K2S Dual-Remote

SawMaster

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Here's some unboxing pics of the K2S cam which was supplied to me free for beta-testing and review. Full review to follow shortly.
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Box- Top Contents- Contents 1- Contents2 - Cam- GPS- Clip Mount-
SD card sideP1270025.JPG
 
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This review will be a work in progress so be patient please. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them for you. ATM this cam is in Beta testing so what I post here will reflect any changes made in later units as they occur.

First the install. It was fairly easy but as with any dual-remote cam there are lots of cables to contend with. The one's you'll probably use with this can are all on the left side, and there is a cable retainer which can be added there to prevent them from pulling out. The MicroSD card is on the right and is rather deeply recessed meaning most folks will need something like a small stick to insert and eject the card. It was done this way so that the manual on-off-auto switch prevents the card from being lost when the cam is on, as it covers that port slightly. I didn't really have any problems with personally. The main unit mounts into a clip which can be screwed down, affixed with the supplied 3M tape, or held by a 'pocket clip' which can be oriented vertically or horizontally. The main unit pops in and out of the clip easily, but is held firmly in use with 2 'nubs' which engage slots. It seems firm enough to last. And though I didn't use it, this cam comes with a magnetic 'ball joint' type mount for the cam clip. The base is magnetic with the ball having a 3M tape mounting. It swivels in any direction over about a 160 degree range so that you can adjust the screen viewing angle however you like it. You can separate the ball from the mount should you need to move the screen. I imagine this mount could also be used with one of the cams if you desired, and there's a supplied 3M tape for the plate if there's no metal to stick it to. There is also a 1/4-20 standard tripod thread socket on the main unit giving you 5 different ways to mount it.

The came comes with an OBD2 PS adapter as well as the usual cigarette-lighter type. Note well that you must use only these power supplies and no others as the audio amp can be damaged if there is any connection between the cable's shield and the car ground through the power supply! I used my DMM to check the Anker PS I wanted to use and found a 4ohm connection to ground from shield, so I'm pretty sure most other PS's and hardwire kits will be similar. I also found the ciggie adaptor body too short to make contact in both my triple-tap socket and my van's factory ciggie lighter socket. My old bus is OBD1 so I couldn't test that unit, but it seems to be working for other testers. I do expect there will be some changes here with production models and I will edit and amend this paragraph if needed to reflect those. It is necessary to use the OBD2 PS for parking modes. With most cars, using it will also allow you to display a virtual gauge cluster showing Speed (MPH or KPH), engine RPM's, and throttle position as well as the car's battery voltage.

For me, the main attraction of this dashcam is it's remote cam modules. These things are tiny compared to all others and can be mounted in cars where no other cams will easily fit. They mount with 3M tape, and extra tapes are supplied. The cable exits from the left side of the module as viewed from it's back and if these have any drawbacks that might be it, as the cable will need some space to bend if placed in a narrow location. The cams can be 'rotated 180 degrees' individually in the menu, and the image is 'reversible' left to right as you'd need with a backing-cam. There is also no lateral adjustability with these. Future plans include optional waterproof, illuminated IR, and waterproof reversing cam modules which will make this as versatile a dashcam as has ever been made. These are connected with USB-C type cables, and the cam comes with 2x 2m cables, 1x 4m cable, and 1x 6m cable. I was amazed to find that I had cable left over from the rear of my extended-body workvan to the sun visor where the main unit is temporarily mounted. I cannot envision anyone needing to purchase any more cables to install these in any vehicle as you must do with some other cams.

Also supplied is a thin 'puck' style GPS module which can be attached to glass or the dash to with supplied 3M tape. It has a blue LED power indicator around the circumference which can be switched off in the menu, same as all other indicator lights with this cam. The owner's manual is in English, easy to understand, and with many full-color pics and line drawings which cover everything very well. The printing is rather small for my old eyes, but that is the case with most dashcam manuals now. There are a huge number of functions with this cam which can be selected via the menu. Rather than list everything this cam can do I'll mention the one thing is doesn't- there is no buffered parking mode here, and most parking modes require a hardwire kit to function, but this cam does about anything else you'll find in any dashcam. And there's more than usual adjustability of video settings as well. Audio recording and speaker sound are good, and so far the images are too. I'll add clips later on once I update the firmware. The menu layout is simple enough and easily worked with, but with all the available settings and options can feel overwhelming for a newbie. I'll dig into those later on, but the default settings were close to my liking so I had little to do there before using the cam.

I have often said there was no perfect dashcam and never would be, but this one is as close to that as any I have ever known of in my 5 years of using and studying dashcams. The only things I can see which might be wanted is higher resolution (which is not all you'd expect from it) and a buffered parking mode (which only a few cams have). It still needs some testing and development, but everything I see so far indicates that what it needs is do-able so hopefully it will be available to everyone soon.
 
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Here's some vids during beta-testing using extreme bitrate and default exposure. My ancient windshield is wiper-scratched and sand-pitted so keep that in mind when viewing.


 
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Here's some vids during beta-testing using extreme bitrate and default exposure. My ancient windshield is wiper-scratched and sand-pitted so keep that in mind when viewing.

K2S front K2S rear

it will be easier for readers if you insert the media here instead of links
 
Here's some vids during beta-testing using extreme bitrate and default exposure. My ancient windshield is wiper-scratched and sand-pitted so keep that in mind when viewing.

K2S front K2S rear
Just noticed some cars in your video have no front number plates. Are they optional in your area?
 
In my State only rear plates are issued. This is why I feel a rear cam needs to be as good as a front cam so it can identify a driver's face. With the K2S, both cams are equally good :)

Phil
 
Any idea how much this will cost, and when it will be released?
 
Update:

I've been using this cam for 19 months now and it has proven to be almost completely reliable as far as recording. Of recent times I did notice last week that it hadn't been starting up or recording every time when I went to review the card. I do note that I hadn't bothered to look at the vids or format the card in a few months prior to this, which I feel shiould be done monthly with any cam. On checking the 64GB Samsung EVO Select card with h2testw and formatting it on PC and in cam it now functions with complete reliability again including overwriting old files. I can't really fault the cam for this; every cam and card needs regular maintenance and if this cam gets that it is utterly reliable :cool:

I have discovered an odd issue which has occurred 4 times now: Without user input it loses the settings I programmed from the menu and reverts to default settings. I have been unable to detect any pattern to this occurring and it's done this with 3 different cards (all were the same type as above with 2 being 64GB and also one being 128GB). Being that I normally can't see the cam while driving, I became aware of the issue when the "speed alert" function started beeping while driving after I had it turned off (having audible warnings is nice!). No recordings were ever lost and the G-sensor still functioned properly so I do not feel that this is a serious flaw, nor am I able to find anyone else who has experienced anything similar.

So in summary I can say without reservation that if you are in the market for a dual remote cam, then the K2S is a most excellent choice due to it's reliability, it's very small remote cam modules, it's super-long included cam cables, it's ability to withstand high heats without shutdowns, and it's good night-time vids from the IMX323 sensors :love: You do need to keep in mind that you can't use just any PS with it, as many are grounded to the shield connection which can destroy this cam, but as it comes with a proper ciggie lighter adapter and a OBD2 type PS (which you do need to use the parking modes) I do not see this as any real shortcoming. I feel totally safe in recommending this cam to anyone needing what it has to offer. The perfect cam has never been made but this one comes close (y)

Though I haven't tried it I would also urge you consider the newer K2S Pro which is essentially the same device but with the better IMX291 Starvis sensors which offers better vid quality day and night.

Phil
 
@SawMaster

So got my new K2S Cams I decided to do a compare between my K2S vs K2S Pro looks like a quality issue with the new Cam if you look at the sky on the new cam you can see these black dots.

Will probably keep the old Cams for my side windows. not happy with the new cams


 
Not sure if it will help but you could aim the lens downward a few degrees. Looking at the vid in 1080p on YT isn't as impressive as I would have expected; almost as if there's too much gain. Stopping to look at plates and signs gave a decent view of many of them but the running video wasn't showing similar quality. Rather severe dash reflections too. I didn't see the dots you mentioned. One showed early on to the mid-upper left but given the reflections I couldn't tell it's origin. Most IMX291 cams look better than this.

Is there any updated FW for this one?

Phil
 
@SawMaster
In the process of removing the cams out of the car, however if you are interested I'm happy to send cams over to you no charge, you will do a much better job of using and testing etc I'm getting everything ready for the SG I'm going to keep the standard cams for the side windows.

on the new Cam, if you look at the clouds you can see thats black dots if you zoom into the picture you can see it.
 

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The sky do look strange, i just assumed it was a side effect of youtube doing its thing.
 
nope, the funny dots is on the original raw video, its not a big issue for me, like I said staying with the original cams for side windows. Maybe its a quality issue again with Camdii however I do have 2 working K2S units with original cams which work, so not a problem I brought these pro cams to see if there was a big difference between the 2 models.
 
I appreciate your very kind offer but I'm loaded with cams and have no immediate use for another. I suggest you gift the K2S Pro to someone you know who can use the system. I'm probably going to be doing that myself- hate to see a usable cam go unused.

I saw the dots in your pic once enlarged, and I noticed a blob of distortion which could either be car glass (unlikely unless aftermarket tinted), low-quality cam lens (?), or excessive gain in the FW. If the latter it could be fixed easy enough but not by the consumer- that needs to be done by the factory. Or possibly could be done by one of the FW modders especially if it's a Novatek processor.

Sorry it didn't work out for you, the K2S original was very good for it's time and still not bad if you got a good unit which some folks didn't. Not using mine ATM but it's going back in with a permanent install for rear side-cams which is going to take a lot of work to get done with so much stuff in the way. I wouldn't even consider that if I weren't sure the cam was up to the job.

Phil
 
My little sister are looking to get a car again, i am ready to hook her up with a system. :)

Have you tries to swap the 2 cameras around on that system, just to see what happen ?
 
My little sister are looking to get a car again, i am ready to hook her up with a system. :)

Have you tries to swap the 2 cameras around on that system, just to see what happen ?
@kamkar

Actually i do have a spare dashcam if you want it no cost. I am going to install a dashcam for the misses,. Not sure if i am going to use the spare k2s or the blackvue 900s. Which ever unit i use. You can have the other dashcam. Blackvue 900s was in my last car, i'm going for the remote dvr stealth install.

Can't be bothered to sell it and all that hassle. funny enough i know if I was to gift it to family or friends they will try to get me to do the install and to be honest i don't want to do anymore additional installs.

So if you are interested let me know.

Regarding the k2s pro cams I've packed them up in a jiffy bag, getting the car ready for the street guardian install.


As i have already 2 good K2S units with cams that works, so pretty happy with the Dashcam, however only issue as you can see from cams I have pretty bad dashboard reflection. so the SG with CPL filter will remove most of the problem.


Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
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THX but i got plenty cameras too, even if i also have to put my old SG9663DC in my friends car some time during the spring.
And my sister have not pulled the trigger on a car just yet, but after crashing on her e_bicycle 3 times on her way to work some weeks ago, and bending a couple of ribs and so had to take some time off, she realized for winter at least she will need a car.
Ignoring me saying, well it is only as you meet in for work at 4 in the morning, which is before they cleaned and salted bicycle paths, it will also be some weeks before she get the compensation for the knee she ruined in a work related injury, and no telling when she will also get insurance for that, from the 2 insurance companies she have.

And later on i still have the railroad and landscaping to do at my friends place, though just the ground work done but already visible from space.
sat train 1.jpg

WORK WORK WORK: It is always me that have to do it, though just a pain now as age have made me so embarrassing slow it take me 2 - 3 days to do what i would have done in 1 day a decade ago.
 
OMG that looks like a lot of work to-do you must be a truly superb friend :) and there is me complaining about do a dashcam install. LOL
 
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