Panorama IIs no Longer my favored Cam... GT680W is a much better value

hometechnc

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Location
Cary,NC
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Dash Cam
Mobius, Panorama II/S, FineVu CR-500HD
One of the two Panorama IIs Dash Cams I purchased had been nothing but problems. Had several bad GPS modules, and now, I have an aberration on one of the lenses. (looks like a wire hanging in from of it on the right side, but nothing there). So, I ordered a Shadow GT680W from foxoffer a few weeks ago; and let me tell you.. I'm impressed!

It only cost $99 w/ GPS module, compared to $225 for the Panorama IIs. And the GT680W has better detail (maybe due to the slightly narrower lens). I had to adjust the EV by +2, since as shipped, the video was too dark and color-saturated. But after this minor adjustment, this jewel had become my new favorite!

Perhaps there should be some adjustments made to The Best “Bang for your Buck” Dash Cams, page of the website.

See for yourself :
 
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Someone may correct me but as far as I can tell long term users have made a different opinion. There have been more complaints here about GT680w having issues than Panorama 2. You have 2 of them and so far no issues from the second one. Plus you have one year of warranty for Panorama. I'm only summarizing what I have read here and what I know from my experience. Reliability is something that only time will show.
 
I don't know which is better, but man, you are wrong:

man you are wrong 1.jpg man you are wrong 2.jpg
Even with that EV=+2 the GT680W is darker.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
He said that was before EV +2
 
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OK, but the youtube mistake still remains.

enjoy,
Mtz
I have no idea what youtube mistake you are talking about? The photo you show in your first post, is before the +2 adjustment.
After I made the adjustment, the exposure is more balanced, and the colors are more true than the Panorama IIs.

I was all about the Panorama IIs just like a lot of other people, when I decided to buy them. I average more than 250 miles a day, driving my three different cars. I have tried out various cams, including the over-priced FineVu CR-HD500's and the Panorama series. After experiencing numerous issues with the Panorama IIs, I started looking again, and found the GT680W.

I use and edit a lot of my video for my youtube channel. So I think I know what I'm looking at when I now see better detail, and truer colors.
Even without the truer colors, I'd be very happy with increased detail, AT LESS THAN HALF THE COST of the IIs.
 
left and right I expect

what firmware version is your Panorama?
v3.0G ...and oh yea, I see the mistake on youtube now. The text at the beginning is backwards, should read images for the GT680W are on the right, not left... my bad!
 
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I don't know what version that is but it's nothing like the current version, a lot of image quality adjustments in more recent versions, the current Panorama S wouldn't even be the same hardware spec as what you have
... sorry, thought you were asking what version in the GT680W, the Panorama cams have the most recent, and the 15kbps version.

And not withstanding the night tests to come, I'm pretty sure the better image detail from the GT680W is due that the lens is 140 degree, vs the 154 degree lens of the Panorama IIs, which from the beginning, I thought was too wide.
 
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... sorry, thought you were asking what version in the GT680W, the Panorama cams have the most recent, and the 15kbps version.

And not withstanding the night tests to come, I'm pretty sure the better image detail from the GT680W is due that the lens is 140 degree, vs the 154 degree lens of the Panorama IIs, which from the beginning, I thought was too wide.

most recent is from a few days ago

the narrower field of view will offer advantages over a wider lens
 
I'm not sure why your GPS module keeps going bad, I've only had maybe 1 other customer that had the GPS logger go bad in the last year or so. (quite odd)

FYI, for new shoppers, the latest 2015 Panorama S (and G) batch we received all have the new updated Sony Exmor IMX322 Sensor. (2013/2014 was IMX122) Niko will be putting together side by side tests soon.
 
most recent is from a few days ago

the narrower field of view will offer advantages over a wider lens
That's good to know, I will update my one working unit and check the results.
Of course, the fact still remains that the GT680W is producing some very nice video, at least equal to the Panorama IIs, for a lot less money.
With that in mind, it is not a fair placement for the Panorama to be in the "Best Value" list. It, like the FineVu CR-HD500, is over-priced per performance.
 
The Panorama reported working great in high heat up to 90C/194F.
The Panorama pre-buffered motion detection works great, captures moments before the triggered event
The Panorama can natively format SD cards up to 512GB cards now. (new exFAT firmware support)
The Panorama has a touch screen.
The Panorama can take 12v-24v straight in with no conversations. (like other 5v usb powered cams)
The Panorama Zoran CPU uses the lowest power draw in it's class
2015 edition now has the updated Sony Exmor IMX322 Sensor
And more :)
 
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I don't know what version that is but it's nothing like the current version, a lot of image quality adjustments in more recent versions, the current Panorama S wouldn't even be the same hardware spec as what you have
I'm using GLG300_V1_12_06_20140421_15Mbps, ... is there something more current? I did not see it posted.
 
The Panorama reported working great in high heat up to 90C/194F.
The Panorama pre-buffered motion detection works great, captures moments before the triggered event
The Panorama can natively format SD cards up to 512GB cards now. (new exFAT firmware support)
The Panorama has a touch screen.
The Panorama can take 12v-24v straight in with no conversations. (like other 5v usb powered cams)
The Panorama Zoran CPU uses the lowest voltage around, lowest power draw in it's class
2015 edition now has the updated Sony Exmor IMX322 Sensor
And more :)
That is all fine and good, but not just bad gps modules, but one out of two Cams gone bad... see this video at 0:14 seconds, you will see what looks like a wire hanging in front of
the lens, but the lens is perfectly clean:
 
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