First post...Overwhelmed...Overresearched

[SawMaster]

Yes I read your OP. As I've posted twice (now 3 times) that much should be clear. My 2nd post was intended to stave off the inevitable and ubiquitous "Hey that's me too!" posts which threads like this seem to gather It was also intended to show you my decision making process in case you wanted to take a different path towards deciding since you seem to be having problems doing that as things are. Take it and take from it whatever and however you want- that will not affect me at all

Nobody can decide best for you; all we can do is comment on your choices and of what we think may be something better suited for the job. In the end it's on you so stop overthinking and just spring for whichever one you think you'll like most. The longer you wait the more that technology will improve leaving you in an endless research loop of not knowing and never having a cam.

3 things most heavily limit dashcams; Form factor, sensor, and processor. The last two are IMHO equal factors; if either isn't good it's a fail. Both must be good to gain a win. Sony is now making some good and some very good sensors so look for a cam which has one of their newer sensors and you'll probably find a good processor behind it. That's as close as I'll get to choosing your cam- I ain't here to do your job for you

Phil

 

[c4rc4m]

+1 to what KamKar said.

The biggest issue I see with ALL carcams atm, is non of them can really record a number plate very far in front of your vehicle. I'm sure there are multiple reasons behind this.

To give you an example, a screenshot from Vico's own MF3 promotional video, played back at 1440p from Youtube (could be some loss because of the latter) on a 1600 x 200 screen. - I'll now set you a simple challenge, read me the number plate from the 2nd car on the left, the red one approx 15 feet in front:

I'm guessing you can't which means you've now experienced the issue most moaned about. I also hate to tell you this but the situation usually gets worse at night due to slower shutter speeds and more resulting blur.

In fairness to Vico, the picture is cracking from the MF3 at 1st appearance from their promotional videos (obviously an independent review would be helpful). It looks particularly good at night, and maybe even better for plate reading than during the day!

I look forward to seeing an independent review of this camera as it does look like a very good contender for being one of the best out there. The MF3 has just climbed to top of my interest list.

However, appreciate, no camera that I've seen at least, delivers true DSLR sharpness back to front. At 1st glance the Vico looks excellent to say the least.

 

[jokiin]

2nd car on the left, the red one approx 15 feet in front:

.

15 feet in front of what?

that car is way too far out to have any kind of chance of catching the plate with the hardware being used, I don't think that's unreasonable though given the distance

 

[kamkar]

Plate capture or for that any text at a distance is hard if not impossible to do, this is a trade off for the wide FOV of the lenses.
Thats also why i was quick to put a 8 mm lens on one of my joovuu X test cameras, with a lens that size you can read plates as long out as you can read them with your own eyes.
But the 8 mm lens have a terrible narrow FOV so its not something i can recommend as a stand alone solution.

Anyways i dont really bother much with plate capture as the factors that can ruin it is so small, but it is a indicator i use for testing cameras.

But some times i am stunned about what i see, some days i drive along thinking "surely the cameras are not going to capture much plates today" and then when i get home i see a lot of clear plates in the footage.
And the other way around i drive along thinking well i am going to be capturing a lot of plates today, and then when i look over the footage im like WTF ???? what the hell happened here

Other days i am driving thinking well i am not going to capture anything today, and then one of my cameras drop off a image that just blow my mind.
This pic for instance no problem, bright and sunny day and 2 cars passing eachother both doing 80 km/h

But then another grey day with much less sun, and otherwise same conditions i find this on the same camera.

And then i am like dude thats not supposed to happen cuz days like this is murder for capturing anything crisp, not least on a side camera where the car passing by is only in frame for like 3 - 4 frames.
Make me think was i really doing 80 km/h that day and was he ? but you can bet your life i never go much below the 80 km/h highways speed limit, and i can assure you at least 95% of cars comming up from behind me overtake me, so they are not driving slow either.

This is pics from same camera but on a nice sunny day, but this time around things was not so crisp as we pass each other on the highway.

Experiences like this make me thing that some times cameras choose to use less fortunate settings, even on a day thats otherwise looking good, and as above on days where things look bleak but then camera choose to use some sweet exposure.

 

[c4rc4m]

15 feet in front of what? that car is way too far out to have any kind of chance of catching the plate with the hardware being used, I don't think that's unreasonable though given the distance

I'd estimate it's about 15 feet in front of the bonnet of the car with the camera. I also don't think that's an unreasonable distance to expect a camera to be able to capture a plate at, although there are probably very few if any, car cameras capable of doing that.

My point about this is what if for example the red car caused an accident rather than was directly involved. eg what if he caused one of the other cars to swerve into your path? Without a clear plate shot, it may be impossible to prove liability against that driver if he failed to stop and non of the other vehicles had cameras, and there were no cameras on the road to witness it either. There are many ways accidents can occur.

That said, as I said above, the MF3, looks from their video at least, to have one of the very best pictures I've seen. It's very very clean, bright and sharp. I would personally consider it seriously especially as low light looks good as well, albeit the ambient lighting was quite bright in the sample video

As to the OP, it is very confusing and difficult to choose a camera. There is no right or wrong answer. Most cameras have strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately what you buy is usually a compromise. My recommendation would be to decide what's the most important aspect to you, or even better, form an order of priority for features and then choose the camera that best matches that list from reviews and or the best buy list. Also, don't necessarily rule out using action cameras if they have features such as loop recording and better match your needs overall.

 

[jokiin]

I'd estimate it's about 15 feet in front of the bonnet of the car with the camera. .

I think your tape measure might be broken

there's space between each car and there's a full car in between as well, average car is around 15 feet long, cameras aren't mounted to the front of the bonnet either, license plate of the red car would be more like 30 feet from the camera, regardless at the distance it is you're not going to get enough detail to read a license plate the majority of the time

 

[hyperm3]

After an exhausting night of final research I've ordered the opia 2. Thank you all for your quality responses. I look forward to being a positive member on this forum.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

The longer you wait the more that technology will improve leaving you in an endless research loop of not knowing and never having a cam.


Phil

+1

 

[Uncle P]

If you're in a hot climate a super-cap powered cam us almost mandatory

hello all, thanks for all the info my question is. when shopping for a dashcam how can i tell if it runs on lithium-ion battery or Super Cap?

Peter

 

[hyperm3]

hello all, thanks for all the info my question is. when shopping for a dashcam how can i tell if it runs on lithium-ion battery or Super Cap?

Peter

Most likely it will be in the description of the unit. Most companies are quick to point out if their unit has a capacitor as a positive point.

 

[Uncle P]

• Excellent night vision

• Hardwire capability

• Parking modes

• Prefer LCD, I dont want to rely on my phone to make any changes

• I dont care about GPS or Safety features like lane departure and collision warning

thanks hyperm3, i was actually looking for the same spec as your OP when hardwiring the Super Cap dashcam should i run on "always hot" or "hot in start"? to power up the parking mode?

Peter

 

[hyperm3]

thanks hyperm3, i was actually looking for the same spec as your OP when hardwiring the Super Cap dashcam should i run on "always hot" or "hot in start"? to power up the parking mode?

Peter

I've found that it depends on the unit. What I liked about the opia2 is that it recognizes when the power has been turned off and automatically shifts into parking mode. The correct hardwire kit for the device you choose will either have two or three wires. One will go to hot, one to accessory and one to ground.

 

[Uncle P]

thanks hyperm3, keep us posted on your new device after installation.

 

[hyperm3]

thanks hyperm3, keep us posted on your new device after installation.

You bet, this seems to be a great community. Happy to be a part of it.

 

[OCD Tronic]

I've found that it depends on the unit. What I liked about the opia2 is that it recognizes when the power has been turned off and automatically shifts into parking mode. The correct hardwire kit for the device you choose will either have two or three wires. One will go to hot, one to accessory and one to ground.

You'll want to pair the Opia 2 with a VicoVation Vico Power-Plus for best results.

 

[hyperm3]

You'll want to pair the Opia 2 with a VicoVation Vico Power-Plus for best results.

Already on its way from your store on Amazon!

 

[kamkar]

Will be nice with some opiates hanging on the windscreen

 

[c4rc4m]

Good look to the OP with his choice. I hope he's satisfied and made the right set of compromises for his purpose.

 

[hyperm3]

Ok, made my first review post with video(nighttime). https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/first-dash-cam-opia2-quick-review.26199/

 

[Prime-Omega]

@hyperm3: I'm in exactly the same situation as you currently are. Just looking for the best available cam available and I've had the Opia 2 in the back of my mind for a few days. Think I'm just gonna order it as well, you seem to be happy with it.