Hyped Reviews on the X2 Pro

hometechnc

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Location
Cary,NC
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Mobius, Panorama II/S, FineVu CR-500HD
I purchased a Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO Cam from Amazon ($199), a few weeks ago, based on the Claim here at Dashcamtalk, that it is one of the "Best Cameras Available Today", with such good Video Quality!
Total BullHockey! I mounted the X2 on the opposite side of my review mirror, of a newly acquired VAVA 1080p @60fps cam, with built-in GPS ($99), and the X2 Video is only marginally better than that of the VAVA. And neither one of them come close to the video quality of the older-model Mobius Action Cam, which unfortunately is not available with GPS. I thought that the Dashcam Reivews on this website were supposed to be unbiased?
 
you'll get better results overall at 1080p30 right now, we're just working on some firmware changes for 1080p60 at the moment
 
Ok; it will be interesting to compare the older Mobius ( 1080p30 ), with those settings on the X2. Will also set up the VAVA @30fps, and compare that as well.
Just kind of dissappointed... my Mobius cams are 4+ years old, and I would have thought that video quality would be making big steps up.
 
...And neither one of them come close to the video quality of the older-model Mobius Action Cam...
That should certainly be true at night, they will be far better than the Mobius!
 
Ok; it will be interesting to compare the older Mobius ( 1080p30 ), with those settings on the X2. Will also set up the VAVA @30fps, and compare that as well.
Just kind of dissappointed... my Mobius cams are 4+ years old, and I would have thought that video quality would be making big steps up.

side by side testing is the only way, files recorded at some other time are no use as the conditions will always change the result, you'll find times when any camera can show an advantage as some point when the conditions are just right, the hard part is getting a balance that can work under a wider range of conditions
 
Yes the default of 30fps is best. The current 60fps option won't give you the same quality as 30fps in the current firmware. An update is coming soon for 60fps IQ adjustments.
FYI: You can only use 30fps/30fps if you attach the optional SGR323CAM/SGR291 rear camera as well.
 
I purchased a Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO Cam from Amazon ($199), a few weeks ago, based on the Claim here at Dashcamtalk, that it is one of the "Best Cameras Available Today", with such good Video Quality!
Total BullHockey! I mounted the X2 on the opposite side of my review mirror, of a newly acquired VAVA 1080p @60fps cam, with built-in GPS ($99), and the X2 Video is only marginally better than that of the VAVA. And neither one of them come close to the video quality of the older-model Mobius Action Cam, which unfortunately is not available with GPS. I thought that the Dashcam Reivews on this website were supposed to be unbiased?

Any chance of posting some comparison footage? I just watched some night footage of the SGGCX2PRO on another forum and it certainly looked better than my own SG9665GC.
 
I think what is hyped the most with SG are their customer care and support, and rightfully so, i cant say their footage are substantially better than other good cameras with the same resolution / hardware.
And i also think SG know that, so they are making a difference where they can, and thats on support and care where many other brands are in the other side of the spectrum SG are in.
Don't get me wrong there are other brands that do cameras with the same hardware ( SOC and image sensor ) and their cameras do lag in image quality as they roll with the stock firmware or don't do as well tuning image quality.
I cant even tell how many IQ related updates my old GC model have gotten over time, but its a lot, and there are still some that would argue thats still not good enough.
But IMO its a lot more than what so many other brands do, and i respect that.

If you come from a camera with garbage / bad footage, then it will be a significant lift going to a SG camera, and you might get hyped over that.
If you have been used to a good camera, and change to a SG one the lift in IQ will be less obvious.
I changed from a Lukas LK-7500 to the SG9665GC back in the day, and the GC took some getting used to as i was acustomed to look at the lukas footage which have sharpness and contrast a lot higher, so the soft neutral image of the GC was a little strange at first.
 
I used a Mobius 1 for years as my only dashcam. In ideal (daytime) conditions it recorded excellent quality video. But it had a number of limitations that had me looking elsewhere.

Eventually I chose the SG9665GC. It came with a CPL. It had a screen for setup and review. It could 'see' more at night. It had a g-sensor, a capacitor, and GPS. It was a proper dashcam.

Side by side, I think the older Mobius 1 recorded better quality video in good conditions. But I drive in all conditions, day and night, into the low sun etc. The GC was the better all-round camera for me.

I now have an A129 which has similar specifications to the SGGCX2PRO. The IMX291 is a more versatile day&night sensor that performs well in a dashcam environment. I still think the Mobius 1 video looks more appealing and I'm using one as a secondary camera, but if I had just one in the car it wouldn't be the Mobius.
 
Any chance of posting some comparison footage? I just watched some night footage of the SGGCX2PRO on another forum and it certainly looked better than my own SG9665GC.
as it should, testing really needs to be side by side to make a comparison but night video will be obvious enough that the difference will still be noticeable
 
Side by side, I think the older Mobius 1 recorded better quality video in good conditions. But I drive in all conditions, day and night, into the low sun etc. The GC was the better all-round camera for me.
getting that all round balance is harder than people understand
 
Even as good as the old Mobius is daytime, it's not a night-time cam and if I had only one cam I'd chose nearly any IMX 323 or better cam in it's place just because those will 'see' more than dim shapes at night like the Mobius does. If I never drove at night I could be happy with just a Mobius.

Where I park my workvan at home, the front cam performs 'security duty' for the driveway and yard. There's a small motion-sensing solar powered light in the area. With that light on at night, Mobius could see something of light or dark clothing and a person's height and build at 6m (20ft) distance, but no more. Compare that to a cheap G1W/S (not recommended) or B1W with the IMX 323 which could see some facial details, far more clothing details, and even shoe type. Daytime both were good enough to identify anyone at that distance with Mobius having far more detail. Cams with better sensors like the IMX291 up the game considerably both day and night.

The biggest recent gains seem to be in night-time capability, and if you had a really good AR0330 or OV4689 cam before, you might not see a lot of improvement daytime but you'll see lots of difference at night. If you had an IMX291 cam already, any improvement could be slight. SG's advantage is that they comtinue to strive for improvements for the entire lifetime of the cam- firmware upgrades never stop- and they are by miles the best for after-sales support and service to be found anywhere.

Short of seeing raw videos, it's nearly impossible to say what your cam is doing and if anything seems as if it's not what it should be. That must be the first step to take here or with any cam where IQ is in question. Mega.nz is a free file-sharing site and the one I use for this but there are others. Post some vid files there under various lighting conditions, give us the links, and then maybe we can help.

Phil
 
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