Lukas LK-7950WD - any reviews?

[Knobby]

Thanks to your comments and reviews I have decided to take the plunge and buy a Lukas 7950. I deliberated with the Blackvue 650 as I really like its size and stealth, but DAB and reliability issues put me off. Next I nearly bought a CF-100 after readings Gibson99 review, but its not supported in UK, hard to find and expensive. The Lukas ticks the most boxes, except its hardly stealthy. In UK it is very expensive but I want to use it in Canada for a months RV holiday before I install in my car, its more realistically priced there.
I have an issue with the Android app as currently I cannot get it. I have a PC ( Win 8) a Blackberry Playbook and a Huawei U8510 which is Android but not supported by Play Store and can not find Lukas Eye in Market. I can see it on PC but it will not download as the PC not Android. I have tried for hours ( not sure how to read the barcode pic in the manual) to get the app but it would be easier if a win 8 app was available. Lumina would e my phone choice if it was.
Any of you got any advice on best SD cards to use? Samsung 64 GB SDXC Class 10 are on offer but are they any good.

 

[Witchcraftz]

I have also taken the plunge and purchased the LK7950. I will be using a samsung 64GB Evo card, from my research it's one of the fastest and most accepted microSD cards out there.

 

[Gibson99]

I nearly bought a CF-100 after readings Gibson99 review, but its not supported in UK, hard to find and expensive.

why wouldn't it be supported in the UK? it has an english firmware available. i got mine from a vendor on amazon, but newegg sells it too, and i'm sure there are other places.

as i've said before though, lukas has a good reputation, so here's hoping that continues with this camera for you.

 

[reverend]

You guys that bought the LK7950 realise it needs a full size SD card for the majority of recordings?

Just making sure so you have everything you need before it arrives.

As a matter of interest what was it that swung you over to the Lukas - I'm guessing Wi-Fi is the deal breaker?

 

[Gibson99]

oh one more thing - my video splitter script has worked for one other Lukas camera. if this model also combines front+rear into one video file, you can probably use my script to break them into individual files, so it's easier to work with. Link in my signature.

 

[reverend]

No two separate files on these mate - suffixed with _F for the front and _R for the rear

 

[Sunny]

oh one more thing - my video splitter script has worked for one other Lukas camera. if this model also combines front+rear into one video file, you can probably use my script to break them into individual files, so it's easier to work with. Link in my signature.

Good work but no need on this one as it has separate files for Front and Rear but Lukas viewer app plays both matching files at the same time.

alwa_*_F for front and alwa_*_R for rear files.

 

[Gibson99]

thanks. i hadn't watched @USDashCamera's review since i'm not in the market at the moment. also since i don't know all the different models lukas makes, i made a guess and said "hey, this one lukas dual cam of unknown age combines files; maybe this one does too". obviously i was wrong. but that's ok, no harm done.

 

[USDashCamera]

So comparing the following which is the best price/quality/size/functionality?


Cowon AW2
Blackvue 650
Blackvue 750
Lukas 7950
Lukas 9350
Lukas 9750
Panorama X2

I currently have the dr650/750 and lk-7950 wd.

The 650 is still my personal favorite. But it also only has 720p in back.

the lk 7950 by far has way more features, accessories, and options I think though. if you can put up with the video quality of the lk 7950 (the front video on the dr650 appears better to me, but not the rear) I think its a decent option. I am only so much for the dr650 because the form factor is too important to me. I also use the rear cameras as side cams, and having them removable from the mount is very important to me too. i use a 550 in back too so the rear 720p is just a side cam.

I feel like Lukas really looked at what consumers wanted, and dumped all those features and options into a camera. This was my first lukas cam, and I really liked that about this camera. where pittasoft/blackvue seems hesitant on several basic features like an emergency lock button, or official CPL lens support (where I used the 3d printed one a user here made).

 

[reverend]

Yeah for all out image quality the Panorama X2 is sat at the top of the tree currently - I'm intrigued to see how the BlackVue compares directly to it though but I haven't seen any comparisons of the two yet.

 

[USDashCamera]

Yeah for all out image quality the Panorama X2 is sat at the top of the tree currently - I'm intrigued to see how the BlackVue compares directly to it though but I haven't seen any comparisons of the two yet.

The finevu cr2000-g was decent too.

Once I get my windows tinted I may really need to find a good way to mount on the back window. I might just make a bracket on the back of the head rest.

 

[Gibson99]

or maybe something on/in the 3rd brake light...

 

[Knobby]

You ask what swung me over to the Lukas 7950 , it was your reviews an comments. The Blackview is neater but looks to have RFI issues and reliability has been criticized. I do not want a battery, I do not want a screen or any distracting lights, voices or superfluous functions. I want protection for the vehicle battery, reliability, and decent screening (I love my DAB as BBC on FM were I live is not good). I also am concerned at what other vehicle functions will be affected by EMI / RFI .None of my devices can access the WiFi (even my Andriod phone cant get the app) but I may get there in the future. I like that the dongle can be removed so others cannot access it and it can be switched off, parking mode, or on. I like the filter option to protect the lens. This device has the most options. I would have preferred two rear cameras fed to a hidden control box, but its not available from a reputable manufacturer. Its not one feature it the sum total I would have bought the 650 if it did not have screening issues.

 

[Knobby]

why wouldn't it be supported in the UK? it has an english firmware available. i got mine from a vendor on amazon, but newegg sells it too, and i'm sure there are other places.

as i've said before though, lukas has a good reputation, so here's hoping that continues with this camera for you.

Hi
Sorry by supported I meant its hard to find in UK. I could not find any distributors and re-sellers want to charge over twice the US price and view it as "old" technology. Your review was great though and it looks outstanding value at US prices.

 

[Witchcraftz]

I installed the 7950 yesterday and unfortunately it's not working as promised. I had a trip to whistler and thought this was the perfect chance to test it but I have had some issues with it.

1. A car rammed into mine while I was away. I came back and found the car parked there with our bumpers pushed in together. The dash cam caught me walking around taking pictures when I got there, but there is no footage of the car hitting mine?
2. This morning my car's battery was dead. It said it was I parking mode, I thought it was supposed to cut off automatically when it notices a low voltage?
3. Front video playback is very choppy.

Pretty bummed that it's completely failed me on the first day and for the exact kind of situation I bought it for...

 

[Gibson99]

well at least the guy who hit you was dumb enough to stay parked there so you could get evidence w/ photos... very strange how it captured you but not the offending car. maybe it had already cycled thru that parking footage - was the parking area particularly busy, or maybe had something high motion like a big flag or moving sign or something? i haven't tried to establish a pattern as to how long my blacksys cf-100 keeps parking footage, or what exactly triggers it, but in my initial testing, it caught some cars backing out from the row across, and i could even read the plate through the tinted back window at night. was the contact in the front or rear of your car? tinted glass in rear?

battery - i don't know whether the lukas has battery protection built in, but my cf-100 does not, so i had to add a separate protection unit. i can recommend the ojocam unit i bought (link to it in the "installing a cf-100" thread in my signature) - it definitely does cut off at whatever voltage you set it at - it gets tested almost daily, since the ELEVEN dome/door lights in our van draw the voltage down low and makes the camera shut off quite often while unloading kids and stuff. i think for the summer i will drop the cutoff down to 12.0v rather than the current 12.2v so that it will be more likely to continue recording after we've all gotten out. also considering replacing the regular bulbs with LEDs so they draw less current and thus draw down the battery less while unloading, and as a bonus, they're brighter/whiter.

what software are you using to play it back? i had a problem on my wife's laptop that playing back full hd videos from the sd card directly was very choppy, but if i copied the file to the hard drive first, it played fine. problem was the card reader is too slow.

 

[Sunny]

Maybe the bump was at an angle so motion detection didn't work.

What cutoff voltage do you have set?

I use Daum Potplayer for almost all of my video playback.

 

[Witchcraftz]

Shouldn't it have recorded the event due to the hit while in parking mode?

I have the voltage cutoff set to 12.2V.

For the playback, I just streamed over wifi using the Lukas App. Haven't tried to download and view it yet. The rear runs very smooth over wifi, switch to the front and it's all choppy.

Here's a picture of the car, there is no damage to the plastic except the licence plate frame is cracked, if you look you'll see that my SUV's bumper has been pushed down and in (shows at the points where the bumper and the fender meet and around the headlight). When I reversed it stayed pushed in so it must have been a strong enough "bump" to bend the metal bumper attachments.

I was expecting the Dashcam to pickup on that kind of "bump".

 

[Gibson99]

you'd think it should have locked an actual hit, since you obviously didn't hit your car while you were walking around taking pictures, yet it recorded you. maybe it wasn't so much a hit but a gentle nudge, similar to someone leaning on the car. and even if it wasn't using the g-sensor to trigger a lock file, motion detection should have got him pulling in since an entire car moving is a lot more motion than just a person walking by...

 

[Sunny]

Did you check both cards?
Event files will have E on the list.