Mobius 2 Action/Dash Cam support thread

[c4rc4m]

OK then, I fitted the M1 and M2 side by side in my car and left them both recording all afternoon, have now copied some screenshots from both cameras for you to compare. The angle of the cameras isn't quite exact so will carry out a few minor adjustments tomorrow but I think this demonstrates that there is a focus shift on the M2 later in the day and I have to say that it's not been particularly hot today!

It does also show that there is considerable potential for improving the quality of the video footage of the M2 because the resolution was set to 'High' rather than 'Higher' or 'Highest' whilst the M1 was set to its maximum resolution.

NOTE: If you're trying to figure out which is which, the Mobius 2 has the date stamp shown in the bottom left of the screen starting with the year (US style) whilst the Mobius 1 starts with the day (UK style). You will need to view the images full-size to see the difference between the two.

So what's the conclusion then Rich? Just looking at the photos you posted the M1 actually looks sharper / better.

 

[kamkar]

The conclusion i think is the M2 need work, most likely the same amount of work the M1 have gotten in the past 2 years.

 

[richcam]

So what's the conclusion then Rich? Just looking at the photos you posted the M1 actually looks sharper / better.

The M2 appears to be better made and is a little bit heavier (approx 14g heavier) than the M1. I tested out both M1 and M2 cameras in the car today and left them recording for quite some time using an external power-pack.

I increased the video quality settings on the M2 to 'Higher', which is one level beneath 'Highest', yet despite the larger file size and size, the video quality still seems below the M1 and I don't have the best lens fitted to the M1.

For info:

M1 bit rate: 18,206 file size: 415.7MB
M2 bit rate: 25,224 file size: 567.7MB

Bottom-line, if I was in the market for a reasonably priced dashcam/action-cam I would have no doubts in my mind about purchasing the Mobius M2 despite the slightly lower video quality compared to the M1 at this point in time, I do think the firmware can and will be improved over the next few months to a point where the M2 video quality will be superior to the M1.

 

[richcam]

Seem to have a problem with the M2, I drove to work this morning, plugged it into the external power-pack along with the M1 and have discovered that it no longer records anything though the M1 attached to the same power-pack is recording away quite happily!

I ejected the card and have just been checking the M2 settings and all appears normal except that it's not recording.

When power is applied the green LED lights for 2 secs on the top and side, then goes to RED for 20 secs then goes out, the goes to RED for 7 seconds before going to YELLOW which remains on and doesn't flash on and off. Even when I switch the power off the Yellow LED stays lit and the camera does not respond to any buttons being pressed! Any ideas anyone?

 

[kamkar]

Have you checked SD card integrity ?

Needless to say i have never seen my M2 do this.

 

[TonyM]

Have you updated either the FW or the GUI setup program since the last time you knew the camera was working? There was a GUI version that did not properly apply the auto-record setting, but that has been fixed in the latest version. Sorry - just remembered you're on a mac and not using the GUI, so forget that question.

Are you able to record by using the on-camera buttons? (i.e. rather than auto-recording with external power)

 

[richcam]

Cheers guys for your prompt response.

> kamkar1, I haven't made any changes to the setup since my last post on here when it was recording just fine.

When it started acting up I tried copying the config file onto the SD card by holding down the 'Mode' and 'Power' button but noticed it wasn't behaving as it ought. I waited for 5 seconds then ejected the SD card - only to notice that the RED led light up a few seconds later on the M2 which I thought was odd.

I checked the config file in plain text editor and it all seemed fine. Loaded the config back to the M2 only to note that the LED display wasn't flashing like I expected.

> Tony, if I press the power button (which should make it auto record), it does the same as when power is applied, the RED LED lights for approx 20 secs, goes out, then the RED LED lights back on again for 7 secs before changing to YELLOW for several minutes before powering down. The M2 does not respond to any of the buttons on the side and it doesn't record anything! BTW, loop recording is set to ON...

I've also noticed that the tiny LED at the back of the camera stays lit RED then goes off when the larger top and side LED go RED, seems to cycle between the small RED LED and the top and side RED LED, very strange!

I've downloaded the latest firmware 1.36 from the link provided by Tom Frank on the RC Groups website.

From what I have read I copy the downloaded files onto the SD card, insert into M2, then press the power button briefly until the RED LED starts flashing and then leave it for approx 2.5 minutes. I'm not too sure how to delete the config file already in the camera?

 

[TonyM]

Have you tried the reset button?
Do you have another SD card you can try?
You could post your query on RC Groups - Tom & Isoprop are normally very responsive
I've always used the Windows GUI so I don't have any experience of the manual config settings.

 

[richcam]

Have you tried the reset button?
Do you have another SD card you can try?
You could post your query on RC Groups - Tom & Isoprop are normally very responsive
I've always used the Windows GUI so I don't have any experience of the manual config settings.

Cheers Tony for the reset button suggestion, it seems to have fixed whatever was broken.

One thing I did notice was the fact that the config file seems to have been changed (I think), though this may have just been that the changes that I had previously been making weren't being transferred from the SD card to the M2 before the reset.

It's now working how it should be

As regards to the config file, it's just a plain text document which is quite straight-forward to change the settings by editing it as a plain text document (though not as easy as a GUI) and you need to remember to manually change the time so that it correct when you upload the file from the SD card back into the M2 - at one point in the past there was a GUI for the Mac which really was fantastic to use but that is no longer available

 

[kamkar]

SD cards go wird or die like lightning strike, i had brand new high end cards die on me before i got to fill them up 1 time.
And i have other cards that worked well until i deleted the data on them ( in card reader ) and then the card turn into read only mode so i have a empty 64 Gb Lexar card and all i can do with it is read nothing on it.

Have not read manual for M2, but is there a flash code for bad memory i wonder.

 

[TonyM]

Cheers Tony for the reset button suggestion, it seems to have fixed whatever was broken

Glad I could help. Now you've got to figure out how to change the settings without breaking it again!

 

[richcam]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I made up a couple of 3mm thick aluminium brackets in order to stick to the windscreen of the car, with hindsight I could have probably used 2mm which would be easier to adjust to the right angle but I didn't have any of that to hand when I decided to make them.

My first attempt at folding the bracket resulted in the aluminium breaking because the single fold was too sharp, so on my 2nd attempt I made two folds as can be seen. For info the width of the bracket is 25mm. The actual bracket is permanently stuck to the windscreen but I have used a removable 3m tape to hold the Mobius M1 and M2 to the bracket which does work very well. I bought some 90 degree up USB cables to connect the the external power supply which luckily for me had dual USB ports.

I've taken various photographs of the M1 and M2 in position alongside an older dashcam which demonstrates just how tiny the Mobius cameras are when viewed front-on. I decided to cut small strips of black electrical tape to blank over the LED lights which can be easily removed if necessary.

 

[TonyM]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I made up a couple of 3mm thick aluminium brackets in order to stick to the windscreen of the car

You could share your aluminium brackets on the Mobius mounting solutions thread. I don't think the M2 is different enough to warrant its own similar thread.

 

[Dashmellow]

You could share your aluminium brackets on the Mobius mounting solutions thread. I don't think the M2 is different enough to warrant its own similar thread.

There are quite a few very similar mounts there already, although I think @richcam's are especially nice and well crafted. I believe this style of mount is often referred to as a "money clip" mount as that's what some people have made them from.

 

[TonyM]

Yeah i would like to see some one load a early firmware to his mobius and then tell me what he think of that camera now

I decided this was an interesting test - to compare the Mobius 1 and Mobius 2 both on their release firmware. I obtained the early M1 firmware from the DCT Mobius page.
So M1 on FW0.32 from June 2013 and M2 on FW1.36 from July 2016. Note that my M1 has the A-lens with 90deg FOV compared to M2 with 130deg FOV. Environment is overcast between trees and really shows up the M2 with WDR

M1 1080p30 WDR

M2 1080p30 WDR

M2 1080p60

Comparison frames:
M1 1080p30 WDR

M2 1080p30 WDR

M2 1080p60


It was an interesting test, especially working around the reported glitches in the early Mobius firmware which was written before the capacitor was available. My conclusion is that the M1 even at this stage has the best colour reproduction and is generally nice to look at, but blurs details at speed. The shorter exposure time of the M2 in both 1080p30WDR and 1080p60 modes does a better job with moving subjects. The M2 1080p60 video is sharp and renders foliage similar to the M1, but it's too bright in overcast situations. The M2 1080p30WDR makes a mess of grass and trees, but seems to do ok with cars

Firmware development for the M1 over 2 years (last version 2.41 Sept 2015) brought a number of image quality improvements, including various options for user adjustment in the GUI. The forthcoming Step 2 FW update is supposed to bring much needed refinement to the M2, including a variety of metering modes and user controls.

For now I'm sticking with 1080p60 on the M2 as I think it gives the best all-round performance at the moment.

 

[TonyM]

I decided this was an interesting test - to compare the Mobius 1 and Mobius 2 both on their release firmware.

I also compared the M1 against the M2 at 1080p without WDR

M1 1080p30

M2 1080p30

Comparison frames:
M1 1080p30 WDR


M2 1080p30

 

[richcam]

Tony you do seem to have proved that the M2 has great potential, I think I will change the settings on my M2 to 1080p/60 to see how it compares to the M1 in like-for-like conditions.

In the meantime I compared some video footage that I recorded last night with both the M1 and M2 set at 1080p 30fps with the M1 set at its highest resolution and the M2 set at 'Higher' which is one step below its maximum and was mighty impressed with the M2 results on a dimly lit road. I think the last set of photographs with the approaching bus and the pedestrian on the lefthand side shows just how much detail is retained by the M2.

As before, aside from the differences in the quality, look to the bottom-left of the photo for the date/time info. The newer M2 starts with the 'year' whilst the M1 starts with the 'day'.

EDITED TO ADD: Please note that these are 1024 px screenshots of the video so the actual footage is a little better.

M2 1080p30


M1 1080p30


M2 1080p30


M1 1080p30


M2 1080p30


M1 1080p30

 

[TonyM]

Tony you do seem to have proved that the M2 has great potential, I think I will change the settings on my M2 to 1080p/60 to see how it compares to the M1 in like-for-like conditions.

In the meantime I compared some video footage that I recorded last night with both the M1 and M2 set at 1080p 30fps with the M1 set at its highest resolution and the M2 set at 'Higher' which is one step below its maximum and was mighty impressed with the M2 results on a dimly lit road. I think the last set of photographs with the approaching bus and the pedestrian on the lefthand side shows just how much detail is retained by the M2.

As before, aside from the differences in the quality, look to the bottom-left of the photo for the date/time info. The newer M2 starts with the 'year' whilst the M1 starts with the 'day'.

EDITED TO ADD: Please note that these are 1024 px screenshots of the video so the actual footage is a little better.

M2 1080p30
View attachment 26493

M1 1080p30
View attachment 26494

M2 1080p30
View attachment 26495

M1 1080p30
View attachment 26496

M2 1080p30
View attachment 26497

M1 1080p30
View attachment 26498

Your night comparisons are similar to what I have found; that the M2 is noisier than the M1 but retains more detail. The WDR mode isn't really suitable for all-day dashcam use, at least not yet.

 

[Dashmellow]

@TonyM and @richcam, can both of you kindly report on whether your tests were done with H.264 or H.265?

 

[TonyM]

@TonyM and @richcam, can both of you kindly report on whether your tests were done with H.264 or H.265?

I use H.265. I can make original files available if that is useful?