Feitelijk's SG9665GC

[Feitelijk]

WDR benefits really only show at night

Ah, that s a downer...

When my photocamera detects a lot of backlight is really the only time it switches to HDR (Sony Nex6).
So you can consider this a feature request: make use of the WDR in overexposed images, please!

I find the CPL filter does reduce the sky overexposure slightly.

Yes, about one stop right?

The main point of a dashcam is to have a clear and correctly exposed scene of the cars and road in front of you.

And do you think this is it?

Don't worry too much about the sky if it is overexposed or underexposed, you are not here to take professional photography.

I'm not? How do you know? I'd like to make nice footage, that looks natural. Bought what I thought was the best cam out there, which I still think it is, but don't like the overexposure. Just doesn't look right now does it?
This will make ik less likely that some TV station steels my footage and will have to give me some money (again)

 

[jokiin]

So you can consider this a feature request: make use of the WDR in overexposed images, please!

it's something we are still actively working on

 

[Feitelijk]

Great!

 

[efoo]

I'm not? How do you know? I'd like to make nice footage, that looks natural. Bought what I thought was the best cam out there, which I still think it is, but don't like the overexposure. Just doesn't look right now does it?
This will make ik less likely that some TV station steels my footage and will have to give me some money (again)

I don't know what is your idea of using a car dash cam, but the main selling point of all these dash cams are to capture accidents / incidents on the road. Capturing beautiful scenery on the road is not. May be you should research more into other cameras such as those action cams e.g. GoPro, or even proper camcorders which may have better and more intelligent evaluative exposure meter to give you the best overall exposure.

P.S. As for the pic above, yes the sky is overexposed. So what? I don't really care about what is going on the sky as long as I can capture the cars and road in front clearly. Not like I am worrying about an airplane or a meteorite falling from the sky, and I have to avoid hitting them or else I have to sue them in the court.

 

[Feitelijk]

P.S. As for the pic above, yes the sky is overexposed. So what? I don't really care about what is going on the sky

Then you're in the wrong topic, because this one is about what I care about.

 

[efoo]

Then you're in the wrong topic, because this one is about what I care about.

Thanks for your clarification. Looks like SG9665GC is the wrong cam for you then.

 

[Feitelijk]

The roadsurface would be better visible with CPL I grant you, but this is a bit too white isn't it?

 

[Dashmellow]

The roadsurface would be better visible with CPL I grant you, but this is a bit too white isn't it?

For all its merits, the SG9665GC suffers from a serious problem with handling high contrast/high dynamic range situations as compared side by side with any other camera I own. I have been working behind the scenes with @jokiin and @Pier28 for months now on this issue and even replacement units suffer from the same problem. I have been mystified as to why I have been the only person seemingly reporting this and it has happened with three different units so I am gratified to finally see another public report of it @Feitelijk . Both Pier28 and jokiin have been extraordinarily helpful and generous in my discussions with them over this issue and I have held off publicly posting my simultaneous side by side comparisons with other cameras along with other documentation and analysis about this issue but it may finally be time to create a thread for discussion of this.

We've been waiting for a bright snowy day to see what happens but even though I live in a rural "snow belt" we've hardly had any snow this year. Here is one example with a modest amount of snow on the ground. A CPL has no ability to ameliorate this issue.

 

[jokiin]

that low direct sun is by far the hardest situation we have to deal with, any side by side video samples with other models is useful for us, scenes like this are very hard to replicate so collecting video from as many types of lighting situations as possible is very helpful

 

[Dashmellow]

that low direct sun is by far the hardest situation we have to deal with, any side by side video samples with other models is useful for us, scenes like this are very hard to replicate so collecting video from as many types of lighting situations as possible is very helpful

If I can make some time tomorrow I will post some of my comparisons, some of which you have already seen and some new material you haven't jokiin. I've had this all on the back burner for awhile but it seems like it's time to pursue it again. @Feitelijk is definitely reporting the same problem I've been tangling with and that you and Pier28 are well aware of.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

There is always room for improvement when it comes to balancing day vs night performance that works best in all conditions. As Rick said any raw files you can share can help us tweak IQ further for extreme conditions.

 

[jokiin]

If I can make some time tomorrow I will post some of my comparisons, some of which you have already seen and some new material you haven't jokiin.

thanks, that would be appreciated

 

[Feitelijk]

Should I hang my G90 or GT680W next to the SG?
Last time I posted one there was no response at all...

 

[jokiin]

Should I hang my G90 or GT680W next to the SG?.

side by side video can be useful if it shows something we might be able to further adjust and improve when there's other footage to compare with for reference, standalone footage is less useful than when there's another view of the same situation, really need video more than screenshots, this high brightness type stuff is particularly hard to emulate, it's one of those things where you really need the right situation to catch it, it's next to impossible to get footage like this in China, the pollution filters out a lot of natural light, someone that travels early morning or late afternoon (with a lot of east or west direction) is going to get better material, the more of this footage we can catch the more we have to work with

 

[Feitelijk]

This is the SG at -2/3EV and the GT680 at 0.0EV WITH CPL
Yes I know that's not a fair comparison, today I will try without the CPL.
Image of the GT680 was "-rotate 3 -roll -35-212" So it pointed quite a bit more than the SG.

 

[jokiin]

side by side at default settings on both would be better if you could

 

[Feitelijk]

If I put the SG on 0EV it's way too bright. This was 0EV I think: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/feitelijks-sg9665sc.16011/page-5#post-229454
Since there's a CPL in front of the GT680W that takes about 1 stop so I think it's about right. lighting wise.
The exmor gathers much more light, that's clear.

 

[kamkar]

Perhaps a time feature like the X cam have, using more sunshine useable settings, and then change to night settings at some time, this will offcourse mean that some times of day the camera might not be at the most optimal setting as light change thruout the year.
Not quite sure on this ways of doing things, cuz some times though its the middle of day, it can get pretty dark here when the sky is full of dark grey / black rain clouds.

Not sure how the cameras handle changig in light, i would assume both exposure timing and iso value can change at any time, on the X cam it feel like exposure time have priorety, and i think i would like it the other way around where ISO is cranked up first before exposure timings is lowered ( going towards night time )
Maybe we end up with cameras with variable F/stop lenses as sensors used get ever more light sensetive ?
I myself would have no problem with a C / CS lens that had that on the end of my camera, but i am allso blessed with plenty of room in front of my rear view mirror.

The 2 grabs i have of X cam Vs SG9665GC and direct sun dont look that bad
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/kamkar1-footage.14310/page-5

BUT ! I too have noticed the overly bright footage lately, but have not made too much of a fuss about it as its captured on Beta firmware, and the issue is so out there i assumed Jokiin was well avare of it.

Perhaps i should be more active and call out all stuff i see ?

I am not too bothered myself with daytime footage not beeing broadcast quality, but yes ATM it do get a little out of hand some times, allmost to a degree where its fair to call it a whiteout.

 

[jokiin]

Perhaps i should be more active and call out all stuff i see ?

the more sample footage we can collect the more we have to work with, these situations are not easily duplicated on the engineers side either in the lab or in the field so external material is very useful

 

[kamkar]

Going for drive tomorrow, sun still pretty low here even at noon when i set off from home.
Should allso have a good chance of capturing a low sun around the time when it set and i am on my way home.