c4rc4m
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 28, 2016
- Messages
- 777
- Reaction score
- 258
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Dash Cam
- Viofo WR1, A119 Pro. VicoVation Opia 2, Mobius 1
As for you, the notion of a lens type for the UK/EU and another for the US is simply daft.
Don't take this as a personal attack because it isn't, but it seems to be you primarily (and maybe some other US drivers) who have an objection in principle to the notion of having a narrower lens to help improve number plate capture. You complain it's daft, but is it any dafter than losing resolution on plates because you have a lens that's wider than it needs to be, especially on narrower EU roads? What makes the US the great dictator of standards?
That's why I suggested that a solution might be for manufacturers to have EU and US models, (or simply 2 lens choices if you prefer to look at it that way), so that each model could take into account the wider / narrower roads and junctions in each region. I don't see why the EU should suffer with ridiculously wide lenses because the US has wider roads / junctions. In that scenario, it's more sensible to offer 2 models that way if an EU citizen wanted a wider view they could have it. In fact isn't that what Mobius did with the A and B lenses? Two FOV choices?
Anyway, in your example of a 4 way crossroads above you said, "If the camera shows you were green and someone comes from the side and hits you, then that's enough to show you were in the right, they were in the wrong." You are ignoring that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of other possible driving mishap scenarios one needs to be able to record that would be missed if you have too narrow a view and no hood (bonnet) in the image. Someone failing to stop for a red traffic light or stop sign at a 4 way is merely one of them.
I never said no hood. I said all you need is the hood and a few feet either side to record the impact from a 3/4 collision. If you want an all round view, you need cameras all round. Even the widest lens won't capture anything behind the windscreen because even 180 degree FOV can only see in front of the camera's mounting position. Classic example of a pure side impact vs a wide angle dashcam:
The collision is not captured because it's behind the mounted position. That said, even that would be enough evidence if higher resolution because the camera has captured the collision noise, the spin, and coming out of the spin it clearly shows the car that hit you coming to a stop complete with it's damage. Equally given you were driving straight and steady within your lane, it could only have been his fault. The only issue here is the really low resolution. That's more than enough evidence to prove on the balance of probabilities it was his car that hit you and he was at fault.