GitUp F1: any good for dash cam use?

[dirkzelf]

I re-checked everything after re-installing MOD#1.5. It really is rather dark in low light, more so than I remember.

Anyway, I think a better comparison will be the F1 on GitUp FW V1.2, and the F1C on its standard firmware.

I'll be back in a bit....

here's what I mean:

 

[Dashmellow]

@Dashmellow you must have a drawer full, or two?

I do!

But my ex-wife is in a 55 gallon steel drum out in the barn, behind some boxes and my current girlfriend is supportive of my many hobbies, as I am of hers.

 

[TonyM]

OK - I'm back from a midnight test run, with the following camera settings:

F1C - FW V1.2 (slightly different to F1 firmware) - 4K30 - 60Mbps
F1 - FW V1.2 - 4K30 - 60Mbps

You can tell the F1C from the F1 by looking at the FOV, 130deg vs 160deg.
Stationary at lights

70mph on unlit road

Approaching junction @ 15mph

Petrol Station

The exposure on both cameras is about the same. The F1 has more colour noise than the F1C. The exposure duration and amount of motion blur seems to be the same, which explains why the F1C with a faster F1.8 lens (vs F2.8 on the F1) applies less gain for the same exposure, hence less noise.

By comparison, the A129 Pro with same sensor & lens as the F1C, but a Novatek processor, delivers better dynamic range and less noise, and similar motion blur.
NOTE: The A129 Pro is set to EV-2/3.

Spoiler: A129 Pro Comparison Video Frames

 

[TonyM]

You can find modified firmware for the F1 by @Falsificator here:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/f1-firmware.31818/post-438581

 

[dirkzelf]

OK - I'm back from a midnight test run, with the following camera settings:

F1C - FW V1.2 (slightly different to F1 firmware) - 4K30 - 60Mbps
F1 - FW V1.2 - 4K30 - 60Mbps

You can tell the F1C from the F1 by looking at the FOV, 130deg vs 160deg.
Stationary at lights

70mph on unlit road

Approaching junction @ 15mph

Petrol Station

The exposure on both cameras is about the same. The F1 has more colour noise than the F1C. The exposure duration and amount of motion blur seems to be the same, which explains why the F1C with a faster F1.8 lens (vs F2.8 on the F1) applies less gain for the same exposure, hence less noise.

By comparison, the A129 Pro with same sensor & lens as the F1C, but a Novatek processor, delivers better dynamic range and less noise, and similar motion blur.
NOTE: The A129 Pro is set to EV-2/3.

Spoiler: A129 Pro Comparison Video Frames

Forgive me for being critical, but I don't see a hell of a difference on these, just that the color noise is little less on the F1C?

Anyway,im going in with this first:



Then if no satisfaction, I can Swap for the F1.8 from my Viofo A119S, and then after all that I might give the fw mod a go.

Wish me luck, tonight we'll know....

 

[dirkzelf]

OK, here we go, watch and judge for yourself.

And for the heck of it: yours truly at work.... Me likes it.

NOTE: Don't forget it had been raining and wet roads alway reflect more light than dry roads!

 

[dirkzelf]

getting the F1.2 lens in focus indeed is a pain, but this is the best I get:



My 3 year old phone does that better (also on 4K)



Is that to be expected??

 

[Nigel]

getting the F1.2 lens in focus indeed is a pain, but this is the best I get:

View attachment 49926

My 3 year old phone does that better (also on 4K)

View attachment 49925

Is that to be expected??

Normally phones have a much narrower field of view that gives them a big advantage. (If they happen to be pointing in the correct direction, a big disadvantage otherwise!)

 

[TonyM]

getting the F1.2 lens in focus indeed is a pain, but this is the best I get:

View attachment 49926

My 3 year old phone does that better (also on 4K)

View attachment 49925

Is that to be expected??

I also found the 4mm F1.2 to be very difficult to focus accurately on the GitUp F1, especially to the sides and corners. Note that the lens is only rated at 3MP, so it may not have sufficient resolving power for the 8MP sensor.

The brighter image at night is a decent improvement. How does it perform during the day?

 

[dirkzelf]

Note that the lens is only rated at 3MP, so it may not have sufficient resolving power for the 8MP sensor.

I thought it might have to be something like that too. Are there any other F1.2 or similar aperture M12 lenses we know of that we can try?

What about the F1.8 from the Viofo A119S? Is that a worthy contender? I have one lying around since my A119S has the same F1.2 lense screwed on.

The brighter image at night is a decent improvement. How does it perform during the day?

Pretty good I'd say, but not sharp enough in the lower left corner, here are a few clips from yesterday moning.

I tried getting sharper image after these clips, will see how that goes today, but yes, in daylight there clearly is room for improvement.

 

[dirkzelf]

I've tried Viofo A119S lens (F1.8) too, not much diffrence in sharpnes/noise levels about same as F1.2 lens.



Lot's of noise, unsharp, maybe with a little left and right turning it could be a little better, but I'm afraid it won't be usable.


So, I think I indeed should use a real 4K / 8mp lens. The original Gitup F1 lens is a 4K I presume...:



Nevertheless, I believe the F1 is not really suited for dashcam use, I believe some remarks about that were made somewhere on this site already.

SO: Any tips on what 4K / 8MP (or12!) lens to try?

I found these so far:

4K Lens 8Megapixel Fixed M12 Lens 4.5mm 105 Degree 1/1.8 inch For OS08A10/IMX226 | eBay

4K Lens 8Megapixel Fixed M12 Lens 4.5mm 105 Degree 1/1.8 inch For OS08A10/IMX226 | Home & Garden, Home Security, Other Home Security | eBay!

www.ebay.nl

4K Lens With IR Filter 8Megapixel Fixed M12 1/2.5 inch 4mm For SONY IMX317/IMX17 | eBay

4K Lens With IR Filter 8Megapixel Fixed M12 1/2.5 inch 4mm For SONY IMX317/IMX17 | Electronics, Smart Home & Surveillance, Home Surveillance | eBay!

www.ebay.nl

4K Lens 12Megapixel M12 1 1 7 3 2mm 136 Degree for SJCAM Xiaomi Yi Gopro Hero | eBay

Vind fantastische aanbiedingen voor 4K Lens 12Megapixel M12 1 1 7 3 2mm 136 Degree for SJCAM Xiaomi Yi Gopro Hero. Winkel met vertrouwen.

www.ebay.nl

 

[TonyM]

So, I think I indeed should use a real 4K / 8mp lens. The original Gitup F1 lens is a 4K I presume...:

Nevertheless, I believe the F1 is not really suited for dashcam use, I believe some remarks about that were made somewhere on this site already.

SO: Any tips on what 4K / 8MP (or12!) lens to try?

I found these so far:

4K Lens 8Megapixel Fixed M12 Lens 4.5mm 105 Degree 1/1.8 inch For OS08A10/IMX226 | eBay

4K Lens 8Megapixel Fixed M12 Lens 4.5mm 105 Degree 1/1.8 inch For OS08A10/IMX226 | Home & Garden, Home Security, Other Home Security | eBay!

www.ebay.nl

4K Lens With IR Filter 8Megapixel Fixed M12 1/2.5 inch 4mm For SONY IMX317/IMX17 | eBay

4K Lens With IR Filter 8Megapixel Fixed M12 1/2.5 inch 4mm For SONY IMX317/IMX17 | Electronics, Smart Home & Surveillance, Home Surveillance | eBay!

www.ebay.nl

4K Lens 12Megapixel M12 1 1 7 3 2mm 136 Degree for SJCAM Xiaomi Yi Gopro Hero | eBay

Vind fantastische aanbiedingen voor 4K Lens 12Megapixel M12 1 1 7 3 2mm 136 Degree for SJCAM Xiaomi Yi Gopro Hero. Winkel met vertrouwen.

www.ebay.nl

So, you think it's not really suited to dashcam use, but you're still trying to make it work...?!

Those lenses are all F2.0. I've tried the one in the middle - it's kind of OK: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/gitup-f1-4k-with-100°-f2-0-lens.33322/

The best non-GitUp lens I've used on the F1 (for dashcam use) has been the F1.6 130deg lens from the A129. I would use that combination, or the F1C, but the overall performance of the A129 Pro is so much better for dashcam purposes that I see no reason to run both at the same time.

 

[dirkzelf]

Yeah, I'm kinda like a bulldog, it's GOTTA work.... But truth is, I think it should do what is meant for, make nice video's from our motorcycle trip to Denmark next year....!

Smørgasbrod here we come!!

 

[dirkzelf]

I've been screwing back in the original lens, and recording some more day and night stuf, and noticed:

- audio seriously out of sync

- @ 24, 25, 50 and even 100 fps I get sort of bright night recordings, but @ 60 and 120 (in any setting, PAL, NTSC, 50 or 60hz) almost pitch black recording...

- even in SuperFine (68MB/s!) setting it's very grainy/noisy in the dark hours.

- I'm not really impressed with the daytime recording either

Did I bought me some lemon....?!?!

And I gotta ask, what does G-sensor do at all??

Here's what happens with F1.4 lens (6MP according to YUMIKI, YUKIMI??)

 

[dirkzelf]

OK, I had a little ride out, and put the Mobius Mini and the F1 (with F1.4 lens) on the Beamer, judge for yourself, but I'd be interested in what you think about it. (Sorry for the times are off sync... but it is the exact same moment)




I've put back the original F1 lens, and will do that again later against the Mini as well.

 

[TonyM]

I think the F1 works best at its native 4K resolution. I was never really happy with its 1080p output.

 

[dirkzelf]

I just couldn't wait another 2 months, and since we don't get a real winter anymore (fingers crossed...), I picked up my R6 today, fitted the F1 with standard lens and after viewing it, I concluded this is how it should be, make nice clips in 4K, unfortunately Moviemaker does no 4K.... sorry.

Here's a night clip, my friend took it for a go about:

That's just good stuf....

 

[kamkar]

Thats a nice crotch rocket that R6, i would not mind to try one of those ( on a track as i will not be driving nice ) + motorcycle are just about the one thing i am not licensed to drive, but i am pretty sure i could drive a lot better than a lot of licensed Danish motorcyclists.
And TBH i don't understand why you should have a dedicated motorcycle license, the traffic rules are the same as for cars, so it is only handling of the vehicle, and that should be fine with a driving course if you already have a driving license for car.

 

[Nigel]

That's just good stuf....

The Gitup F1 in standard format is more a movie camera than a dash camera, it will make you some nice holiday movies, don't worry too much about its imperfections as a dashcam, dashcams do not make the best movie cameras!

Also it is the shortest, darkest day of the year now, it will look much better when the light returns.

 

[Nigel]

And TBH i don't understand why you should have a dedicated motorcycle license, the traffic rules are the same as for cars, so it is only handling of the vehicle, and that should be fine with a driving course if you already have a driving license for car.

The UK tightened up all its motorcycle licensing laws about 20 years ago due to car drivers jumping onto very powerful motorbikes without having any experience of such machines and then very quickly killing themselves. It might not seem logical that you need a different licence, but the behaviour of those motorcyclists was not logical!