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In-Car Camera


BenDoCo

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  • Formerly EGOBFXR6
  • Donating Members
  • Member For: 16y 10m 9d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Perth, WA

Hey guys,

So I've been driving around with the Navman MiVue 358 for about a week now and thought it'd be a good time to write up a quick review.

Build quality - The unit itself feels very sturdy and the holder is also very good. The charger has more than enough length for an FG and fits behind the dash/pillar/roof lining very easily. Screen has reasonable resolution for a 2.4". It's also VERY small. Almost invisible from the outside if you set it up behind your rear view mirror.

Usability - Super easy to use. Plug it in, it turns and starts recording - Easy. Navigation is very easy given the simple interface and 2.4" screen and there are a number of settings you can change and adjust.

Features - Has a handful or awesome features, like emergency recording after an impact, Gsensor feature for looking after the car while it's parked, great resolution. Does not have GPS.

Reliability - Excellent - Has worked every time without a drama.

Picture quality - Both night and day seem to be very good across a variety of conditions. Will post a youtube vid later if anyone cares, but seems to match most vids available.

Will try and get some pictures/video up a little later.

Downsides - Not solely an issue for this unit alone, it does not come with a micro SD card. Navman recommends no larger than 32 GB (Class 6) I have used a class 10 and it appears to be ok.

Software is literally unusable unless you have installed the correct AVI/MOV codecs. Took me a while to find one so I'll list the one but CNET have a few codec packs for download - I can't remember which one I used actually...

You do not get a micro USB - USB cable with it which makes getting video off the unit means you have to have a card reader in your computer.

In all fairness, these are pretty minor. I'd have no hesitation in recommending this unit :spoton:

Dan

Edited by NVT
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  • FREAKY
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  • Member For: 14y 11m 19d
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  • Location: Melbourne

thanks for the feed back dan

im surprised at the lack of cable for looking at footage on pc.

I thought that was standard, but I guess you have the screen and can view it on that anytime if need be so not a big deal.

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  • To Loud
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  • Member For: 13y 14d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: WA, Perth

Thanks for the update. That is good to hear that things are working out. I would say that the mini usb cable is not included as it is a standard across a lot of other devices.

I have about 5 of these cables in my office. If you need one, let me know.

NVT In regards to driving at night though, how does the screen glare affect you? Do you get distracted much with the image shown on the display?

That is my biggest fear, having an accident because I decided to look at what was being recorded on the screen.

If you could get some day and night pictures of the what the quality looks like, I would aprpeciate it.

I know of someone else that may be interest in one fo these units.

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  • Formerly EGOBFXR6
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  • Member For: 16y 10m 9d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Perth, WA

Hey Masda,

Freak is right. The display is only on for about 10 seconds after you start the car - I assume so you can check positioning and see if it has begun recording. It can be adjusted to display an image at all times or it can be turned off after certain intervals.

My camera is positioned right behind my rear view mirror so I rarely even notice that it's there. I can lean around to check the image on start-up but otherwise, it's virtually invisible.

You can use the built in screen to review saved footage, but obviously it's fairly hard to make out details due to it's 2.4" size. I'll try and get a photo or 2 today/tonight and a short video. Anyone know any sites that will allow me to upload the pics/video without compressing or shrinking the footage? I'd like it to be as 'authentic' as possible for your benefit.

Thanks for the offer regarding the micro USB Masda, but I just realised I have a few from my Samsung phones lying around *man I'm an idiot..."

Leave it with me gents - I'll be back soon :spoton:

Cheers,

Dan

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  • I'm getten too old for this s**t
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  • Location: A big bridge over a river in South Australia

Fairly sure that imgur.com doesnt compress video and definitely allows you to upload pics up to 5MB (I think)

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  • To Loud
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  • Member For: 13y 14d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: WA, Perth

Ahh come on guys, the dropbox site is free and allows you to use the public folder to share stuff with others.

;)

No problems NVT, I eas pretty sure that most equipment are trying to standardize on the cables used.

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  • Formerly EGOBFXR6
  • Donating Members
  • Member For: 16y 10m 9d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Perth, WA

Hey Masda,

Long story, short - The micro-USB appears to be slightly different. Unless there are a few variants...

I have a few micro USB leads from camera's and my Samsung phones but they don't fit. It does however have an HD port or you can use a card reader if required.

I have a few video's I've taken but I've got to purposefully take some short videos as a 5 minute cip at 1080p runs up about 330mb. I'll get a pic or two and some video for you guys up on the weekend.

Had a bit of a play with the software but doesn't seem to be overly flash - I just find VLC media player easier to use. The software has thing's like dates, times, G-Forces about the car and a few other things but I still find myself just using VLC in full screen.

Still very reliable - No issues with anything yet :spoton:

Cheers,

Dan

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Expert
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  • Member For: 19y 9m 17d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: North Jamberoo, NSW

Hey don hows that in-car camera going.

Do you use it every time you drive and do you think your driving style has changed since having it installed. Just in case something happens and the police need to review footage.

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  • To Loud
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  • Member For: 13y 14d
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: WA, Perth

Well my driving style changed for a couple of days and now it is back to normal.

I have it on all the time just in case I am involved in an accident.

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