SawMaster
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2015
- Messages
- 9,450
- Reaction score
- 8,317
- Location
- SC
- Country
- United States
- Dash Cam
- Numerous and ever-changing
Garmin sent me their 57 cam for review free of charge, but you can be assured that I am unbiased in my reviews as always. With each thing mentioned I'll assign a rating such as this: (x/10) with (1/10) being worst and (10/10) being best when compared to all the other cams I have used and cams I know something of. I may change these ratings as my testing and use proceeds! As always you need to do your own research before purchasing a cam; all I can do here is relate to you what I find and what my opinions are.
(REVISED 9/1/21 regards wifi and app)
(REVISED 9/12/21 regards mount)
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The box is a nice multi-color matter print with the 3 pics of the cam in gloss. The locking tab however doesn't 'lock' anything but comes straight out with opening the lid, but the wings on the lid hold it closed securely enough(8/10). Inside I found the cam to be smaller than I imagined and cradled in folded cardboard instead of the more-often seen foam inserts; a more environmentally-friendly packaging than usual. In removing the cam the next thing I noticed was that the lens projects past the surrounding case, leaving it vulnerable to scratching or breaking if dropped or mis-handled(4/10). We should be careful with our cams but this situation needn't exist and we all know accidents do happen. Next I noticed the sticky-mount which is quite compact with a wide range of adjustability, and it seems to be reasonably tight, but I'd prefer it a bit tighter- time alone will tell if it holds up to my rough-riding work van(7/10). Under the cardboard cradle were 2 cables, an extra mount dot (more on this below), a small cigarette-lighter plug USB adapter with 2 ports stamped with the Garmin name, and a bag containing 2 booklets. After noticing the 90 degree ends on the cables (which is a very nice touch) I had a look at the owners manual. Big problem- there isn't one, only a pictorial foldout showing how to mount the cam and where to run the cables (2/10) and a thick multi-language booklet with warnings and instructions regarding the use of what it calls a "LiIon" battery (10/10). If it is LiIon and not LiPo, it's one of a very few cams using this. I like the extensive safety info; most cam companies hardly mention anything more than the temp range which the cam and battery can be used in. I'm aghast at the lack of an owner's manual(0/10), although to be fair it's easy to find on the Garmin website and in this day and age almost everyone can access that, but it's alienating those who may not have internet access or whose phones have limited data plans.
As to the mount, when I initially inspected the cam it seemed as if the 3M tape was part of the mount, and the extra disc in the box was stuck to an nonagonal metal plate which was not magnetic. Lacking a manual I couldn't make sense of that, and it was only after attaching the cam to my windshield and pulling on it that I discovered the secret: This cam mounts magnetically, and the 'extra tape' is actually a second mount so you can easily swap this cam between 2 cars. Not so good is that the tape loosened from my windshield after 9 weeks. This cam is heavy and may not have enough surface area of tape to hold it (7/10). On seeing how securely the mount held the cam in position and driving over rough roads I love the magnets.I'm left wondering if it will rotate in use as the mount is offset to one side of the cam. So far so good but I'd like a more firm attachment; I'm big on having my cam's very strongly mounted. For those who might want it, a suction mount is available as an extra-cost option. The ball-and-socket portion of the mount lies half in the mount (ball) and half in the cam (socket). There is no means of tightening that connection but it seems OK. Given my hot summers here I've had plastic on cams weaken and deform so this might become a problem for folks like me. You are supposed to not leave the cam mounted in a hot car to catch direct sunlight during hot summer days, but few people do that, and in my testing it will remain on the windshield same as all my other cams.
My initial testing is always done without accessing the manual to see how intuitive the cam's operations are; I will go into that fully later on. The Garmin 57 does have an LCD screen(9/10) with a menu accessible by pushing the 3rd button down, then using the lower button to select from the different menu sections, then using the 2 middle up-or-down buttons to select the parameters with the bottom button saving your selection. It can be intuitive enough, but when you use as many different cams as I do the multiple-menu cams can be frustrating at times without access to a manual (6/10). The range of selections is average to below average; many of the better cams allow more flexibility in setting up the cam exactly as you want (4/10). This cam is meant to primarily be controlled by an app although that isn't absolutely necessary. You will need to answer a couple questions on the cam screen regards placement and vehicle type before use which are needed by it's ADAS features.
I have an Andriod 7 phone and picked up the "GarnminDrive" app at Google play. Once it was installed it would not function; the "next" button at the bottom was grayed out and inoperable. After not getting anywhere with connecting I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Still nothing. I discovered that it's necessary to open a Garmin account to proceed, so I did that and logged in. This app connects through Bluetooth and I had that enabled. After several attempts following the app's on-screen troubleshooting advice it sent me an email with a single-use passcode which got things going. I'm a basic Andriod user and I found setting up the app somewhat frustrating; no other cam's apps have ever required this much work to install and use, and none required that I open an account with the manufacturer either. I think most folks will not have much trouble with this, but if you're like me and not deep into your phone's app function use, you may want to have your kid handy to set things up for you. Once I got the app working it was intuitive and easy to use overall. I do wish they'd offer more cam functionality choices there such as bitrate, exposure metering selection, and a selection of settings for parking mode usage. Loading the app is (3/10) and using it is (5/10)
continued next page
(REVISED 9/1/21 regards wifi and app)
(REVISED 9/12/21 regards mount)
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The box is a nice multi-color matter print with the 3 pics of the cam in gloss. The locking tab however doesn't 'lock' anything but comes straight out with opening the lid, but the wings on the lid hold it closed securely enough(8/10). Inside I found the cam to be smaller than I imagined and cradled in folded cardboard instead of the more-often seen foam inserts; a more environmentally-friendly packaging than usual. In removing the cam the next thing I noticed was that the lens projects past the surrounding case, leaving it vulnerable to scratching or breaking if dropped or mis-handled(4/10). We should be careful with our cams but this situation needn't exist and we all know accidents do happen. Next I noticed the sticky-mount which is quite compact with a wide range of adjustability, and it seems to be reasonably tight, but I'd prefer it a bit tighter- time alone will tell if it holds up to my rough-riding work van(7/10). Under the cardboard cradle were 2 cables, an extra mount dot (more on this below), a small cigarette-lighter plug USB adapter with 2 ports stamped with the Garmin name, and a bag containing 2 booklets. After noticing the 90 degree ends on the cables (which is a very nice touch) I had a look at the owners manual. Big problem- there isn't one, only a pictorial foldout showing how to mount the cam and where to run the cables (2/10) and a thick multi-language booklet with warnings and instructions regarding the use of what it calls a "LiIon" battery (10/10). If it is LiIon and not LiPo, it's one of a very few cams using this. I like the extensive safety info; most cam companies hardly mention anything more than the temp range which the cam and battery can be used in. I'm aghast at the lack of an owner's manual(0/10), although to be fair it's easy to find on the Garmin website and in this day and age almost everyone can access that, but it's alienating those who may not have internet access or whose phones have limited data plans.
As to the mount, when I initially inspected the cam it seemed as if the 3M tape was part of the mount, and the extra disc in the box was stuck to an nonagonal metal plate which was not magnetic. Lacking a manual I couldn't make sense of that, and it was only after attaching the cam to my windshield and pulling on it that I discovered the secret: This cam mounts magnetically, and the 'extra tape' is actually a second mount so you can easily swap this cam between 2 cars. Not so good is that the tape loosened from my windshield after 9 weeks. This cam is heavy and may not have enough surface area of tape to hold it (7/10). On seeing how securely the mount held the cam in position and driving over rough roads I love the magnets.
My initial testing is always done without accessing the manual to see how intuitive the cam's operations are; I will go into that fully later on. The Garmin 57 does have an LCD screen(9/10) with a menu accessible by pushing the 3rd button down, then using the lower button to select from the different menu sections, then using the 2 middle up-or-down buttons to select the parameters with the bottom button saving your selection. It can be intuitive enough, but when you use as many different cams as I do the multiple-menu cams can be frustrating at times without access to a manual (6/10). The range of selections is average to below average; many of the better cams allow more flexibility in setting up the cam exactly as you want (4/10). This cam is meant to primarily be controlled by an app although that isn't absolutely necessary. You will need to answer a couple questions on the cam screen regards placement and vehicle type before use which are needed by it's ADAS features.
I have an Andriod 7 phone and picked up the "GarnminDrive" app at Google play. Once it was installed it would not function; the "next" button at the bottom was grayed out and inoperable. After not getting anywhere with connecting I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Still nothing. I discovered that it's necessary to open a Garmin account to proceed, so I did that and logged in. This app connects through Bluetooth and I had that enabled. After several attempts following the app's on-screen troubleshooting advice it sent me an email with a single-use passcode which got things going. I'm a basic Andriod user and I found setting up the app somewhat frustrating; no other cam's apps have ever required this much work to install and use, and none required that I open an account with the manufacturer either. I think most folks will not have much trouble with this, but if you're like me and not deep into your phone's app function use, you may want to have your kid handy to set things up for you. Once I got the app working it was intuitive and easy to use overall. I do wish they'd offer more cam functionality choices there such as bitrate, exposure metering selection, and a selection of settings for parking mode usage. Loading the app is (3/10) and using it is (5/10)
continued next page
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