My Mobius thread: initial contact, some questions and why I didn't keep it (read this before buying)

[jokiin]

from your screen shots the lens is about 120° horizontal

 

[Module 79L]

There's a fellow dashcammer from Northern California who bought a Mobius at the end of last year. I never paid much attention to her night clips before but now I went to watch some of her videos and I noticed her camera has the same problem and it's also very noticeable. She's probably unaware of that because the night video quality of her previous camera was really bad.
That's why I asked for some screenshots from "older" Mobius to see if this issue always existed or if it's something that only happens in more recent models.

 

[reverend]

There are a load of old night screenshots in this thread which was the B lens Mobius on a much older firmware:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-0-47-vs-dome-g90-r441mp-hdr-on-night.6864/

 

[Klippie]

Your night shots look perfectly fine...but please remember this is a cheap video camera which has a cheap sensor, cheap electronics, cheap optics etc etc the by product of which is a grainy looking image when the light level gets too low for the sensor to work properly.

If you want good clear night video you will have to pay lots of money for a camera with a much more sensitive sensor and a fast lens to let plenty light in both of which will mean a much larger camera than the tiny Mobius.

For the money the Mobius really is pretty good.

 

[Module 79L]

There are a load of old night screenshots in this thread which was the B lens Mobius on a much older firmware:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-0-47-vs-dome-g90-r441mp-hdr-on-night.6864/

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, even though it's a different lens and an old firmware, it confirms my worst fear.

 

[Module 79L]

Your night shots look perfectly fine...but please remember this is a cheap video camera which has a cheap sensor, cheap electronics, cheap optics etc etc the by product of which is a grainy looking image when the light level gets too low for the sensor to work properly.

If you want good clear night video you will have to pay lots of money for a camera with a much more sensitive sensor and a fast lens to let plenty light in both of which will mean a much larger camera than the tiny Mobius.

For the money the Mobius really is pretty good.

My night shots look perfectly fine maybe for a Mobius, because my two cheaper video cameras with the same cheap sensor and electronics, and cheaper optics, may not deliver good night video quality but at least for them the grey asphalt is grey, the white walls are white and my car's black bonnet/hood is black, not something that looks like it came out of a Warhol's painting.
I've said this before: I'm not looking for excellent or even great night video quality but I sure don't want a camera that's only good for day time video. I'm ok with the grain (I don't expect these cameras to do wonders at night) but not when that grain is nothing but colored dots all over the picture.
I'd say, for the money, the Mobius should be better than any cheaper generic camera.

 

[jokiin]

I'd say, for the money, the Mobius should be better than any cheaper generic camera.

the challenge for most of the cheap generic cameras is that there are some that deliver ok results but they just don't last, I think there's a high reliability factor to the Mobius that you just don't get in any of the sub $100 competitors, even a lot of the sub $200 stuff isn't built to last

 

[Module 79L]

the challenge for most of the cheap generic cameras is that there are some that deliver ok results but they just don't last, I think there's a high reliability factor to the Mobius that you just don't get in any of the sub $100 competitors, even a lot of the sub $200 stuff isn't built to last

I don't think anyone should be ok with sub-par night video quality, no matter how good and reliable a camera is.

 

[jokiin]

I don't think anyone should be ok with sub-par night video quality, no matter how good and reliable a camera is.

it's not sub par, it's the expected performance based on the hardware spec, newer solutions are capable of better performance but the products available at comparable prices are poorly made, no point having great video if it doesn't last very long, have to remember that first and foremost the Mobius was designed for RC use, the dashcam functionality is a bonus really

 

[Module 79L]

(...) no point having great video if it doesn't last very long,

Unfortunately my experience with the Mobius tells me there's no point having poorer night quality than what I have now, even if the camera, in theory, lasts longer.
I bought it based on the advice of so many people who are more than happy with what they have (and believed so many people couldn't all be wrong), that's why I have to feel somewhat disappointed, also because I expected at least the same performance as other cameras with the same hardware specs.

 

[jokiin]

Some people have different expectations but there's a limit to what it can do, for some people that is completely acceptable performance, understand you are looking for better though

 

[Module 79L]

Some people have different expectations but there's a limit to what it can do, for some people that is completely acceptable performance, understand you are looking for better though

The problem is I'm not! I'd be more than happy if it performed at the same level of my other two! If I was really looking for better night quality I'd spend a lot more money and buy something much better than a Mobius.

 

[dirkzelf]

It's not the motion blur I'm complaining about. I know all cameras do that at night. It's the moving colored dots or colored graininess or whatever you want to call it. Am I the only one who can see it?

No, it's there, I have that too...... and it IS visibly worse than B or A lens......