Nextbase 522GW - Testing / Review

[rcg530]

I uploaded three additional videos from the same time segment.

• Shaking present in video
  • 522GW front with Rear View Camera (RVC) attached
  • Rear View Camera (RVC) video
  • 522GW front with Rear Window Camera (RWC) - long cable running to the rear window
• Shaking not present in video
  • Rear Window Camera

Camera Configuration 1:

522GW front with RVC attached (shaking present - best viewed full screen to see shaking)

Rear View Camera (RVC) video (shaking present) - same video as previous post:

Camera Configuration 2:

522GW front w/RWC video (shaking present)

Rear Window Camera attached to rear window with magnetic ball mount (no shaking):

I did notice the horizontal alignment of this camera changed during this trip. You can see a slight tilt to the alignment that was not present at the start of the trip.

 

[rcg530]

Since my last post about the shaky video, I had a call with Nextbase about the issue. I also provided a video to Nextbase showing how loose the Click&Go PRO's connection between the GPS module and the plastic windshield mounting plate was in my two 522GW installations. The Nextbase rep played some personally collected video using a rear view camera and even their example contained some very minor amount of shaking which might be understandable, but my video samples are about 10 times worse.

A second rear view camera was sent to me to test. I stated I didn't believe the second rear view camera was going to resolve the issue since the front camera video also showed signs of the front camera was also shaking. I received the second rear view camera on Thursday. Friday, I drove my same weekly shopping trip driving route and the video contained just as much shaking as before. I informed Nextbase's support rep that was on our phone call that I would be discontinuing my review of the 522GW since this issue was going to take too long to resolve.

The 522GW has a lot of nice features, but if the camera mount isn't stable the video will not be of decent quality. I'm returning the 522GW dash cameras and related accessories to Nextbase and moving on to my next dash camera review.

 

[KenDay]

I uploaded three additional videos from the same time segment.

• Shaking present in video
  • 522GW front with Rear View Camera (RVC) attached
  • Rear View Camera (RVC) video
  • 522GW front with Rear Window Camera (RWC) - long cable running to the rear window
• Shaking not present in video
  • Rear Window Camera

Camera Configuration 1:

522GW front with RVC attached (shaking present - best viewed full screen to see shaking)

Rear View Camera (RVC) video (shaking present) - same video as previous post:

Camera Configuration 2:

522GW front w/RWC video (shaking present)

Rear Window Camera attached to rear window with magnetic ball mount (no shaking):

I did notice the horizontal alignment of this camera changed during this trip. You can see a slight tilt to the alignment that was not present at the start of the trip.

Even on full screen I can detect no shaking in any of these recordings? The visible parts of the vehicle are rock solid in all the clips.

 

[Decking]

Even on full screen I can detect no shaking in any of these recordings? The visible parts of the vehicle are rock solid in all the clips.

From the authors last post he’s now thrown the towel in. One shaky mount and testing is over.

 

[Kremmen]

I must admit, my old 402 and 412 were quite bad. Noticeable when you view the lower windscreen were the wipers sit.

That the reason I changed to the 380 and then another wedge shaped design, absolutely vibration free.

 

[rcg530]

Even on full screen I can detect no shaking in any of these recordings? The visible parts of the vehicle are rock solid in all the clips.

From the authors last post he’s now thrown the towel in. One shaky mount and testing is over.

During my call with Nextbase, the Nextbase rep acknowledged there was visible vibration in my Rear View Camera video footage. The Nextbase rep played some of his own personal footage claiming it had zero shaking in it. After he played it on the Zoom call, I pointed out it did contain shaking, but at about 25% the level of my examples. He stated, I never noticed that until now (in his personal footage).

The shaking is present in the front camera video footage as well, but it's far less noticeable compared to the rear view camera footage (different video resolution and no zoom lens). Both 522GW front cameras' video footage had shaking present in it. The only camera without any visible shaking in the footage was from the rear window camera which is directly mounted on the rear window glass (base mount) and then a magnetic ball socket mount.

The Nextbase rep kept mentioning how their "Click&GO PRO" gps mount has over 120 patents (meaning it was excellent). The conversation was ending up in a stalemate. Nextbase's support rep at "The Brand Amp" had already sent me a second rear view camera to see if that would resolve the issue. I received the second rear view camera and the video footage with that unit in place had just as much shaking in it because the problem is not rooted in the camera, it's rooted in the mount that is loose where it connects to the windshield. You can't get stable video footage unless the mount to the windshield is steady/solid.

There was no viable solution path for this issue. I cannot keep dash cameras mounted on my front windshield which will not result in something I can recommend to my channel viewers. The dash camera doesn't have to be perfect, but it should at least be able to capture video without noticeable shaking in it. After spending a couple of weeks testing the dash cameras in my filming studio to gather performance data and then the time to install and test it my car, it was time to move on to the next dash camera in my review queue.

 

[Decking]

Well may I be so bold as to ask, why not write your review about the useless plug in rear camera that is unstable and shakes. Thats a review. Also give the stable mount (rear window mount), the review it deserves.
There must be many thousands of the mounts out there but yours is the only one I’ve seen regarding shaking, which must imply there are many good ones.

 

[rcg530]

Well may I be so bold as to ask, why not write your review about the useless plug in rear camera that is unstable and shakes. Thats a review. Also give the stable mount (rear window mount), the review it deserves.
There must be many thousands of the mounts out there but yours is the only one I’ve seen regarding shaking, which must imply there are many good ones.

It comes down to how much time should I spend on a product that has front camera mount problems as well as the rear video resolution only being 1280x720 which is substandard for the market today. I was testing two 522GW dash cameras, one with the rear view camera (mounted on the side of the 522GW) and one with a rear window camera. My first issue was that one of the 522GW dash cameras arrived with a Click&GO Pro GPS mount that would not fully fit into the front of either 522GW dash camera. It almost fit, but it resulted in the 522GW not going into parking mode. Nextbase sent me a replacement (new) Click&GO Pro GPS mount to resolve that issue. The 522GW with the Rear View Camera (extra weight on the front mount) as well as the 522GW with the rear window camera both had visible amounts of shaking in the front video while my vehicle's engine was running but stationary. The shaking would go away when the engine was turned off. My car's engine runs very smoothly, but apparently it shakes just enough to cause the loose connection in the Click&Go Pro GPS mount to shake the front camera. The Rear View Camera having the zoom lens made the shaking quite noticeable in the 1280x720 video.

I created a short video that I sent to Nextbase demonstrating how loose both of the Click&Go Pro mounts were where they clipped into the plastic windshield plate. That was dismissed as "not a problem". IMO, that IS the problem. There's no chance for the front camera or rear if directly attached to the front to get decent video if the mount to the windshield allows the front camera to move around. After having three Click&Go Pro GPS mounts with problems and no real interest to seriously look into the issue, I decided to cut my losses and move on.

Creating a review video consumes numerous hours to gather footage and edit. I'd rather spend the $22 USD to send the Nextbase dash camera equipment and accessories back and move on to my next review in my lengthy dash camera review queue.

 

[Decking]

Comments noted. But surely, the purpose of a review is to write about what you find. Good or bad.

 

[rcg530]

Comments noted. But surely, the purpose of a review is to write about what you find. Good or bad.

All of my findings on present on DCT. Running a one person company, I need to make difficult decisions where to spend my time and money.