My Mobius 2 / M2

harsh said:
I guess it totally depends on how the M1's being handled. I've only had the handle of a pair of scissors that's siliconised wear out like described by isoprop and dash_riposk.

Do agree on the ergonomics bit but not really an issue if used just as a dash cam.
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I think the side mounted buttons work quite well for dash cam use especially in a left hand drivers position. The positioning of the buttons is more of a problem when the camera is used in the hand or for other purposes.

One thing about the M2 I've been noticing is that at night the side mounted LEDs are too bright and very distracting. The blue ones literally illuminate my dashboard to a certain degree. Living in a rural area where there are no street lights I find this especially bothersome compared to how they look when I've driving in town with lots of ambient illumination at night. I would love to see a feature where you could select a lower brightness for these LEDs.
 
I think i would like that too, but sadly my buying powers are severely restricted the rest of my life :(
 
Dashmellow said:
I think the side mounted buttons work quite well for dash cam use especially in a left hand drivers position. The positioning of the buttons is more of a problem when the camera is used in the hand or for other purposes.
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I was about to mention the disadvantage for RHS drivers regarding the button placement but as the M2 is going to end up in the rear for my application, it doesn't really bother me. Also till the mode button can be used to lock files like with the M1, one would only use it to change the mode even if mounted in the front.

Another reason I've let the battery be for now is that I'll be using the M2 for a bit of outdoor activity next month. Looking forward to playing around with it.


Dashmellow said:
One thing about the M2 I've been noticing is that at night the side mounted LEDs are too bright and very distracting. The blue ones literally illuminate my dashboard to a certain degree. Living in a rural area where there are no street lights I find this especially bothersome compared to how they look when I've driving in town with lots of ambient illumination at night. I would love to see a feature where you could select a lower brightness for these LEDs.
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I hope the developers are listening.

Yet to use 1080p 60, which I've set to for Mode 2.

With my old MBP successfully OLX'd. Starting Monday, frame rate and format issues are history!
 
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Dashmellow said:
One thing about the M2 I've been noticing is that at night the side mounted LEDs are too bright and very distracting. The blue ones literally illuminate my dashboard to a certain degree. Living in a rural area where there are no street lights I find this especially bothersome compared to how they look when I've driving in town with lots of ambient illumination at night. I would love to see a feature where you could select a lower brightness for these LEDs.
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I agree that the side LEDs are rather bright at night. However I also find the yellow side LED hard to see in daytime. When hidden behind the rear view mirror I can't see either one without ducking my head, so it is not a big problem for me.
 
TonyM said:
I agree that the side LEDs are rather bright at night. However I also find the yellow side LED hard to see in daytime. When hidden behind the rear view mirror I can't see either one without ducking my head, so it is not a big problem for me.
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I've noticed that it can be hard to see the amber LEDs during the day as well but I don't find that to be too much of an issue, especially because I can easily see the rear red LED where I have the camera mounted a couple of inches to the right of my SG9665GC. Also, perhaps because I'm in a left hand drive vehicle it's not so bad?

The brightness of the LEDs when I drive home from town on pitch black rural roads at night is quite something in either mode but the blue is intense enough to actually see much of my dashboard. When I've been doing beta testing I will set up each mode differently such as Mode 1 with WDR and Mode 2 without WDR so I get to compare the two. If I were to deploy the M2 on a full time basis as a dash cam I would probably open up the case and mod the camera to tone down the brightness at night.
 
I would imagine a piece of colored plastic taped on top would dim the led light. Several layers taped down could adjust brightness even more.
 
Dashmellow said:
I've noticed that it can be hard to see the amber LEDs during the day as well but I don't find that to be too much of an issue, especially because I can easily see the rear red LED where I have the camera mounted a couple of inches to the right of my SG9665GC. Also, perhaps because I'm in a left hand drive vehicle it's not so bad?

The brightness of the LEDs when I drive home from town on pitch black rural roads at night is quite something in either mode but the blue is intense enough to actually see much of my dashboard. When I've been doing beta testing I will set up each mode differently such as Mode 1 with WDR and Mode 2 without WDR so I get to compare the two. If I were to deploy the M2 on a full time basis as a dash cam I would probably open up the case and mod the camera to tone down the brightness at night.
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You're left-hand drive with the M2 mounted on the screw thread, whereas I'm right-hand drive and using a magnetic mount to the blank M2 face, so we are seeing the same really. It's just that I can't see the rear red led.

One thing I did find a bit confusing is the green led when the battery is charging. With recording indicator on, the led alternates green/amber in mode 1 which is hard to tell the difference at a glance. When the recording indicator is set to off, the green charging light remains on, which at first glance made me think that the M2 did not start up with auto power on but instead went into charging only. I suppose I should reposition the M2 so I can see the red led at the back.
 
Lots of fixes for too bright but few for too dim so I see no big problem there. I don't like taking my eyes off the road for anything so I press buttons and adjust controls by feel. If one button has importance I'll glue a bit of something on top of it so I'll know instantly where it's at by feel. Glues come in all flavors so that doesn't have to be a permanent alteration. As long as the needed buttons are accessible I'll trade off their location for more compactness. YMMV with all of this.

There's never been and cannot be a perfect design for everyone, so getting close to that is the best possible and I feel that has been done here. I finally looked up the M2 price and was shocked to see how affordable it is so mine is only about 6 weeks away plus shipping time unless a financial crisis hits. I'm drooling already :rolleyes:

Phil
 
TonyM said:
You're left-hand drive with the M2 mounted on the screw thread, whereas I'm right-hand drive and using a magnetic mount to the blank M2 face, so we are seeing the same really. It's just that I can't see the rear red led.

One thing I did find a bit confusing is the green led when the battery is charging. With recording indicator on, the led alternates green/amber in mode 1 which is hard to tell the difference at a glance. When the recording indicator is set to off, the green charging light remains on, which at first glance made me think that the M2 did not start up with auto power on but instead went into charging only. I suppose I should reposition the M2 so I can see the red led at the back.
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Thanks for explaining how you have your camera mounted. Now we're on the same page.

As for the green LED I really don't worry about it, especially if I have a capacitor installed. If the camera is functioning as it should and it gives me the proper start-up sequence I know I'm good to go, but I've noticed the same effect you describe.

Re-positioning the camera will help, I'm sure. I happen to live in a jurisdiction that requires a vehicle inspection stick right behind and below the rear view mirror so I've never been able to mount dash cams in the center "sweet spot" anyway and need to offset cameras enough from the mirror so the sticker doesn't end up in the FOV of the lens. A little aiming towards the center, especially with a Mobius always gives me a good image along with a good view of the cameras rear LED.
 
After riding in the front passenger seat of my car last night, I totally get how distracting the LED's on the M2 (especially the side LED) can be if not covered fully by the IRVM. Does warrant some 'DIY'.
 
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harsh said:
After riding in the front passenger seat of my car last night, I totally get how distracting the LED's on the M2 (especially the side LED) can be if not covered fully by the IRVM. Does warranty some 'DIY'.
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If and when I ever move beyond beta testing and decide to install a Mobius 2 as a full time dash cam I think the method I will explore for moderating the brightness of the LEDs at night will be to install a small piece of Neutral Density Gel of the appropriate value inside the camera's housing.

NDgels.jpg

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...IP_71_IP_l_ND3_Gels.html?_escaped_fragment_=#!
 
Well i think the proper thing is to unsolder the SMD LED and then put another one there with a lessser MCD value. :)

But i am not going there as the small tip of my soldering iron is not so small now, and i just cant remember to buy a new one when i pass by the shop that have those.
 
kamkar1 said:
Well i think the proper thing is to unsolder the SMD LED and then put another one there with a lessser MCD value. :)

But i am not going there as the small tip of my soldering iron is not so small now, and i just cant remember to buy a new one when i pass by the shop that have those.
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Yeah, good luck with that idea. :D I have a friend who sometimes works with surface mounted parts but he has a specialized soldering gun and works with tweezers, a giant illuminated magnifier and a hand rest.
 
During my experimentation with Plasti-dip and Rustoleum peel-coat on the (long retired) Mini 0805, I had observed that after the second coat, the Mini's LED had become quite dim. May or may not work if only the LED is covered as the layer could accidentally get rubbed off.
 
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hehe yeah i think my days of soldering components to a leg of a IC is over, or at least on standby until i can afford a pair of glasses ( presbyopia )

I cant even read a regular caliper any more, got to use one with big digital letters on it.

Only one time have a ruined a pice of hardware and that was a Intel Northwood prosessor i ruined by not being careful removing the IHS so i could get my cooler on the die instead of a metal lid over that die.
 
harsh said:
During my experimentation with Plasti-dip and Rustoleum peel-coat on the (long retired) Mini 0805, I had observed that after the second coat, the Mini's LED had become quite dim. May or may not work if only the LED is covered as the layer could accidentally get rubbed off.
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I've always done careful masking or removed the housing completely before spray painting any dash cams. The results have always been worth the extra effort. Not a big fan of Plasti-dip for this purpose though.
 
A single pass with spray paint should do the trick, I'm assuming..
 
I meant just over the LED's, with everything else masked. Probably a second coat to dim it further if required.
 
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