Just received Panorama S and have a few questions

[Jaybird]

Hello,

Decided to bite on the Panorama S and having received it today I've begun messing around with it. A few questions...

DOES MY 12V OUTLET STAY ON WHEN CAR IS POWERED OFF?

After unboxing the camera I noticed it will not turn on. Clearly it receives power solely from the 12v outlet. So, I went to my car. I have a 2015 BMW 328i and noticed the following:

car was off and I plugged the 12v adapter in and then to the camera.
The camera turned on (car was off).
Is this normal with the camera, or is it that my 12v adapter is powered without the car being on?

ASSUMING MY CAR 12V IS ON 24/7... I GOT TO THINKING

Essentially a battery discharge prevention hardwire kit is wired between the 12v adapter and the fuse box. So, assuming my 12v adapter is on 24/7, is it possible to wire the battery discharge prevention hardwire kit between the 12v plug in and the plugin to the camera, essentially making the 12v outlet the source of power rather than the fuse box?

CAMERA DOES NOT RECORD?
After turning the camera on, I messed with some options and then found the record button. I hit it and got the time counter and red light on the top left side of screen. I let it record for 20 seconds and then stopped it. I then went to view the file and it said there was none. I tried this again and still could not find a file.

While holding the camera, I rotated it and it "detected shock". This file should have been written and locked, but alas, it could not be found when I went to view video files.

I did not format the SD card because I did not get the "insert SD card" message the manual said will appear assuming the SD card is not formatted. I will format it and see what changes.

CYCLE AND OVERLAP, CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THESE FEATURES?

From the manual it seems as though the CYCLE is how long of a clip is recorded before it is written over, is this correct?

Overlap.. no clue what this is as the manuals broken English wasn't explaining it well LOL.

G-SENSOR LOW - MED - HIGH

Does low mean more sensitivity than high? Meaning, low would notice a smaller impact that high would not notice?

 

[jokiin]

New BMW's are a bit tricky as they have the ability to turn off circuits that are drawing power when they shouldn't be, for a BDP you'd want to wire it directly to the battery rather than the fusebox, that said though you may find that using the cig socket it will power off after a while if there's a load, one of those test and try situations really

Cycle length is how long each chapter is, overlap is just that, will give one or two seconds of overlap at the chapter point, I prefer 0 personally but each to his own

G-Sensor set it at low unless you're overly paranoid and want the slightest of bumps saved

Not sure about your recording question but start by formatting the card in the camera

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Most cars, the cig power is off once the key is removed/engine is off. (but not all cars, some fords and others are hot 24/7) You are better off hard wiring the Panorama to the PANOBDP MotoPark Battery Discharge Prevention kit anyway. (to safely have recording happen 24/7 for pre-buffered motion detection parking mode to be effective) This means you don't have to worry about your built in cig power either.

Recording happens automatically as soon as power is applied. There is no need to press any button The button you hit is most likely the emergency button which locks the current file as your driving. This is how the G-Sensor works on it's own, but you can active the save lock with the triangle icon button.

You need to format the SD card in the Camera at least one time via touch screen menu to get the proper exFAT file system or the camera won't behave.

The G-Sensor is a bit sensitive, so I would set it to low(instead of medium or high, which is too sensitive and will react too often.)

Cycle is the loop recording. I breaks files into chapters like a DVD. Once the card is full the oldest segment will be overwrite by the newest one. This is how any dashcam works. Leave overlap set to 0 that's fine. There is no gap between segments on the Panorama. I'm not sure why it's an option to be honest. Very old cameras had problems with gaps between segments, but no problem on the S

 

[Street Guardian USA]

New BMW's are a bit tricky as they have the ability to turn off circuits that are drawing power when they shouldn't be, for a BDP you'd want to wire it directly to the battery rather than the fusebox, that said though you may find that using the cig socket it will power off after a while if there's a load, one of those test and try situations really

Cycle length is how long each chapter is, overlap is just that, will give one or two seconds of overlap at the chapter point, I prefer 0 personally but each to his own

G-Sensor set it at low unless you're overly paranoid and want the slightest of bumps saved

Not sure about your recording question but start by formatting the card in the camera

Ah yes, I almost forgot newer BMW's can tell when someone messes with power draw, and tapping into the wrong fuses will cause a system error.

 

[Jaybird]

Ah yes, I almost forgot newer BMW's can tell when someone messes with power draw, and tapping into the wrong fuses will cause a system error.

First off, thank you both for your quick and detailed replies. I will format the card and see what changes.

My worry with hardwiring is voiding my warranty. However, assuming I did want to hardwire you are telling me to go straight to the battery? In this case I would not need the 12v adapter, as the camera will be powered by the battery? How does one go about hardwiring to the battery... I know zero, zilch, nadda about mechanics or electrical work haha.

 

[jokiin]

I know zero, zilch, nadda about mechanics or electrical work haha.

go to a good specialist car audio shop (they're much better at dealing with interior trim panels etc) and have them do it, simple job for the right guy

if they had any question they can always get on the phone to Jon @Pier28 for specialist advice

 

[Jaybird]

go to a good specialist car audio shop (they're much better at dealing with interior trim panels etc) and have them do it, simple job for the right guy

if they had any question they can always get on the phone to Jon @Pier28 for specialist advice

Thank you sir, will look for a tech.

 

[Jaybird]

I formatted the SD card and now the recording is saved.

I discovered my car does power the 12v while the car is off, but only for about 5 minutes. As soon as I unlock the door, the Panorama S starts recording.

Everything has been taken care of and I am more than happy with the product and customer service. Thank you Pier 28 and jokiin!

I think I'll go with this setup until I find the need to have it run in parking mode.

 

[niko]

First off, thank you both for your quick and detailed replies. I will format the card and see what changes.

My worry with hardwiring is voiding my warranty. However, assuming I did want to hardwire you are telling me to go straight to the battery? In this case I would not need the 12v adapter, as the camera will be powered by the battery? How does one go about hardwiring to the battery... I know zero, zilch, nadda about mechanics or electrical work haha.

No matter if you hardwire to fuse or in your case directly to car battery, it is still recommended to use a battery discharge prevention device in order not to drain your car battery. This device will turn off power supply to Panorama when lowest selected car battery voltage is reached.

 

[Jaybird]

No matter if you hardwire to fuse or in your case directly to car battery, it is still recommended to use a battery discharge prevention device in order not to drain your car battery. This device will turn off power supply to Panorama when lowest selected car battery voltage is reached.

Good to know. The PANOBDP MotoPark Battery Discharge Prevention kit that Pier28 mentioned will work for hardwiring to the battery?

 

[niko]

Good to know. The PANOBDP MotoPark Battery Discharge Prevention kit that Pier28 mentioned will work for hardwiring to the battery?

Yes, hardwire BDP directly to car battery ( yellow wire to battery positive terminal, black wire to car body, and red to ACC / ignition ).

 

[KvR]

No matter if you hardwire to fuse or in your case directly to car battery, it is still recommended to use a battery discharge prevention device in order not to drain your car battery. This device will turn off power supply to Panorama when lowest selected car battery voltage is reached.

Just to be sure. Can you confirm that it is no problem to connect the panorama directly to the 12V of the car, e.g. with add-a-fuse, and omit the included 12V power adapter? Usually the nominal voltage of a car will be 13.8V. I do not want to toast my Panorama.

 

[niko]

I never said to connect Panorama directly to car battery or "omit" included charger. We were talking about BDP ( battery discharge prevention ) device hardwire connection directly to car battery and only then connecting supplied cigarette charger to BDP device. It is not recommended to do any unusual "home brewed" tricks, which may void a warranty and damage a product.

Just to be sure. Can you confirm that it is no problem to connect the panorama directly to the 12V of the car, e.g. with add-a-fuse, and omit the included 12V power adapter? Usually the nominal voltage of a car will be 13.8V. I do not want to toast my Panorama.

 

[jokiin]

Just to be sure. Can you confirm that it is no problem to connect the panorama directly to the 12V of the car, e.g. with add-a-fuse, and omit the included 12V power adapter? Usually the nominal voltage of a car will be 13.8V. I do not want to toast my Panorama.

they support 24v so your 13.8v (most cars these days run at about 14.5v) is no problem

 

[KvR]

they support 24v so your 13.8v (most cars these days run at about 14.5v) is no problem

I supposed that the power adapter was reducing voltages between 12V and 24V to a flat 12V. But if the camera itself supports 12-24V, a direct connection should be no problem. Of course by considering Niko's warning about voiding warranty.

 

[jokiin]

I supposed that the power adapter was reducing voltages between 12V and 24V to a flat 12V. But if the camera itself supports 12-24V, a direct connection should be no problem. Of course by considering Niko's warning about voiding warranty.

the power adapter is a plug, there's nothing inside other than a resistor if it's one with an LED on it

 

[niko]

I supposed that the power adapter was reducing voltages between 12V and 24V to a flat 12V. But if the camera itself supports 12-24V, a direct connection should be no problem. Of course by considering Niko's warning about voiding warranty.

I agree, usually it "should not be a problem" until you ( may ? ) run into it

Its not my direct words, its what manufacturer warns: if you do some DIY, cut original power charger, modify, connect in some way which is not confirmed by manufacturer or use 3rd party accessories which are bought outside manufacturer or not from official vendors etc. ), this may void warranty. It means - act on your own risk. This is normal warranty related policy worldwide with most electronics.

I know, I am probably one of the biggest "sinner" with all kind of DIY-posts, but in all cases I am acting on my own risk when I go outside of warranty policy.

P.S. original Panorama cigarette lighter charger has also a fuse insides.

 

[jokiin]

P.S. original Panorama cigarette lighter charger has also a fuse insides.

yeah good reminder if wiring to another source that it should be fused, the fuse is there to protect the vehicle, not the device