Panorama II / S

Panorama II

The Panorama II DVR (Now sold as the Panorama S) was released in early 2013.  This DVR is manufactured by the Chinese company Shenzhen Onstar Technology Co. Ltd.  This camera has excellent video quality during the day and good video quality at night.  The camera records 1080p at 30fps and comes with Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) to provide good night recording.

Overall, video quality is very good but there have been some items to be aware of.  Night videos are a little bit grainy but this allows for more details to be captured.  Also in very dark areas there appears to be a violet “fog”.  Bitrate is a reasonable 12Mbps as well (later firmware versions have increased this bitrate upto 21Mbps, but 15Mbps appears to be the ideal balance between quality and size).  The Panorama S uses a CSR Zoran Coach 12P ZR364242BCCG Processor and a Sony Exmor IMX122LQJ CMOS sensor (updated in 2015 with the Sony 2015 updated Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS sensor).

The Panorama S has a 2.7″ touch screen, G-sensor and an external GPS is available.  While the camera has buffered parking mode (5 seconds before motion / impact) when hardwired you need to manually set motion detection on when parking which is not the most convenient.

An interesting feature is that you can power it from a 12V power source or 5V Micro USB.  Note that powering from 5V Micro USB will not start up the camera for automatic recording when power is supplied to this socket.  The 5V source is mainly designed when using at home to view video files on the camera or TV screen via an AV cable.  You could also record manually by pushing the record button.  Some owners have indicated that the “event” setting is too sensitive and locks too many files.

Size of the camera is a bit big at 103 mm x 48 mm x 36mm.  Overall it is a fully featured camera, with impressive video quality selling for a reasonable price.  In fact it is one of the lowest priced dashboard cameras with a Sony Exmor CMOS sensor.

Panorama2 Size

We would like to thank our member Niko, who provided  the information for this review.  You can read the original thread in our forum.

Panorama S

In early 2014, Powerucc released the Panorama S model.  This model is virtually identical to the PanoramaII but has 2 changes.

  1. Metallic ring around the lens (previously silver but not black) which allows for a CPL filter to be attached.  This is for the export market only
  2. A blue LED in the front of the camera (can be turned off)

Both the PanoramaII and the Panorama S use the same firmware.  As of 2014, Panorama S is the model typically found for sale.

Panorama S

Known problems

Blurry Colors

A couple of owners have indicated color problems with their cameras as these following pictures illustrate.  While rare, the camera is defective and must be returned for a new one.

Powerucc Panorama II Color Problem 1
Powerucc Panorama II Color Problem 2

DayLight Savings Time

The current Panorama firmware doesn’t have DayLight Savings Time correction. (1 hour offset)

Daylight Saving Time (United States) 2014 began at 2:00 AM on
Sunday, March 9
and ends at 2:00 AM on
Sunday, November 2

Between these dates all owners of the Panorama G or Panorama II, S with GPS attached should act accordingly.

If you live in California (Time Zone -08) Set your Time Zone to -07 instead.
If you live in New York (Time Zone -05) Set your Time Zone to -04 instead.

You can use normal time zone come November 2.

Mounting the Camera

Panorara II on the left and MateGo 300W on the right.

PanoramaII Mount 1
PanoramaII Mount 2

Panorara II on the right and MateGo 300W on the left.

Note that the camera now comes with an Arkon suction cup mount, which is reported to be good quality.

Sample Videos

Please Select 1080p from Youtube settings at bottom right corner.

Day Video

Night Video

Comparison Video between PanoramaII, Mobius and LS300W during the day

Comparison Video between PanoramaII, Mobius and LS300W during the night

PC Player

The PC player that comes with the Powerucc PanoramaII can be downloaded here.  It is recommended to use Registrator Viewer especially if you are using this camera with GPS.

Large Capacity Cards

Note: Latest firmware versions have added native exFAT support for the Panorama.   Formatting to FAT32 in the PC is no longer required for Panorama to achieve >32GB

Should I Purchase?

The Powerucc Panorama S was a good buy given its excellent video quality.  However you may want to take a look at the newer model, the MateGo MG380G which is the upgraded version of this camera and includes built-in GPS.

Firmware

WARNING!  MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR FIRMWARE ARE PERFORMED AT YOUR OWN RISK.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DASH CAM AS A RESULT OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

Firmware Update Instructions

  1. Format SD card in your PC
  2. Download new firmware to sd card root ( do not put it inside dash cam yet ).
  3. Go to your car
  4. Connect Panorama2 IN-CAR via supplied 12v cigarette charger.  NEVER UPGRADE USING 5v miniusb port on top of dash camera as a power supply source. USE ONLY 12v socket on the side of dash cam to connect to car cigarette lighter charger.
  5. Switch on car ignition ( ACC ), – dash camera powers on, but will not be recording because there is no SD card inserted
  6. Switch off dash camera by pressing power-off button on top.  Do not switch off car ignition ( ACC )
  7. After dash camera switched off, insert memory card with new firmware on it
  8. Press and hold “menu” button
  9. When holding down “menu” button press “power-on” button on top ( still holding down “menu button” )
  10. Hold down “menu button” for 3-4 sec after Panorama2 power on and you see firmware download / upgrade “bar” activated and starts “runing”, then release “menu” button.
  11. Wait until upgrade is finished. Do not touch anything on dash camera, or do not switch off an ignition during upgrading process, – otherwise you will brick device
  12. After firmware upgrade is finished, the device screen goes “black” ( switches off).  The upgrade is complete.
  13. Now you can power on dash camera and change menu interface to English language, because after upgrade its Korean language by default.

The following video from our member niko shows how to upgrade the firmware.

Latest Firmware

The latest English firmware can be downloaded from the Powerucc site.

AS OF DECEMBER 2014, all new Panorama S cameras will be running different firmware and cannot be downgraded to the older firmware previously listed on this page.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLASH new Panorama S units with older firmware or your camera will be bricked.

Because of this potential problem, all firmware files have been removed.

This is being done a precaution as there is no way to recover bricked Zoran CPU based DashCam products at this time.

User Manual

Specifications

Detailed Specifications

Read Review
Camera Type Single Channel
Form Factor Hanging - Rectangular
Country China
Processor Zoran Coach 12P
CMOS Front Sony Exmor IMX122LQJ
CMOS Rear N/A
Channels 1
Screen 2.7"
GPS Optional
G-Sensor Yes
Wi-Fi No
Parking Mode Non-buffered
Lock Files Auto or Button
Max Resolution Front 1920×1080p
Front Frames Per Second 30
Max Bitrate Front (Mbps) 12
Max Resolution Rear N/A
Rear Frames Per Second N/A
Max Bitrate Rear (Mbps) N/A
Video Format MP4
Compression H.264
Diagonal Viewing Angle Front 154°
Diagonal Viewing Angle Rear N/A
SD Card Type SD
Max Size (Spec) 128GB
Max Size (User) 128GB
Size Front (mm) 103 x 48 x 36
Size Rear (mm) N/A
Mount Adhesive and Suction
Power Supply 12V
Operating Temp -10°C to 75°C
Battery Capacitor
Error Notification Screen
Apps PC
Cloud Connectivity No
Release Date Mar 2013
Unique Features Buffers video in parking mode (saves 5 seconds before impact / motion detection)
Advantages Video quality
Manufacturer support
Reliable
Buffers video in parking mode
Disadvantages Parking mode is not automatic
Could be a bit smaller
Final Word For 2014, one of the best for video quality even at night. Fully featured high end camera.

Published: October 11, 2013

Last Updated: January 14, 2015

Panorama II / S - DashCamTalk
Powerucc PanoramaII

The Panorama II / S is one of the best dash cams for video quality even at night. Fully featured high end camera but a bit large.

Product SKU: Panorama II / S

Product Brand: Panorama

Product Currency: USD

Product Price: 185

Price Valid Until: 2023-01-01

Product In-Stock: SoldOut

Editor's Rating:
6.8