Marc's Public Blog - Cars

trying 3 cameras inside the car (Wheel Witness, Marcus 5, Spy Tec K1s)

K1S screen right to the dashboard, K1s cam is very small by the mirror, Marcus 5 is big on the windshield

Introduction

Here's how I made my selection:

Dual Cam Wifi HD Dashcams

Better than 1080p single camera dashcams

Wheel Witness HD Pro ($125) and Vico-MF2 ($130)

The review below was originally written for the Wheel Witness HD Pro, but after having gotten a Vico-MF2 for review and testing, I found it to be nearly identical, which means that both dashcams are the best 1296P cameras I've tested. The Vico-MF2 costs just a $5 more as of 2016/09/06, but from what I've seen comes with slightly updated firmware and an experimental anti collision system and Vicovation has been providing good US based support when I contacted them, so it's worth the few dollars extra.

I like this camera because it's super wide angle, very high resolution, nice real screen, but it's a bit big if you want a concealed install. I had to mount it upside down on my passenger seat in my install and like most dashcams it cannot flip the recording, so that's why the text is upside down on the screenshots. Of all the cams I tried, it was best at getting license plates, even from inside my car, and its WDR did a great work with dual lighting (inside the car and outside). _Update_: the more expensive Vico Opia2 ($280) and Vico MF3 ($240) actually beat the Wheel Witness and Vico MF2 now.
It was the only camera I originally that would get some license plates at night, despite being inside the car (the newer ones like Opia2 with WDR should do good on those conditions too):

I'm certain that plate would have been good if it had been in the windshield

Unsurprisingly, on the windshield, it did even better:

AUSDOM HD A261 ($130)

It's a nice little camera, but it only gets the plates sometimes compared to Wheel Witness, Vico-MF2, Vico Marcus 5, and of course Vico-Opia2 and Vico-MF3 which all do better in the same conditions:

Night shot

this is questionable

usable

barely usable

1440p or better single camera dashcams

Vico Opia2 ($280)

Here are the features:

This camera looks like the Ausdom from the outside, but it has a much more capable processor and it's the first camrea I have where you don't have to chose between high resolution, or WDR. WDR really helps with exposure by taking multiple shots and merging them into a multi exposure frame, like HDR on your camera or phone. With often challenging lighting conditions when you drive and pictures where half the screen could be in the shade while the other half could be in the sun, WDR is a lifesaver.

I also need to mention that this is the first dashcam I've tried where the parking mode is actually reliable. It probably records video only when there is movement when the car is parked, and yet that feature does not trigger to make lots of 10 second videos when you're driving (like many oher dashcams). Great job there!

In the license plate test, this camera beats all the other ones hands down. I've even been able to get license plates that are on the absolute side of the picture where the view is often distorded. Impressive...

For night, quality goes down, but with a little luck, you can still get some plates:

Youtube video during the day and night:

Vico MF3 ($240)

Here are the features:

This is the wider body of the Vico Opia2, $40 cheaper, but without a useful parking function (Opia2 has a great parking function). If you don't care about parking monitoring (or don't have a power when the car is turned off solution), then this is the best dashcam I've tried so far. It has the same spectacular ultra HD resolution as the Opia2 with WDR and comes with an ND (neutral density) filter.
The screen is easy to read even if it takes more space than the Opia2 (by design) and the control buttons are similarly simple to use. As a bonus this dashcam is actually smart enough to stop recording and go into settings when I push the settings button while others stupidly tell me to stop recording first.
Apart from the parking function, while this is not the cheapest dashcam you'll find, it's one of the top ones in picture resolution and quality you'll be able to find.
Sadly night screenshots don't look so good, so don't be too hopeful on getting license plates at night unless you're lucky:

So if you compare it with the Opia2, it's a bigger nicer screen and interface, it does almost as good (but not as good) during the day, and worse during the night to a point that getting any license plate is going to be very unlikely due to the high amount of noise in low light conditions.

Youtube video during the day and night:

1080p dual camera dashcams

Vico Marcus 5 ($360)

sometimes, it doesn't do as well

I was close to this car, but this plate is barely usable

The inside shots went well and did a good job of getting dual lighting inside and outside the car. Text is upside down since I had to flip the video in software due the camera's inability to do it itself:

Let's look at night shots now, those are poor like many cameras and you'll be lucky if you get a single license plate out of it:

ugh

While the picture quality is pretty good, the layout and features are quite poor compared to the Spy Tec K1S, and it costs 50% more while not even offering included GPS or even a built in battery...

Spy Tec K1S ($240)

So I'd like to say that you're done, this is the dual cam to get. I mean it packs a _lot_ of features, it's modular, and very reasonably priced. Sadly the pciture quality is a bit short of the Vico. This makes it a difficult choice because the features really are awesome. If you must get as many license plates as possible, sadly this is not the camera for you. The Vico Marcus 5 will do a better job.

sigh...

this one is almost readable

WDR from inside the car showing light contrasts, are ok but not great, while night pictures are poor (but not worse than Vico Marcus 5 that was also quite poor):

don't expect any plates out of this

Now, there is a problem, the K1S overheats and crashes. That's bad. I ended up making a custom dual fan setup attached to the air vents, and powered off the USB input:

Conclusion

2016/09:
If you are ok with a single dashcam and you care about ultimate video resolution, the Vico MF3 and even better Vico Opia2 are the best dashcams I've tested so far. Yes, they cost more, but they offer the best resolution by far, and the Opia2 finally has an easy to use workable parking mode, what I've been looking for for a while now.

If you want ultimate dual camera setup, here is what I recommend: - Spy Tec K1S to have one cam in the front bumper (it's not really weather proof but worked well enough in California climates for me), to act as front parking camera, and the other cam you can install on your rear bumper. The other option is to have the front camera attached on your passenger seat and look at the dashboard/steering wheel, and get some outside view. - If money is no object, then get a Vico Opia2 as high resolution windshield camera with parking mode

This page show my install of Spy Tek K1S with a front camera in the bumper on my Tesla Model S.

If you want to go the cheap and lower resolution mode, then consider the Toguard HD 7" Full HD 1080p Android GPS navigation Touch Screen Car Dash Cam Dual lens WiFi where resolution is definitely not as good, but you get a dual dasham with GPS for cheaper than all other options, and it's also integrated in your rear view mirror for the same price.

As a reminder, here is a big list of dashcams available on amazon: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lectIQT_67Fa7Q0lvepFhrUmW1_oWHYGiU-JulG_Dys/edit?usp=sharing