I want a new camera but don't know what to buy

[Module 79L]

Well, "life" has been good to me lately, so now I can afford to buy a better dashcam. After the previous failed experiences I learned a few things and now I know what I want and what I don't want in a car camera. The "problem" is that raising the budget also increased the number of options, and even though I researched, watched videos and read as much reviews as I could, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and I still can't decide what to buy.

The mandatory requirements are:
- Seller must be located in Europe, preferrably within the Euro zone. I may consider the UK as a last resort.
- Single camera
- Suction cup mount
- Screen
- Card slot on the left or on the bottom
- Honest video
- Honest audio
- Not bigger than a G1W-H in width
- Minimum 100º horizontal lens angle
- Minimum 12Mbps bit rate
- Support 64GB cards if it has a higher bit rate
- Budget: 200€, but it can go up to 250€ if the camera is worth it

It doesn't matter if:
- It's a dashcam or an action cam with dashcam capabilities
- It has GPS or not
- It has a battery or a capacitor
- It has Wifi or not
- It has 2k or not
- It has parking mode or not

The available options (or at least the ones I could find) that meet the requirements are:
- BL980C
- DOD (several models)
- G50
- Koonlung N3S and C81
- Mio MiVue (several models)
- SJCAM (several models)
- Vicovation SF2, TF2+ Premium and Marcus 4

So, any feedback about these brands/models or others that you want to suggest, will be much appreciated.

 

[niko]

Check Vico MF2, maybe it fits your needs ?

 

[Module 79L]

Check Vico MF2, maybe it fits your needs ?

Thanks for the suggestion, niko. Yes, it's a possibility but I can only find it in the UK and it's subject to currency exchange because the price is in £ (unless you sell them too ). My only "fear" is that it's a relatively recent model and I don't want to gamble buying something so new on the market.

 

[niko]

Thanks for the suggestion, niko. Yes, it's a possibility but I can only find it in the UK and it's subject to currency exchange because the price is in £ (unless you sell them too ). My only "fear" is that it's a relatively recent model and I don't want to gamble buying something so new on the market.

Yeah, it is worth to wait feedback from first buyers.

 

[Module 79L]

What about the Vico TF2+ Premium? I found an European seller and it's within the budget. I read good things about it.

 

[Module 79L]

Ok, let me put it this way:

- Blackview BL980C: 134,99€
- DOD LS460W: 179,00€
- Mio MiVue 538: 129,91€
- SJCAM M10+: 169,90€
- Vicovation Marcus 4: 218,12€
- Vicovation TF2+ Premium: 217:80€

Which one would you buy?

 

[BMbler]

I'd risk importing m10+ for €81

 

[2000rpm]

Personal experience of a couple of Mio 5-series is that they've been highly reliable workhorses for a couple of years, but they have several things to grumble about:

1. GPS/speed stamp cannot be turned off, even though the manual suggests it can.
2. Mount is more visible and more limited in adjustment than some other cams.
3. Mount is an unusual design which means other cam's mounts need some modelling skills to make them fit.
4. Power adapter is enormous and its top-heaviness can mean that bumpy roads will dislodge it from some 12v sockets if the socket is shallow (although cables from other cams will fit).
5. When travelling fast along tree-lined roads, it can suffer quite badly from blockiness of the video. All cams suffer to some extent but the Mio-5 suffers noticeably more than average.
6. Customer support is nothing special according to others I've spoken to.
7. The Mio 538 has a silver ring around the lens but the non-GPS version (Mio 528) has a black ring. I used a marker pen to colour the 538 ring black.
8. Battery will probably fail at some point, although no problems so far.
9. One-third of the memory card is set aside for 'event' recordings and not used for loop recording, so a 32GB card will tend to only have 21GB of video (3.5 hours).

But I will re-state that they have been highly reliable workhorses in our cars for a couple of years which is a lot more than can be said of some cams, even some higher-spec cams.
They only support cards up to 32GB. Bitrate is around 13600 kbps.

 

[Module 79L]

I'd risk importing m10+ for €81

From where? Almost no one ships to Portugal. And there's also another "detail": if I have to deal with the portuguese customs, the end price of the camera will probably go up to approximately the one I mentioned, which is from the Spanish official SJCAM seller. Anyway, buying from China is completely out of the question.

 

[jokiin]

- Vicovation TF2+ Premium: 217:80€

http://www.vicovation.com/blog.asp?IDno=542&lang=eng

 

[BMbler]

Unsure as how all would pan out, but I'd risk it....
http://m.gearbest.com/action-cameras/pp_231919.html

 

[Module 79L]

Personal experience of a couple of Mio 5-series is that they've been highly reliable workhorses for a couple of years, but they have several things to grumble about:

1. GPS/speed stamp cannot be turned off, even though the manual suggests it can.
2. Mount is more visible and more limited in adjustment than some other cams.
3. Mount is an unusual design which means other cam's mounts need some modelling skills to make them fit.
4. Power adapter is enormous and its top-heaviness can mean that bumpy roads will dislodge it from some 12v sockets if the socket is shallow (although cables from other cams will fit).
5. When travelling fast along tree-lined roads, it can suffer quite badly from blockiness of the video. All cams suffer to some extent but the Mio-5 suffers noticeably more than average.
6. Customer support is nothing special according to others I've spoken to.
7. The Mio 538 has a silver ring around the lens but the non-GPS version (Mio 528) has a black ring. I used a marker pen to colour the 538 ring black.
8. Battery will probably fail at some point, although no problems so far.
9. One-third of the memory card is set aside for 'event' recordings and not used for loop recording, so a 32GB card will tend to only have 21GB of video (3.5 hours).

But I will re-state that they have been highly reliable workhorses in our cars for a couple of years which is a lot more than can be said of some cams, even some higher-spec cams.
They only support cards up to 32GB. Bitrate is around 13600 kbps.

That's exactly the type of information I was hoping to get: the one that only someone who had experience with the cameras can provide. I was aware of points 4 to 8, the others are new to me. Thanks for the info, 2000rpm!

 

[Module 79L]

http://www.vicovation.com/blog.asp?IDno=542&lang=eng

Oh, I didn't know that, but come to think of it that's somewhat expected from a 3 year old camera. Thanks, Rick.

 

[2000rpm]

Is there a reason why the Transcend cams aren't on your list?
We also have a couple of DP100 cams as rear cams and they've been highly reliable too.

Video quality similar to the Mio-5 series and with less tendency for blockiness. The Transcend cams are a bit cheaper than the Mio cams.
I think Mio 528, Mio 538, DP100 and DP200 are all using AR0330 sensor.

Note the DP100 has the lens near the top of its case compared to the Mio 5-series where the lens is near the bottom of the case. That may help or hinder your ability to mount it or for it to get a good view.

The Transcend cams also use a unique mount which makes it difficult to find replacements. Most seem to be shipped with an adhesive mount, but a suction cup mount can be bought separately.

 

[Module 79L]

Unsure as how all would pan out, but I'd risk it....
http://m.gearbest.com/action-cameras/pp_231919.html

I know some people who bought SJCAMs from chinese sellers and it was an expensive nightmare to get it out of customs. It seems our customs have problems (or "invent" them) with things coming from China, that's probably why so many online chinese sellers don't ship to here. As a last resort, I'd rather buy from an UK seller and pay the exchange rate than from China. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[2000rpm]

And some last thoughts before bed.....

What about a Panorama II S?
Compared to the Mio or Transcend, it has a wider field of view, better night video and a capacitor. There are two different mounts often supplied with it, and it will also fit into a Cobra 840E suction mount, a variant of which seems to be available on Niko's site for use with the Panorama >link<.
It does suffer a bit from white-out in bright light, as do a number of other Sony-sensor-equipped cams.

And I may be wrong, but the mount slot on the SG9665GC looks like it could be compatible with a number of DOD-type suction mounts, even if it needs slight trimming or a small amount of blu-tac to give a good fit. Maybe @jokiin or @niko can clarify.

 

[Module 79L]

Is there a reason why the Transcend cams aren't on your list?
We also have a couple of DP100 cams as rear cams and they've been highly reliable too.

I didn't include it because it doesn't come with a suction cup mount and I couldn't find it in any european seller.

Note the DP100 has the lens near the top of its case compared to the Mio 5-series where the lens is near the bottom of the case. That may help or hinder your ability to mount it or for it to get a good view.

The Transcend cams also use a unique mount which makes it difficult to find replacements. Most seem to be shipped with an adhesive mount, but a suction cup mount can be bought separately.

I know, it has the same shape as my AT11DA and from what I've seen in pictures and videos, probably the mount would be compatible.

 

[Module 79L]

And some last thoughts before bed.....

What about a Panorama II S?
Compared to the Mio or Transcend, it has a wider field of view, better night video and a capacitor. There are two different mounts often supplied with it, and it will also fit into a Cobra 840E suction mount, a variant of which seems to be available on Niko's site for use with the Panorama >link<.
It does suffer a bit from white-out in bright light, as do a number of other Sony-sensor-equipped cams.

If any of the Street Guardian's cameras met my requirements we wouldn't be having this conversation.
I tried the similar MateGo MG380G and returned it because the daytime picture is too orange (I watched niko's video and the Panorama II S/SGZC12SS have the same characteristic) and the audio isn't good (jokiin confirmed the audio is the same in theirs, due to hardware restrictions). Another reason I didn't include it it's because the card slot is on the right.

And I may be wrong, but the mount slot on the SG9665GC looks like it could be compatible with a number of DOD-type suction mounts, even if it needs slight trimming or a small amount of blu-tac to give a good fit. Maybe @jokiin or @niko can clarify.

Really? The GC can be mounted with a suction cup? I thought it could only be fitted with its sticky mount! I have to check that out!

 

[jokiin]

Really? The GC can be mounted with a suction cup? I thought it could only be fitted with its sticky mount! I have to check that out!

I've seen a couple of people that have made their own suction mount, not sure how well that actually works out though

 

[Module 79L]

I've seen a couple of people that have made their own suction mount, not sure how well that actually works out though

I thought about that overnight, the camera isn't designed to be hanging from the mount, so it probably wouldn't keep it steady enough.