Agie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2016
- Messages
- 1,763
- Reaction score
- 870
- Location
- Perth, Australia
- Country
- Australia
- Dash Cam
- 70mai S500, A229 Pro, VS1, Nexus 4 Pro, S1 Pro, A119 v3v2v1
UPDATE 17th Sep 2023: going back through my old threads, discovered that this camera was scrapped and instead launched to the public as the Halocam C1 Plus. For unknown reasons, the IMX323 was swapped out for an IMX291.
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It has been a while but I am back again with another dash camera review, and one that promises to be my most involved yet. I have in my presence the newest dash camera from Seezeus, the Shadow 2S. Also in this range is the Shadow 2, and Shadow 2S+ (which has a Sony EX291 sensor) - so the Shadow 2S sits firmly in the middle of this pack. A massive thank-you to @Shadow tec for providing this review sample - let's get started.
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Specifications: Sony IMX323 sensor w/165 degree wide field of view and f/1.8 aperture (for the front sensor), Omnivision OV9732 sensor w/ 140 degree wide field of view (for the rear sensor), unknown quad-core ARM-Cortex A7 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz (supports 1080p 30fps front and 720p 30fps dual simultaneous recording streams), in-built battery, no capacitor, Wi-Fi b/g/n, 3-axis G-sensor, OBDII port support. Full HD 1080p video recorded for the front Sony IMX323 sensor at a constant bitrate of 14.9MBps across all lighting conditions - - - front camera footage has "A" at end of filename, while rear camera footage has "B" at end of filename. HD 720p video recorded for the rear Omnivision OV9732 sensor at a constant bitrate of 8.4MBps across all lighting conditions. Audio stream for both front and rear sensors constant at 16KBps (mono at 8kHz)
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Box Contents: Shadow 2S Dashcam (main unit for front sensor, and rear unit), dashcam pivot mount, microUSB cable for dashcam power, OBDII cord with attachment for GPS module, 12V cigarette light charger with 2.1A input for dashcam and 1A input for other USB devices, GPS module, remote control button for remote shutter functions w/ mounting stickers, clear film for mounting assistance on windscreen.
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Firmware: this review was conducted at the time of writing, with the Shadow 2S being on v3.1.1 firmware (dated March 13, 2017) and the Shadow Recorder app (in the Google Play Store) at version 1.0.4. No firmware updates were available to me upon checking within the app.
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The verdict:
I am very impressed with what Seezeus has achieved with the Shadow 2S dash camera. You can tell that Seezeus has invested great thought and effort into producing a complete, well laid-out, functional and easy to use system. This has resulted in the smoothest experience I've had yet with a dash camera package, and Seezeus should be highly commended for their efforts. This is easily a complete front and rear dash camera package that I can heartily recommend to all customers.
Unboxing video:
My nitpickings:
The positive:
Close-up photos of the Shadow 2S Dashcam:
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It has been a while but I am back again with another dash camera review, and one that promises to be my most involved yet. I have in my presence the newest dash camera from Seezeus, the Shadow 2S. Also in this range is the Shadow 2, and Shadow 2S+ (which has a Sony EX291 sensor) - so the Shadow 2S sits firmly in the middle of this pack. A massive thank-you to @Shadow tec for providing this review sample - let's get started.
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Specifications: Sony IMX323 sensor w/165 degree wide field of view and f/1.8 aperture (for the front sensor), Omnivision OV9732 sensor w/ 140 degree wide field of view (for the rear sensor), unknown quad-core ARM-Cortex A7 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz (supports 1080p 30fps front and 720p 30fps dual simultaneous recording streams), in-built battery, no capacitor, Wi-Fi b/g/n, 3-axis G-sensor, OBDII port support. Full HD 1080p video recorded for the front Sony IMX323 sensor at a constant bitrate of 14.9MBps across all lighting conditions - - - front camera footage has "A" at end of filename, while rear camera footage has "B" at end of filename. HD 720p video recorded for the rear Omnivision OV9732 sensor at a constant bitrate of 8.4MBps across all lighting conditions. Audio stream for both front and rear sensors constant at 16KBps (mono at 8kHz)
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Box Contents: Shadow 2S Dashcam (main unit for front sensor, and rear unit), dashcam pivot mount, microUSB cable for dashcam power, OBDII cord with attachment for GPS module, 12V cigarette light charger with 2.1A input for dashcam and 1A input for other USB devices, GPS module, remote control button for remote shutter functions w/ mounting stickers, clear film for mounting assistance on windscreen.
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Firmware: this review was conducted at the time of writing, with the Shadow 2S being on v3.1.1 firmware (dated March 13, 2017) and the Shadow Recorder app (in the Google Play Store) at version 1.0.4. No firmware updates were available to me upon checking within the app.
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The verdict:
I am very impressed with what Seezeus has achieved with the Shadow 2S dash camera. You can tell that Seezeus has invested great thought and effort into producing a complete, well laid-out, functional and easy to use system. This has resulted in the smoothest experience I've had yet with a dash camera package, and Seezeus should be highly commended for their efforts. This is easily a complete front and rear dash camera package that I can heartily recommend to all customers.
Unboxing video:
My nitpickings:
- Volume control for not only ADAS and other alerts needs to extend to the dashcam on/off beeps, as they can be quite loud and piercing in sound
- Rear sensor video quality leaves something to be desired - the issue is not that it is 720p but rather the level of detail captured. Nevertheless, it gets the job done
- GPS module in my review unit was not working, but I won't count this as a strike because the rest of the included package contents worked flawlessly
The positive:
- The retail packaging is very nice and exudes the premium feel
- Printed user guide is actually the most well-thought out, concise and helpful I have ever read. There possibly could have been a bit more detail as to what plugs into where, but overall very well done
- Image quality from the Sony IMX323 sensor is a known quantity and works especially well at night, as we all know
- Microphone recorded audio quality is very good for both rear and front video streams, and it is nice to see any camera audio prompts overlaid onto the audio stream (don't be fooled by the 16kBps mono stream which is reported by Windows)
- Dash camera does not run hot at all, and the build quality is impeccable. The main unit feels solid in-hand and the brushed dark grey looks very good mounted on the windscreen
- Audio prompts are audible and narrated in a clear English voice. They are also very detailed for all instances - such as when the camera is powered on, or if it has lost WiFi connection, or if the rear camera has been disconnected
- The Shadow Recorder app (available in the Google Play Store and App Store for iOS devices) works very well and is laid out functionally appropriately. Although containing a plethora of options, the learning curve is very slight, making it easy for first-time dash camera users
- WiFi connection with the Shadow 2S is flawless. I didn't once have a drop-out or flaky connection, and the connection to the app and live-streaming the video resumed instantly when coming out of a sleep state. This is hands-down the most stable WiFi implementation I have used on any dash camera or action camera
- Button control for remote shutter functions pairs instantly and works without issue
- Heads-up Display function is a nice feature to have, but would probably work better in cars with a longer dashboard
- OBDII port connection, like the WiFi, is flawless and the stats overlay on videos is a very nice and welcomed touch. Vehicle diagnostics function is also nice to see, as it means a user doesn't have to fork out more money to buy a separate OBDII scanning tool
- ADAS system works well when it does, and is very funky to have, but then again as the user guide warns it's not 100% accurate
Close-up photos of the Shadow 2S Dashcam:
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