Which Mobius to Buy..

[Slicer]

New to the forum looking for some guidance on which Mobius model 'dash-cam' to go for?

I do not have a camera yet and have no knowledge of what is available apart from that is by looking at the various adverts all of which of course tell me their products are 'THE BEST' available. I ended up here after reading a user review on one of the MB forums - I have an W211 'E class' - then came across a few good news posting on the Mobius.

Also any guidance as to power supply accessories - I will hard wire to a take off point from the cig lighter socket which also powers my removable sat nav thus hiding the cable/s.

Slicer

 

[xreyuk]

There are really only two models of the mobius dash cam, and the only difference is the lens type.

The 'A' Type, which is the original is a standard lens, and the 'B' Type is wide angle lens. Personally, I've stayed with the original as I never felt the need to get a wide angle lens, especially as the standard lens is very good at reading registration plates (I can be doing 50mph, with traffic doing 50mph in the opposite direction and I can read their plates). I'm sure someone else will come along shortly and explain any benefits a wide angle lens may bring.

A lot of the parts are changeable, so you could buy the standard lens, and if you don't like it, just buy the wide angle lens replacement lens and change it yourself, you don't have to buy a whole new camera.

Most suppliers will provide you everything you need, which will be a cigarette lighter adapter, a 3m USB cable, and a mount. The only thing you may want to look up is what type of mount you prefer. Some are shorter than others, some are adhesive stickers as opposed to suction cups. Personally, I wanted a suction cup, but due to the way my wipers work, I needed a fairly long mount.

The only other things you may consider, is what some people have done on here, if you're using it as a dashcam and it'll always be plugged into power, you could change the battery for a super capacitor as it's supposed to be better for the camera. I've used mine with the battery like this with no problems though.

 

[Grimm]

Look through the mounting thread it may give you an idea on which lens you may want and how you want to place it in your car.

I went for the A lens at first, realized that for my windshield I needed something wider as it wasnt getting everything in the shot even set to "wide" in the GUI, and bought the B lens. The A lens now is used in the rear window. This is for a midsized SUV.

For my 4 door sedan A lens is fine but I find the B a bit better as you can see more to the sides although the fish eye distorts it a lot, especially the B lens on wide. I like being able to see where a car has come from even if its distorted and a bit blurry around the edges as this "evidence" may be useful in court.

Just knowing the FOV's of each doesnt really help, neither does watching comparison videos because none of it shows you how its going to look through your front windshield and that's all that matters. Youll have to pick one eventually, and even if it was the wrong decision its better then not having a dash cam.

You will also soon find that you want one for the rear windshield and you will get another one. Then you'll like one on the passenger side looking toward the drivers window to record any dealings with the police, so yet another camera. How about the interior of the car when you park in a lot and the attended might feck with your car, gotta get one for that! Hey, how about a camera facing you and your passenger while you drive to catch those moments when you roll your eyes or she picks her nose, another camera. Then there is the under the car camera for those soon to be road pizza incidents...

 

[russ331]

See http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/which-lens.4334/ for a discussion on the merits of the two lenses.

 

[Slicer]

Many thanks for the responses so just another question: - GPS - I seem not able to find any reference to it on this make does it not have this facility and is it really important?

 

[russ331]

Many thanks for the responses so just another question: - GPS - I seem not able to find any reference to it on this make does it not have this facility and is it really important?

Mobius doesn't have GPS. A common drawback of GPS is that it often lags several seconds behind the action, especially when braking / accelerating.

Say a car pulls out from a side road directly in front of you. You brake hard but cannot avoid hitting the other car. At the moment of impact you've slowed to only 20mph, however, the GPS data embedded in the video incorrectly indicates you were doing 40mph. The video evidence should exonerate you, but instead indicates that you're at least partly responsible for the accident.

GPS is a feature that some people want, but don't need. I don't need or want it, but we all have different needs / wants.

 

[xreyuk]

Regarding GPS, at the end of the day, you can tell how fast you were going from skid marks (if there are ever any) and the lines on the road.

 

[Grimm]

Regarding GPS, at the end of the day, you can tell how fast you were going from skid marks (if there are ever any) and the lines on the road.

And, well your video. Since speed can be calculated by timing objects moving and frame rate and such...mixed with math and magic. It's the math that gets me, the magic is easy.

But if you are going the GPS route get one that allows you to select to save the GPS data and not imbed it in the video. You can put it in later if you wish.