First week with SG9665GC V3 - some questions

It fell down (not completely - still held by the USB & GPS cables) while I was in the office. When I came back I started driving and noticed dangling camera a minute later. I simply pressed it against the adhesive and it luckily it stayed there.

ok, was guessing that was the case going by the angle of the video, take it it's on the passenger side then and not easily noticed from the drivers side
 
ok thanks, just keep an eye on things if there is some issue there we will help you get it sorted
 
That means the image quality in the samples I just shared is normal and the camera is perfectly fine?
 
That means the image quality in the samples I just shared is normal and the camera is perfectly fine?

I'm not sure yet, heat is not normally a problem, direct sunlight can be in some circumstances though

do you use any type of window shade when you park? I only ask that as I had one customer previously that used a reflective sun shade to keep his interior cooler while parked, it didn't fit in front of the camera so he would put it behind and it was reflecting all the heat back into the camera
 
No, there is no shade nor anything else which would act in a similar way.
 
contact the seller in Germany where you bought it for some spare tape, if any problem please let me know

I mailed the seller today (Peter Koch) - he said he wanted to get in touch with you first.
 
Many thanks for the quick support! The tape arrived yesterday :)

Today I was able to do the hairdryer test. I brought the camera into the house and placed it in front of a window and let it run for about 3h. Room temperature was about 20degC, casing temperature according to my cheap infrared thermometer 33degC. I then used a hairdryer several times (about 15s each) to bring the casing temperature to a value of 60-65degC. This is the temperature I measured (using the same thermometer) when entering the car on a warm day (20-23degC outside temp, direct sunlight, car parked for a couple of hours). Attached are two images, the first before, the second after the heat input. The change is obvious when downloading the images and switching back and forth quickly.

I think I am still half way between the actual circumstances in the car, as after sunlight for many hours the difference between camera internal and casing temperature will be much smaller than in my test setup (would explain the more pronounced softness in the samples in posting #51). But that also means that even when A/C is switched on, it will take quite some time until the camera internals have fully cooled down.

focus_33degC.jpg
focus_60degC.jpg
 
Today we almost reached the 30degC mark - video quality is the worst I have seen so far. A very dreamy look but not what I would expect from a product in this price range. If this is normal behavior I would not buy this camera again.

2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 36 second.jpeg 2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 113 second.jpeg
 
Today we almost reached the 30degC mark - video quality is the worst I have seen so far. A very dreamy look but not what I would expect from a product in this price range. If this is normal behavior I would not buy this camera again.

View attachment 31029 View attachment 31030

On mobile phone it looks ok but I will check later on when be back to PC.
Can you share part of original file for more detailed inspection.
Also,are those videos were recorded while car was parked and or just after car was recording in parking mode?
 
it seems the car had just started, GPS signal did not catch.
@nephilim after awhile, did your camera come back to nomal ?
 
These are snapshots from the first minute after entering the car (camera was not running before). The drive usually takes 15 minutes and it became a bit better with A/C turned on. Still, sharpness of a cool camera was not achieved. Here are the links to the original files and a sample from this morning for comparison (cool camera, different lighting though).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jqzhg2zouwkbasc/2017_0518_075526_036-81027_039 - 131 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/btf7v6k6he5ujbi/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 36 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/crnmsk0hwnu0bcb/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 113 second.jpeg?dl=0
 
These are snapshots from the first minute after entering the car (camera was not running before). The drive usually takes 15 minutes and it became a bit better with A/C turned on. Still, sharpness of a cool camera was not achieved. Here are the links to the original files and a sample from this morning for comparison (cool camera, different lighting though).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jqzhg2zouwkbasc/2017_0518_075526_036-81027_039 - 131 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/btf7v6k6he5ujbi/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 36 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/crnmsk0hwnu0bcb/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 113 second.jpeg?dl=0
Ok. Going to look into this soon.

Sent from my LG-H962 using Tapatalk
 
I have the same experience with my street guardian V2. I live in the desert with up to 45 degrees C during the summer. Video looses some sharpness.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk
 
These are snapshots from the first minute after entering the car (camera was not running before). The drive usually takes 15 minutes and it became a bit better with A/C turned on. Still, sharpness of a cool camera was not achieved. Here are the links to the original files and a sample from this morning for comparison (cool camera, different lighting though).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jqzhg2zouwkbasc/2017_0518_075526_036-81027_039 - 131 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/btf7v6k6he5ujbi/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 36 second.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/crnmsk0hwnu0bcb/2017_0518_150035_040.MOV - 113 second.jpeg?dl=0
GC is designed for running in about 40 - 60oC. Every dashcam run at this temp.
So, when you just start your car, GC still cool. And it's out of focus for purpose.
Because plastic, metal....are expanded when be heat. Cant find anything that wont be. And with a 0.1 mm expanding of lens holder, the image will be shift focus and make a solf focus. And because of that, when worker fix lens focus. It's slightly out of focus in room temp, but will be good in operation temp.
Pretty simple. Try to get a snapshot from running car is out of focus, then i agree you have a failure one. ;)
 
I just did a quick calculation assuming the casing is of aluminium and 20mm long. A 30degC change in temperature would lead to a 0.01mm thermal expansion. If the casing is made from iron it would be about 50% of that. That is probably close to or within the manufacturing tolerances. I think that applies to the V3 which is supposed to have a non-plastic, i.e. metal lens casing - please correct me if that is wrong. I had good image quality from 0degC to 15degC ambient temperature (starting the car in the morning or mild afternoons) and throughout longer drives, when the A/C would keep the interior at 22degC. The trouble starts when direct sunlight heats the camera.

So that means I have to live with that softness until the car's A/C has brought the camera's interior down to 40-60degC? Then my daily commute might be too short and I need to check again during a longer drive at high temperatures & strong sunlight.

I just remember the discussion about the Yi Dash cam which gave me the impression that a good quality camera would not loose focus in high temperatures.
 
no, you posted 2 snapshots from the beginning of your trip.
I didnt do the math because i dont think i have enough element. So, if you dont mind, post some snapshots after 10 minutes or later.
 
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