Took my 0806 for a mini test

[mollydog]

I took the car out so thought I’d test out the mini 0806 in good lighting. I’ve took it out on an overcast day, and on that day I also had the SJ4000 testing it out its features as a DVR, and very surprisingly I thought the SJ4000 images, visually out performed the mini 0806, the colour saturation, windscreen reflections and contrast all seemed to me to be a lot better on the SJ4000

But as it was an overcast day I gave the Mini 0806 the benefit of the doubt, so today being a good bright sunny day I slipped in a micro card in the mini 0806 and took a drive round my location, getting the sun to be in front, to my left, to my right and then behind me, to give me a good idea as to how good it could handle bright sunlight from all directions

having looked at the clips, a few things come to mind and this could be due to leaving the exposure settings to factory settings, but there seems to be a lack of contrast, saturation and my biggest fear, . . . . . focusing, also is it the mount that is making the DVR shake? it can be seen on the edges of the screen, looks as if I’m driving on a road full of pot holes, but looking at the speed, I wasn’t going that fast. If it is the mount, is there something I can do about it or is it “lump it and like it”?

seeing how spots on the windscreen only a few centimetres in front are very noticeable and a road sign maybe 7M to 8M in front of me:


(the sun was behind me)

is not too clear might indicate the focusing, might need some adjusting, not as bad as it is on my 0805 but maybe just a millimetre or two turn?

here are two clips of what I mean

heading out, with the sun, in front, right side then left side of me

coming back with the sun mostly behind me, but also to my right

these are such lovely DVR’s, I love their form factor, the fetters they come with and their style, now if I can only get them to capture medium to hight images quality, I’ll be very happy with them

many thanks for any help

 

[Nigel]

having looked at the clips, a few things come to mind and this could be due to leaving the exposure settings to factory settings, but there seems to be a lack of contrast, saturation and my biggest fear, . . . . . focusing, also is it the mount that is making the DVR shake? it can be seen on the edges of the screen, looks as if I’m driving on a road full of pot holes, but looking at the speed, I wasn’t going that fast. If it is the mount, is there something I can do about it or is it “lump it and like it”?

Is that with or without the CPL?
If it is with then it's not doing a very good job, but I can see reasons why it might have difficulty.

What is it attached to?
The vibration looks like it is what it is attached to that is vibrating rather than the camera in it's mount...

While it sort of looks out of focus, I'm not convinced. Can we see an image where it is not looking through your windscreen please...

 

[RavenManiac]

mollydog, can you take a few photos of the 0806 mounted in your car? Nigel, do you have any videos of how the 0806 is supposed to perform? Thanks!

 

[Nigel]

Nigel, do you have any videos of how the 0806 is supposed to perform? Thanks!

 

[RavenManiac]

Seems very clear to me. Were you using a CPL?

Also, I take it this is with your firmware edits, correct?

 

[Nigel]

Seems very clear to me. Were you using a CPL?

Also, I take it this is with your firmware edits, correct?

I always use the CPL, first image is with edited firmware, second and video is with standard. Video is much better without YouTube though, which is why I posted the frame grabs.

 

[mollydog]

just been to the car and took some photo to show how its fixed on the screen, I’ll have them up just after finishing this post,

my first thoughts were, the 0806 was making contact with the mirror and maybe the two together was causing the 0806 to vibrate slightly

the photos I’ll post later will show. there is no contact, after my first test with this 0806 I took it off the screen to custom set some of the settings and found it very difficult while it was stuck to the screen, and is when I found out just how very strong hold on the screen the sticky stuff is/has, so don’t think its anything to do with the contact with the screen thats the problem, this slight movement, I think it might be the point where the DVR and the GPS mount fit together that might be the issue

but I’ll soon have a movie clip and some photos to add

yes I had the CPL on, it ws still set to the setting I got when I was lining it up with the TV to go black

in the morning I’ll take out the 0806 and take some photos outside and hopefully its another nice day

 

[mollydog]

here are some photos I just took of the 0806 fitted to the car windscreen












the masking tape was there to help in alining the DVR to the screen


and a video clip showing that it is tight to the screen but there is slight movement, I only softly touched the DVR

 

[kwolf]

In your video it doesn't look that out of focus. I manually focused mine (took a long time to get it "perfect") and it's about as good as yours. The sign in the picture seems to be hard to read due to over-exposure of the white background.

As far as vibrations, let me know if you find a good fix that doesn't involve taping a foam block to the windshield. Mine vibrates during engine braking in my car, and I have a 2014 suv so it's not like my car is shaking all over the place. It seems to me the vibration is partly due to the design of the camera and the mount, and where all the weight in the camera is. The camera is held to the mount with it's rotating ring, which is already not that tight of a fit (especially after removing it a few times to fix soldering and focus problems...) so I am sure that contributes to it. The problem is made worse since the mount is on the side instead of the center.

 

[RavenManiac]

kwolf, if your video looks the same as mollydog, I would find out why Nigel's is so much better and make whatever adjustments he has made.

In fact, Nigel, aside from your firmware update, what settings do you recommend for the best resolution/performance on the 0806?

Also, what dash cam are you using for your back window?

 

[mollydog]

kwolf, (I like your avatar)

I suppose I’m a bit paranoid with the focusing as the first mini 0805 I got I sent back due to focusing issues and got a second one, and the second 0805, the focusing is even worse (should of kept the first one)

the reason I ask if there is something I can do to make the fitting between the DVR body and the GPS mount tighter is that I did hear, the old 0801/0803 had similar issues

I know there is a bit of a difference between the 0805 and the 0806, but when I had the 0805 fixed to the windscreen it didn’t move like in the clips I’ve shown, forgetting about the out of focus issue, the 0805 had better colour saturation and contrast compared to the clip I’ve shown of the 0806

I mentioned I haven’t experimented with the exposure settings, could that have something to do with colour & contrast issue?

RavenManiac

If I could achieve same results as Nigel’s back camera view on my 0806, I’d be pleased, my out of focus 0805 produced similar results as Nigel’s rear camera (just out of focus though)

Nigel

if I update the firmware to your firmware, do you think my 0806 would capture similar results to what you’ve shown your 0806 captures?

also how many hours would a 64Gb card hold with your firmware set to:

2560 X 1080 30fps 21:9

2304 X 1296 30FPS 16:9
or the next one down in quality from the 2560 X 1080 if its not the 2304 X 1296

many thanks

 

[Nigel]

I think it might be the point where the DVR and the GPS mount fit together that might be the issue but I’ll soon have a movie clip and some photos to add

My experience is that it can vibrate on the mount and will do so at its resonating frequency if it receives vibrations at the same frequency from the engine or other source. However when it does that, the centre of rotation is at the mount while in your video it appears to be rotating around it's centre point, exactly the same as another video where the subwoofer was turned up enough to vibrate the whole windscreen. I don't know how solid the windscreen is in the Lotus, presumably it is a light weight one and it has no support at the top since there is no roof...

I wonder if it is being affected by your video cable? I would take it for a drive with that unplugged just to check if the wobble disappears...

yes I had the CPL on, it ws still set to the setting I got when I was lining it up with the TV to go black

Two issues I can see:

First I think your windscreen is probably at the wrong angle for a CPL to work 100% effectively, seems to be a lot flatter than most, the reflections need to be at close to 56 degrees: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster's_angle

Second, with no roof on, there is a lot more light in the car than in most cars so there are reflections of bright objects all over the image instead of just the dash at the bottom of the image, the higher reflections are well off the 56 degrees.

in the morning I’ll take out the 0806 and take some photos outside and hopefully its another nice day

A picture without a window in the way with nice lighting which includes some objects both close and far will tell us a lot about the focus.

...Nigel, aside from your firmware update, what settings do you recommend for the best resolution/performance on the 0806?

Default settings.

Also, what dash cam are you using for your back window?

That is a mini 0803 that goes slightly out of focus when it gets warm as it was in that clip.

I know there is a bit of a difference between the 0805 and the 0806, but when I had the 0805 fixed to the windscreen it didn’t move like in the clips I’ve shown, forgetting about the out of focus issue, the 0805 had better colour saturation and contrast compared to the clip I’ve shown of the 0806

If the 0805 didn't vibrate then it can't be the windscreen at fault, try it without that cable, also maybe add some weight to it to change the resonant frequency, it may just be tuned to the same frequency as your glass.

I mentioned I haven’t experimented with the exposure settings, could that have something to do with colour & contrast issue?

The only setting I change from default is the white balance which I often set to "cloudy" since that tends to give more saturated colours which I normally prefer.

I think your main issue is that there are reflections from the glass which are spoiling the contrast and saturation, again, take a look at what it produces without the glass in the way to check if that is the issue.

Nigel

if I update the firmware to your firmware, do you think my 0806 would capture similar results to what you’ve shown your 0806 captures?

If you put your 0806 in my car then it would capture similar results, in an Elise with the top down maybe not.

also how many hours would a 64Gb card hold with your firmware set to:

2560 X 1080 30fps 21:9

2304 X 1296 30FPS 16:9
or the next one down in quality from the 2560 X 1080 if its not the 2304 X 1296

many thanks

2560 X 1080 30fps 21:9 - I get either 5 hours, 11 hours or 2.5 days depending on the superfine/fine/normal setting.
I don't really bother with the other modes since 2560 X 1080 gives the best image and I have enough control over how long the card lasts with the quality setting. The 1080 45fps setting is interesting though just for the extra frames.

 

[petepete]

I think its the music.... try "ride a white swan"

 

[kwolf]

Raven, my videos are around the same quality as Nigel's. The main difference is bitrate, and Nigel's firmware is excellent for that. Aside from that, European plates are much larger and easier to read, so the videos will look clearer. In Mollydogs video, it looks like a higher bitrate would have helped. The stock bitrate turns vegetation to mush and can also make things harder to read.

Mollydog, in my experience the camera tends to slightly overexpose in daylight. Turning it down won't make the colors extra vibrant though. It will help with the image being washed out and black text being unreadable on bright white. Doing this could hurt your night video quality.

 

[mollydog]

I’m going to nip to the garage with the car, so on the way there I’ll have no radio on and see what happens, but in the clip I’ve shown, I’ve noticed when I stop so does the vibration (for a better word) of the DVR. True I can feel the vibrations sometimes from the front speakers, so with no music, when I get back I’ll eliminate that, if it’s not the cause

Nigel, I’ve been told the front windscreen on the Elise is only around 3mm thick, so any vibrations would be felt on the screen,

I’ve just took a look and the clip when I first fitted the 0806 in the car and took it on a drive with the SJ4000 also fitted to the screen, I had music on, I didn’t notice at the time but it also showed signs of vibration (for a better word), might very well be the front speakers

from getting the 0806, I haven’t been turning the mount ring round or taking out and re fitting the DVR to the mount or anything like that due to hearing that there would be a good chance of the GPS wire un-soldering if one kept turning it round and not un-mounting it from the mount as hearing that doing do on a regular basses wood wear out the mount

as when I had the seats out the car I wires the back screen to take the mini 0805 I still have the wiring in, so on the way back I’ll be (trying) to fit the 0806 on the back windscreen and see what happens

once more, many thanks

 

[mollydog]

I took the car out today, no radio on and showing a clip that covers a bumpy road and a bit of dual carriageway, sadly when the 0806 is on the front windscreen, it still shows signs of rocking, both on the bumpy road and the smooth road,

in fact all the clips with the DVR on the front windscreen show this rocking, more so on the bumpy road, the funny thing is the masking tape on the windscreen next to the DVR shows no sign of movement, now this could be because of the clones to the lens, I don’t know

then on the way home I took it off the front windscreen and stuck it on the rear screen, still with the used 3M sticky stuff, with or without the radio on there is no sign of rocking, a bit of what looked like jelly movement but no rocking like when stuck on the front screen, on both clips I had the CPL on, what was surprising was the reflection I’m getting on the rear screen, it is a flat screen, straight up/down, I didn’t get this much (if any) reflection with the cheap and cheerful DVR

here are the two clips

here is the clip from the front window

at the same time I had the SJ4000 (no CPL filter)attached to the windscreen with a suction cup only on the same stretch of road as the 0806, there is no rocking, a slight shake but no rocking

the clip with the 0806 fixed to the back wind screen with and without radio on

here are some photos I took this evening, not long ago, I should of took them same time but was in a rush then









the only setting I changed on the 0806 was I set it to cloudy

 

[Nigel]

in fact all the clips with the DVR on the front windscreen show this rocking, more so on the bumpy road, the funny thing is the masking tape on the windscreen next to the DVR shows no sign of movement, now this could be because of the clones to the lens, I don’t know

That will be because it is moving the same amount as the camera since they are both attached to the same glass which is moving them both - they are not moving relative to each other so you don't see the tape moving. Don't know if you don't see it on the SJ4000 because that is mounted well away from the centre of the windscreen or if it's rubber mount is stabilising it...

then on the way home I took it off the front windscreen and stuck it on the rear screen, still with the used 3M sticky stuff, with or without the radio on there is no sign of rocking, a bit of what looked like jelly movement but no rocking like when stuck on the front screen, on both clips I had the CPL on, what was surprising was the reflection I’m getting on the rear screen, it is a flat screen, straight up/down, I didn’t get this much (if any) reflection with the cheap and cheerful DVR

The CPL will not work on the rear screen since the reflections are not polarised thus can't be blocked by a polariser.

I suspect you saw less reflections from the cheap camera due to the mounting position rather than anything else.


Those clips actually look OK to me, apart from the shake. I'm not seeing original resolution but I see no sign of a focus issue. The colour isn't brilliant but looks realistic and will be better with better lighting.

It is worth trying the upgraded bitrate firmware: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/0806firmware-150323-dct-custom-bitrate-version.11232/

That won't remove the wobble though... Can you try it lower down and maybe sideways a bit? There might be a fairly localised resonance on that piece of glass and it is much better below the mirror. Does the mirror vibrate?

 

[mollydog]

yes the mirror occasionally does vibrate, I’ll try a couple of things tomorrow,move the 0806 below the mirror and slightly to the left (facing forward), then I’m going to try it mounted on a suction cup and see what happens then,

thats a very good point Nigel about the masking tape, might be as you suggest, the two are moving together and not the DVR thats rocking, just it looks a lot of movement in the image and my Blackvue also was stuck to the screen with a sticky pad and had no sign of movement

 

[mollydog]

One other thing Nigel, if I do the firmware upgrade, is it only one way or could I revert back to the original FW? many thanks

 

[Nigel]

One other thing Nigel, if I do the firmware upgrade, is it only one way or could I revert back to the original FW? many thanks

As long as you have a copy of what is on there then you can go back, if you don't then all the old standard versions are still available on mini0806.com, supplier customised ones wont be but since the manual tells you to update the firmware as the first instruction that is not a problem. Interestingly mini0806.com also has my firmware in it's list so your supplier can't really complain about you putting that on either!

http://www.mini0806.com/1/post/2015/05/0806firmware-150323-dct-custom-bitrate-version.html#comments