Two SmartCams for your car
Sunday, April 8, 2012 at 6:29PM At last here is my review of the Smartcam car cameras.
If you are in the UK and you want a cheap dashcam then either of these cameras are definitely worth your consideration. The prices include post and packaging...but more importantly don't include the unwelcome and often unexpected extras, like Import Duty, VAT and 'handling fees' that you can sometimes incur when buying items direct from China.
Link to Smart Electronics Ebay Store here.
Video Review below.
NOTE---- Youtube has had a seriously detrimental effect on the video quality from the HD cam - I've therefore uploaded a daytime sample clip here (right click and save) for you to download and play on your machine to see what it really looks like. This is an unconverted raw clip straight from the camera, trimmed for length.
UPDATE 10/4/12 - As requested, here is some night-time footage (right-click and save) from the HD camera as well.
...and here's a VGA Clip to download (right-click and save)
Reader Comments (87)
thanks,i've been waiting all week for this review.just purcashed an HD version based on the comments of the best reviewer i've seen online. any chance of you doing cctv for the home in the near future :)
@Carl. Apologies for quality of the upload on youtube, if you get a chance try downloading the sample HD clip (see link at the bottom of the post). I'm probably not going to do anything with CCTV at the moment (I don't think the missus would approve if I start drilling holes everywhere) - but if I see anything suitable, cheap and wireless in the future I may look into it.
when playing back on a television can you get rid of all the icons on the screen?
Thanks again for this comprehensive and informative review!
@tom No, the overlaid info cannot be turned off when playing back on a TV via the HDMI lead.
Just a couple of quick questions, what class of micro SD card did you use and if the camera was powered off in the middle of a segment, would you lose that segment?
Thanks for the great review. I've got a question about the suction cup mount that came with the camera. Do you think the mount is strong enough to put the camera in front of the car on the bonnet or on the outside of the windscreen? With a max speed at around 70 miles and the screen folded back.
Hi, I like your reviews thanks so much. Initially you were going to review 2 models from eBay, I hope you still do as I'm in NZ and it's too expensive to buy from the UK. Will you still be reviewing a K2000?
I've searched them on eBay and there are two different form factors, so once again you can't be sure what you are getting. I've already got one poor camera and don't need another :-)
So I hope you will be doing a K2000 soon. \
Cheers
Hello. Thanks for review. Could you please publish also night record file for download?
I don't think I'll be getting a K2000 in now, I need to take a break from car cameras for a while....as I'm sure you can tell from my last review, I've pretty much run out of interesting things to say about them. If I were you, I'd give a K2000 a try..if you can get a real one, it should do a good job due to its h264 video encoding.
Mat
@Lukas I wouldn't try it, I don't think it would hold. I think you'll be better off with a purpose built action cam, rather than a car cam.
The best thing about the HD camera would be, that you are actually able to read registration number of the cars, that are driving towards you. The QUESTION is, is this also the same for the SD one? On the other reviewed car cameras, I was not able to see the registration on stillframe. Could you please post a video or a stillframe from the other cameras or at least the SD one, if the registration number is visible? I was unhappy to meet an ignorant driver, who crashed my side mirror and drove away, seeing the registration would be such a great thing then.
@LPG You may be able to read the reg plate in ideal circumstances in near-stationary traffic from close behind a car in ideal sunlight. But unfortunately idea of being able to freeze-frame a 30fps video of a car driving at 30mph+ and read the reg of a car heading in the opposite direction is pretty much just the suff of science fiction at present.
Another great review. I see these cameras and can't help think of Police, Camera, Action. We could create a cross between You've Been Framed and Police, Camera, Action. £250 for some car calamities. On a another note, it would be nice if these cameras could display the speed of your car beside the date and time stamp.
@Jonny For a speed readout you would need a GPS car cam...like the V1000GS I reviewed a while back.
What was your speed in the posted footage? The registration is readable quite good for the cars going the other way in the short video.
@LPG. I'm confused as to what you are asking for. Are you requesting a downloadable video clip from the VGA Smartcam?
Yes please, a clip with some cars going by or a stillframe. Im just curious, if the registration number is readable also on VGA cam. As I wrote, its quite interesting, that you can actually read the registration number of cars going in the opposite way on the HD smartcam, at least in the uploaded clip.
@LPG Right I've uploaded a VGA clip now...link at the bottom of the post. You won't be able to read any reg numbers though.
Thanks for the continued reviews, Techmoan!
Thank you very much.
Another really useful review - many thanks! Any thoughts on how it compares to the one you reviewed in March, the '720p car dvr'?
Obviously this one has a screen, but that's not a really important factor for me. From your reviews, it seems the gaps between segments are about the same, perhaps a fraction shorter for the '720p car dvr'? They both have a similar wide angle, again perhaps the earlier-reviewed camera looks a touch wider, but I'm not sure about that. What I can't really tell is whether the image quality is as good.
Or is the only major difference that this one is sold from a UK seller?
Hello, thanks for the great review.
I have just one question: the size of the camerahousing?
I wonder if your friends at chinavasion would drop the following model below the £45 mark...
http://www.chinavasion.com/car-dvr/dual-camera-car-blackbox-dvr-with-gps-logger-and-gsensor/
Almost a 1/2 price V1000GS, just a shame it's not at least 720p
Sorry forgot to say "Thanks for another excellent review" :)
I realise a huge amount of time and effort goes into making these reviews, but I just wanted to let you know it's really appreciated. Also, bring back the longer 'waffling' reviews; they're missed ;)
@Mark. This one is definitely better at night and also comes from the UK...those are it's main selling points. If you are outside the UK or don't mind importing...then there are many alternatives...it's just that I cant really vouch for the quality of them (either pro or con).
@Graham. Its been a while since I dealt with Chinavasion. I kept getting stung for hefty import duties. They also now rarely seem to add anything new and interesting to their catalogue, so I don't really look at their site regularly any more.
Hi Matt, I continue to look for your reviews. I, and I am sure lots of other people enjoy them and find them extremely helpful. Please keep them coming and I am sure all of us say " We are more than welcome for watching', and thank you for posting!
How do you cope with the internal battery drain? I have purchased one of these cams based on this review and find that each time I want to use the camera I have to tweak the menu settings again ie setting date and time etc. :(
Dear Techmoan,
Thank you so much for another great review.
Back when you reviewed the "Car DV" camera I remember you walking in zig zag in front of it to test the motion detection capabilites. I am just curious if you have tried the motion detection feature of HD SmartCam.
Regards,
Alan
I haven't tested the motion activation on this camera. I was really just testing it's car capabilities out. I've now moved onto testing something else now.....so is anyone able to comment on this aspect for Alan?
Hi Techmoan,
Thanks for all of your reviews, very useful. Might I suggest dusting off the muppets a bit more often?
I have been looking for an in car recorder to document a road trip from the vehicles point of view. I want to try and condense a weeks worth of driving into a 10 minute or so video and see how it turns out! I will be driving from the Outer Hebrides, through the UK, through France and then to the bottom of Spain. I am looking for something that can take this footage with reasonable quality, and the VS1000 looked pretty clean (and within my budget). After reading the comments section though it does seem to be hit and miss as to its reliability and hunger for SD cards.
Between this camera (the HD version) and the VS1000, which would you recommend for video quality? I can't seem to play the video files you uploaded here (even with the Klite mega codec pack, very strange) so it is difficult to make a conclusion from the youtube footage. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the reviews!
BM
@Barking Mad I suppose some day I'll have to look at the more expensive car cameras again, because so far I've only really looked at the flawed V1000GS. You don't necessarily need a car camera to record your POV though, and you wouldn't want to re-record over your footage, so perhaps an action camera like the Crocolis HD, RD32, the GoPro, ContourHD, Drift HD, etc might make more sense. Perhaps just a plain old HD camcorder with a decent mount...maybe a Hard Drive based one with enough storage for your days worth of footage might be useful.
Guided by your ace review, ordered one yesterday. It arrived this morning, was fitted half an hour later and working brilliant. Very impressed with Smart Electronics! Thanks Techmoan.
i send for this way, your submision page dont work
hi techmoan::
hi see your blog and i find this cam:
http://dx.com/mini-hd-720p-2-0m-pixel-digital-camera-camcorder-w-tf-slot-black-123869
Model: Y5000
is 2 usd more cheap that the older vecion
is the second vercion of
http://dx.com/the-smallest-mini-hd-720p-2-0m-pixel-digital-camera-camcorder-59538
model: y3000.
i compare the specs, and could be the same hardware, the case is diferent and now have a protector for the lens.
i send you this if you want to review
Hi Matt, did you do any longish term tests on the HD one? Had my fingers burnt with pile of crap that was the V1000GS and don't want to risk the same thing if I buy this one. Any issues with yours after a few weeks usage?
Thanks.
Unfortunately I never really do any long term tests with things. Once the review is over, I'm on to the next one. Hopefully some of the other people who bought the HD Smartcam can report back here on their experiences.
Looking for all-round cheap covert video camera that will
take continuous video on single battery for min 2 hrs
have memory storage for continuous video for min 2 hrs
work via motion detecton
include audio
take reasonable video in poorish (dim background) light
Any ideas? Cheers
Sorry, absolutely no idea at all. I don't believe that this product exists.
Cheers. Is there anything approaching this? The spy alarm from Oz looks good. (Great reviews by the way.)
Have bought one of 720p. No issues currently. Be aware, that screen is ON always, which makes battery to drain. Max what I got, was 1hr without power, but I usually use 12V power cord from car. Quality is quite good. Recording in dark is almost as seen by eyes, just a little darker. Sound quality is ok. Delay when saving one video and starting another is different. For 1 min videos it is only 1 sec. Worst are 5min clips 6-7 seconds delay between them. 10min clip is quite good - 2-4 seconds delay. 15 minutes clips - 5-6 seconds.
Hi Matt! First off, thanks for these really great, in-depth reviews. Your attention to detail is really quite amazing. Now, on to my question -- I was wondering if you have ever done (I looked but didn't find) any reviews of the somewhat more involved car DVR systems which support multiple cameras and have rear view mirror displays? For instance, I'm quite intrigued by a system I've come across BVTech MVR101. (http://www.amazon.com/BV-Tech-Mirror-Mobile-Single/dp/B005BU2CIC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) I envision it hooked up in my Honda S2000 with one camera pointing forward (the one built into the mirror) and one pointed rearward likely mounted to the license plate (like a backup camera). My thought would be that it would be used like a blackbox unit in an always-on configuration and could not only be great for documenting any altercations (Lord I hope not) on a day to day basis, but also for videoing some of the rather spirited canyon drives we do here locally in a car club to which I belong.
Any plans for such a review? I can't seem to find any reviews at all of that particular device mentioned above. I know this is a pricier unit than some of the typical cameras you've been looking at, but just thought I would throw it out there as a suggestion/question.
@RMurphy I don't tend to get things into review that would involve a permanent or semi-permanent modification to install them in my car. Drilling holes for cameras, routing wires and/or swapping my rear view mirror would be a step too far for me (not to mention what the missus would say about me 'damaging' the car). Also if I ever did install something like this, then I could only do it once, which would mean that there wouldn't be any need for me to look at any newer cameras when they became available. So although I find these devices interesting, I can't really do a review of them.
Hi Matt. Thanks for the quick reply. I completely understand you not wanting to do a permanent install of anything. This particular unit clips over the existing rearview mirror and does not require the removal or even semi-permanent addition of anything. For purposes of a review, you would probably handle the power the same way you do with any other 12 volt powered camera--let the cable hang down and plug into the car's 12 volt power receptacle. The rearview camera is optional and could probably be skipped for purposes of a review, although you could probably manage it with any basic cam you might have laying around (you could point it at pretty much anything just to see how the device deals with multiple feeds). It appears the entire thing can just be unclipped from the existing mirror in a matter of a minute and no one would ever know it had been there. The ability to remove the device is what I like about it since my car is a convertible and so having anything expensive visible in the car just begs someone to knife the convertible top to steal things. I also am festidious about keeping my car completely stock to protect the resale value. So a removable yet unobtrusive camera (read that as one which doesn't have to be suction cup attached to the windshield) is what I'm looking for. Just thought I'd mention the above in case that might have an impact on you perhaps giving it another look. :-)
I wrote to the eBay seller and he said Class 6 and up MicroSD cards should be fine.
Hi Matt: don't want to derail the discussion here off of the devices you just reviewed, but I came across this link and wanted to send it to you. Seems to be the same unit I mentioned above (MVR-101). http://www.mobilevisionboise.com/products/hermes-smart-mirror.php Gives more information, I think. Thanks! Okay, I'll stop bugging you about mirror-mounted cams now. :-D
@RMurphy I'll have another look at it, I misunderstood what it was. I see so many of these things on the Chinese websites I tend to make assumptions about how they work.
Great review! A Little question: how do you set the time on this model? is there a specific file which needs to be put on the micro SD? thanks
@bw its done through the menus...skirted past at 4:43.