For sh*ts and giggles I bought a $14 dashcam - Full Review

USDashCamera

USDashCamera

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I have been using it the past few days. at first I was thinking, hey this isnt that bad! says FHD in the menu...

turns out the FHD mode is just 720p with 5.7 mbps, while the HD mode is 720p at 2.8 mbps. but there is no way it is actually 720p... I am too lazy to count the pixels, but there is no way. The amazon page lists it as "Recording resolution:1280x960 / 720x480 / 640x480" but when I tried HD and FHD they both had the same resolution in the windows details.

Night footage vs. Blackvue DR650GW-2CH


and an audio test with day footage in "FHD":


Full review (the thumbnail is a joke!):

 
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If someone make a break test in front of you, its good enough to get that. Lifespan is probably short.
 
I prefer to invest that amount of money in some fine cold pints of beer, and will do that (of course!) in a cozy pub.
 
Factoring in the time you have allready used installing it and do what you have done, then i am affrais its a loose - loose situation.

But hey,,,,,, better you than me :p
 
For $14 ...
Seriously , if you had little choice , buy a $14 dash cam and still put food on the table , then it probably does enough to justify $14 ...
It would be nice if everyone could have a super fantastic SHD cam that records @ 60FPs , but that's not reality ...
Whats important is the video IQ is good enough to show who's at fault ( insurance - cops ) , is the cam reliable ?
OK it may not be good enough for plates , but @ $14 , did anyone really expect that ?

And these cams do sell , people are buying them , so there must be a market that needs servicing ( Budget cams )
I think there are acceptable budget cams and rubbish cams , an it all might depend on luck ( Cos there so cheap ) which you get .
 
kamkar1 said:
Factoring in the time you have allready used installing it and do what you have done, then i am affrais its a loose - loose situation.

But hey,,,,,, better you than me :p
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i never was expecting anything great. i did it more for fun. $14 is nothing. i bought a g1w-cb this week just because i am addicted hah.
 
old4570 said:
For $14 ...
Seriously , if you had little choice , buy a $14 dash cam and still put food on the table , then it probably does enough to justify $14 ...
It would be nice if everyone could have a super fantastic SHD cam that records @ 60FPs , but that's not reality ...
Whats important is the video IQ is good enough to show who's at fault ( insurance - cops ) , is the cam reliable ?
OK it may not be good enough for plates , but @ $14 , did anyone really expect that ?

And these cams do sell , people are buying them , so there must be a market that needs servicing ( Budget cams )
I think there are acceptable budget cams and rubbish cams , an it all might depend on luck ( Cos there so cheap ) which you get .
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thats what i was thinking at first, better than nothing right? but i dunno, if you can afford a car with car insurance i feel like you could afford a $50 g1w for decent video quality.

the big thing is whether or not this is as unreliable as a g1w or not. my g1w finally warped enough so the plastic shell does not stay closed anymore due to regular use by a family member. still works though.
 
DT MI said:
At $14 I'm not sure if you overpaid or not... :D
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You were robbed. could've got a new one for that!

I'm actually amazed at the number of people on FB who say they have one of these & it's great:confused:
 
sludgeguts said:
You were robbed. could've got a new one for that!

I'm actually amazed at the number of people on FB who say they have one of these & it's great:confused:
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Of course its great - its fantastic !
Because they have nothing to compare it too .

It's like the first chocolate chip cookie you ever had ! There is nothing like it - Till some one gives you a better cookie !

 
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old4570 said:
Of course its great - its fantastic !
Because they have nothing to compare it too .

It's like the first chocolate chip cookie you ever had ! There is nothing like it - Till some one gives you a better cookie !

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And yet, what really annoys me is that I constantly link to this website so people can make some sort of informed decision BEFORE they buy this crap - yet they still buy it because it's cheap & everyone says it's great!:confused:
 
sludgeguts said:
And yet, what really annoys me is that I constantly link to this website so people can make some sort of informed decision BEFORE they buy this crap - yet they still buy it because it's cheap & everyone says it's great!:confused:
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On other forums I've referred numerous people to here when they had questions about dash cams. Other forums members have countered that recommendation with something along the lines of "Save your time because I've done all the necessary research and this $34.95 cam on EBay from China is the best there is. Don't bother researching because I know what I'm talking about."

Drives me crazy but if people want to go that route after getting good advice they deserve what they end up with.
 
DT MI said:
On other forums I've referred numerous people to here when they had questions about dash cams. Other forums members have countered that recommendation with something along the lines of "Save your time because I've done all the necessary research and this $34.95 cam on EBay from China is the best there is. Don't bother researching because I know what I'm talking about."

Drives me crazy but if people want to go that route after getting good advice they deserve what they end up with.
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That's basically /r/dashcam. User: "I have $200 to spend on the best dashcam for the money", 90% of the responses:"g1w."
 
DT MI, I'm known to be rather blunt at times. When someone does not want to follow my recommendations, fails, then whines about it later I sometimes say "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen so shut up and get over it!". If I feel nice I may change the last part to "so are you ready to listen to some good advice now or not?".

Bottom line- you don't get what you don't pay for. It's a $15 camera and that's all you'll ever get from it.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
DT MI, I'm known to be rather blunt at times. When someone does not want to follow my recommendations, fails, then whines about it later I sometimes say "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen so shut up and get over it!". If I feel nice I may change the last part to "so are you ready to listen to some good advice now or not?".

Bottom line- you don't get what you don't pay for. It's a $15 camera and that's all you'll ever get from it.

Phil
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I've only had that opportunity once and took the more gentle approach - with maybe just a 'touch' of sarcasm.
 
I enjoyed the video and review. I knew it would be total ****, but sometimes it's fun to look at **** just to laugh at it. For $14, I'm surprised it even worked. All is not lost, you can make a second video of tearing the silly thing apart.
 
I think most of such cameras use the pen camera solution which is hot sale before.
 
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