New BlackVue DR900X Plus Series 4K Dashcam Available Now

[reverend]

The front advantages seem to be delivered via the SoC upgrade only as it's the same image sensor used as the DR900x - the previous DR900 cameras were HiSilicon Hi3559 based and this new DR900x Plus is the newer HiSilicon Hi3559v200 SoC as used in the DR750x.

As mentioned the rear camera is the same as that in the DR750x with the Sony IMX327 sensor.

Details below for this latest DR900X Plus.

SoC: HiSilicon Hi3559v200
Front sensor: OmniVision OS08A10 - 1/1.8" sensor - 2.0µm pixel size
Rear sensor: Sony IMX327 - 1/2.8" sensor - 2.9µm pixel size

Not sure how bitrates compare across the two SoCs but shows that just changing the SoC still offers potential benefits to a solution.

 

[kamkar]

TBH the frame grabs / plate photos, it do sort of feel like bitrate starvation more than anything optical or sensor limited.

 

[Nigel]

Do you have a link or two handy? I’m not trying to argue. I just haven’t seen it myself, but of course people’s experiences vary and I’d love to learn more, without going too OT here. Perhaps it happens with dashcams that lock front and rear exposure levels and don’t allow them to vary independently in case of a CPL on the front cam or tint in the rear?

I think it only happens with certain types of windshield tint.

Most people leave the EV set at 0.0, unless they like clouds, in which case they may set it at -0.3 or -0.7. But then there is a very occasional person who sets it at +1 and ends up with an OK image, even though I would get a distinctly overexposed image at +1.0!

Possibly it is a result of the tint increasing contrast or changing the white balance.

 

[kamkar]

I care little for how the sky is exposed in a dashcam, down on road level it is a whole other matter, keeping in mind this is a accident recorder not a cinematic devise.

 

[hdkeith]

I've noticed many people speak of it, but my personal experience is limited- I just got my first CPL and noticed the same thing- darker imagess with it versus without. In the last 6 months there have been at least 2 reports here on DCT (including pics) of birefringence and its happened numerous times through the years I've perused these forums- it's not a rare event but not hugely common. The forums here and also many other pl aces where dashcams are discussed are rife with examples of dark window tints lowering vid brightness which was compensated for by increasing exposure levels, returning the vid brightness to at least close to what the person got before tinting. Neither your opinion or mine means much compared to the masses whose total experience far outweighs us. What I've said concurs with almost all of what I've seen and heard from others here and elsewhere so I'm not going to argue the point- I don't need to.

Phil

In photography I used a CPL when shooting outdoors. It almost always will cause a loss of about one F-Stop for exposure meaning you have to crank open the lens or slow down the shutter. The aperture of the lens will dictate some of these limitations in order to maintain 30fps and I am assuming the dashcam lens is fixed focal and aperture. Being more old school I understand mechanical shutters, but the dashcam is using an electronic shutter so I am no expert here, but in my reading they accomplish the same thing by turning sensors on/off for reading them. This means while an electronic shutter can be very fast to help with bright exposure, to maintain 30fps there will be a floor that the shutter can not stay open more than in order to allow the cam to capture and process 30fps. This is similar formulas to achieve 60fps, so a 60fps image will have less time to capture light than aa 30fps image will in very low light for a given sensor. If I recall many of these class sensors (using my security cams as examples) do WDR by basically taking 2 very fast images (one more exposed than the other) and blending the results. I have never liked the image my security cams take with WDR on as it usually makes the shadows and highlights very unnatural.

Add to that the size of the pixels on the sensor which limits the amount of light it can capture in a giving duration and there is a big balancing act that goes on in software. I am actually impressed with the dashcam video's I have seen especially as they go in and out of tunnels most seems to adjust to the changing light very quickly.

I have a DR750X Plus and had the CPL on initially and took it off. I did not feel the image was darker during the day (although need a more direct comparison) the quality of the CPL will have an impact on image quality. I do feel like the Blackvue CPL really caused some over boosted contrast giving the image an unnatural look. I do need to do some more real world captures to test. I did order a DR900X Plus without the CPL.

 

[Vortex Radar]

More testing. I just went out to do some CPL/tint testing with automatic exposure levels and am sifting through the footage now.

First up, here's a dynamic range comparison I just noticed. Both dashcams expose the highlights fairly comparably, but the Plus has way better shadow detail, especially in the trees on the left.



Next up, testing auto exposure levels with and without a CPL. When the polarizer goes on and off, you can see the dashcam compensating for a second which makes sense considering CPL's do block some light. Then switching back and forth and doing split screens to make it easier to compare, it seems to do fine as far as exposure. The CPL does kill some bright highlights and darken the sky so it does look a little darker in areas by comparison, but that's what it's supposed to do. Autoexposure seems to work fine.

Next up, testing how the rear cam is affected by tint. I just handheld the rear cam on my rear window behind the tint, as well as on the outside of my window with nothing in the way.

Exposure again seems comparable with and without the tint. I do notice a white balance shift. I guess my tint has a slight blue'ish tinge. I also notice the tint cuts out a bit of glare, though I don't know if that was due to the tint or something else. Either way, the rear cam seems fine behind tint or not so no concerns with needing to manually adjust exposure compensation / brightness levels.

 

[hdkeith]

I think you are convincing me to not us a CPL on my DR900X Plus when it arrives unless I get a lot of internal reflections. I have a CPL with my DR750X Plus, but did not for the DR900X Plus. Based on my experience with my security cams, that DR900X Plus image looks like WDR/HDR is being used.

 

[raqball]

Holy crap that was fast! My DR900X Plus is out for delivery!

 

[hdkeith]

Holy crap that was fast! My DR900X Plus is out for delivery!

Where did you purchase from?

 

[raqball]

Where did you purchase from?

Direct from BlackVue with DHL Express ($25) shipping option..

I found a 10% off code online that I used that covered the shipping and still gave a slight discount on the price.

 

[hdkeith]

dashcamstore.com tells me they will have some this week or next and blackboxmycar.com is taking orders for 9/20, I assume that may pull in as well.

 

[raqball]

Its here..

 

[kamkar]

2 words, and my brain started up the scene from a old horror movie with a little girl sitting in front of a TV proclaiming "they are here"
Hope the new camera turn up much more merry.

 

[raqball]

Plugged right in with my existing DR750x Plus wiring, rear camera and CM100 module. Removed the 750X Plus from cloud and added it.. Took me all of 5 minutes to do the swap and part of the snag was I transferred the SD card and was getting error about incomparable camera. Once I formatted the SD card, all was good.. Oh it's also the same size so my Blendmount works just fine with it..

 

[hdkeith]

Do the DR750X Plus and DR900X Plus use the same mount? Are they basically the same exact camera except for front sensor?

 

[BlackVue_Pittasoft]

Do the DR750X Plus and DR900X Plus use the same mount? Are they basically the same exact camera except for front sensor?

Yes, the mount size is the same.

 

[hdkeith]

Yes, the mount size is the same.

Thanks, that makes the upgrade fast. Can’t wait to get my DR900X Plus and return my DR750X Plus.

 

[hdkeith]

With support for 256GB SD cards I would like to see a "Ultimate" recoding mode of 50mbs which would still give you 7 hours on a 256gb car and maybe provide more details in the image.

 

[rcg530]

Today, I received a DR900X-2CH Plus camera box from Pittasoft. I just finished installing the DR900X-2CH Plus in my car. I now have a DR900X-2CH, a DR900X-2CH Plus and a Blueskysea B4K with its recently upgraded rear camera installed in this car. I switched the BlackVue CM100LTE connectivity module from the DR900X-2CH front camera to the DR900X-2CH Plus front camera.

I'll start gathering video footage over the next week or so. I'll put together a comparison video with video footage from all three camera setups.

 

[ImpliedConsent]

Well, that was fun as hell to catch up on. According to Sony, the DR750X-Plus uses "Sony STARVIS™ CMOS Sensor (Approx. 2.1MP)" for both front and rear. The DR900X-Plus uses "8MP CMOS Sensor" (their website) for the front and the "Sony STARVIS™ CMOS Sensor (Approx. 2.1MP)".

Who make the DR900X-Plus 8MP CMOS Sensor? Sony?

Watching those awesome review videos by Vortex Radar I'm not yet sold on upgrading 900X to 900X-Plus, but it's getting much better. Luckily I only have to buy the front camera (it's about time we could upgrade our 2-ch with a single front!).

The front advantages seem to be delivered via the SoC upgrade only as it's the same image sensor used as the DR900x - the previous DR900 cameras were HiSilicon Hi3559 based and this new DR900x Plus is the newer HiSilicon Hi3559v200 SoC as used in the DR750x.

As mentioned the rear camera is the same as that in the DR750x with the Sony IMX327 sensor.

Details below for this latest DR900X Plus.

SoC: HiSilicon Hi3559v200
Front sensor: OmniVision OS08A10 - 1/1.8" sensor - 2.0µm pixel size
Rear sensor: Sony IMX327 - 1/2.8" sensor - 2.9µm pixel size

Not sure how bitrates compare across the two SoCs but shows that just changing the SoC still offers potential benefits to a solution.