Harsh
Well-Known Member
My search for a discreet + reliable dashcam to go in the front, that delivers good quality day & night footage comes to fruition with the Street Guardian SG9665GC.
Here's a little recap of my dashcam journey...
My first dashcam was the Mini 0805 from E-Prance. The first one got fried due to a generic hardwire kit and the replacement worked well until it was connected to a HDMI cable, post that it would keep freezing on startup and became unreliable.
The Mini produces good daytime video quality and decent night-time quality. Reliability for me is a miss. This lay in the cupboard for a few months and was replaced with the Viofo A118C.
Since the Mini has started functioning again just sitting around, I've temporarily mounted it back to do some video quality comparison.
The Viofo A118C was purchased after the Mini stopped working reliably and while I was still mulling over getting the SG9665GC due to its higher price and availability issues. The A118C's night-time video quality left a lot to be desired at the very first look.
In the day it came quite close to the Mini 0805, minus the extra motion blur, rendering it useless for number plate identification. At night the video quality was considerably worse than the Mini and at times not legible.
With the A118C not performing adequately in the video quality department; especially at night. The search continued..
My requirements from the new dashcam were:
While still using the A118C, I looked at other options that were discreet from the currently available options. This time around setting the bar for night-time quality to be at par with, what I could see on youtube and RAW-file links here from the SG9665GC.
With none of the competition belonging to the discreet variety coming even close when it came to night footage, plus the update about my friend traveling back from Perth, it was a no-brainer.
As per user reviews and youtube videos the SG9665GC fulfilled all the listed requirements.
The SG9665GC will be referred to as 'GC' for the remainder of this review.
You maybe thinking, why pay four times the cost for something that looks exactly like the A118C. Though they look the same at first glance, there are some minor differences on the outside. The adjustable lens housing is bigger on the GC and is a little raised but the lens doesn't protrude out like on the A118C.
The major difference between the two dashcams is inside the housing. Listed below are most of the differences.
The GC bears a 2MP Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS sensor versus the A118C's 3MP Aptina AR0330.
The GC uses a Novatek NT96655 chipset versus the A118C's Novatek NT96650 chipset.
The GC has a 7 element all glass lens versus the A118C using a plastic lens.
The GC utilises a metal holder for the lens versus the A118C that employs a plastic holder for its lens.
Extras over the A118C include various adhesive pads for the mounts and EVA foam pads for cushioning the mounts, Micro SD card, card reader/ OTG adaptor, GPS module, additional thicker mount and a trim pry-tool in addition to the accessories supplied with the A118C.
The GC is manufactured and assembled in China for an Australian company that goes by the name - Street Guardian.
Instead of reinventing the wheel they replicated a design that was already popular and discreet with a solid mounting option.
What appeals to me is the super discreet wedge shaped design that hides neatly behind the IRVM, totally out of sight, thanks to the up-down adjustable lens. This lets you mount the camera on the dotted frit with just the lens visible from the outside.
The housing design as mentioned has been borrowed from the A118C, the GC's manufacturer claims that the plastic used in their housing is of better quality and more resistant to higher temperatures.
The video quality during the day is good. Night quality is good too, night footage is actually where the GC shines. Thanks to its all glass 7 element lens and the 2MP Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS sensor + Novatek's NT96655 chipset.
A capacitor provides complete peace of mind due to its ability to perform stably at high temperatures, unlike li-po batteries which can puff or blow up under extreme conditions.
The GC misses out on a few features some may find useful e.g. parking mode, WiFi or bluetooth connectivity and a touch screen amongst other bells and whistles, which I was not looking for in a dashcam. I wanted something that reliably starts recording quality footage when the car is turned on and automatically shuts off when the ignition is turned off, the GC fulfills that requirement without ever acting up.
Sony's Exmor IMX322 is a 2MP CMOS sensor, which performs better in low light due to larger pixels being able to collect more light/detail at night, when compared to say the OmniVision 4MP OV4689 or a 3MP AR0330 from Aptina.
The metal holder for the lens ensures that under extreme temperatures the holder doesn't get hot and warp like the plastic ones resulting in out-of-focus or focus-shift issues. (An issue widely prevalent on the Mini 0807 and Yi dashcam, amongst many others.)
There are a few other dashcams offering the Sony Exmor IMX322 + Novatek NT96655 combination at much lower prices, but I strongly suspect that any of the other vendors would have a as polished and glitch-free firmware or would listen to customer feedback and provide continuous improvements via updates.
Issue & resolution:
I received my GC about a couple of months back, unfortunately the unit received had a few hot pixels spread out across the frame, during the day the hot pixels weren't visible, wasn't bad either if there was ambient or street lighting during the night but as soon as light levels dropped, the hot pixels were quite distinct.
Being aware that the manufacturer/vendor was actively providing direct support on dashcamtalk, I started a thread describing my issue. Within seconds the US vendor for Street Guardian was on the thread with instructions to recalibrate the sensor in order to get rid of the hot pixels. The pixels disappeared after the calibration process.
I was quite miffed at having to perform this task after spending a premium for something that should work flawlessly out of the box.
The reasoning given for this anomaly was -
"The Sony Sensor is being pushed running at maximum sensitivity so it's pretty tough to get every single pixel 100% perfect without losing night performance."
"The challenge with calibration is you do them in the factory on a brand new sensor and not every bright pixel shows up in such a short time."
I was also informed that the hot pixels could also appear days after the calibration is verified at the factory.
After carrying out the calibration as described, I felt the videos had lost their sharpness, with focus being too short and motion blur increasing. A couple of raw videos were shared and a day later, was offered a replacement. Maybe it was a placebo effect knowing that proper calibration requires a specific lumens light-box, opposed to a mobile phone screen set to full brightness with a similar colour-temperature background as the light-box.
Costing a measly $12 in comparison to $50 the courier companies wanted, it took only 5 days for a hassel-free delivery to Australia via SpeedPost. Amazing!
The replacement unit was received in perfect condition via tracked AU post. The manufacturer sent me a complete brand-new retail box including the Micro SD, offsetting the shipping costs and then some. (I had sent back only the dashcam without the Micro SD card.) The high-quality power supply received in the new box, which now I'm using for my rear facing Mobius, is more than enough towards compensation.
The new unit performs as it should out-of-the-box and the video quality matches the clips that led me to get the GC. Many thanks @jokiin for not making me run pillar-to-post in order to get a speedy resolution.
What I like:
Due to a limitation of 10 pictures per post, I'll spread this over a few posts
Here's a little recap of my dashcam journey...
My first dashcam was the Mini 0805 from E-Prance. The first one got fried due to a generic hardwire kit and the replacement worked well until it was connected to a HDMI cable, post that it would keep freezing on startup and became unreliable.
The Mini produces good daytime video quality and decent night-time quality. Reliability for me is a miss. This lay in the cupboard for a few months and was replaced with the Viofo A118C.
Since the Mini has started functioning again just sitting around, I've temporarily mounted it back to do some video quality comparison.
The Viofo A118C was purchased after the Mini stopped working reliably and while I was still mulling over getting the SG9665GC due to its higher price and availability issues. The A118C's night-time video quality left a lot to be desired at the very first look.
In the day it came quite close to the Mini 0805, minus the extra motion blur, rendering it useless for number plate identification. At night the video quality was considerably worse than the Mini and at times not legible.
With the A118C not performing adequately in the video quality department; especially at night. The search continued..
My requirements from the new dashcam were:
- Should be small & discreet
- Good quality footage during the daytime and night
- Reliability - No hanging, freezing, heating or locking up issues should crop up
- Capacitor based only - I fret even thinking about leaving a Chinese li-po battery in the car under extreme conditions
- CPL should be included or readily available (so I don't need to break out the neodymium magnets again.)
While still using the A118C, I looked at other options that were discreet from the currently available options. This time around setting the bar for night-time quality to be at par with, what I could see on youtube and RAW-file links here from the SG9665GC.
With none of the competition belonging to the discreet variety coming even close when it came to night footage, plus the update about my friend traveling back from Perth, it was a no-brainer.
As per user reviews and youtube videos the SG9665GC fulfilled all the listed requirements.
The SG9665GC will be referred to as 'GC' for the remainder of this review.
You maybe thinking, why pay four times the cost for something that looks exactly like the A118C. Though they look the same at first glance, there are some minor differences on the outside. The adjustable lens housing is bigger on the GC and is a little raised but the lens doesn't protrude out like on the A118C.
The major difference between the two dashcams is inside the housing. Listed below are most of the differences.
The GC bears a 2MP Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS sensor versus the A118C's 3MP Aptina AR0330.
The GC uses a Novatek NT96655 chipset versus the A118C's Novatek NT96650 chipset.
The GC has a 7 element all glass lens versus the A118C using a plastic lens.
The GC utilises a metal holder for the lens versus the A118C that employs a plastic holder for its lens.
Extras over the A118C include various adhesive pads for the mounts and EVA foam pads for cushioning the mounts, Micro SD card, card reader/ OTG adaptor, GPS module, additional thicker mount and a trim pry-tool in addition to the accessories supplied with the A118C.
The GC is manufactured and assembled in China for an Australian company that goes by the name - Street Guardian.
Instead of reinventing the wheel they replicated a design that was already popular and discreet with a solid mounting option.
What appeals to me is the super discreet wedge shaped design that hides neatly behind the IRVM, totally out of sight, thanks to the up-down adjustable lens. This lets you mount the camera on the dotted frit with just the lens visible from the outside.
The housing design as mentioned has been borrowed from the A118C, the GC's manufacturer claims that the plastic used in their housing is of better quality and more resistant to higher temperatures.
The video quality during the day is good. Night quality is good too, night footage is actually where the GC shines. Thanks to its all glass 7 element lens and the 2MP Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS sensor + Novatek's NT96655 chipset.
A capacitor provides complete peace of mind due to its ability to perform stably at high temperatures, unlike li-po batteries which can puff or blow up under extreme conditions.
The GC misses out on a few features some may find useful e.g. parking mode, WiFi or bluetooth connectivity and a touch screen amongst other bells and whistles, which I was not looking for in a dashcam. I wanted something that reliably starts recording quality footage when the car is turned on and automatically shuts off when the ignition is turned off, the GC fulfills that requirement without ever acting up.
Sony's Exmor IMX322 is a 2MP CMOS sensor, which performs better in low light due to larger pixels being able to collect more light/detail at night, when compared to say the OmniVision 4MP OV4689 or a 3MP AR0330 from Aptina.
The metal holder for the lens ensures that under extreme temperatures the holder doesn't get hot and warp like the plastic ones resulting in out-of-focus or focus-shift issues. (An issue widely prevalent on the Mini 0807 and Yi dashcam, amongst many others.)
There are a few other dashcams offering the Sony Exmor IMX322 + Novatek NT96655 combination at much lower prices, but I strongly suspect that any of the other vendors would have a as polished and glitch-free firmware or would listen to customer feedback and provide continuous improvements via updates.
Issue & resolution:
I received my GC about a couple of months back, unfortunately the unit received had a few hot pixels spread out across the frame, during the day the hot pixels weren't visible, wasn't bad either if there was ambient or street lighting during the night but as soon as light levels dropped, the hot pixels were quite distinct.
Being aware that the manufacturer/vendor was actively providing direct support on dashcamtalk, I started a thread describing my issue. Within seconds the US vendor for Street Guardian was on the thread with instructions to recalibrate the sensor in order to get rid of the hot pixels. The pixels disappeared after the calibration process.
I was quite miffed at having to perform this task after spending a premium for something that should work flawlessly out of the box.
The reasoning given for this anomaly was -
"The Sony Sensor is being pushed running at maximum sensitivity so it's pretty tough to get every single pixel 100% perfect without losing night performance."
"The challenge with calibration is you do them in the factory on a brand new sensor and not every bright pixel shows up in such a short time."
I was also informed that the hot pixels could also appear days after the calibration is verified at the factory.
After carrying out the calibration as described, I felt the videos had lost their sharpness, with focus being too short and motion blur increasing. A couple of raw videos were shared and a day later, was offered a replacement. Maybe it was a placebo effect knowing that proper calibration requires a specific lumens light-box, opposed to a mobile phone screen set to full brightness with a similar colour-temperature background as the light-box.
Costing a measly $12 in comparison to $50 the courier companies wanted, it took only 5 days for a hassel-free delivery to Australia via SpeedPost. Amazing!
The replacement unit was received in perfect condition via tracked AU post. The manufacturer sent me a complete brand-new retail box including the Micro SD, offsetting the shipping costs and then some. (I had sent back only the dashcam without the Micro SD card.) The high-quality power supply received in the new box, which now I'm using for my rear facing Mobius, is more than enough towards compensation.
The new unit performs as it should out-of-the-box and the video quality matches the clips that led me to get the GC. Many thanks @jokiin for not making me run pillar-to-post in order to get a speedy resolution.
What I like:
- The wedge shape design and form factor. Very discreet, hides nicely behind the IRVM with just the lens peeking out below the dotted frit. With a CPL covering its lens, GC looks much more discreet from the outside.
- Good daytime and night-time video quality
- Suitable for high temperatures due to a capacitor and a metal holder for the lens
- Quick GPS Lock. Data starts appearing within 30 seconds
- Excellent after sales and customer support
- Some free 'play' or movement of the lens housing assembly in between the pre-defined lens adjustment clicks. (You shouldn't be able to move the lens up or down once it clicks into the pre-defined slot, a design flaw IMO)
- The one second overlap from the previous video during playback or when joining two clips if editing (chipset limitation)
- No option to embed/stamp GPS data in-video, vehicle speed shows up though (chipset limitation)
- A complete kit minus an inclusive CPL + hardwire kit, at this price the CPL and hardwire kit should be included (probably nitpicking)
Due to a limitation of 10 pictures per post, I'll spread this over a few posts
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