
The OBD adaptor has the advantage of a low voltage cut off, although it never empties the battery anyway!

I saw a video of someone having an microphone socket on their Mobius, so it inspired me to do the same. I could have the microphone placed in an optimal location.

I’ll have to try it out. Suction cup mounts don’t last long in most of my cars (I always tell myself not to get another black on black car...sigh), esp the GTR. Same with most dashcams. On a hot summer day (95F+), most dashcams will overheat. I usually come back to the parked car, grab my handy dandy laser therm, and check the temps throughout the car and also the housings of the dashcams. The F800 Pro, DR750S (and DR900S), and many more, have overheated in this car, and have been swapped out.

Decided to fiddle with some heatsink+fan combos on the blackvues recently, and will see if airflow helps.

As for OBDII splitter, I have a few. It should work with the cars that are just reading over the OBDII port. Don’t think I’ll try it on the cars with accessport writing (tunes haha). I do like the concept of power over OBDII; I know there was a company that made those for Blackvue cameras. It’s a nice plug and play PMP, without the DIY fuse tapping.

Now, what would be really cool, is pulling vehicle data/telemetry and putting it into the videos. I think a few dashcams/action cams do this:

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[RLS]

Talk about a condescending attitude and posts- sigh

Come on guys,we all have opinions but snide /sniping comments are not conducive!
#rantover

Cute rant buddy!

You must be missing the point. I’m sure dashcam manufacturers have smart people designing their products. And they would adhere to textbook knowledge extremely well. Yet, people always wonder why everything looks great on paper, everything in theory should be perfect, but... it’s almost never the case.

I’m sure my posts of real-world testing with countless cars, basically every dashcam, backed by video evidence, tinkering/disassembly, with zero bias, no sponsors, etc.... is of great use to consumers, prosumers, and manufacturers. It’s just so happens that dashcams fall between two of my main hobbies: tech and cars

He is from the USA

I guess it’s not just those in the USA that are so easily offended. Seems like it has spread to affect those over the pond!


Hope you weren’t offended though. I truly believe you are a smart guy, with tons of applicable insight and a strong grasp of requisite technical knowledge.

TBH, many of the things you pointed out in regards to physics, mechanics, ideal embedded layout, RF, etc, had already crossed my mind, especially as I opened up each of my dashcams quite some time ago (usually, I get the‘ when they launch). To my surprise, what seemed to make the most sense from a theoretical perspective, ended up to be the opposite— this has been my main point. Plus, it was fun looking through old footage to upload to YouTube lmao.




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[beaumont]

RLS How do you rate the image quality of the Qvia QR790 compared with the Street Guardian models? I know the bitrate is not high compared to the Street Guardian.

Thanks

 

[RLS]

RLS How do you rate the image quality of the Qvia QR790 compared with the Street Guardian models? I know the bitrate is not high compared to the Street Guardian.

Thanks

Here’s a video:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

The QR790 was on default brightness.


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[beaumont]

Thanks RLS ,is there any chance of you uploading the raw video files?
Thanks

 

[RLS]

Thanks RLS ,is there any chance of you uploading the raw video files?
Thanks

Here’s the QR790 1440p but YouTube scaled down to 1080p:

And here’s the SG9663DC:

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[beaumont]

Thanks RLS. Very informative (and illuminating?)

 

[RLS]

Thanks RLS. Very informative (and illuminating?)

No problem

Btw. The QR790 lighting is default, which is why the video looks darker due to CPL filter. I’ll play with the brightness settings.


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[beaumont]

You seem very happy with the Qvia QR790, I have found it impossible to get good information about it,such as the processor type, bitrate etc.

 

[RLS]

You seem very happy with the Qvia QR790, I have found it impossible to get good information about it,such as the processor type, bitrate etc.

I took a leap of faith

TBH, I just buy basically every dashcam that hits market.

I have one running endurance tests... been recording non-stop for over a month now.

Qr790 Manual says (notice the “MB”):
- Front: 9MB/sec
- Rear : 7MB/sec


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