Why are dashcams video quality still so bad?

[Dashmellow]

You'll find the BBC use standard GoPros for most applications.

Who says? Can you provide documentation for such a claim? Generally speaking, it is the producer, the director and the production crew that decide the specifics of what sort of equipment is required for their work.

 

[c4rc4m]

I said I was out, but I will at least be courteous and reply to a polite post...

the time you forget to turn your gopro on or are too lazy because you are just running to the store real quick could be the time you get in an accident and really needed the camera rolling. but of course a $400 gopro designed for capturing action with the best quality video possible in a handheld size is gonna have higher quality video.

I'm never going to forget because I never leave the cam in the car so the process for me is install the suction cup, plug in the cable, switch on, press record, all before I ever start the car. I also have an LCD back fitted so can see instantly when it's on and recording. I don't find it inconvenient because I'd do exactly the same with a dash cam - there's no way I'm going to leave several hundred pounds worth of camera in the car windscreen in plain view to be stolen. I'm just surprised there haven't been more thefts yet. Obviously no-ones caught onto the fact that these things are as expensive and desirable as Sat Navs.

But i have to mount those each time, they don't start recording until I hit the record button, and they don't loop.

I mount anyway, see above. I can live without my current cam looping, it's no great deal with a large SD card. Looping was nice on the Mobius though and is desirable. However, many up to date action cams do now loop, which yes is much more convenient. To me I will put quality above convenience because when you need a plate or want to use the footage for other purposes eg entertainment videos, it's quality that counts. As I said before, it's not necessarily for everyone, but that's a long way from saying they don't work or can't be used. In fact this very site lists action cameras just under dashcams!

Its sort of like how I will give up video quality for automatic parking mode. we all got our needs.

Exactly. I have little need of parking mode and would rather risk the parking than the theft of the dashcam in any event. Quality and plate reading are what are primarily important to me. I would have the convenience of some of the extra features of a dashcam but not at the expense of quality.

 

[DT MI]

...I keep wondering what is the purpose of this absurd level of verbosity?....

The answer to that question lies in his very first post in this thread. Take it for what it worth but it pretty much speaks for itself.

...Here's one to start a few arguments!...

 

[Dashmellow]

The answer to that question lies in his very first post in this thread. Take it for what it worth but it pretty much speaks for itself.

Hah! You're right!.....And you didn't even quote another line from that same post of mine, "I am starting to posit that it is some odd form of trolling".

 

[kamkar]

@SawMaster Too bad we cant have a community dashcam, like on the flashlight forum i am looking forward to get my hands on that Q8.

 

[SawMaster]

It could happen I guess. Easier with lights though- fewer parts and manufacturers willing to do the builds which are usually based on an existing design. Viofo seems to be doing something similar improving some existing designs at the right prices I'm sure he's read all the old posts wanting better low-light performance.

The Q-8 is probably the first one coming from a totally clean sate; everything in it is a fresh new unique design from bezel to tailcap. And the design team wants perfection so we will be waiting awhile but it will be well worth it. It will be like holding daylight in your hand

Phil

 

[c4rc4m]

There's no trolling, just a difference in opinion.

As for dashcam perfection, one thing that is immediately obvious when you look at the Ribcage modded lens, is that the lens is a major restricting factor on many cams. Yes they're built to a price.

However, look at this way, if an OEM manufacturer were to design their standard lens base as an M12 screw socket, then there would be no ribcage mod necessary, and a better lens could be fitted as standard. A 16-18mp resolution 4K low distortion lens is still around $100 retail. However, on the basis of the usual markup of 100% these days, that's $50 trade. So for a price increase of $50, pretty much any dashcam manufacturer could in theory turn out an OEM M12 cam with one of these accessory lens as the standard lens for around $50 more than their current model (maybe a little less with volume purchasing of the lens). Something with a 70-90 degree view would be ideal (in the 2.7mm - 4mm range). It would also give the end user the option of changing the lens for a different one if their needs required a different angle of view, if the base was an M12 screw. Win win for both as changeable lens is a USP and better quality for end user.

 

[Dashmellow]

 

[Nigel]

There's no trolling, just a difference in opinion.

As for dashcam perfection, one thing that is immediately obvious when you look at the Ribcage modded lens, is that the lens is a major restricting factor on many cams. Yes they're built to a price.

However, look at this way, if an OEM manufacturer were to design their standard lens base as an M12 screw socket, then there would be no ribcage mod necessary, and a better lens could be fitted as standard. A 16-18mp resolution 4K low distortion lens is still around $100 retail. However, on the basis of the usual markup of 100% these days, that's $50 trade. So for a price increase of $50, pretty much any dashcam manufacturer could in theory turn out an OEM M12 cam with one of these accessory lens as the standard lens for around $50 more than their current model (maybe a little less with volume purchasing of the lens). Something with a 70-90 degree view would be ideal (in the 2.7mm - 4mm range). It would also give the end user the option of changing the lens for a different one if their needs required a different angle of view, if the base was an M12 screw. Win win for both as changeable lens is a USP and better quality for end user.

Almost nobody wants a 70 degree dashcam - it would miss most of the action! You would need a normal wide angle dashcam as well to be able to see who caused the accident.

If you want 90 degrees, go for a Gitup Git2P-90, or better a Gitup Git1 and fit the Gitup 90 degree no-fisheye lens.

 

[c4rc4m]

Almost nobody wants a 70 degree dashcam - it would miss most of the action! You would need a normal wide angle dashcam as well to be able to see who caused the accident.

The lens FOV could be whatever the demand was for. I think however you'll find it can be much narrower than you think and still catch the action. 3.8mm = 82 degrees:

 

[Nigel]

3.8mm = 82 degrees:

Is that measured horizontally on a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor?

Most specifications are for diagonal FOV of the lens and ignore the fact that what is recorded isn't the full width of the image created by the lens, or even the full width of the sensor - you are not comparing like for like.

 

[c4rc4m]

Is that measured horizontally on a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor?

Most specifications are for diagonal FOV of the lens and ignore the fact that what is recorded isn't the full width of the image created by the lens, or even the full width of the sensor - you are not comparing like for like.

Edit:- Horizontal. I believe this is probably the lens: https://www.back-bone.ca/product/3-8mm-m12/

 

[jokiin]

I think however you'll find it can be much narrower than you think and still catch the action. 3.8mm = 82 degrees:

plenty of action but no perception of how close anything is as nothing from the vehicle is in the field of view so it lacks perspective, the video is nice, but I wouldn't consider it ideal for creating evidence in case of an accident

 

[c4rc4m]

plenty of action but no perception of how close anything is as nothing from the vehicle is in the field of view so it lacks perspective, the video is nice, but I wouldn't consider it ideal for creating evidence in case of an accident

We obviously have very different opinions on the visuals then. From my perspective, you can see plenty to the sides and have a good view of the road in front including both adjacent lanes and the lanes on the opposite side of the road.

At the end of the day, it's always going to be a balance but the wider you go the more you tend to degrade the image, although a high quality low distortion lens does help. There seems to be some race between manufacturers to offer the widest view, whilst tests on here have shown that narrower views tend to yield better results. Obviously, if someone was going to make a high quality cam with an M12 socket and quality lens as standard, then I'd personally be quite flexible on the viewing angle and how much it would influence me into negatively into not buying the cam. I think the point is though, that in many instances ultra wide lenses aren't really needed. All that matters is that the lens captures enough of a view to enable a viewer to see what happened and with a quality that enables a viewer to see the relevant vehicle detail. Nigel also made a good point above about how the angle is measured.

It also has to be said that whilst quality lenses aren't what many would describe as cheap (see my post several posts above for the possible economics for OEM), they do show as with professional camera lenses that significant gains are to be had by fitting a quality glass. I've added 2 videos below to illustrate this. Not sure how much will show up on the pc. I watched these on my 4K tv ( a very nice Christmas present) and the differences were startlingly good. Probably also the same on a 4K monitor. If you have a 4k tv available, I suggest using your apps to navigate to and watch these on the tv in actual 4K to get both the best sharpness and the wider colour space, or if not, at least on a large screen.

The 1st video is a side by side with a Hero 5. On the pc I struggle to see much difference (this one is available as 1080P only). However, on my large tv, there's a huge difference in sharpness, colour and clarity.

The 2nd video, is simply mind blowing for quality when watched at 4K on a large screen.

 

[arsh]

there's no way I'm going to leave several hundred pounds worth of camera in the car windscreen in plain view to be stolen. I'm just surprised there haven't been more thefts yet. Obviously no-ones caught onto the fact that these things are as expensive and desirable as Sat Navs.

This is my favorite quote! hahahahaha. One why is it that everyone thinks dash cams actually have value? Two, you just said these are "desirable and expensive like sat navs." when the eff has anyone stolen a garmin in the last 6 years.

The resale on any of this is around $20 at best. No one's going to smash out a window for $20, because with that logic every time you parked your car someone would be running off with at least 1 of your tires.

I agree that action cams do have better video quality, but as they've said they aren't default setup, so can you use one, sure, would most people, no the whole point of a dash cam is an emergency set and forget. Those people who want to film specific events can still use go pro in addition.

 

[c4rc4m]

This is my favorite quote! hahahahaha. One why is it that everyone thinks dash cams actually have value? Two, you just said these are "desirable and expensive like sat navs." when the eff has anyone stolen a garmin in the last 6 years.

The resale on any of this is around $20 at best. No one's going to smash out a window for $20, because with that logic every time you parked your car someone would be running off with at least 1 of your tires.

In the UK they'll steal anything for drug money. They used to smash windows for CD's, how much are they worth 2nd hand? I accept that so far theft has been pretty much non existent but would also suggest that this is because many of these plebs haven't yet woken up to the demand for these items or the fact that some actually cost a lot more than £20 new. I fully expect that once these idiots wake up to the fact that some of these have considerable value and are readily re-saleable in dodgy pubs, that theft of these will become an issue.

I agree that action cams do have better video quality, but as they've said they aren't default setup, so can you use one, sure, would most people, no the whole point of a dash cam is an emergency set and forget.

Well that's a matter of opinion. The whole problem with fit and forget, is how many times does it go un-noticed if it fails to record? I've seen many a thread on here where there are moans my camera failed to record so I missed recording the accident. An action cam requires human interaction, especially if you remove it every time, but to me that's actually one of the advantages - I know it's switched on and recording because I switched it on and pressed record and can see in the LCD screen it's recording. Even when I turn the LCD off, I know if it stops recording or turns off because it emits a series of bleeps if it does. It's as I said elsewhere, it's horses for courses. If you want a lazy option, then yes a dashcam is probably the easier option. If you're more concerned with quality and don't mind interaction or see the advantages, then some of the latest action cams are worth consideration. There is some crossover which is probably why this site carries action cam reviews as well as just pure dashcam reviews. Remember, no-one is forcing you to use an action camera as a dashcam and it won't be for everyone. However, it is worth considering for some who want more than bells and whistles or fit and forget.

BTW, the GoPro edition has lower quality video than the regular camera according to reports.

 

[Module 79L]

The whole problem with fit and forget, is how many times does it go un-noticed if it fails to record? I've seen many a thread on here where there are moans my camera failed to record so I missed recording the accident.

I have to agree with you here. If anyone thinks any dashcam is "set and forget" they're in for some bad surprises in the long run.

 

[jokiin]

The memory card is the weak link in any camera so can never be totally set and forget

 

[Module 79L]

The memory card is the weak link in any camera so can never be totally set and forget

Even if the memory cards were totally trouble-free, dashcams still need little attentions occasionally.

 

[Dashmellow]

Even if the memory cards were totally trouble-free, dashcams still need little attentions occasionally.

I agree completely. In essence, a dash cam becomes part of your car and requires monitoring and maintenance just like any component. It's like checking your oil level or tire pressure once in a while.