Vico Marcus 4. 2560p/Extreme HD, 1296p/30Fps, A7, HDR, Parking Mode, 7-l. optics

[Blaze9]

I'm kinda upset that they are releasing new FW for the 4 but not for the 3.... Seems like they have totally stopped development on that end. =(

 

[synoptic12]

I'm kinda upset that they are releasing new FW for the 4 but not for the 3.... Seems like they have totally stopped development on that end. =(

You should know better. The chances of updating FW in past cams may, "May" be available, but always try to opt for the latest chip. The newer chips, such as the LA55 are still being fine tuned, so why would any try to improve upon past technology, even though it may be good. The only cam which seems to continually support 'good' FW is Mobius. There are many FW's which simply revert the initial FW useless, or make the updated version worse. The key is to obtain the camera with the best possible FW that you are happy with. We have seen no FW which will increase clarity. One can only go so far with FW updates, due to the restriction of the components, namely the chip.

The Marcus 3 is pretty good, what is it that you dislike?

 

[jsan]

Does the Marcus 4 have a speed display mode? I have a DOD Ls camera and I can set it so that after a minute of live video at startup, it switches to Speed display via GPS.

Does the Marcus 4 have this function?

 

[kamkar]

I dont think the M4 have that feature, sadly as i too like that kind of "pause screen"

 

[jsan]

So, those who bought this dashcam, How are you liking it? Video quality comments? Please chime in.

Thanks

 

[war]

@ jsan, mine came today, so I'll let you know in the following days (video included too - dropbox)
I'm so glad I've managed to get rid of the aiptek X5

 

[jsan]

sounds good, look forward to it.

 

[reverend]

Would it be possible to get a screencap from the camera in 1920x1080p and then the 2560x1080p mode if you get chance please?

We've just noticed on the similar G90 device that actually seems to have the same captured image size as the 1920 frame in both modes.

It should be doing this:

But instead is cropping it like this:

It's swings and roundabouts but I did expect the extra resolution to show the sides of the car up to the A pillars more in the 2560 mode.

Thanks in advance

 

[jokiin]

I did expect the extra resolution to show the sides of the car up to the A pillars more in the 2560 mode.

how it's meant to be

 

[reverend]

Yeah exactly - to be honest the M4 footage I've looked at on Youtube suggests it may be doing the same thing as the G90 though. They should have got DOD's marketing team on this one.

It looks like a straight crop tbh from the 1296p footage and suggests they're scaling one of the modes. It would appear that the 1080p mode is just downscaled 1296p footage and basically that the 2560x1080p view offers the same horizontal field as the 1920x1080p footage so you don't actually gain much other than slightly higher resolution for really fine details.

 

[jokiin]

I've seen it done correctly in a demo by Ambarella, I'm not sure it's actually a benefit or more just bragging rights though

 

[reverend]

It's swings and roundabouts I guess - that above shows that for the horizontal field of view there's zero difference although you're getting a slightly higher resolution version of the same frame.

It's not doing what they're selling it as doing though for sure.

I've got to admit I did like the idea of seeing more what is going on through the windscreen as it tells more of a story if something happens rather than a car suddenly crashing into the frame from nowhere.

 

[ics]

What reverend says is true.

Prints taken from videos recorded at:
720p30fps: http://i.imgur.com/infr1HX.jpg
720p60fps: http://i.imgur.com/bvGVXIo.jpg
1080p30fps: http://i.imgur.com/J1Lh6bi.jpg
1080pHDR: http://i.imgur.com/dkKV4so.jpg
1296p30fps: http://i.imgur.com/oOHut9N.jpg
2560p30fps: http://i.imgur.com/IK0F68q.jpg

 

[reverend]

Thanks very much for doing that testing @ics - it's quite strange as the 2560x1080 screenshot actually has stuff missing from the sides which is on the other screenshots!

At a complete guess the 2560x1080 mode is using the 1:1 pixel mapping from the sensor which is why information is missing, whereas the others are using the full sensor size scaled down to whatever resolution you configure which is why there is more data.

 

[Yas]

By the way,I uploaded the video for vico marcus4 hdr effect on youtube.
I am pleased if it becomes helpful.

HDR effect of vico marcus4 seems to function when the illumination of the entire screen becomes brighter to some extent.
(Probably, it does not seem to function even if there is one bright signboard in a dark road at night.)
At present, I suspect that there is no other car cam that have this feature.
Anyway,I am pleased with this car cam.

 

[PCheng]

It should be doing this:

It's swings and roundabouts but I did expect the extra resolution to show the sides of the car up to the A pillars more in the 2560 mode.

The Marcus4 has a lens with "View Angle" of 160 degree diagonal no matter what the "Video Resolution" setting is.
The camera lens will not magically has "Wilder Coverage" just by changing the "Video Resolution". I mean, for example, you cannot make a "Standard Angle Lens" to become a "Wide Angle Lens" just by using "Higher Resolution".
Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[reverend]

It's a 4Mp sensor with a 160 degree lens in front of it - the optimal mode for dash cams is to not use scaling, so the larger sensor area used the larger the field of view captured.

The way they sell these is that the 2560x1080 mode captures more information than the 1920x1080 mode.

This screenshot is a better example:

Basically you can see there that the picture itself is using the full sensor size (2304x1296 in that case) - the bit within the red box is what the camera sees when it's running at a 1:1 mapping without any scaling for 1080p. When scaling is used the entire picture is squeezed down.

On the Marcus 4 and the G90 it looks like they're currently taking the full sensor size and scaling it down to fit the selected size - if they were using the raw data from the centre of the sensor you would see a difference in field of view between all the modes.

The other higher end cameras like the Panorama do not use scaling and it should offer a slightly sharper picture.

That mode is marketed as a selling point but in truth you're not really gaining anything, other than a bit of extra scaled resolution. It's swings and roundabouts really - some people will prefer one, some the other.

 

[suawek]

New FW 4.5G available.

 

[basuotoko]

I've bought this M4, then quickly returned it back to the seller and had money back. Why? Only because it has awefully audio quality - when i check the audio part from the video i recorded, it uses AAC encode plus only 64K bitrate. OMG! In this matter i quite like my DOD LS400W plus since it uses PCM 512K, Win! although my dod has losing focus issue when temperature is little high ...say 23c degrees indoor. Oh damn!

 

[suawek]

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