Night footage is terrible - why is it so bad? (attached video)

[dbizzle22]

Angle of windshield, distance from windshield, how clean windshield is etc. those all affect the picture quality right?

 

[Signhere]

Thanks. I'm on V2.33. My recordings are nowhere near yours. Sharpness and color, your's much better.

I tried to make use of the "Advanced Image Settings" with the more recent firmwares but I was hopeless ( and/or it was). If I remember correctly, any firmware above v0.53 will give noisier images in low light conditions.

Under daylight conditions, the colors do become more saturated with WDR on.

Angle of windshield, distance from windshield, how clean windshield is etc. those all affect the picture quality right?

Yes, to a certain extent ( usually reflection/exposure issues ) . In most low light conditions, you can put your Mobius anywhere and I can tell if your Mobius' firmware is > v0.53.

 

[Wise87]

Problem is will the c-lens work with .53? Just for the fun of it I set mine to A lens and night image actually looked pretty good.

 

[Signhere]

Problem is will the c-lens work with .53? Just for the fun of it I set mine to A lens and night image actually looked pretty good.

I think it's worth a try. For firmware information/update instructions , see ... http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25170908&postcount=3 ( post#3) .

Note the fixes after v0.53 (readme text file is located on the bottom of post #3) ...

v0.57 - fixed the elusive external power auto-record bug that began recording instead of going into disk mode when connected to a PC USB port with certain memory cards and cameras.
- Moved the video capture areas for the "Small" AOV video modes to center-most area of the CMOS array. [ narrow mode issue ]
v0.59 - fixed a low light condition that caused flickering when a bright light source moved into the frame.
- fixed ghost scan line artifact near the top of the frame in the two "Small" (narrow) AOV (FOV) video modes.
- changed the web cam video to remain always upright (it was rotated 180 when photos were rotated).
- fixed an obscure bug in the playback mode that blanked the screen with certain rapid key presses.

Step2 Firmware - major function upgrade
v1.13 - Added motion detection and advance image quality tab with many functions to change recording image qualities (see Mobius Support Thread post #5446 for details)
v1.17 - Improves SOME memory card compatibility issues. Adds a second WDR "low light" BETA TEST setting (GUI update needed to set in unless manually editing the config.
v1.20 - Fixes Narrow, rotated video quality bug, improves battery charge status LED flashing sequence, adds code for Android Web Cam app by therau2000, and has new memory card communication code. Please read post number #8193 for more detail. ...
.
.
.

 

[Bungus]

I tried to make use of the "Advanced Image Settings" with the more recent firmwares but I was hopeless ( and/or it was). If I remember correctly, any firmware above v0.53 will give noisier images in low light conditions.

Under daylight conditions, the colors do become more saturated with WDR on.

Yes, to a certain extent ( usually reflection/exposure issues ) . In most low light conditions, you can put your Mobius anywhere and I can tell if your Mobius' firmware is > v0.53.

I'm also playing with the "Advance Image Settings". Have been trying different settings every couple of days. Some improvement, not much. Could be our spring like weather we're having now. Bright sunshine, shadows cause havoc on recording.

 

[Turtley]

Generally, I prefer WDR off w/o daylight. You can make use of the mode1/mode2 setting by having WDR on on one and off on the other.

WDR on in daylight ...

WDR off under street lights ...

How did you set v0.53 WDR for mode 1 and 2 when it is a global setting in mSetup?

 

[dashtalk]

I have the latest firmware and it is pretty good compared to $200 dashcams

 

[Signhere]

How did you set v0.53 WDR for mode 1 and 2 when it is a global setting in mSetup?

That's correct, it's global only in v0.53. For people who want to use the more/most recent firmware ( because of features - a working "Narrow" mode for example ), they can make use of the independent settings in the two modes.

 

[dashcamnh]

Check your headlight alignment also. If applicable & you have say H11, you can upgrade to H9 but a simple mod (literally cutting off a tab). Lighting will make a huge difference with dash cams at night.

Other light bulbs you can upgrade to high wattage but do so with caution as your factory wires may not handle the extra wattage & will require upgraded harness. And check the law of course as it may be not street legal.

This is my WRX before I upgraded to HID. H9 made a HUGE difference. It's a 5-minute mod with a dremel

H9 photo has the fog on*

 

[Turtley]

I have the Silverstar's in my vehicle but have had them going on 5 years now. I guess it's time to replace them.
I did see an improvement in night time grain under v0.53 over the latest v2.33.

@dashtalk,
I agree. It is a good camera for the price.

@dashcamnh,
I don't normally run my fogs unless the road is wet or it's foggy. I'll try it with the fogs after replacing my bulbs.
Converting to HID's is a little expensive for my vehicle.

I'll go back to v2.33 for now and get new bulbs. Also I'll try running with the fogs on to see how much they help.

What settings do you suggest for the mobius A lens.
FOV - wide or narrow
WDR - on / off for day or night

Thanks for your replies!

 

[reverend]

Other light bulbs you can upgrade to high wattage but do so with caution as your factory wires may not handle the extra wattage & will require upgraded harness. And check the law of course as it may be not street legal.

Very true indeed - I actually upgraded my factory HID bulbs - first of all I had Osram Xenarc Silverstars and I've currently got Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Intense in.

To be honest I'm thinking of moving on again and going back to the Silverstars or their current replacement the Night Breaker Unlimited as my eyes are always tired after long driving at night with the bluer tone of the CBI.

The headlights do make a massive difference though - sometimes I see cars coming and wonder if their lights are even working!

Some of the new Mercedes have awesome factory lighting systems. I've seen a few cars with LED or laser light (not quite sure which they had) and they're amazing up close but don't project as far as HID currently - not to say that they won't do soon. Saying that as they're so bright I don't know how it would affect your vision at night outside of the beam - it might just go totally dark!

 

[Bungus]

HID's in a Halogen reflector is a big No No. unless it's in a projector type. Easiest big improvement is HIR's.

http://www.hirheadlights.com/FAQs.htm

 

[reverend]

Years ago I upgraded my halogen bulbs to HID and as they were reflectors it was awful and dazzled everyone - the car before this was halogens but in projects so they worked quite well - this time around I made sure the car had xenons straight out of the factory as if you have HID / xenon upgrade kits in halogen reflectors you're supposed to fail your MOT now.

To be fair it seems to have helped as I don't see too many cars around this way at night with HIDs in reflector systems.