Mobius 1S - First Impressions

[TonyM]

I forgot how bright that blue LED is until I tried it tonight while driving. I wish there was an option to turn off the yellow/blue/red LED while recording. It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have it temporarily installed near my head!

 

[TonyM]

The user adjustable bitrate (down to 1Mbps!) would be useful for low bitrate video when parked. h265 would probably be more efficient with a mostly-static scene, so that might be worth trying.

 

[Dashmellow]

I struggled with that for a while and thought it didn't work. 'Auto Rotate' seems to set the orientation at the moment the camera is turned on - the 'initial position' as noted in the mSetup tool tip. Nevertheless, I have mine set to inverted

I fail to understand the logic of how or why this feature was designed and implemented. I was anticipating that 'Auto Rotate' would function just like on the Mobius Maxi (or any other camera with this feature) where the image automatically flips in real time if you turn the camera upside down.

"Auto Rotate" on the Mobius 1S appears to be nothing more than an additional but cumbersome method to manually set it to "inverted" or "not inverted" with nothing happening automatically once set. Perhaps this is a feature intended mainly for FPV users?

 

[Dashmellow]

I forgot how bright that blue LED is until I tried it tonight while driving. I wish there was an option to turn off the yellow/blue/red LED while recording. It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have it temporarily installed near my head!

What happens if you disable the Recording Indicator in the GUI? I haven't tried this yet.

 

[TonyM]

I fail to understand the logic of how or why this feature was designed and implemented. I was anticipating that 'Auto Rotate' would function just like on the Mobius Maxi (or any other camera with this feature) where the image automatically flips in real time if you turn the camera upside down.

"Auto Rotate" on the Mobius 1S appears to be nothing more than an additional but cumbersome method to manually set it to "inverted" or "not inverted" with nothing happening automatically once set. Perhaps this is a feature intended mainly for FPV users?

I suppose there are times when I have removed the camera from the car (where it is inverted) to use on a tripod, or hand-held, where it is probably not inverted. And on those occasions I've either used mSetup just to change the video orientation, or not bothered and ended up with upside-down video. I can see a practical benefit to Auto in that kind of scenario, but as I said, I'm just keeping it on Inverted anyway.

 

[TonyM]

I forgot how bright that blue LED is until I tried it tonight while driving. I wish there was an option to turn off the yellow/blue/red LED while recording.

What happens if you disable the Recording Indicator in the GUI?

Success - kind of.

With the recording indicator disabled both the yellow/blue LED and the rear LED flash 3 times, then everything goes off completely. So it's recording, but it looks dead. If I trusted it to be 100% reliable I wouldn't mind having no lights, but for now I'll probably keep them on just in case.

There was one model (the M2??) where we could control the lights separately, but I'm wary of asking for more features to make this cam more complicated. The old, simple design was at least reliable.

 

[Dashmellow]

I suppose there are times when I have removed the camera from the car (where it is inverted) to use on a tripod, or hand-held, where it is probably not inverted. And on those occasions I've either used mSetup just to change the video orientation, or not bothered and ended up with upside-down video. I can see a practical benefit to Auto in that kind of scenario, but as I said, I'm just keeping it on Inverted anyway.

My approach with the M1 in scenarios like that is to set Video Mode 1 to "rotate video 180º" and Video Mode 2 set to normal. I guess it's a global setting now.

 

[Matt_V939]

Dunno if already posted, Mobius 1S is being put for sale with the capacitor. Same price
https://www.ebay.com/itm/151074120313

 

[jaro]

Watching this thread for updates.
Taking special interest in night videos as I plan this to be a replacement of Git1 as my back camera.

 

[country_hick]

I forgot how bright that blue LED is until I tried it tonight while driving. I wish there was an option to turn off the yellow/blue/red LED while recording. It probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have it temporarily installed near my head!

Surely you know about the redneck method of applying black electric tape over the annoying blue light... right?
It was very popular for fixing VCR's that kept flashing 12:00 in the 1980's.

 

[TonyM]

Surely you know about the redneck method of applying black electric tape over the annoying blue light... right?
It was very popular for fixing VCR's that kept flashing 12:00 in the 1980's.

Yes, but that tape leaves things super sticky!

A black marker pen over the LED might work.

 

[Dashmellow]

Perhaps a tiny wad of BluTack which would make everything easily reversible and leave no residue.

Another option is a small piece of black tinted static cling windscreen film. I happen to have a roll of 20% transmission window film that provided the perfect solution to an overly bright alarm clock LED display. The display is still quite visible but at just the right brightness now. You can't even tell it's there unless you look really close.

 

[Dashmellow]

Surely you know about the redneck method of applying black electric tape over the annoying blue light... right?

Black electrical tape?? You must not be a real redneck. Every self respecting redneck I know would use duct tape!

 

[TonyM]

My first impression is that the F1.5-modified M1S performs slightly better in low light than the MM4K with its F1.5 lens.

 

[country_hick]

Yes, but that tape leaves things super sticky!

A black marker pen over the LED might work.

Nah, that ink turns purple over time and light still shines through.
Once you put the electric tape on you never take it off so stickiness is irrelevant.

 

[TonyM]

I was watching some early afternoon video (2-3pm, no headlights) from the M1S compared to my new 4K A139 Pro - with and without HDR - and found that the M1S was much better at number plate capture and restrained sharpening than the A139 Pro.

That probably says more about the current state of the A139 Pro, but it was interesting nonetheless. Sure, the A139 Pro has 4K HDR for excellent dynamic range and highlight detail both day and night, but in low contrast lighting things turn blurry and/or over-sharpened.

I was also recording with the MM4K F1.5 for personal comparison purposes, and although there were times that the higher 4K resolution made the difference, the MM4K has less useful metering with a strong bias towards preserving highlights at the expense of dark shadows.

 

[TonyM]

M1S F1.5 vs MM4K F1.5 vs A139 Pro 4K HDR

M1S : 1440p30 WDR off, multi-spot metering
MM4K : 4K30 WDR off, multi-spot metering
A139 Pro : 4K30 (3840x1600), HDR on

Videos re-uploaded without sound for privacy reasons

Full-frame captures, showing the best number plate detail for each camera

M1S


MM4K


A139 Pro



M1S


MM4K


A139 Pro


I would give the A139 Pro top marks for exposure, dynamic range and colour, but it comes in last place for detail (cars, road signs etc.)
The MM4K is under-exposed due to metering for highlights. Colour is decent, if you can see it in the shadows. Detail is quite good, helped by the faster=darker exposure.
The M1S exposure is good, the colour has an odd cyan tint, and detail is good too.

 

[TonyM]

M1S F1.5 vs MM4K F1.5 vs A139 Pro 4K HDR

M1S : 1440p30 WDR off, multi-spot metering
MM4K : 4K30 WDR off, multi-spot metering
A139 Pro : 4K30 (3840x1600), HDR on

At low speed the A139 Pro manages a half-decent plate capture from a distance, but struggles with HDR-blur up close, whereas the other two can capture good details at close range. The HDR on the A139 does have advantages though in terms of dynamic range across the scene.

M1S


MM4K


A139 Pro


Looking directly into the low winter sun at low speed with very little relative motion between objects, the 4K HDR of the A139 Pro is a clear winner on dynamic range and colour rendition. Both the M1S and MM4K struggle with the harsh contrast.

M1S


MM4K


A139 Pro

 

[TonyM]

I tried the 10-second power-off disconnect setting with a capacitor, but it doesn't work. The camera records for about 9 seconds, then shuts down before closing the last file.

I did wonder if the lower power consumption might allow 10s to be used, but no, I will have to use the Immediate setting same as the old Mobius.

 

[Dashmellow]

Since it is running off a capacitor this doesn't seem surprising. Perhaps "immediate" is the only appropriate setting when using a capacitor? If so, Mobius should state that and perhaps they will if we see an Owner's Manual for the M-ONE-S,

Maybe "Battery empty" would work? Then again, "Battery empty" should disconnect no matter what so I'm wondering why that option even exists. My hunch is that you'd get 9 seconds based on what you've already experienced,

Also, 10 seconds to power off with a capacitor might lose the time and date prematurely, no?