Redtiger F17 Elite - 3-Channel - Full-Color Night Interior Recording- Unboxing & First Impressions Europe

[Julian23]

I'm back with another brand I haven't covered yet, Redtiger. While Redtiger is known to have mixed opinions here on the forum, I decided to get my hands on the F17 Elite and give it a try myself. This post covers my initial unboxing and first impressions.
Performance testing, including image quality, stability, and plate capture, will follow in a later post after I've had a chance to thoroughly test the unit.


Specifications (Specs)

Video Recording:

• Front: 4K (3840x2160) @ 25fps
• Cabin: 1080P (1920x1080) @ 25fps
• Rear: 2.5K (2560x1440) @ 30fps

Camera Sensors:

• Front Cam: Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678
• Cabin Cam: Sony STARVIS IMX307
• Rear Cam: Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675

Lens:

• Front Cam: F1.8, HFOV 112°, 4G3P
• Cabin Cam: F2.0, HFOV 107°, 2G3P

Connectivity:

• Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz & 5GHz
• GPS: Built-In Dual-Mode (Beidou and GPS)

Display:

• Touchscreen

Storage:

• MicroSD: Up to 512GB

Power:

• Power Source: USB-C
• Capacitor: Super Capacitor 5.5V/3.5F
• Button Battery: TFD621 3.3V

Mounting:

• Mount Type: Adhesive
• Quick Release Mount: Yes

Unboxing

As usual, I will start with unboxing.
In addition to the main camera unit, the package included a hardwire kit. My first point of feedback regards the fuses supplied with the hardwire kit. They are rated at 15A. For a dashcam typically drawing around 3A at 5V (15W), a 3A fuse at 12V (36W) is more than sufficient. I would recommend changing the fuse to a lower value for optimal protection. I've shared this opinion with Redtiger.

The unboxing experience was quite good. The camera is shipped securely in a foam cutout, providing nice protection during transit. A piece of paper inside clearly explains the function and location of all components, which is a helpful touch for initial setup.

Beyond the main unit and hardwire kit, Redtiger includes some useful accessories. There's a second sticky mount, which is great for quickly swapping the unit between cars. Spare pieces of double-sided tape are provided for both the front and rear cameras, ensuring you have replacements if needed. A small pry bar is also included to assist with discreet cable routing, which is a nice, practical addition.

The included power supply features a free USB-A port that delivers 2A at 5V, allowing for charging another device.

The hardwire kit itself comes with two pieces of four different fuse taps, and a fuse is already inserted into the upper slot of each tap.

More in the next post.

 

[Julian23]

It also features a small display to show the current voltage, which is a nice feature for monitoring your vehicle's power.

First Impressions

The overall first impression of the F17 Elite isn't bad. The rear of the camera, housing the touchscreen, looks and feels quite nice and high quality in the hand. The touchscreen itself is very responsive and intuitive, making menu navigation and clip viewing significantly faster than with button-controlled units. This ease of use might even make it the camera with the easiest menu I've encountered so far. However, this touchscreen does make the dashcam physically larger, which is a trade-off some users might consider.

Left side with 128GB micro SD card inserted from the factory.

Bottom of the unit with buttons to control it.

In contrast to the sleek rear, the front of the unit, while functional, feels and looks much more simple – almost to the point of being a bit cheap compared to the back. It wouldn't have hurt to make it a little more aesthetically appealing. That said, once the camera is mounted, this part is largely out of view.

Possible movement from the mount:

The cable has a special mold to fit into the connector securely.

More in the next post.

 

[Julian23]

The F17 Elite incorporates two very interesting mechanical design features. First, the front lens has the ability to swivel, allowing you to aim the recording area precisely. This significantly increases flexibility when choosing a mounting location, a feature previously seen on units like the Vantrue E3 and S1 Pro Max. Second, the interior lens can also be aimed independently, much like the front camera. This is a significant advantage over many dashcams, where the interior camera is fixed within the main body, often only allowing for minor vertical adjustment or being entirely fixed.

The compact rear camera:

One minor aesthetic point I noted is the presence of QC (Quality Control) stickers on nearly every piece. While indicative of quality checks, for my personal taste, they are a bit too prominent.
These stickers can be found on the front and rear cameras and the power supply.

However, I did note a couple of potential mechanical concerns during my initial handling. Since the camera unit hangs relatively far down from the adhesive mount, there could be visible movement or shake when driving over bumps. A more rigid or integrated hinge design, perhaps like that seen on the F77, might reduce this. Additionally, the plastic windshield mount that slides onto the upper mounting bracket isn't as tight as the GPS mounts I've encountered on other cameras, with very little resistance needed to remove it.

More in the next post.

 

[Julian23]

Firmware updates are available through the Redtiger app.
Unfortunately, the app does force users to create an account to use the app.
I wish this wasn't the case.

Settings:

The F17 Elite also has a card speed test integrated into the software. Haven't seen this anywhere else yet.

 

[Julian23]

Now it's time to take a look at the image quality.
The IMX678 with the 4K footage is a big selling point for the F17 Elite.

During the day, the camera is able to pick up plates with both cars going 100km/h.
That's what we expect from a current dashcam.
Even when the F17 Elite is only able to record at 25fps, the performance is good.
The colors also look nice. The bitrate could be higher. In areas with many trees, artifacts can appear.

During the night, the F17 Elite will give a good overview of what's happening.
Unfortunately, it isn't able to capture plates as other IMX678 equipped flagships.
I've checked with Redtiger, and they confirmed that they don't expect the F17 Elite to capture plates at night at higher speeds.
When driving slower or in the city, it will happily capture plates.

More in the next post.

 

[Julian23]

With the sun shining, the F17 Elite will capture many plates during daytime.

In darker areas, the quality of the plate capture does decrease:

 

[Julian23]

At night in the city or with cars driving in the same direction, it can capture plates with decent quality.

Rare moment caught on camera: A BMW indicating 🤣

The plates of oncoming traffic during the night are often a white blur.

No amount of skipping frames revealed the numbers. I tried with many different cars.

 

[Julian23]

The front camera delivers a performance that can be expected from the price of the dashcam.
With the current sale, the price is down to 240$. This is cheaper than any 3 channel dashcam that has the IMX678 in front and the IMX675 in the back.

The interior and rear camera will be covered within the next days.

 

[Julian23]

Since the privacy laws here in Germany are very strict, I am only able to share screenshots with partly blurred plates.
To give an impression of the image, I will share some uncropped ones.

Nighttime in a city:

Plate capture during lower speeds in a city is no issue for the F17 Elite.
It will capture everything that is going on nicely.
Colors are not too dull but also not overdone.

 

[Julian23]

A big claim is the full color night vision from the interior camera.
I don't want to leave this out.

Some frames from the interior camera:

And during the day.

While the FOV is not the widest, the performance is decent with even a little light.
In the city, the night vision is very impressive. It performed better than I expected, and I even prefer the color night vision over the black and white images.

Even with a little light, the F17 Elite is able to capture colors.
Only when it's very dark does the noise increase.

The interior camera did better than I expected.

 

[Julian23]

Now, lets take a look at the IMX675 in the back.

With little speed difference, rear plate capture is even possible at night.

The rear camera captures everything that is going on.
Plates can also be read nicely if enough light is available.
In dark, unlit areas, the image does get very dark. Other IMX675 rear cameras handled that a bit better.

The bitrate is on the lower side, with just about 16,700kBit/s.
Colors and sharpness are decent.

 

[Julian23]

Time to wrap up the testing with some daytime pictures from the front and rear camera.

Front first.

 

[Julian23]

And here are some screenshots from the rear.
The performance during daytime is decent.

Traffic going the opposite direction at 50km/h.

Colors and sharpness are good. Plates can be read if they aren't too far away. It's not as good as other manufacturers but also better than what we had in the past.

 

[Julian23]

This will be my summary for the F17 Elite.

The F17 Elite is a decent mid-range dashcam with Sony STARVIS 2 sensors front and rear.
The interior camera is indeed a standout feature with its color vision in the night. Some light is needed, otherwise, the image does get pixelated. This is expected without any IR LEDs. The sharpness is very good on my unit. Everything is in focus.

The front camera performs decently as well. It can capture plates during the day and night in the city at lower speeds.
Colors are accurate and not much over-sharpening. Focus is very good on my unit.
Will it be the best camera to catch license plates at any speed? No, there are others that will perform better.

The same goes for the rear camera. It can perform decently with good color accuracy.

There are features that only very few cameras have, like the movable front and interior lens. Both can be adjusted independently. It makes installing and aiming the camera very easy.

The overall usage is very easy with the touchscreen. Voice commands work fine and will enable or disable several features. I did notice that the confirmation sound takes a bit of time until it's played.

The app, which requires a login, connects easily and allows for some settings, but not all of them. I wish the app would include every setting.

Now to some criticism.
The mount, or hinge to be more precise, has some movement when driving over bumps. It will depend on the car and the roads, how much this can be noticed in the video. It did appear when checking videos, but my car has a very stiff suspension.

With a price of around 240$, it's about half the price of the current flagships. This also aligns with the performance.