Mobius Maxi (F1.5 Lens B & F1.6 6-22mm) and Viofo A129

[TonyM]

Camera setup:
Viofo A129 (rear camera unplugged, for maximum bitrate on front camera)
Mobius Maxi with F1.6 6-22mm varifocal lens
Mobius Maxi with F1.5 Lens B

------------------------------------------
Maxi F1.5 Lens B - 2704x1524 30fps
A129 F1.6 - 1910x1080 30fps

Comparative scenes recorded with the Maxi & F1.6 6-22mm lens, also at 2704x1524 @ 30fps

 

[Dashmellow]

The UK and Europe have such big license plates for dash cams to capture. It's like cheating!

 

[TonyM]

Marginal conditions for number plate recognition this morning, with overcast/misty weather.

Through the trees at 50+mph the A129 struggled to capture much detail on this passing van - recorded at 1080p60 (20Mbps)

The Maxi did slightly better, recording at 2.7k 30fps (60Mbps), with some indication of a company logo on the front of the van:

My other Maxi with a 6-22mm lens was able to show the licence plate, also recording at 2.7k30

A little further down the road, I had to slow down and wait to pass a vehicle stopped in my lane. This time the A129 shows better detail on the passing car (moving at <20mph), but compression is quite evident across the frame.

The Maxi has less compression and sharper details.

The Maxi with 6-22mm lens shows the oncoming driver gesturing to acknowledge my slowing down as he passed.

 

[SawMaster]

What I notice most of all here is dashboard reflections-UGH! This is pretty bad for a cloudy day compared to most cars, and that could be upsetting the cam's brightness adjustments somewhat. The A129 needs help; it should be better than that. Mobius seems to have always used a better lens than most, and that seems to be continuing. And of course the telephoto is awesome with what it does.

Phil

 

[TonyM]

What I notice most of all here is dashboard reflections-UGH! This is pretty bad for a cloudy day compared to most cars, and that could be upsetting the cam's brightness adjustments somewhat.

I normally use a CPL on the A129. It's removed for comparison with the Maxi. The telephoto is less troubled by dashboard reflections, unless the angle is unfortunate and the entire view has a strong reflection in it!

 

[Nigel]

I normally use a CPL on the A129. It's removed for comparison with the Maxi. The telephoto is less troubled by dashboard reflections, unless the angle is unfortunate and the entire view has a strong reflection in it!

Even then you tend not to notice the reflection because it is the same all over due to it looking through a much smaller area of the glass.

 

[TonyM]

A little further down the road, the A129 just about grabs the number plate of the passing car. There's not much detail on the car in front.

100% crop:


The wide-angle Maxi resolves more detail in the passing car, and reveals a bit more about the one in front.


The varifocal Maxi is not so sharp this time, which I think is due to relative motion between my car at 50mph and the others that is exaggerated by the telephoto lens and narrow FOV.

 

[TonyM]

Whilst the A129 may not be as good as the Maxi when capturing fast-moving number plates on tree-lined country lanes, it does perform stronger in other areas which earn it a permanent place on my windscreen:
- In-built GPS
- Sturdy and stealthy wedge design
- Provision for CPL filter
- Easy to use bluetooth remote for saving event files
- Dual camera
- Lower bitrate means I get about a week's worth of video on a 128GB card
- Better low light sensitivity

In this example of recording in a lit grocery store carpark without headlights, I captured this able-bodied driver returning to her car in a disabled spot (One of my pet hates, even if it is at night).

All three cameras were powered from USB powerbanks in continuous recording mode.

The Maxi records the general scene fairly well, enough to document what is happening around my car. It's fairly noisy with deep shadows, and the AWB has a yellow/green tint.

By comparison, the A129 records a brighter scene with less noise, sharper details and more realistic colours, thanks to the more sensitive IMX291 sensor.

As you may expect, the Maxi with the 6-22mm varifocal records a much narrower FOV than misses the adjacent car completely. However we can see that she bought a pack of Bran Flakes!

 

[country_hick]

Have you upgraded your maxi's to the newest firmware? I thought that version 1.90 fixed the greenish tint problem. Maybe that was only in the day? The type of lights used could give a different color light that the maxi sensor misinterprets as being green/yellow.

True night performance is determined by being where only your headlights provide illumination. Parking lots lit up this way are closer to daylight than night darkness.

Your last picture was aimed about .5m to far to the right.
P.S. I wonder how long her hair is...

 

[SawMaster]

P.S. I wonder how long her hair is...

It reached all the way to her head. Unless it was a wig.......
Phil

 

[TonyM]

Have you upgraded your maxi's to the newest firmware? I thought that version 1.90 fixed the greenish tint problem. Maybe that was only in the day? The type of lights used could give a different color light that the maxi sensor misinterprets as being green/yellow.

True night performance is determined by being where only your headlights provide illumination. Parking lots lit up this way are closer to daylight than night darkness.

Yes, I am using the latest FW.
V1.90 did fix the green tint in the daytime. At night the AWB can be affected by all sorts of artificial light sources.

 

[TonyM]

Your last picture was aimed about .5m to far to the right.

Sadly my Maxi does not have object-tracking and a motorised gimbal

 

[kamkar]

What a nice bit of crumpet

 

[dirkzelf]

Every time I want to activate WIFI, my Maxi flashes a few times, and freezes..... Anyone know if this is a bug or defect? I have'nt used it for some time, but the battery is full....

And, does anyone know what the MOBIUS MAXI PLUS is???

Sorry, wrong thread.... moved to:

Mobius Maxi Support Thread

you asked about overheating, well, it does overheat but never stops recording. this mainly affects wifi connectivity which is completely unreliable as it is - sometimes i'm not able to connect to Maxi (using the app etc) even when the AC is blasting and it's quite chilly in the car - I touch...

dashcamtalk.com