Less than Stellar Video Quality...

[DaveTheJoker]

I got my MINI 805 a few days ago and did my first Day Test today. The video seems to look a bit off, so I wanted to know what you guys think. It is set to 1920x1080P HDR. It kinda looks like it is out of focus. Notice how the hood of the car is in perfect clarity while the signs are difficult to make out. Also, it seems strange, but the LEFT side of the video looks significantly more blurry than the RIGHT. Ideas?

What do you guys think? Is the focus messed up?

 

[Nigel]

Looks nicely focused to me, but with a big fingerprint on the left side of the lens... maybe... ?

 

[DaveTheJoker]

Looks nicely focused to me, but with a big fingerprint on the left side of the lens... maybe... ?

Checked. No visible imperfections on the lens. I wiped it off with my shirt anyway. Took it for a drive in the night and you can still definitely see the left side is no good compared to the right side. Any ideas on why this might happen?
Here's another example: Notice the gas station on the left vs the building on the right at 2:27.
.

 

[JuneBug]

It looks to me that the lens is not focused on infinity where it should be. At the first light, the "one way" sign is sharp, but the sign in the background is not.

 

[NZDashcam]

Or not seated squarely internally, hence it's worse on the one side to the other.

 

[DaveTheJoker]

Do you guys think this is grounds to try and return it to Gearbest? Or should I try opening it up? I could just live with it, but I hate having to deal with a sub par device.

 

[Nigel]

Amazing halos from lights off the left side of the image! Can't really judge focus accurately in the dark and with motion.

Something is dirty, don't know what but I would first test the camera without the windshield in the way (take the camera out of the car) and in good daylight pointing along a wall so that we can see at what distance it is focused, then having found where it is focused I would test it pointing directly at the wall with the wall at the focus distance so that we can see if all parts of the image are focused at the same distance. Make sure the lens is spotless first, cleaning it with your shirt may not be the best way to do that

 

[David L.]

Looks nicely focused to me, but with a big fingerprint on the left side of the lens... maybe... ?

nicely focus? it's not ok. the focus it's on the dash, not the road. I have seen this very same problem on several cameras... there are two options 1. return the faulty camera or 2. open it and try to fix the focus

 

[ToyNut]

I got my MINI 805 a few days ago and did my first Day Test today. The video seems to look a bit off, so I wanted to know what you guys think. It is set to 1920x1080P HDR. It kinda looks like it is out of focus. Notice how the hood of the car is in perfect clarity while the signs are difficult to make out. Also, it seems strange, but the LEFT side of the video looks significantly more blurry than the RIGHT. Ideas?

What do you guys think? Is the focus messed up?

It's a pretty common problem with inexpensive cameras. I'd return it if I were you.

 

[DaveTheJoker]

Alright, I guess I'll eat the $30 return shipping to Gearbest and return it. I don't like having to wait two months, but I guess it's what you get for getting cheap stuff.

Thanks everybody!

 

[ToyNut]

Alright, I guess I'll eat the $30 return shipping to Gearbest and return it. I don't like having to wait two months, but I guess it's what you get for getting cheap stuff.

Thanks everybody!

I'm not familiar with the seller but you may be able to ask for a refund (minus return costs) and order a new one right away, from a different seller so there is a better chance the next one will be from a different batch. You'd be back in business quicker.

 

[DaveTheJoker]

Amazing halos from lights off the left side of the image! Can't really judge focus accurately in the dark and with motion.

Something is dirty, don't know what but I would first test the camera without the windshield in the way (take the camera out of the car) and in good daylight pointing along a wall so that we can see at what distance it is focused, then having found where it is focused I would test it pointing directly at the wall with the wall at the focus distance so that we can see if all parts of the image are focused at the same distance. Make sure the lens is spotless first, cleaning it with your shirt may not be the best way to do that

I did this, just to confirm the problem. As you can see from the pictures, the left 2/3rds seems to be out of focus. A friend who knows a lot about cameras told me that this is because the lens is actually sitting crooked. Whatever the reason, I'm returning it. I bought a 806 from SpyTec, so hopefully that will work better. Even if it doesn't, SpyTec offers FREE return shipping for defective products, unlike GearBest.

I'm going to call this no good.

 

[David L.]

Alright, I guess I'll eat the $30 return shipping to Gearbest and return it. I don't like having to wait two months, but I guess it's what you get for getting cheap stuff.

Thanks everybody!

Hi,
I had this very same problem with 3 cameras and two of them were expensive, so isn't a cheap camera problem only. I had out of focus problem with a brand new lukas lk7900 (us$240) which I returned (I lost almost us$150 on taxes, delivery and sending it back), then I ordered a DOD ls330w camera (us$250) which worked ok for about a 8 months but it lost focus in the last few months (maybe the heat bend something?). I tryed to fix the focus but the lens was VERY glued and it has a very long thread, so even using nail polish remover (it was the last resort) I couldn't move the lens and I couldn't fix it. Now I ordered the "cheap" mini 0805 and guess what, the same out of focus problem. I will try to fix it myself because I don't want to wait a month or two by sending it back to shangai (I bought it on ebay). If it works I'll post the pictures. Anyway, I wish they didn't glue the lens and implement an allen key to adjust the focus manually.

 

[DT MI]

...A friend who knows a lot about cameras told me that this is because the lens is actually sitting crooked...

Definitely what the problem is. Had an SLR lens once with one of the lens elements askew and it had the same effect.

BTW, I thought your video footage looked familiar - you're only a few miles from me.

 

[DaveTheJoker]

Definitely what the problem is. Had an SLR lens once with one of the lens elements askew and it had the same effect.

BTW, I thought your video footage looked familiar - you're only a few miles from me.

Wow, what a coincidence!

 

[ngeddie]

nicely focus? it's not ok. the focus it's on the dash, not the road. I have seen this very same problem on several cameras... there are two options 1. return the faulty camera or 2. open it and try to fix the focus

Hi All

My 0805 that I got this month was exactly the same, have just reset focus took about 5 mins, very easy hardest part was getting glue from thread off!

Followed instructions on how to open it here https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/disassembly-inside-mini-0803.6310/

Then connected to my TV via the HDMI and turned lens to get sharp focus on a random car number plate down my street from my window, very easy to see sweet spot as you rotate lens in and out

Note, had to turn resolution down to 1080 to get a image on TV

 

[Nigel]

I did this, just to confirm the problem. As you can see from the pictures, the left 2/3rds seems to be out of focus. A friend who knows a lot about cameras told me that this is because the lens is actually sitting crooked. Whatever the reason, I'm returning it. I bought a 806 from SpyTec, so hopefully that will work better. Even if it doesn't, SpyTec offers FREE return shipping for defective products, unlike GearBest.

...

I'm going to call this no good.

I'll agree with it being no good! Not sure what the problem is, maybe one of the internal lenses is not seated properly rather than the whole thing. I can't explain the night time halos just from the whole lens being miss seated.

Focus should be centred about on the registration plate 2 cars in front, then you have decent focus from the front of your car to infinity, the right hand side is pretty good.

Good luck with the 0806, there should be better quality control on that at the moment following the focus issues with the first batch so you should get a good one, it also has a better quality lens to start with.

 

[mollydog]

very clear that the left side is a lot softer than the right side



needs returning or fixed, it' more than just the DVR is not pointing straight ahead, these DVR's should be more or less in focus from a few CM (20/30) to infinity

their QC must be slipping

 

[Reyalp]

Yep, defo the lenses aren't fixed in alignment with each other, this is a factory (or trauma!) fault. Not so easy to fix accurately by yourself, but you could do it
'live' by 'cracking' the adhesive they use to fix the lenses and then manually re-aligning via a live visual feed until it looks acceptable. To be honest this is hard to do unless you have patience of a saint, i'd send it back.

 

[DaveTheJoker]

So Gearbests wants me to take it to a store? Anyone dealt with them in the past? How should I proceed. I think asking me to contact them later is kind of unprofessional. And take it to a local store? Is that even possible?

Dear [DaveTheJoker],

Thank you very much for placing your order with us and all information you provide.

We feel very sorry to hear that and apologize for any inconvenience that may bring to you.

We have submitted your problem to our technical Department to confirm and get some solutions for you. If you don’t mind, could you please contact us 1-2 business days later?

At the same time, could you please take it your local store to confirm what cause the problem and how much it will cost to repair it?

This will be helpful for our relevant departments to confirm this problem and advance us to solve this issue with corresponding measures smoothly and efficiently for you.

Your help is highly appreciated and we hope to solve the problem for you as soon as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards
[Gearbest Rep]