is my v3 focusing on hood?

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N.T.

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It looks like my hood has the best focus of the screenshot.
Example: img

If I point it upward a bit the sky will take up a lot of space.

If I point it downward a bit I am recording all my hood and reflection.
Example: img2
It is bright Sunny day and I can only see the plate in front of me when stopped.

Is my dashcam defective?
 
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Photo example please
 
Ah, thanks

I'm sure that wasn't there when I first looked.

Yes, that doesn't look right, that car number plate at that distance should be pin sharp.

Here is a quick example of mine at low speed :

uLp7hxI.jpg

s5zSqjW.jpg
 
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The plate reading sweet spot are pretty small and close, it is a unfortunate side effect of using the wide angle lens on dashcams.
I dont think there is anything wrong with your camera, and it is for sure not focusing on your hood as they are not auto focus cameras but rather fixed focus.
Also hard to compare larger more readable EU / former EU plates VS American plates which seem to be designed to not be easy readable.
 
Kremmen said:
Ah, thanks

I'm sure that wasn't there when I first looked.

Yes, that doesn't look right, that car number plate at that distance should be pin sharp.

Here is a quick example of mine at low speed :
Click to expand...
We have implemented the 2880*2160P 30FPS on V2.5 version.
 
kamkar said:
The plate reading sweet spot are pretty small and close, it is a unfortunate side effect of using the wide angle lens on dashcams.
I dont think there is anything wrong with your camera, and it is for sure not focusing on your hood as they are not auto focus cameras but rather fixed focus.
Also hard to compare larger more readable EU / former EU plates VS American plates which seem to be designed to not be easy readable.
Click to expand...
which position should I keep?
The first pic or the second?
 
in my car i have a couple of inched of the dash in the footage too, but almost no hood as my car is a small snub nosed one so the hood dive off downwards almost from the windscreen.
cam.jpg

It do not matter much with the sensors of today, in the old days you have to be more mindful about the alignment.
PS. This camera are offset a lot and almost in front of the driver position, hence why you can see more dash in the lower right corner, the central placed cam is aligned and seeing more of the windscreen vent.
 
My car too has a short sloping bonnet so only shows the dash and the road.

Screen shot.jpg
 
That camera is also aimed very high, the general recommendation is a 50/50 split at the horizon, your aim are more like 70-30
 
I was going to post the same. I reckon once clicked down a notch the footage would brighten up, that does look a tad dark.
 
As a photographer, I am happy with the saturation in the video. This is another image from the same journey and to my eye it is good. And one-click further down shows a vast expanse of the dashboard.
vlcsnap-2021-10-23-20h37m44s534.jpg
 
N.T. said:
It looks like my hood has the best focus of the screenshot.
Example: img

If I point it upward a bit the sky will take up a lot of space.

If I point it downward a bit I am recording all my hood and reflection.
Example: img2
It is bright Sunny day and I can only see the plate in front of me when stopped.

Is my dashcam defective?
Click to expand...
Welcome, @N.T.
What is the vehicle the dash cam is in?
Your vehicle looks like it might be a F150 type of size ie windscreen is higher than a sedan size car, is that right?

I ask because if correct then I image pointing the dash cam lens lower will only see more bonnet.

If that’s true then a work around would be to Mount the dash cam as high as you can on the windshield. Then you could aim it lower with lower bonnet in shot hopefully which would give you the sweet spot on the road rather than the bonnet.

Another member mentioned in another thread changing the resolution cam also change the sweet spot.
I’ll find the post and post it here.

Cheers
 
As an aside I view my video and still images on a large monitor set up for photo editing.
 
JockoT said:
As a photographer, I am happy with the saturation in the video. This is another image from the same journey and to my eye it is good. And one-click further down shows a vast expanse of the dashboard.
View attachment 58762
Click to expand...
It will be interesting to see your results when driving into afternoon summer Sun.
 
LateralNW said:
It will be interesting to see your results when driving into afternoon summer Sun.
Click to expand...
@JockoT
However I just noticed where you live so my last post may not apply so much :)
 
The big problem here is the winter sun when it is straight into your eyes most of the time.
 
JockoT said:
As a photographer, I am happy with the saturation in the video. This is another image from the same journey and to my eye it is good. And one-click further down shows a vast expanse of the dashboard.
Click to expand...

As a fellow photographer (professionally) I can understand the appeal of a more saturated image but this is a dash cam in the service of capturing evidence, not pictorial photography. So, I too would recommend that you tilt the lens orientation down one or two clicks. You don't want or need that much sky in your image as it is not providing the optimal exposure metering for good dash cam footage. Also, if you should have the misfortune of being in an accident having more of your dashboard and if possible, some portion of the front of your vehicle in the field of view will capture the point of impact which can be helpful for law enforcement and insurance purposes.
 
My suggestion, given the good light levels, is to notch it down one click and try letterbox mode to reduce excessive dash
 
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