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-   -   The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/134448-dashcam-car-video-recorder-dvr-thread-30.html)

Has anyone tried the GoPro as a Dashcam? Is it worth exploring? Please let me know what you think


GoPro Hero Action Camera https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00O468GKM/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_awd_Kf3zwbNRV6CEV

A separate mount needs to be bought though

Your video and detailed info was very useful.
I did order one two weeks back. Btw any link you can share on buying 32gb card?

TIA

I came across this action camera from Panasonic, it is very small, smaller than Go Pro. A bike mount as well as a car mount can be bought for this. I was thinking about buying this one as I use the bike everyday whereas the car only on weekends. I can use this both the places. What do my fellow bhpians think?

Company Link - (You can buy it online here)
http://www.panasonic.com/in/consumer...ers/hx-a1.html

Youtube Review Link - (Comparison with Go Pro)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH0wUQBoxhY

Hey audioholic , Can you help me with a couple of questions:

1. Do you think the build quality will be able to sustain high temperatures of India (Mumbai specifically) where it becomes 50 degrees or so inside the cabin when parked in open.

2. Can you share a pic of this installed in your car, may be that will give me some idea on how will it be placed in my car and whether the view will be hampered.

Thanks,
Lokesh

From that video Panasonic looks more promising on the natural colors (esp white looks white, GoPro shows a tint) and details

You are correct. Also, the panasonic hx-a1 is so small a device that it will fit in your pocket, you can take it out once you leave the car.

Thinking very hard if I should shell out the 19K for panasonic hx-a1 or buy the proven Transcend Drive Pro 220.

Both can be considered two extremes, cannot be compared.

I'm sort of answering you and me as well :) I went ahead and ordered the KDLINKS X1 based on the user reviews. I had my brother send it through a friend and so it came in a polythene cover. No unboxing.

Disclaimer : I'm in no way associated with KDLINKS; not even as their customer (officially)

The package came with :

1. dashcam (Full-HD 1920*1080 165° Wide Angle Car Dashboard Camcorder with GPS, G-Sensor & WDR)
2. Sandisk class10 8gb memory card (dashcam supports max upto 32gb microsd)
3. Sandisk microsd adapter - very useful to quickly transfer those videos onto the lappy
4. usb cable
5. Two suction mounts (one with GPS inbuilt)
6. mini-cd with the "Driving Recorder Player" software and manual. Both can be downloaded from their website too.
7. long charging cable with 12v DC adapter for car.

Why Kdlinks
The ordeal wherein a member was falsely implicated in a case of overspeeding in Pune and my interest in photography (err, might seem to be totally unrelated reasons).
I was tempted by the f1.6 aperture and the 165 degree wide angle. Yeh, they're quite alluring.
More technical details at KDLINKS_X1

The experience
I was very excited and quite like the story of the guy with an egg in one hand, began to imagine the videos I'd take, the millions of views they'd get and then..No, I didn't drop the cam from my hand :) The friend who brought it called me up and when I reached there they were eagerly waiting wanting to know what sort of camera is it.

I explained, came home, checked up kdlinks website and found that there's a new firmware and updated it. The cam itself is lightweight, looked flimsy on first look and the first impression on checking out the menus : typical chinese fare.
It comes with a Li-polymer 3.7v 110mah battery. It just has enough juice to record the video and power off once the power is cut off. This must've aided in the compact size and light weight.
I intentionally painted the "kdlinks" text and tried to do that unsuccessfully with the shiny chrome bit around the lens as well.



The screen. Four buttons, two on each side are placed on the sides. They're context sensitive, a bit cumbersome to use, but in no way a deal-breaker. The attached manual has more details. I configured the cam to record 5min FHD videos and then set it up in the car. There's no provision to increase the duration to more than 5min. I didn't feel the need to mess with the buttons again.
I got a Sandisk class10 32gb microsd. Each 5min video takes between 480mb-500mb approx.



The top has the power on/off button (long press), the suction mount wedge, the GPS input and the charger input.



The bottom has the reset and mic. A nifty feature is that you can turn off the mic while recording with a long press of 'M' button. Pretty handy when you're out with friends and wife accidentally checks out those videos.



This is the suction mount without the GPS module. The one with GPS module has a cable jutting out. I've had no issues with the suction mount till now and it's been more than 5 months of usage.
There was this instance when I messed with it trying to move it higher up the windshield behind the orvm and the cam fell off while driving. Luckily and as vouched by many customers it survived the impact.



It embeds the GPS data in the .MOV files and when opened with the video player, opens up an additional map window in which it shows the route traversed. Here's a screenshot.



Finally it comes with a pretty long charging cable (14 feet?) so we can conceal the wiring. I've not hardwired nor concealed it for now. It just hangs.



So how does it perform where it really matters

Splendid. I'm very satisfied and would rate it a 4.5/5. The full HD videos are excellent and the quality is pretty good at night time as well. Here are two sample videos for now. The night-time video in the city came up real good too. I've still got to edit them.
Note : The audio in these videos are muted intentionally; Nothin wrong with your device or speakers/headphones :P

Day-time video
https://youtu.be/97X4LDGzZ8g

Night-time video
https://youtu.be/FQCp-GCbtas

@Mods : Not sure if this warrants a new thread, so posted as a reply.

Folks didn't see an update from you. Did you receive your dashcams? How long did it take? Any issues with Customs? How is the dashcam working so far?

I too am mulling ordering from Gearbest.

Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed review. I am curious about one thing - Are you able to read the number plates of other vehicles and the name boards in the night mode ? I am not able to do it in the uploaded video..

For people who are using Blaupunkt (yeah the ones we ordered from Snapdeal), is there a way to increase the video timing from 2 mins ? I would have wanted the video timing to be 5 mins.

Software update Or anything which can be done for that ?

yep, I'm able to. You must've done this but still asking : did you open the video in full HD? I'll get some screenshots and upload them this evening anyway :)

Yes, I did. I opened this on my mobile initially, and then tried on my laptop as well :-(.

Got this in 3 week's time. Value for money. Got this for $15. Posted a sample video.

The angle is very wide and would be able to view the number plates of other vehicles clearly during day time. The video was set in 720P mode to reduce the file size. However a 32GB card is able to store videos only for 3 hours and during long drives this is a major draw back.

https://youtu.be/fdMv2RWwCr8

Which is the memory card you use? I think there is a problem with my Strontium class 10 which gives choppy videos once in a while, say 30secs once the video becomes choppy and then sets itself right after a second or two. But your video is very smooth.