Mobius 5MP Varifocal Zoom 6-22mm ƒ/1.6

[Dashmellow]

Natural history is the study or observation of living things in their own environment.

I am willing to accept noise / grain in a dashcam video if it records sufficient detail to document a driving incident.

When I take wildlife photographs I like to have as little noise as possible. I would look for the same in a wildlife video, so I have a preference for the cleaner output from the Mobius 1.

I understand your point but I can't agree with you that such excess noise is acceptable in a camera like the Maxi. For one thing it is an action camera geared towards RC use as well as dash cam use. Nobody who buys a high resolution 2.7K camera does so expecting to get grainy images. The Mobius approach to cameras since the M2 and now the Maxi appears be all about cranking up the gain to achieve performance.

For another thing, there are situations in dash cam use were absolute clarity is paramount. It goes far beyond merely capturing license plates. I became interested in dash cams because of a criminal harassment matter and clear captures of the driver of the other vehicle and other important details were vital to prosecuting the case. Excess grain would have been a problem in such as situation. When a five year old Mobius action camera produces far superior clarity than the new hi-rez Maxi (which we've ultimately waited years for) with this 6-22mm varifocal lens on it something is wrong.

 

[Lola]

I intend to. I am waiting to see if I want to order anything else from Treeye at the same time, so they do not have the inconvenience of packing and shipping a single filter.

Tony in case you are wondering, Treeye (Sophie) does have 9.5mm x 1.0mm thick Cut IR filters, she just sent me some, not here yet, great price also.

I'm struggling to find the sweet spot for focusing, but I will continue to try. I will take onboard any constructive criticism.

fatpanda, Is there supposed to be a link for us on your post?

 

[Lola]

I understand your point but I can't agree with you that such excess noise is acceptable in a camera like the Maxi. For one thing it is an action camera geared towards RC use as well as dash cam use. Nobody who buys a high resolution 2.7K camera does so expecting to get grainy images. The Mobius approach to cameras since the M2 and now the Maxi appears be all about cranking up the gain to achieve performance.

For another thing, there are situations in dash cam use were absolute clarity is paramount. It goes far beyond merely capturing license plates. I became interested in dash cams because of a criminal harassment matter and clear captures of the driver of the other vehicle and other important details were vital to prosecuting the case. Excess grain would have been a problem in such as situation. When five year old Mobius action camera produces far superior clarity than the new hi-rez Maxi (which we've ultimately waited years for) with this 6-22mm varifocal lens on it something is wrong.

That's exactly why I first came here and why I've stayed, I intend now to definitely have a 2 camera setup in the front (and rear) view of my truck to try and obtain license plate numbers and facial features, very important to me.

 

[TonyM]

Tony in case you are wondering, Treeye (Sophie) does have 9.5mm x 1.0mm thick Cut IR filters, she just sent me some, not here yet, great price also.

Yes, I know she does, thanks. I figured if I was going to order another lens soon I would wait and buy both things at once and save Treeye on postage and packing.

 

[Leo_SF]

What is the major difference between the 6-22 and 2.8-12 varifocal lenses? Is it the optimal distance at which they focus? they are both 4x optical ?

New CCTV lens 1/2.5 inch 6-22mm 5MP M12 mount varifocal Lens F1.6 For 4MP/5MP CMOS/CCD Sensor Security IP/AHD Camera US $13.50 / piece

2.8mm ~ 12mm Varifocal Manual Zoom & Focus 3.0MP optical LENs M12 mount for CCTV camera installation / assembly US $6.00 / piece


Thanks

 

[Dashmellow]

The 6-22mm varifocal is a 5MP lens that has an aperture of ƒ/1.6.

The 2.8-12mm varifocal is a 3MP lens that has an aperture of ƒ/1.4.

Both are excellent lenses, however the 6-22mm has proven itself to be somewhat superior optically and yields a far greater depth of field.

Obviously, one major difference is the available focal length (FOV).

 

[Leo_SF]

Are you aware of any 4k/8MP lenses? I was thinking about trying such lens on ThiEye E7 which I use as a dashcam.

I am trying to get a 3-4x optical zoom.

 

[TonyM]

Tony in case you are wondering, Treeye (Sophie) does have 9.5mm x 1.0mm thick Cut IR filters, she just sent me some, not here yet, great price also.

I had 3No 9.5mm IR cut filters in my basket, waiting for me to add further items. I checked today and it was updated to 3No 'Lot of 10 pieces'. I nearly ended up with 30 filters! Perhaps allowing customers to order one at a time was not good business for Treeye?

 

[Leo_SF]

I ended up ordering these two lenses:



New IR Board HD 5mp 16mm 20° Angle LENS For CCTV IP Camera
Features:
1/2.5" 16mm 5mp 20° angle IR board lense for CCTV IP cameras has standard M12x0.5 thread, suitable for both 1/3" and 1/4" CCD chipsets, with an aperture of F2.0
Standard M12x0.5 thread
Image format for both 1/3" and 1/4" CCD
Specifications:
Angle of View: 20°
Focal Length: 16mm
Back Focal Length: 5.44mm
Format: 1/2.5"
F/No: 2.0
Mount thread: 12x0.5
Weight: 7g

Packaging included:
1× HD 1/2.5" 16mm Board IR Lens 5.0mp for CCTV IP Camera




Specifications:
Product type: IP Camera Lens
Mount: M12*0.5
Image format: 1/2
Mount: M12*0.5 IP camera
Focal-length: 25mm
Pixels: 5 million pixels
BFL: 9.33mm

IR night vision: Support

Suitable IP camera: For Gopro, for XiaoMi, for Firefly, for SJCAM and other IP cameras with M12*0.5 mount
Package size: approx. 10 * 7 * 2 cm/ 3.94 * 2.76 * 0.79 in
Package weight: 7g

Package List:
1 * 25mm CCTV Camera Lens


What is the approximate magnification effect on Mobius 1/2 from these lenses?

 

[Dashmellow]

I ended up ordering these two lenses:



New IR Board HD 5mp 16mm 20° Angle LENS For CCTV IP Camera
Features:
1/2.5" 16mm 5mp 20° angle IR board lense for CCTV IP cameras has standard M12x0.5 thread, suitable for both 1/3" and 1/4" CCD chipsets, with an aperture of F2.0
Standard M12x0.5 thread
Image format for both 1/3" and 1/4" CCD
Specifications:
Angle of View: 20°
Focal Length: 16mm
Back Focal Length: 5.44mm
Format: 1/2.5"
F/No: 2.0
Mount thread: 12x0.5
Weight: 7g

Packaging included:
1× HD 1/2.5" 16mm Board IR Lens 5.0mp for CCTV IP Camera




Specifications:
Product type: IP Camera Lens
Mount: M12*0.5
Image format: 1/2
Mount: M12*0.5 IP camera
Focal-length: 25mm
Pixels: 5 million pixels
BFL: 9.33mm

IR night vision: Support

Suitable IP camera: For Gopro, for XiaoMi, for Firefly, for SJCAM and other IP cameras with M12*0.5 mount
Package size: approx. 10 * 7 * 2 cm/ 3.94 * 2.76 * 0.79 in
Package weight: 7g

Package List:
1 * 25mm CCTV Camera Lens


What is the approximate magnification effect on Mobius 1/2 from these lenses?

This is a thread dedicated to the 6-22mm Varifocal ƒ/1.6 lens. If you want to further discuss the lenses you've ordered it would be best to post about them in @TonyM's "Mobius Telephoto Dashcam" thread which is more about fixed focal length M12 telephoto lenses.

 

[Leo_SF]

Dashmellow thank you. I will do that. I will likely end up ordering this one too....

 

[Dashmellow]

Dashmellow thank you. I will do that. I will likely end up ordering this one too....

I hope you do! This varifocal is a great lens and I'm finding that it pretty much outperforms every other aftermarket telephoto lens I've tried on the Mobius. I've said this before; it makes the 5 year old Mobius feel like a brand new camera with enhanced performance.

 

[Dashmellow]

I happen to have a 24mm (30mm) diameter CPL filter that some of you may remember from my 2.8-12mm ƒ/1.4 varifocal lens experiments. The same filter fits this 6-22mm lens.

So, I've attached it to the 6-22mm varifocal ƒ/1.6 with some interesting results. It basically eliminates most windshield glare on most cars in the FOV to the point where you can see right into the cars. There are times when the ability to do this can be very important and I will talk more about that at another time as this is July 4th evening and I'm on my way to enjoy some good barbecue and fireworks!

No polarizer


With polarizer


No polarizer


With polarizer

 

[Harsh]

Nice! My Varifocal has arrived and I already have two of these 24mm (mini series) filter lying around. Though I prefer the tiny profile of the fixed telephoto lenses, the image quality and now CPL compatibility that's a minute's DIY, might just have to reconsider...

 

[Dashmellow]

Nice! My Varifocal has arrived and I already have two of these 24mm (mini series) filter lying around. Though I prefer the tiny profile of the fixed telephoto lenses, the image quality and now CPL compatibility that's a minute's DIY, might just have to reconsider...

I saw on Treeye that a guy from India with the letter H had ordered one of these, so I assumed it must be you! Been waiting for you to mention it. I think you'll be very pleased with it.

Of course, with a CPL you'll have slightly more motion blur, especially in overcast conditions. I'm currently evaluating the trade-off and am deciding if I can live with the greater motion blur.

 

[jokiin]

Of course, with a CPL you'll have slightly more motion blur, especially in overcast conditions. I'm currently evaluating the trade-off and am deciding if I can live with the greater motion blur.

you'll just need one with CPL and one without now

on a serious note how well do you find it holds the position you lock it to, any movement at all or pretty solid?

 

[Dashmellow]

you'll just need one with CPL and one without now

on a serious note how well do you find it holds the position you lock it to, any movement at all or pretty solid?

If you are talking about getting the CPL to stay in adjustment it works pretty well because turning the filter ring is fairly stiff.

 

[Lola]

If you are talking about getting the CPL to stay in adjustment it works pretty well because turning the filter ring is fairly stiff.

I don't rmember seeing the info on the 24mm CPL, do you have a link to the CPL handy? My 6-22 varifocal lens came in. In case you don't know the advertisement on Treeye of this lens shows the cut IR filter located inside the lens tube as you described to them. I also told her (Sophie) the story and she had them install mine inside the lens tube. So, evidently that is the way they are shipping all of them now.

 

[kamkar]

If you are talking about

I think Rick mean the focus position.

 

[Dashmellow]

I don't rmember seeing the info on the 24mm CPL, do you have a link to the CPL handy? My 6-22 varifocal lens came in. In case you don't know the advertisement on Treeye of this lens shows the cut IR filter located inside the lens tube as you described to them. I also told her (Sophie) the story and she had them install mine inside the lens tube. So, evidently that is the way they are shipping all of them now.

@Lola, you may have missed it but I posted about Treeye switching to installing the IR cut filter inside the lens tube on all their varifocal lens about a month ago back on June 7th, along with their new photo of the lens.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-5mp-varifocal-zoom-6-22mm-ƒ-1-6.34263/post-409717

The CPL I used is a cheap one I bought on eBay years ago. I don't have a link for it but many similar ones are available if you just search for them. Keep in mind that there is no easy way to attach the filter to the varifocal lens. I will talk more about my experiences with that soon but basically I had to glue it on using UV cement. Anybody who wants to install a CPL on this lens will need to come up with a suitable method of attachment. So far, UV cement appears to be a secure but easily reversible way to do it.