Papago 520 First Impressions

LjKearny

LjKearny

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2015
Messages
39
Reaction score
8
Location
iPhone: 41.888836,-87.630119
Country
United States
I received the Papago 520 yesterday.

These are very preliminary findings:

Pros:
Video quality seems to be the best of what I've seen so far. (Although still somewhat lacking, maybe I am too picky)
Build quality is excellent. It seems on the level of any regular, well known, brand name, consumer electronics device.
I actually like the feature that dings twice when the car in front of you has pulled forward. (Very handy in stop and go traffic and at a stop light)

Cons:

Form Factor. I wish it would have more of a A118 type layout. I really can't find any discreet place to mount it that blends in.
 
Looking at the firmware it's another Ambarella A7 (probably the a7la50) camera with the Omnivision OV4689 CMOS - a very popular combination at the moment :)

Have you got any raw video files that you could share please?
 
Looks good thank-you - it looks a decent quality lens so if you ever want slightly more quality you could bump the bitrate up - looks like the camera is currently using 18Mbps VBR bitrate for 2560x1080 but with the min and max range both set to 1 so it's essentially CBR.

Nice to see a camera that has the focus right for once as there are too many on here lately which are slightly out :)
 
Hello. Thanks for the review. Did you notice any issues with sound recording? I am currently running tests because of recent feedback I have got on that. Is it comparable to most other models? I appreciate your input. :)
 
PAPAGO! said:
Hello. Thanks for the review. Did you notice any issues with sound recording? I am currently running tests because of recent feedback I have got on that. Is it comparable to most other models? I appreciate your input. :)
Click to expand...

I really haven't tested any recording with audio. I can turn it on and report back.

Is it possible to make the clips any smaller than 5 minutes in length? I couldn't find that option.
 
Here's a demo of how easy it is to change the bitrate on these:

 
More musings...:

I wish it had threads on the front of the lens for a polarizer.
GPS would be nice.
I'm still loving the stop and go feature.
The firmware, menu system seems very well done.
 
I also have this camera and have modified the firmware with my own boot up pic and sound, and my own shut down pic and sound. I also have the bit rate at 21mpbs. My only complaint is the sound recorded by the device is BAD. IT IS MUFFLED AND LOW QUALITY. I also wish to be able to change the recording time from 5 minutes to 2 minutes.
 
I did bump the the bitrate up to 21 as well. I also mount a polarizer on it. That helps tremendously with the glare off my dash and windshield. How hard was it to change the startup logos and sound?
 
Which polorizer did you go with? I need one. As far as making your own pic and sounds it was pretty easy
 
I know the spec is 32gb Micro SD max. I tried a 64gb card formatted FAT32, and it did not work in this device. (Some devices that trick works)

Just an FYI for anyone reading.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
F Papago GoSafe 228 PAPAGO 0
D PAPAGO GoSafe 350 1080P suddenly thinks it is connected by a data cable PAPAGO 0
R Papago GoSafe! S50 with Starvis PAPAGO 1
sydney2218 Papago dual camera model ? PAPAGO 5
B Papago GoSafe 272 impressions? PAPAGO 27
Similar threads
Papago GoSafe 228
PAPAGO GoSafe 350 1080P suddenly thinks it is connected by a data cable
Papago GoSafe! S50 with Starvis
Papago dual camera model ?
Papago GoSafe 272 impressions?
Back
Top