Why are dashcams video quality still so bad?

[sone983]

MiKoK is a troller obviosly,so why bother to explain him.

 

[thancam]

MiKoK is a troller obviosly,so why bother to explain him.

Yeah. I think so too

 

[sone983]

Until he gives us some sort of proof or he tells us what kind if dashcam he have.Something to back up his opinions.

 

[kamkar]

Easy fix, buy cheap used fruitphone 5 and use it for dashcam.
You will be hard pressed to turn over people on a dashcam dedicated forum, if phones was so good dashcams i think we would all be using them, but we don't.

 

[sone983]

Hahahhahahaa...fruitphone...fruit-from-eden-phone.

 

[DT MI]

I've only watched bits of that video (different scenes to get a broad sample though) and to my eyes at least, it actually looks worse than some of the higher end cameras popular on here. Just my 2p.

I just compared it to videos I posted on youtube from my cheap G1W-H - the G1W-H is better is just about every respect.

 

[Nigel]

I just compared it to videos I posted on youtube from my cheap G1W-H - the G1W-H is better is just about every respect.

Not if you watch it at 360 resolution due to a low bandwidth connection, then the narrower FOV of the phone makes a big difference to the readability of number plates!

Or maybe he is watching all these videos on a smartphone with 360 resolution screen?

 

[c4rc4m]

Be better if you were comparing Action Cams vs Dashcams:

Here's one to start a few arguments!

 

[Nigel]

Be better if you were comparing Action Cams vs Dashcams:

Here's one to start a few arguments!

So you didn't notice that my earlier frame grab from my dual lens "dashcam" was actually from my Gitup Git3 action cam?

Terrible suspension in that car at the end of the video, it is not just a good camera that is needed for a good video, you also want a decent car!

 

[SawMaster]

Terrible suspension in that car at the end of the video, it is not just a good camera that is needed for a good video, you also want a decent car!

I once had a little Honda with sticky struts. A friend commented that it was like riding a solid-framed go-kart Watching a vid from that car would probably lead to sea-sickness

I think that for most of us there is a level where video is acceptable even if it isn't perfect. And sometimes it's a trade-off. My newest cam is weighted toward doing good in low-light conditions so daylight vids suffer some, but are still good enough for me. Even if someone made "the perfect dashcam" few could afford it so most people would be where they are now in just buying the best dashcam they can afford and living with that

Phil

 

[sone983]

I am gonna be a little off topic now.
"Terrible suspension in car"???Did you see sign in a steering wheel?Maybe it is a bad road or a sport car but fir the first time in my life I hear someone say that a Mercedes have a bad suspension.
In my country folks saying:Girl can be from a/or some village but a car must be from Germany.

 

[c4rc4m]

In my country folks saying:Girl can be from a/or some village but a car must be from Germany.

Maybe you should check out reliability surveys if you think that: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-ne...ost-and-least-reliable-car-manufacturers-2016

Reportedly towards the bottom group, Audi, VW, and BMW only a bit higher. Interestingly I passed a broken down 5 series last week that was nearly new. VW terrible in my experience. Check out the troubles they've reportedly had with dsg gearboxes. Never passed a broken Honda though. Anyway back to cameras. ....

 

[Nigel]

I am gonna be a little off topic now.
"Terrible suspension in car"???Did you see sign in a steering wheel?Maybe it is a bad road or a sport car but fir the first time in my life I hear someone say that a Mercedes have a bad suspension.
In my country folks saying:Girl can be from a/or some village but a car must be from Germany.

It is the badge of a German Taxi, not my favourite form of transport, but I don't think just changing the badge would improve the ride quality!

It maybe a bad road and a sports car, but even a Formula 1 car or a World Rally Car will not shake the driver about that much!
A good sports car suspension needs to absorb all the high frequency bumps so that the tyres keep a good hold on the road surface, if the driver is being shaken around like that then the tyres are also being shaken about and will loose grip.

I think that for most of us there is a level where video is acceptable even if it isn't perfect. And sometimes it's a trade-off. My newest cam is weighted toward doing good in low-light conditions so daylight vids suffer some, but are still good enough for me. Even if someone made "the perfect dashcam" few could afford it so most people would be where they are now in just buying the best dashcam they can afford and living with that

Phil

An iPhone is far from the most affordable dashcam, even a 2nd hand iPhone from a few years ago!
And if you used it regularly then it wouldn't last long, they are not designed to cope with the sunshine, heat and vibration that dashcams are designed for.
As for image quality, the most important thing for a dashcam is to gather evidence, often in very poor lighting conditions, not to produce cinematic quality video under studio lighting. It does not matter if the dashcam video does not look good if it does contain the evidence.
If I want the in car video to look good on days with good lighting then I will use an Action camera and accept that it may not capture as much evidence as a proper dashcam.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

As for image quality, the most important thing for a dashcam is to gather evidence, often in very poor lighting conditions, not to produce cinematic quality video under studio lighting. It does not matter if the dashcam video does not look good if it does contain the evidence.

+1

 

[thancam]

the front lens is a wide angle lens and cant read the plate of the car in front, but the rear lens is a much narrower angle and can read the plate of the car behind even though both cars are at about the same distance.

And one more thing, the car runs the same direction with our car will be catch plate more easier than the car runs from reverse direction.

 

[Ralph2]

I think the main reason is that the phone has a much narrower field of view making it much easier to see number plates but meaning that it misses a lot of the action including the car that is about to hit you from the side. If you want wide angle so that you can see who was at fault in an accident and be able to see number plates at the same time then you also have to use higher resolution. It is normally far more important to be able to see what is happening around the car and thus who is at fault than to be able to read a number plate but not be able to prove that that person did anything wrong.

Part of the problem may be that you are looking at the videos at 1080 resolution so are not seeing all the detail recorded.

Here is a frame grab at 1080 resolution from my current "dashcam", the front lens is a wide angle lens and cant read the plate of the car in front, but the rear lens is a much narrower angle and can read the plate of the car behind even though both cars are at about the same distance. With more resolution you would be able to read both plates but if you view at 1080 resolution because of YouTube or because of your computer screen then the phone which has a much narrower angle view than even the rear lens on my camera has a big advantage when it comes to reading plates, but not when trying to prove who was at fault.

As well as the narrower field of view which helps... When comparing these two images consider the relative speed of both. The front camera is capturing an object that is closing at high speed. From one frame to the next that licence plate has changed position.. a lot. On the other camera the plate is relatively stationary and thus readable.

 

[sone983]

Maybe you should check out reliability surveys if you think that: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-ne...ost-and-least-reliable-car-manufacturers-2016

Reportedly towards the bottom group, Audi, VW, and BMW only a bit higher. Interestingly I passed a broken down 5 series last week that was nearly new. VW terrible in my experience. Check out the troubles they've reportedly had with dsg gearboxes. Never passed a broken Honda though.
It is the badge of a German Taxi, not my favourite form of transport, but I don't think just changing the badge would improve the ride quality!

It maybe a bad road and a sports car, but even a Formula 1 car or a World Rally Car will not shake the driver about that much!
A good sports car suspension needs to absorb all the high frequency bumps so that the tyres keep a good hold on the road surface, if the driver is being shaken around like that then the tyres are also being shaken about and will loose grip.
You have your opinion and I have mine, we'll agree to disagree and that's it.

 

[thancam]

what this thread is about now ? which car brand is more reliable ? i think we should stop.

 

[c4rc4m]

As for image quality, the most important thing for a dashcam is to gather evidence, often in very poor lighting conditions, not to produce cinematic quality video under studio lighting. It does not matter if the dashcam video does not look good if it does contain the evidence.

I would disagree not with the principle but it's execution. Usually if a video looks good, it is good and will have more chance of containing the evidence.

If I want the in car video to look good on days with good lighting then I will use an Action camera and accept that it may not capture as much evidence as a proper dashcam.

What evidence? I have experience of using both and would favour the action cams from what I've seen, although in daylight at least. However, I haven't had either up-to-date car cams or actions cams for a while so couldn't directly comment on present model comparisons. Also, action cams aren't for everyone or every climate in car. The latest Hero 5 does an impressive job at night though as well.

I'd say that's as pretty much as good as I've seen from any specifically designed dashcam at night, if not better. Quick note though, it says this was shot in Protune mode, which does require some advanced editing skills to get good video (it needs manually sharpening and colour grading in post production).

If by "evidence" you mean speed data, then yes an action cam, won't usually capture that (with one or two exceptions). However, personally, that's data I'd rather not have as data is a double edged sword. Again, each to their own though.

 

[Nigel]

I would disagree...

The main differences between a dashcam and an action cam are:

1. The exposure on an action camera will try to get good exposure including the sky, often resulting in the road, number plates etc becoming very dark with little detail, especially on sunny days when bicycles can become invisible in the shadows under hedges. A good dashcam will ignore a bright sky over exposing it in order to collect far more information in the darker areas.
2. A dashcam will try to enhance exposure and sharpening on number plates and other text to make them more readable at the expense of an accurate photograph.
3. Dashcams normally use relatively low resolution sensors with large pixels to give a lot more sensitivity and reduced noise at night. A recent dashcam like the A119S will give considerably less motion blur at night than a GoPro Hero 5 because it's sensor is a lot more sensitive, at the expense of resolution.

Given the right lighting conditions the Hero 5 will outperform any dashcam, but most of the time the dashcam will be the better choice for use as a dashcam.