Bought a dash cam from Lazada but.....

[giddyup]

the colour is almost black and white. When I say "almost", some strong colours like red show up, but most of it is in B&W. It wasn't particularly expensive, about a 1000 baht, but the last one (different brand) I bought from Ebay for the same price had a great picture, unfortunately it died after 8 months. I don't know if I should be adjusting something in the settings on the new one, but I can't see anything on the Menu that would allow for this.

[apetley]

They're cheap because they're crap. I have had two. The first replaced under guarantee as the screen broke after a month. The replacement refuses to charge itself.

I learned my lesson and will pay more next time for quality.

[MESmith]

Send it back for a refund, including return postage. That's Lazada's policy.

[richard_smith237]

My dash-cam (Blackvue) cost about 8000 baht - works flawlessly HD with a 120deg wide angle view, great clarity at night...

In short - you get what you pay for. If you can afford a car and wish to protect yourself with a dash-cam it doesn't make too much sense to me to get the cheapest models which fail, over heat, breakdown, have poor colour resolution, have no clarity at night, blur or overexpose with oncoming headlights...

[giddyup]

My dash-cam (Blackvue) cost about 8000 baht - works flawlessly HD with a 120deg wide angle view, great clarity at night...

In short - you get what you pay for. If you can afford a car and wish to protect yourself with a dash-cam it doesn't make too much sense to me to get the cheapest models which fail, over heat, breakdown, have poor colour resolution, have no clarity at night, blur or overexpose with oncoming headlights...

You are correct. I have already wasted 2000 baht on two cheapies when I could have put that money towards a decent one.

[jingjoke]

^ #4 '...My dash-cam (Blackvue) cost about 8000 baht - works flawlessly....'

Thanks RS, from what I've read and viewed on YouTube, the Blackvue is top notch.Where in TH did you purchase your Blackvue? Cheers

[Goat Roper]

A bit expensive but I bought a Garmin GDR-35 and the rear camera GBC-30 and both works a treat. Night and day videos are sharp. As said earlier, you get what you pay for.

An old Chinese proverb, "Good no cheap, cheap no good"

[MJCM]

A bit expensive but I bought a Garmin GDR-35 and the rear camera GBC-30 and both works a treat. Night and day videos are sharp. As said earlier, you get what you pay for.

An old Chinese proverb, "Good no cheap, cheap no good"

Love those !!!

I have connected GDR-30 to my GPS (front windshield) and the GDR35 to the back windshield.

I was thinking about also getting a GBC-30 but when I saw that when in split mode the recording quality is reduced (720p instead of 1080p), I didn't do it.

Also very important is that you have at least a Class 6 SDHC card.

Price:

GDR-35 - 7500 THB

GDR-30 - 5500 THB

2x 32 gb Class 10 Mini SDHC Card - 1650 THB each

Edited November 3, 2013 by MJCM

[Goat Roper]

A bit expensive but I bought a Garmin GDR-35 and the rear camera GBC-30 and both works a treat. Night and day videos are sharp. As said earlier, you get what you pay for.

An old Chinese proverb, "Good no cheap, cheap no good"

Love those !!!

I have connected GDR-30 to my GPS (front windshield) and the GDR35 to the back windshield.

I was thinking about also getting a GBC-30 but when I saw that when in split mode the recording quality is reduced (720p instead of 1080p), I didn't do it.

Also very important is that you have at least a Class 6 SDHC card.

Price:

GDR-35 - 7500 THB

GDR-30 - 5500 THB

2x 32 gb Class 10 Mini SDHC Card - 1650 THB each

MJCM,

Yes it is in split screen on dual camera but quality seems not to suffer when downloaded and viewed, at least not to my eye.

[MadMac]

I bought a mirror cam from Aliexpress, with 2 cameras. Wrong description, so got 20$ back after dispute, 60$ (1800B) with a 16BG Samsung class 6 Micro-SD.

As you mentioned 2x 32G, it's a waste of money. I swapped the 16G card with the old 4G from my phone and this one records a decent 55mins while automatically overwriting the oldest records when full.

[MJCM]

<snip>

As you mentioned 2x 32G, it's a waste of money. I swapped the 16G card with the old 4G from my phone and this one records a decent 55mins while automatically overwriting the oldest records when full.

I know it's a waste and the garmins also do overwrite the old stuff, but I like to record my trips from start to finish

I know you can hit the "protect" button but Id rather not do it while driving

Ps: I use 2x 32gb (class 10) because I have 2 Camera's, 1 in the front and 1 in the back

Edited November 3, 2013 by MJCM

[MadMac]

Ps: I use 2x 32gb (class 10) because I have 2 Camera's, 1 in the front and 1 in the back

Ok, I just think I'd never watch the show again, so 4GB it is for me .

That mirror cam I have records both cams on the same card. You get something like pseudo-HD with 1280x480 format, which actually is 2x VGA or 640x480 (reason for the dispute as it is not real HD). As the backwards cam is useless in a pickup I adjusted one to the left and one to the right, so I get a very wide angle front view and can turn one of the cams easily to the right if a police trap suddenly opens...

[MJCM]

Ps: I use 2x 32gb (class 10) because I have 2 Camera's, 1 in the front and 1 in the back

Ok, I just think I'd never watch the show again, so 4GB it is for me .

That mirror cam I have records both cams on the same card. You get something like pseudo-HD with 1280x480 format, which actually is 2x VGA or 640x480 (reason for the dispute as it is not real HD). As the backwards cam is useless in a pickup I adjusted one to the left and one to the right, so I get a very wide angle front view and can turn one of the cams easily to the right if a police trap suddenly opens...

Question, with that kind of resolution can you even identify number plates ?

The reason why I ask is, I had before the Garmin GDR-10 which could record HD （1280 × 720 pixels）24 Frame/ sec, but I could only identify number plates when the other car was standing right in front of me at a traffic light, and forget also about identifying number plates of passing by MotoBikes.

[MadMac]

No, it's only possible when you're very close, like standing at the traffic light; the price to pay for that resolution and technology. I actually ordered it as it was offered as 2x HD which was a lie. Mirror cam for the reason you just stick it over the existing one and forget it without having to unmount it when parking, so nobody tries to steal it.

It's that model, still in the end a good price of 60 US$ incl. the 16GB Micro-SD after the dispute:

http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/276286092.html

(the description is all wrong)

Edited November 3, 2013 by MadMac

[giddyup]

I have decided to buy a DOD LS400W for around 4000 baht. Someone here recommended that model (and it gets good reviews) which is available from a distributor here in Thailand. Still waiting to hear back after sending him an email. The problem with dash cams is that there are so many "no name" models and the ones that do have a brand name are copied by the millions in China, so you are never sure if you are getting the real deal.

Edited November 3, 2013 by giddyup

[MadMac]

so you are never sure if you are getting the real deal

Well, that's what the premium guys want to make you to believe. There are actually only 2 chipsets used in all of the cams, one is the STK1365BLQG, that's in almost all the lower end cams and for HD NTK OV9712 or 96650. So it does not matter how much you spend, you get the same stuff anyway. Edited November 3, 2013 by MadMac

[giddyup]

so you are never sure if you are getting the real deal

Well, that's what the premium guys want to make you to believe. There are actually only 2 chipsets used in all of the cams, one is the STK1365BLQG, that's in almost all the lower end cams and for HD NTK OV9712 or 96650. So it does not matter how much you spend, you get the same stuff anyway.

So are you saying a copy is the same as the real thing?

[MadMac]

So are you saying a copy is the same as the real thing?

I say I'm happy with my China cam. And I'd certainly not pay 5x (or more) the price because it carries whatever brand name. Especially when you buy from online stores like Lazada, who get their products from China anyway and can apply custom labeling. I prefer to buy OEM directly, but this needs a bit of research. As we all have Internet that's not impossible to do

[giddyup]

So are you saying a copy is the same as the real thing?

I say I'm happy with my China cam. And I'd certainly not pay 5x (or more) the price because it carries whatever brand name. Especially when you buy from online stores like Lazada, who get their products from China anyway and can apply custom labeling. I prefer to buy OEM directly, but this needs a bit of research. As we all have Internet that's not impossible to do

I've bought the Chinese cams as well, but it's very hit and miss. The first one lasted 8 months before it completely died, the last, from Lazada, had very little colour and poor focus so I returned it. I don't know how you can research the many Chinese Ebay sellers of these cams as they all buy from dozens of different suppliers in China and probably have little idea as to the quality of the product they sell. I find it hard to believe that a Chinese cam for 1000 baht is equal in quality to one that costs 5 or 6 times that, but I'm sure an expert will chime in.

Edited November 3, 2013 by giddyup

[MadMac]

Yes, certainly there's a hit and miss element. But when you cross-compare from bricks&mortar, then online stores like Lazada, then Ebay, than the Chinese megamalls like Alibaba/Aliexpress and DHgate, not to forget the hundreds of wannabie stores, you can get a feeling of what is what, how good it is, where it comes from and if a particular offer is worth it. The good thing are the reviews (may be faked though). Takes a bit of time but more often it's worth the effort than not. It's fun too

[SjaakNL2013]

About the main parts I can be short. All use the same chips as told here before.

But..... there is a difference how the components are fitted, in the surrounding electronics, the switches and housing.

[Garry]

A bit expensive but I bought a Garmin GDR-35 and the rear camera GBC-30 and both works a treat. Night and day videos are sharp. As said earlier, you get what you pay for.

An old Chinese proverb, "Good no cheap, cheap no good"

Hi GR, where did you purchase your setup?

[evadgib]

I have seen some very good Chinese cams but I opted for one of these (vat free, 2 yr warranty, delivered in less than a week, online support)

http://www.roadhawk.co.uk/

http://commercial.roadhawk.co.uk/

Edited November 4, 2013 by evadgib

[MJCM]

A bit expensive but I bought a Garmin GDR-35 and the rear camera GBC-30 and both works a treat. Night and day videos are sharp. As said earlier, you get what you pay for.

An old Chinese proverb, "Good no cheap, cheap no good"

Hi GR, where did you purchase your setup?

You can order these from your local Garmin shop or directly from GPS Society

The GDR-35 is 7500 THB and the GBC-30 is 3000 THB

GDR-35 : http://www.gpssociety.com/EN/Pages/newsarticlesview.aspx?ID=31

GBC-30: http://www.gpssociety.com/EN/Pages/newsarticlesview.aspx?ID=32

[DLock]

so you are never sure if you are getting the real deal

Well, that's what the premium guys want to make you to believe. There are actually only 2 chipsets used in all of the cams, one is the STK1365BLQG, that's in almost all the lower end cams and for HD NTK OV9712 or 96650. So it does not matter how much you spend, you get the same stuff anyway.

Wrong.

5 minutes on Google will help you understand why not all Dashcams are created equal.

Video quality (anything less than HD is a waste of time), viewing angle, night time quality, recording bit rate, interface, self looping, parking sensor, durability (especially in heat) WDR, built in LCD, GPS etc etc all define feature set and price.

Same chipsets mean nothing. So much more that chipsets that define a camera and how good (or bad) it is.

Pay for crap...get crap.

Bad advice.

[MadMac]

Bad advice.

No advise given, just a technical assessment. If you feel better with an overpriced brand product, it works for you. I'm happy with my China OEM cam. The whole world comes from China

[Garry]

Bad advice.

No advise given, just a technical assessment. If you feel better with an overpriced brand product, it works for you. I'm happy with my China OEM cam. The whole world comes from China

Damn I knew it, Ducati's are being built in China

[evadgib]

Something that I have found helpful is to utilise the audio feature to your own advantage ie spell out the VRN of the offending vehicle incase you find that you cannot read it when you later view the footage. Re Thai letters; Get wife to do it if she's there or have a guess ("looks like November Whisky") which will enable you to correctly identify the letters later.

HTH:)

Edited November 5, 2013 by evadgib

[IMHO]

Bad advice.

No advise given, just a technical assessment. If you feel better with an overpriced brand product, it works for you. I'm happy with my China OEM cam. The whole world comes from China

I'm with MadMac. I can buy from a Chinese website or ebay going through only 1 reseller whose making small profit margins, and have it delivered duty-free (marked as a gift). On the Chinese site, you can clearly see the quantity discounts available, so you know the lowest price anyone is buying it for.

The same thing sold by a shop in Thailand has to pay import duties (30% on things like this) and VAT (7%), has to use floorspace for storage, has to pay for packing and delivery, has to pay for marketing/advertising, and has to make enough profit to feed all the mouths they have.

A classic example is some solar+LED step lights I bought recently, From Thai suppliers, prices range from 400-700 Baht/pc. From China the exact same thing (very easy to spot) cost me 92 Baht/pc delivered (no taxes). At that price difference, you can buy a few more units and service your own warranty plan, and still be way ahead

Just pay using PayPal so if what you receive isn't right / as described, you can get your money back.

Edited November 6, 2013 by IMHO

[DLock]

Bad advice.

No advise given, just a technical assessment. If you feel better with an overpriced brand product, it works for you. I'm happy with my China OEM cam. The whole world comes from China

I'm with MadMac. I can buy from a Chinese website or ebay going through only 1 reseller whose making small profit margins, and have it delivered duty-free (marked as a gift). On the Chinese site, you can clearly see the quantity discounts available, so you know the lowest price anyone is buying it for.

The same thing sold by a shop in Thailand has to pay import duties (30% on things like this) and VAT (7%), has to use floorspace for storage, has to pay for packing and delivery, has to pay for marketing/advertising, and has to make enough profit to feed all the mouths they have.

A classic example is some solar+LED step lights I bought recently, From Thai suppliers, prices range from 400-700 Baht/pc. From China the exact same thing (very easy to spot) cost me 92 Baht/pc delivered (no taxes). At that price difference, you can buy a few more units and service your own warranty plan, and still be way ahead

Just pay using PayPal so if what you receive isn't right / as described, you can get your money back.

You are confused on the arguments presented.

This isn't about buying the same thing from a Chinese website or a Thai supplier. No argument there.

It's about the premise that all dash cams are the same because most are made in China.