Shadow RX300

[jokiin]

We opted to not carry this model... IR Led lights and same thing different box makes it a hard sell in Canada.
Gt680w black version is much nicer.

smart decision I think

 

[mariomart]

I don't understand why manufacturers insist in making cigarette lighter power adapters which have bulky filters and boxed electronics at the camera end of the cable. Surely it would make more sense to have it at the power socket end to help make hiding the cable less of a chore.

 

[REyewitness]

Personal preference... Just to be different. I like having the "guts" hidden behind my rear view mirror, also they usually have a on/off button on the plug..would rather have that myself.

 

[billknow]

A non-brand similar RX300 is out, can not support GPS logger feature, price is much better, provide by other manufacture.

 

[321]

A non-brand similar RX300 is out, can not support GPS logger feature, price is much better, provide by other manufacture.

...is there a 3M holder available for the RX300 / RX300 non branded?
Looks like this a very proprietary connection.

 

[jokiin]

.
Looks like this a very proprietary connection.

there are a lot of very similar looking designs but it doesn't mean it's a standard, more just sheep following what's in the market, sometimes you can be lucky though

 

[cem_ari]

RX300 has AV out?

 

[quorthonrhar]

We opted to not carry this model... IR Led lights and same thing different box makes it a hard sell in Canada.
Gt680w black version is much nicer.

Well, I have 12 coworkers here in my studio (Toronto, Ontario), and we looked through all models and every single one of us decided to go with RX300. Sure we don't need IR option (some do, since they want to record inside of their car during long evening rides), but it won't be in our way since you don't have to use IR. If it looks ugly, it's possible to mask it with some black electrical tape. We couldn't find anyone in Canada selling it, so we all ordered from FoxOffer yesterday. In my humble opinion, this should not be hard sell anywhere is the World, much less in Canada. RX300 might seem as "same guts in different box", but there is couple of features and options available that are non-existent in GT680W... not to mention all GPS module trouble some people had to go through. OK, I understand, it's fixed now, but it left a bad mark on that camera's reputation for some people.

 

[quorthonrhar]

With regards to software - are you going to have a Mac OSX Viewer?

Isn't this something that's promising?
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/thread...ation-in-development-beta-testers-wanted.3889

 

[quorthonrhar]

Its a Chinese thing, took me a while to retrain our designer that what was 'beautiful' wasn't going to work in other markets

I'm sure he thinks I'm mad with our all black bling free designs

First rule of a "beautiful" design is that it's not in your face all the time. Especially fonts, if you have some letters printed on the camera's body, try to keep them all same font. Having three different fonts (GT680W and GT550W/WS) doesn't emit "beautiful" at all. Of course, this does not apply for everybody. Some people like things done differently, I understand that. All I'm saying is... sometimes less is more.

 

[quorthonrhar]

Looks like at least they got rid of the attention-seeking bling-chrome parts around the lens in GT680W, but instead they added six useless LED lights around the lens :/

For people who want to record their car inside (TAXI drivers recording passengers inside the car, etc), I wouldn't say those LEDs are useless. They are useless if you're going to turn them on while driving during the night and having your camera inside the car (most of us have cameras inside the car). Glare in the windshield would be incredible, you wouldn't see a thing outside the car. But in cases I mentioned above, drivers recording passengers (for whatever the reason), those IRs might come handy, especially when it's super dark inside the car.

Also, I don't see any reason why anyone should ditch this camera as a possible buy choice, just because it has IR LEDs installed. They are not mandatory to use, turning IR on is optional. Plus, it's very easy to mask it with black electrical tape in case you can't stand their appearance. All I'm saying is, RX300 is very powerful little camera, and all those extra bells and whistles are there if you need them. If not, they don't have to be used. Especially when it comes to price point... same price as GT680W, but with additional features and more powerful GPS module (Taiwanese), purchasing RX300 is a no-brainer. The one thing specifically I like better in RX300 is Built-in 3.7V 500mAh Lithium-ion Battery vs GT680W's, 110mAh Battery.

 

[REyewitness]

Well, I have 12 coworkers here in my studio (Toronto, Ontario), and we looked through all models and every single one of us decided to go with RX300. Sure we don't need IR option (some do, since they want to record inside of their car during long evening rides), but it won't be in our way since you don't have to use IR. If it looks ugly, it's possible to mask it with some black electrical tape. We couldn't find anyone in Canada selling it, so we all ordered from FoxOffer yesterday. In my humble opinion, this should not be hard sell anywhere is the World, much less in Canada. RX300 might seem as "same guts in different box", but there is couple of features and options available that are non-existent in GT680W... not to mention all GPS module trouble some people had to go through. OK, I understand, it's fixed now, but it left a bad mark on that camera's reputation for some people.

We deal with large trucking outfits as well as everyone else, mounts mean a lot and the look and how the camera mounts to it are very important aspects to our business and clientele. As for IR lights they are in our opinion as less desirable feature that takes away from the good looks and stealth of dash cams.
As I'm sure everyone in the business will agree...there simply isn't a perfect camera or one with no problems, design or otherwise.
As for the GPS problems...learning curve by shadow, who made it right BTW at there cost. And now we have a great 5ghz GPS module.
Not totally writing off the RX300 but we have had no requests to stock it.

 

[REyewitness]

same price as GT680W, but with additional features and more powerful GPS module (Taiwanese), purchasing RX300 is a no-brainer. The one thing specifically I like better in RX300 is Built-in 3.7V 500mAh Lithium-ion Battery vs GT680W's, 110mAh Battery.

The GPS module is the same..GT680w and GT550ws plus this Rx300 all use the new high speed 5ghz module.
Battery life is not much of a argument as all cameras must be powered with the 12v adapter, battery is used to complete the saving of the last file.
Your correct the rx300 has one feature more.. Is it better overall dash cam? Our sales figures and customer reports seem to tell us people are happy and the cameras are working well.

 

[quorthonrhar]

We deal with large trucking outfits as well as everyone else, mounts mean a lot and the look and how the camera mounts to it are very important aspects to our business and clientele. As for IR lights they are in our opinion as less desirable feature that takes away from the good looks and stealth of dash cams.
As I'm sure everyone in the business will agree...there simply isn't a perfect camera or one with no problems, design or otherwise.
As for the GPS problems...learning curve by shadow, who made it right BTW at there cost. And now we have a great 5ghz GPS module.
Not totally writing off the RX300 but we have had no requests to stock it.

I completely agree with you on this one. Don't get me wrong, I am also one of those that don't like how those IR LEDs look like on these cameras. Heck, I even have one Foscam IPCAM for home surveillance, and while camera performs perfectly fine, I can't stand those IRs on it. What I was talking about is, that one thing did not stop 13 of us to go with RX300. We tried to weight everything before we made our decision, and came up with conclusion those few extra features like higher capacity battery, are worth the buy. I mean, same price. I might as well cover those IR LEDs with piece of electrical tape, but I was just saying... for some people IR LEDs might actually come handy (TAXI drivers and other people who'd like to record inside the car, passengers etc.).

Are those initial problems with GT 680W completely solved now? And, while we're at that... what was the problem in the first place?

Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated.

 

[quorthonrhar]

The GPS module is the same..GT680w and GT550ws plus this Rx300 all use the new high speed 5ghz module.
Battery life is not much of a argument as all cameras must be powered with the 12v adapter, battery is used to complete the saving of the last file.
Your correct the rx300 has one feature more.. Is it better overall dash cam? Our sales figures and customer reports seem to tell us people are happy and the cameras are working well.

Yes, when I mentioned higher capacity battery, I assumed it would give you little more time to record when outside the car. God forbid you're in some accident, and then you want to record couple of minutes of what's the damage on your car or something like that. I'm thinking higher capacity battery in your camera would give you peace of mind when it comes to thinking is it going to cut you off in a middle of recording.

At the end of the day, all these little cameras are super useful and I am sure they will sell like hot cakes. Funny thing is, every single time new model comes out, people tend to complain a lot about the new model. I found couple of posts when GT680W just came out. Some people who owned GT550W/WS had nothing good to say about GT680W, even going that far mentioning the worse recording quality, smaller bitrate etc... which of course wasn't true. Maybe buying their camera just to find out few weeks later, newer, smaller camera virtually same quality was released, left a bitter taste in their mouth. All these cameras are working great and they are super useful. Some of them look nicer than others, but in general they do their job well. Of course, we all would like we never need them. No one wants to be part of an accident, even when it's not your fault at all.

 

[REyewitness]

Are those initial problems with GT 680W completely solved now? And, while we're at that... what was the problem in the first place?

Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated.

The only problem was a low quality GPS antenna(obtaining GPS lock), and people updating the firmware to unsupported versions for the camera they had(GPS vs non GPS).
Shadow updated the GPS antenna to Taiwanese 5ghz high quality and problem solved.
I agree people hate buying new cameras only to have a newer model release... But that's life and how everyone keeps getting paid, look at APPLE.. change small things and release a new phone every 6 months. Same phone.. But one difference and people line up for it!

There is alot of idea "borrowing" where these dash cams are manufactured.. If you don't stay ahead someone will borrow your idea/style etc and price you out of the market. I'm sure this is why they change so fast.

Keep us informed to your RX300,might carry a couple and see how it goes.

 

[quorthonrhar]

The only problem was a low quality GPS antenna(obtaining GPS lock), and people updating the firmware to unsupported versions for the camera they had(GPS vs non GPS).
Shadow updated the GPS antenna to Taiwanese 5ghz high quality and problem solved.
I agree people hate buying new cameras only to have a newer model release... But that's life and how everyone keeps getting paid, look at APPLE.. change small things and release a new phone every 6 months. Same phone.. But one difference and people line up for it!

There is alot of idea "borrowing" where these dash cams are manufactured.. If you don't stay ahead someone will borrow your idea/style etc and price you out of the market. I'm sure this is why they change so fast.

Keep us informed to your RX300,might carry a couple and see how it goes.

Thank you for super useful information. I guess these ones we've ordered yesterday with GPS modules are coming with new, updated modules (5GHz ones). Not sure how long will it take, but they told me they're short with GPS modules, actually they have some in stock, but those are reserved for people who already made orders before us. They said, new stock is coming on Jan.20th, which is today, and I just received an email telling me everything is being shipped out tomorrow, express DHL. Not sure how long it will take to get them here in Toronto, but if everything is OK, I should have mine sometimes next week. I'm also planning to test the IR function, camera turned towards the inside of the car, just to see what's the performance in that field. I am pretty sure I will never use it that way, but while it's there, I might as well test that too. It might come useful for someone who is planing to buy these cameras solely for that purpose (recording inside the car under low light).

Thanks again and not just to you, but to all forum members for super useful information you guys are providing here. Making decisions about what to buy is hell of a lot easier, that's for sure.

 

[REyewitness]

Dhl express to Toronto.. most likely see them by end of this week or early next week.

 

[quorthonrhar]

Dhl express to Toronto.. most likely see them by end of this week or early next week.

Do you have any experiences with customs duty? Is there any additional charge when we receive these cameras to Canada from China? Thanks in advance!

 

[REyewitness]

Do you have any experiences with customs duty? Is there any additional charge when we receive these cameras to Canada from China? Thanks in advance!

Yes you will be charge taxes and import/broker fees plus carrier fee from DHL.