Is this footage as 'sharp' as it should be?

A

azibux1

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
84
Reaction score
13
Country
United Kingdom
Hi all,

First dashcam and I was wondering, is this quality of footage what I should expect from an 0803? Majority of the time the video can be paused and a number plate can be picked out from the image.

I also angled the camera slightly downwards around half way through the video, I'm still experimenting on which position is better.

Does anyone have any tips please? Also is there any tip for stopping the reflections from the dashboard?

This is shot in the 1296p mode with WDR on, and all other settings left at their deafult.

What do you think? I 'think' it is 'good enough' quality but wanted to get some views from others with an 0803.

http://www.filedropper.com/amba0016

Thanks!
 
I suggest you post a single frame image rather than force people to download and analyse a whole video file - you will get more responses that way. (http://www.registratorviewer.com will save single unmolested frames.)

I keep the WDR turned off.

If you can read the plates then it is doing it's job, it is designed to capture detail in all difficult lighting conditions, not to produce broadcast quality video in studio conditions.
 
Hi,

Okay here's some stills. Click to open in full size



 
Looking at the first image, looks normal to me, turn WDR off and you will get more detail in the grass and fence as it's being lost by the limited video bit rate - make sure you have S-Fine for quality which selects the highest bit rate.

Removing the reflections would produce a clearer image,
Not sure why it hasn't sharpened the plate, normally it's a bit too enthusiastic on the sharpening .
That TV aerial has had an accident! Lesser cameras may not even see the aerial, it's doing OK.
 
Hi,

Thanks Nigel

I'll try turning wdr off and see what happens

Yeah I'd like for the plates to be a bit sharper if possible. Is there anything specific to do, to remove reflections? Or is it just a case of trial and error with positioning of the cam?
 
azibux1 said:
Is there anything specific to do, to remove reflections? Or is it just a case of trial and error with positioning of the cam?
Click to expand...
You can remove them at source by turning your dash matt black, or you can filter them out with a polarizing filter - use the search. If your only using it as an accident camera then it's probably not worth doing anything.
 
There are a few specific things that you should do to reduce reflections and result in a better picture, these are:

1 Make sure that your windscreen is clean, both inside and out. Just removing a small layer of dust will help.

2 Getting the camera as close to the windshield as is possible.

3 Positioning the camera so that you have more ground than sky in the frame. I think yours is aiming a little high. I know that a lot of people don't want to get the car bonnet in the shot but we're not doing photography here.

4 Try covering your dashboard with a non-reflective cover such as a dash mat (dashboard cover) such as pictured here http://www.carid.com/dash-covers.html

There are a number of posts on this topic on this forum that you could look at, and some examples of improvements made.

Cheers.
 
Thanks for the tips all

I'm not really interested in the dashmat idea, but I'll take a look at the others, I will try angling the camera down slightly also and see how it goes :)
 
Reflections from the windshield degrades video quality for any dash cam quite a lot, especially during sunny days. If you find a way to get rid of them, you'll get a much clearer video.

Kelvin
 
Hmm yeah it is quite annoying, but like you say it's probably a common issue with many dashcams
 
Another option to remove glares/reflections would be to fit a CPL filter on the Mini 0803. You'll be able to find some guides in the Mini 0801 section.

Kelvin
 
I had pretty bad reflections and by adjusting the camera down just one click helped a lot. Still not all gone but much better.
I'm not sure if it's going to work or not, but I purchased this polarizing filter to test out. It's a little big but I wanted to make sure it didn't vignette the lens.
 
I saw the filter idea but it seemed like a lot of work from that guide, building a base / mount from a 3d printer etc

I also saw one interesting one with the lens of some 3d cinema glasses which I may try though
 
You don't have to go all the way and print something from a 3d printer. I think all you need is be a little creative with mounting it in front of the Mini 0803's lens. I haven't tried it myself though.

Kelvin
 
Hmm might look into it then

I assume it cannot be (temporarily) just stuck directly to the outer casing of the lens?

Does it have to be a certain distance away?

I'll do some reading up about it
 
I would look through the forum for threads on it to see what issues people ran into and how they fixed them. There are a few.

Kelvin
 
Last edited:
azibux1 said:
Hmm might look into it then

I assume it cannot be (temporarily) just stuck directly to the outer casing of the lens?

Does it have to be a certain distance away?

I'll do some reading up about it
Click to expand...
A polarizing filter does not focus light so you can have it at any distance, however you will need it as close as possible to stop the wide angle lens being able to see the edges of the filter.

The case isn't flat so isn't a good base for attaching anything. I got a piece of 1/2 mm thick aluminium sheet, cut out a circle using scissors, drilled a hole 1mm smaller diameter than the 0803 lens barrel. then used a ball head hammer to knock the edges of the hole forwards until it could just slide on to the lens barrel, with it being a tight fit, once you slide it on then it locks in place and gives a stable, flat mount for filters etc. I then glued on a standard 46mm camera thread adaptor so that I could screw a CPL filter I already had on and off the camera, others use a magnetic mount for magnetic filters.

mr_milo said:
I had pretty bad reflections and by adjusting the camera down just one click helped a lot. Still not all gone but much better.
I'm not sure if it's going to work or not, but I purchased this polarizing filter to test out. It's a little big but I wanted to make sure it didn't vignette the lens.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that is big enough? Even on my 46mm filter I filed a bit off the front! Although I didn't get it quite as close as it could be.

You don't actually need a circular polariser filter, a simple vertical polariser filter (or 3D glasses) will work just as well, if you do fit a circular one then it needs to be adjusted to vertical - place mark at the top, it will never need adjusting.
 
Last edited:
We'll see how / if it works when I get it. I measure the size and it seems that it will fit on the flat surface around the lens. The description seemed to indicate it has a double stick tape that holds it in place. So as long as I got the size right and the lens in far enough from the mounting edge, I think I'll be able to just stick it to the body and then adjust it. Fingers crossed. ;)
 
Thanks for all the info everyone

mr_milo please update here when you receive that and let us know if it works :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top