Review: PAPAGO GoSafe 272 GS272-US Ultra Slim Full HD 1080P Dashcam

Battery. As far as I know, none of the Papago models have capacitors.

I have Papago P3, it has supercaps.
There are total 4 models of Papago series with capacitors. Some of them are discontinued.

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How do they look from outside and inside?

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GoSafe 272 GS272-US thoughts:
It has great form factor. Pretty small and sleek design.
Build quality is very good.
Video quality during daytime is decent but not as good as Ambarella model like GoSafe 520 but for the price and good build quiality, it's pretty good.
Night quality is good as shown from the screenshots and videos above.
I'd put its video/audio quality to Novatek based dashcams but with better build quality than generic ones and has better features. I think night is better than the Novatek based dashcams.

The mount is very sturdy and can pan in any direction.
Since it has tripod mount, it can be mounted on other mounts if needed.

The driver assistance features like headlight reminder, stop and go work really good.
Stop and Go feature immediately beeps when front car moves on green light or heavy traffic.

For the price and sleek form factor with better build quality than generic dashcams, it's very good option.
If you need better video quality, go for the Papago GoSafe 520 that's based on Ambarella A7 chip and has all the similar driver assistance features.
 
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Sorry, I got to disagree that this 272 dashcam is a good option compared to Novatek generic dashcams like G1W-C or A118C. I have tried all 3 of these dashcams and video quality on the generic ones is much better and overall is a better value in my opinion. During the daytime at a stoplight, I can barely make out the license plate of the car in front of me using the 272, while the picture on the generic ones is much clearer. At nighttime, all these dashcams aren't as good as during the daytime, but using same stoplight test, cannot make out the license plate in front of me with the 272 at all, while I can do so with the generic ones.

The 272 retails for around $150 USD and is commonly sold for around $115-$120 (maybe you can get it under $100 during infrequent sales). That makes it around 2x the cost of a G1W-C and about 1.5x the cost of an A118C. And 272 is not capacitor based which I think is a must have feature for dashcams these days.

I prefer form factor of the A118C that is mounted closer to the windshield. I don't like the GPS style mounts used by G1W-C and Papago as I think they make the dashcams stand out too much from the outside and are more hassle to mount/unmount/re-center. And the 272 is very visible from outside with it chrome bezel around the lens and front white lettering. G1W-C is not that good in this regards either, although G1W-CB is a better option (all the G1W-based dashcams have a useless LED flash that stands out though). I would say A118C is the winner of all these in terms of being hidden and inconspicuous.

The headlight reminder and stop/go features are nice-to-have and seem to be unique to Papago, but I consider them secondary to other aspects like video quality, capacitor-based, and discreteness. I also have to question build quality of the 272 as the LCD on mine failed after only a couple months of slight usage.

Basically, if one had $120 to spend on a mid-level or beginner dashcam, I think A118C is much better value at around $70 I was in the market this year to buy mid-level dashcams to outfit my and other relative's cars. Decided to get one each of the Papago 272 and A118C to try out first. Everyone who tried out these dashcams and viewed the recordings preferred the A118C. I did not mention the price of these dashcams so to not influence their opinion (granted, the other people are not very knowledgeable about dashcams in general), but when I did, everyone was surprised and thought the Papago was a low-end $50 model while the A118C was a premium, $100+ one. A funny (or sad?) comment made to me was that the Papago looked like a kid's digital camera from Toys R Us.

Anyways, I think Papago needs to step it up big-time in the U.S. market if they want to succeed here. I know they are successful in Asia, but they seem to have released mediocre dashcams in the U.S. and don't have a good understanding of the market and what people are looking for. The 520 is an exception in that it has good video quality, but it has other drawbacks like being battery-based, not discrete, high price, etc...
 
@budster,
I can't tell how reliable it'll be as I only have it for few weeks but it feels and looks to have good build quality compared to generic G1Wx that feel cheap plastic.
Daytime video is better on decent NT96650 brands (except cheap ones that have focus issues) but I think night is better on 272 than those.
Novateck ones had bad blue hue at night and 272 is pretty clean.

Price is made up of all the factors, not only one thing.
It includes video/audio quality, build quality, features and options as well as mount etc...
It was on sale for $89 last month so retail is just what manufacturer thought to release the product with.

And generic G1Wx is pretty hard to beat for price regardless of what camera you look at but that doesn't mean there is only G1Wx option for all.

There are videos and screenshots that show what this camera can do in different situations.
It may be good option for some while others look for others.
That's what the review is for.
Yes, dashcam manufacturers including this one need to adjust depending on market and demand.
 
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@Sunny, it's a good review and I wish I had seen a review like this when I was looking at the 272 a few months ago. There weren't that many and the few available then weren't that good or in depth. The screenshots and video you've taken definitely can speak for themselves and everyone can draw their own conclusions.
 
Overview of Papago G0Safe 272 Menu Settings:

 
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