SJCAM M10 short review

GJHS

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
2,108
Reaction score
1,367
Country
United States
Dash Cam
Mobius A & C, SJ4000, M10, Mini 0806, Innovv C3,4, Xiaomi Yi
Hey Guys

GearBest sent me this camera to review. Many of you know that I love my SJ4000, I think its a great camera. Unfortunately as a dash cam it doesn't get much attention as a dashcam, mostly due to the fact that it looks just like a GoPro and therefore likely to attract attention. I, myself, left it the car once for an hour and was nervous the whole time.

When SJCAM announced the M10, I thought finally a model I can leave in my car. Everything about the specs of this camera is the same as the SJ4000. After testing, everything about the performance is the same as the SJ4000, which is good. There is very little bad to say about the performance of the SJCAM cameras, the video is super sharp, the lens is wide without too much barrel distortion and its durable. I say durable because when testing the SJ4000 WiFi, I had it suction cupped out of a second story window so I could use it as a make shift security cam. Everything was solid until I heard it fall :confused: luckily everything was OK. I reset it and this time used a tether and once again it fell :eek: This time the front cover had a small crack in it yet otherwise no problem. If I have one gripe, its the Motion Detection, its absolutely useless. I truly think an elephant could walk past my car and it would detect anything.

There are some improvements made to the M10 that make it better than the SJ4000. I made a short video to outline a few.


Overall if your looking for a good, basic dash cam, this is a great choice. The fact that it is also a great action cam is a major plus and money well spent. Drive to the ski slope, grab the waterproof case and take the M10 on the slopes with you.

Thanks to Alta at GearBest.com for sending this camera. Here are the links
$77 coupon GBM10C
$60 coupon GBM10 (without waterproof case)
 
Last edited:
Good writeup. Though, I'm still not convinced this is ideal for dashcam use based on size alone, especially when you have to factor in the additional estate required for the suction/tape mount. Also not a fan of battery-based dashcams but I guess that can't be helped.

At $60, I would be debating between the M10 or A118/B40, but would probably choose the B40 as a dashcam based on form factor (it also comes with a longer 3 meter USB cable).
 
I used it with a Mobius tripod mount and it wasn't too big. Big would be the Panorama series or the G1W. Quality wise the M10 is fantastic, it just does its job well. Add in the versatility and it should be on anyone's list of quality cameras under $100.
 
I've said it before.

The M10 looks to represent very good value for money, with its picture quality, build quality and included accessories, I just wish there was a super capacitor available for it.
 
I've said it before.

The M10 looks to represent very good value for money, with its picture quality, build quality and included accessories, I just wish there was a super capacitor available for it.
Sans keeping the clock, the SJ4000 keeps the settings and saves files without the battery. I'm sure the M10 will do the same. Also what's nice is it's easy to remove, install and swap batteries.
 
I'm not sure if I am understanding.

Even if SJ4000 saves time stamp and saves files without battery, it can't save the last file when turning off the car or in an accident, can it?
 
I'm not sure if I am understanding.

Even if SJ4000 saves time stamp and saves files without battery, it can't save the last file when turning off the car or in an accident, can it?
In my tests, yes. I will pull the battery and do some more testing over the next few day to confirm
 
  • Like
Reactions: map
That would be great if you could do more tests. If it does save the last file on power down I can see an M10 in my future :)
 
Ok I just removed the battery and recorded 4 clips, each around 20 seconds and each one ended by pulling the power cord out. All 4 saved without issue and my settings remained. I can do longer tests if you want
 
Ok I just removed the battery and recorded 4 clips, each around 20 seconds and each one ended by pulling the power cord out. All 4 saved without issue and my settings remained. I can do longer tests if you want

Since the camera is designed to hot swap the battery, perhaps it has a capacitor of some sort (not necessarily a super-cap) or perhaps some other mechanism such as a small internal battery on the circuit board to retain memory?
 
Wow, you don't mess around, I wasn't expecting results for a few days.

Those tests are great, thanks. If you have the time a 15 minute or so test would be appreciated, but I can't imagine they would be any different to the short tests.

Now I need to decide if wifi is going to be worth the extra money. Probably not for me.
 
No problem, I will do a longer test and report. @Dashmellow I didn't see one when I dissambled the SJ4000 WiFi though I may have missed it. I am leaving the battery out over night and tomorrow I will run the 15 minute test and report.

@map if the WiFi is only a few bucks more, it definitely comes in handy to make the camera even more versatile. I used it to set the camera up outside as a make shift security cam with my tablet as the monitor. The battery on the SJ lasted 1 hour in WiFi broadcast mode. The range was decent for a small camera, you could view at the edge of range, just not remote record. It's also nice when chest or helmet mounting it, so you can aim it perfectly.
 
Ok I just did some more tests, including a longer 3, 3 min clip save and no problems. I notice the blue led on the top blinks blue and yellow rather than just blue, the settings Were unchanged and all clips were all saved. My tests consisted of plugging the USB power cable into the M10, letting it auto record then pulling out the cable to end recording.
 
Saving files without battery is very strange, but great. From my experience the Novatek chipset is not working without batteries, the charger LED is blinking very fast.
SJCam SJ5000 series are not working if battery is out, not even starting when power connected.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
Nice review, especially for a Dashcam. Wondering what's the hold up for the Wi-Fi version. I'm thinking to give my Non-WiFi SJ4000 to my relatives since I pre-ordered the SJ5000+, and then buy the M10 WiFi as a backup or light use.
 
For this moment I don't think SJ5000 series (this is what I tested from SJCam cameras) to be good as dashcam, regarding image situations on the road.
When sun is directly on the lens in front of car the image is too dark compared for example with Mini 0805 or 0806.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
Hi zinm, I 've extended the coupon code expired date to the end of April :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top