Goluk T1 Review (Ambarella S2LM, WiFi, capacitor, parking mode)

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Goluk T1 Review (Ambarella S2LM, WiFi, capacitor, parking mode)

Thanks to Goluk/Lockdown Security for supplying this unit.

Product Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01EY1JIUIOfficial website: http://en.goluk.com/pages/t1-overview.html
Price: $129.99USD w/ free shipping
Discount:
10% off code (from Goluk Website)

Review:

Up for review is the Goluk T1 dashcam. Goluk doesn’t appear to be a company with a lot of noise in the dashcam industry yet, with only 2 (soon to be 3) units for the North American market.

The Goluk T1 has a discrete cylindrical design, mounted on the windshield through a slim quick-release mount. The unit is capable of a full 360° rotation. There are no buttons on the unit, only a slot for the microUSB (power) and a microSD card. There are 2 notification LEDs (one for recording status, and one for WiFi status). The unit and mount have a soft touch coating and feels premium all around.

Internally, the Goluk T1 features the Ambarella S2LM chip, along with an Aptina 2MP CMOS sensor. It also features a 152°, f/2.0, 6-layer glass lens with WDR technology. The unit is capable of recording at a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30fps. Of note, the T1 uses a super capacitor for superior heat resistance (working temperature of 10°F to 140°F). The Goluk T1 has standard dashcam functionality including loop recording and auto start/stop. It also has some extras such as parking mode, WiFi and ADAS (not tested). GPS is not an option, unfortunately.

The WiFi feature on the T1 is dual purpose. The MagicKey (wireless remote button) is paired to the unit via WiFi and allows for activation of emergency (aka “wonderful”) recording. More commonly, a smart device can be connected to the T1 for live view, changing settings and online sharing. The Goluk app is a crucial component of the system and you should be using it at least once for a proper initial set up. Here are some of the adjustable parameters from the iOS version (note: Android is also supported).

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Going through the app menu, the settings are relatively self-explanatory. I'll elaborate on some of the more interesting features. First off, the "wonderful" video is triggered by pressing the MagicKey (wireless remote button), which will initiate save of a separate recording (duration of 12 or 30 seconds). The G-sensor also works in a similar manner, saving 8 sec before and 8 sec after (total of 16 seconds) upon shock detection. Note that all these extra video clips are saved separately from the normal driving video recordings. You will have redundancy, which is great imo. You can adjust how much space on the microSD to allocate between normal recording and triggered recording. Loop recording overwrites the oldest files automatically. You can set whether or not you want the videos/images to auto-download to your smart device upon pairing.

The two parking modes are already explained in the app. "Parking security mode" enables a pre-buffered motion detection while parked (recording 8s before and 8s after detection). "Parking sleep mode" powers off the unit when the vehicle is stationary for 20+ minutes. This mode prevents draining of the battery in vehicles that only have constantly powered outlet, even when the ignition is off (ex. Porsche).

I did not test the driver assistance systems as I don't find them reliable nor helpful. The video image auto-flip is a nice touch, especially if you occasionally rotate the unit to the film the interior/rear.

Video quality on the T1 turned out much better than I had initially expected, given the hardware specifications. The videos are relatively sharp, and colors are vivid without being over saturated. Overall, the image quality is quite clear in both daylight and low light conditions. The audio from the built-in microphone is decent as well. If I had to nitpick, the auto white balance might need some tweaking. I noticed a minor yellow tinge when I use HID/LED headlamps that are slightly blue.

Over the last couple years, I have tested over 30+ dashcams. There aren’t a lot of dashcams that I can recommend without reservations but the Goluk T1 looks like a winner to me! The combination unique features, impressive video quality and overall premium design gives me a good feeling about using this unit long term. At US$129.99 from Amazon, with 18 months warranty from the manufacturer, I firmly believe that the Goluk T1 is a great buy. Don’t forget to grab the 10% discount code from the Goluk website.

Some other notable units at this price range: Viofo A119, DDpai Mini2, Mini 0807, and Mini 0826.


Sample Clips:


Screen Shots:

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Images:

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Feature and specifications list:


• Chipset: Ambarella S2LM Professional Graphic Processing Unit
• Aptina 2 megapixel CMOS sensor
• Lens: 152°view angle, 6-layers glass lens, F2.0 aperture
• Video Resolution: 1080FHD 1920×1080/ WVGA 848x480
• File Format: Image: JPG, Mp4
• Goluk App Supports: Smartphone with iOS 7.0 or above and Android 4.0 or above system
• WDR: Wide Dynamic (WDR) Technology
• Power-off File Recovery Function: Supported
• Date Time Mark: Supported
• Memory Card: 16G TF card included, supports up to 64GB TF card. (Recommend class 10 or above.)
• USB: Supported
• Language System: English
• Audio Recording: Support
• Storage Temperature: -5°F to 160°F
• Operating Temperature: 10°F to 140°F

Box contents:

1x Goluk T1 dash camera
1x 3M adhesive windshield mount
1x Wireless remote button (MagicKey)
1x Vehicle power adapter
1x Micro USB power cable (4 Meters)
8x Cable routing clips
3x 3M adhesive pads (1 extra for windshield, 2 for remote)
1x User manual
1x Warranty guide (18 months from Goluk)
1x 16G TF card (from November 13, 2016 onwards)

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is it running hot ?
 
I bought one when was in China.
First, it doesn't have capacitor. It has 200+mA battery. You can see a piece of the battery (don't have a screwdriver now to open more).
photo_2016-12-12_17-39-10.jpg

And finally, their app says it won't work with camera bought in China.
So now I have a piece of garbage.

Won't recommend anyone buying this model from such an assholes.
 
you can choose not to use the app I guess or set it up then uninstall, bigger issue is if it has a battery rather than a capacitor
 
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You can install the application:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lbe.security&hl=ru
and restrict any application as you wish...
View attachment 27895

Many applications use the full access to the phone.
For example all applications from Google...)

Applications do not always work properly when they are restricted either using Android's standard controls or Xprivacy, and I've never seen a legitimate third party application ask for anywhere near this kind of access.

The permissions list from every one of Goluk's competitors I looked at is much more reasonable. Xaiomi, DDpai, Blackvue, Thinkware, Joovuu, and Cobra want a fraction of the permissions that Goluk requires.

There are only two reasons for Goluk to demand these permissions: Either they are lazy and just checked all the permissions boxes instead of determining what they really need, or they intend to use all the information and control they have access to.

Those contemplating the purchase of a Goluk device should be uncomfortable with either possibility.
 
There are only two reasons for Goluk to demand these permissions: Either they are lazy and just checked all the permissions boxes instead of determining what they really need, or they intend to use all the information and control they have access to.

Those contemplating the purchase of a Goluk device should be uncomfortable with either possibility.

I'd be more inclined to think it was laziness/lack of understanding on their behalf
 
And this is not professional at all. Showing how much they care for details and for their customers. Who knows which problems have the firmware if they like to be lazy.
They launched the T2 but I dont know which are the differences from T1.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
And this is not professional at all. Showing how much they care for details and for their customers. Who knows which problems have the firmware if they like to be lazy.
They launched the T2 but I dont know which are the differences from T1.

enjoy,
Mtz

No difference between the T1 I was told from Goluk, besides upcoming firmware changes possibly to differentiate it; but hardware, apparently it's the same. The T3 is coming soon and that have a different sensor I think.
 
I came to test GOLUK T1...
The first impression is positive.
Appearance like things from the premium segment of the market.
The mobile app is translated into Russian. Nicely...
Battery or capacitor? Battery...
IMG_20170125_203314.jpg
From this review it is clear that within the battery:
https://read01.com/ADDjG3.html
Optics adjusted well. Setting a minimum quality of the video.
Not enough exposure compensation settings, sharpness and WDR.
See to the firmware. I have corrected some of the video settings.
There is the effect "watercolor" on video.
The original video clip attached to the description.
 
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RTSP-stream Goluk T1
==================
rtsp://192.168.62.1:554
==================
RTSP-stream Goluk T1.jpg
 
how about parking mode? it is hard to find any info about that. is it reliable? how it looks like? 1fps and when motion/shock is detected it records normal 30fps? because I only saw couple clips, when sensors were triggered and that's bad, especially motion detection on a street. I don't want a screen, I like shape of goluk or ddpai mini2 and extra button. I like 1s timelapse and 3 min recording in ddpai, but I heard it has problems with rebooting, blanks in recordings etc. also ddpai is mounted for good, and it is just not a good idea. thats why I am asking about goluk. video quality is acceptable for me, deal breaker is reliable parking mode.

Falsificator, that "xxx" is great quality. I couldn't ask for more
 
thanks for Your reply. I saw many vids about and made by this dashcam (also in raw). as You know, updates can make changes, that's why I am asking about parking mode. I heard You can turn off that motion trigger now. I have noticed in apk menu under "parking guard" something about 1 photo every 1 second. but I can't see any infos or examples of it. to be honest, I dont feel good with sleep mode and recording only 16 or 30 seconds when shock or motion is detected. I feel more comfortable with continuous 1fps, at least I know about everything when my car was parked, not only xx seconds when there was a movement. also on a busy street motion is all the time so sd card will be full in no time.
 
If I had the firmware, it would be possible to change many firmware settings.
But there is no firmware, download via Telnet is not possible. Access is password-protected.
 
Can I set password for the camera's wifi network? Otherwise, anyone nearby with the app can connect to the camera and erase the video files.
 
Can I set password for the camera's wifi network? Otherwise, anyone nearby with the app can connect to the camera and erase the video files.

Yes, you can change the password. I highly doubt someone would connect to it and know it's a dash cam... And they need the download the app first before they can even access it.
 
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