Problems with the A118-C from Gearbest

runtohell121 said:
Here's a sample video at night time (default settings, so wdr is on), about 10 minute in since the device started.
This is using the A118C_FW_0320 firmware posted earlier by @billknow (though the FW version on device says 3-12)..
Click to expand...
Hmm I can't say the night video looks any better than my old Mini 0801.
 
I do not think we should expect much better video quality in the dark. It is just a DVR, not a night vision device. Provide more light and you will get better picture. That is so obvious. And "out of focus" issue is just a mechanical problem. This cam does not have "autofocus". Problem lays in assembly quality and quality control was not doing their job (if it EXIST at all).
 
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runtohell121 said:
Here's a sample video at night time (default settings, so wdr is on), about 10 minute in since the device started.
This is using the A118C_FW_0320 firmware posted earlier by @billknow (though the FW version on device says 3-12)...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1pd420b4lyedifd/2015_0401_213923_155.MOV?dl=0
Click to expand...
I think this night video looks "good" (slightly better than before; less glaring of street lights) for this class of chipset/sensor/lens. Keep in mind that at the beginning of this video, you were mostly in a wide open area with very few buildings or background to reflect light. Towards the end of the video, you approach an intersection with slightly more objects to reflect light and the video looks a bit brighter.
 
Alright, here's the last 5 sample clips I will be posting from my A118-C with the FW 3.20, probably not worth posting anymore. WDR is off, everything else is default.

Daytime:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qkuvgnl4x2c65i/2015_0402_134744_010.MOV?dl=0

Night (not completely dark yet):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zmhldcn50w7oyto/2015_0402_194938_017.MOV?dl=0

Night (not completely dark yet, but lighting situation change once I turned right):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hm258cjnegqgoye/2015_0402_195238_018.MOV?dl=0

Night (completely dark, with some street lights first half, more afterwards):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oxp3gko59a079au/2015_0402_205254_023.MOV?dl=0

Daytime (cam just started):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jczlco3gp5jayv9/2015_0403_164324_045.MOV?dl=0
 
Has anybody heard from Sunny in the last 7 days? I asked them to send me the firmware "VIOFO" that came with the camera, as I've updated to something later and it's causing a weird buzzing sound all the time... they said they'd send it but not won't respond to my messages.
 
I hadn't spotted that sorry. I have a later version than March though, not sure what it is. It comes up with a white screen on startup with WELCOME in blue. Previously it was black with VIOFO in white. I'll try these two and see how I get on! TY
 
Update...I ordered my A118c on 12 March, it shipped on 16 March, and I received it on 06 April. Checked it immediately for the SD card issue and found mine works just fine; the card clicks in and out just like it should. I hardwired mine, so I can't comment on the power supply issue. I'm also very pleased with the focus, but I haven't driven for an extended period of time to see if the focus/heating issue exists.

However, I noticed something that might be a problem. The first few files saved just fine, from the moment I started my car until I shut it down. Unfortunately, this did not last more than the first few trips. Since then, the last 3 min segment does not get saved. I thought the firmware for the capacitor models was configured to delay shutdown for a second or two so the file could be written to the card as the capacitors deplete their energy. My unit shipped with fw 20150312, and I have tried both of @billknow 's latest (0318 and 0320), but the issue remains. Any advice?
 
toddled said:
Update...I ordered my A118c on 12 March, it shipped on 16 March, and I received it on 06 April. Checked it immediately for the SD card issue and found mine works just fine; the card clicks in and out just like it should. I hardwired mine, so I can't comment on the power supply issue. I'm also very pleased with the focus, but I haven't driven for an extended period of time to see if the focus/heating issue exists.

However, I noticed something that might be a problem. The first few files saved just fine, from the moment I started my car until I shut it down. Unfortunately, this did not last more than the first few trips. Since then, the last 3 min segment does not get saved. I thought the firmware for the capacitor models was configured to delay shutdown for a second or two so the file could be written to the card as the capacitors deplete their energy. My unit shipped with fw 20150312, and I have tried both of @billknow 's latest (0318 and 0320), but the issue remains. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Test your SD card with something like h2testw.
 
jokiin said:
does the last file get corrupted at shutdown?
Click to expand...
Yes, only at shutdown when I power the car off. If I manually power off the dashcam, the last segment saves just fine.

Gibson99 said:
Test your SD card with something like h2testw.
Click to expand...
Thanks to my many months of reading this forum and the helpful advice of others, this was the first thing I did when I received the card. It's fine, and it was formatted only in the dashcam.
 
jokiin said:
capacitors are faulty, contact the reseller about replacement/warranty
Click to expand...

Would faulty capacitors be why I get a "low battery" warning when I plug the unit into my PC using a USB cable, or is that just the nature of the capacitors when they're powered from a PC's USB port?
 
Quality-control issues are not limited the the "low end". I've owned five GoPro cameras--the original HD, a Hero 2, and three Hero 3+Black Editions.
Like many action cams and dash cams with single focal-length wide-angle lenses, these are all fixed-focus lenses. Although the GoPro cameras have fairly sharp lenses, I doubt that the factory calibrated each lens to the optimum focus for such fixed-focus lenses. (There are plenty of youtube videos and websites about manually adjusting GoPro lens focus.)

The Hero 3+ in particular had numerous firmware and quality control issues. My first 3+ had great sharpness and beautiful color and contrast range, but it kept on crashing. Firmware updates did not fix it. GoPro replaced it with one that had a defective sensor--washout highlights and totally wonky colors. That one was stolen, so I replaced with another 3+ (out of my own pocket), and that one is perfect.

I tried using my older GoPro cameras as dashcams, but they would overheat and shut down, which has lead me to using purpose-designed dashcams, some of which also heat up--and have comparable quality-control issues.

Whether expensive or cheap, quality can be a problem across the board.
 
As I finally have a backup dashcam if this one craps out.

I tried opening it and refocus the lens. The thread was glued quite hard. I took pliers to break the glue loose.
I focused it to the best of my ability and tried it out during the day with Jan firmware.
After running for around 20-30 in the sun, the image became blurry. I assume something is wrong with the glass elements inside the lens?

I updated the firmware to Mar20 version and will report back later when I use it during daytime + 30+mins driving.
I did noticed the new firmware has more pronounce image noise when the camera is focused vs Jan firmware.

I'd take that rather than blurry image + no delay shutdown.

Crossing my fingers for the best. If not, the backup dashcam will become primary.
 
My refocussed camera with the 20 March FW has good sharpness,when i installed the Jan FW image was sharp close,blurry in mid and again sharp at infinite but overall blurry as i wasn't able to read number plates at 10-20m distance.
It might be something wrong with this camera in the heat as yesterday when i started the engine i had 35 C inside and 26 C outside.first 4-5 movie clips have a blurry image,but after the AC cooled interior to 22 C image was sharp and good.I'll do some more tests in the future,for now i leave the blurry issue in heat to my mistake not gluing up the lens after refocus,and because of dilatation it might loose sharpness that being the best case scenario because if it's the sensor's problem i'm afraid nothing can be done.
 
As I mentioned before, I think that the Jan FW "focus" issue is not a physical or temperature problem. I may appear like the lens is out-of-focus, but I suspect it is due to the Jan FW over-softening the image.

In my earlier post here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...pacitor-battery-dash-cam-gearbest.9287/page-8 , you can see that I took 2 screenshots (looking at a wooden fence) only around 15 mins apart (i.e. same temperature), and it went from blurry to focus. All I simply did was restart the dashcam, and it focused itself without any physical or temperature change.

In conclusion, when the Jan FW is in focus, it has MUCH better image quality than the Mar 20 FW. Too bad it is out of focus much of the time :( Therefore, I am now using the Mar 20 FW, but I really don't like the extra "noise" introduced to the image.
 
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