i30 Owners Club
PICTURES & VIDEOS => MEMBERS MOTORING VIDEOS => Topic started by: AlanHo on June 22, 2012, 04:26:43
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I am considering buying a DOD F520 Car Recorder and know very little about them. I have browsed our forum to gather information from other users. It would appear that most of the posts refer to the DOD F500 camera which is similar.
I have some questions directed at users of the camera….
I have not found a post showing how people have mounted the camera – a link or photo would be appreciated.
Where have you taken the power supply from for the charger – or if you run on battery and charge it when required – how long does the battery run for?
I see the video format is MOV. What software do you use to edit and convert the file into AVI or whatever you use on Photobucket?
What size and spec of SD card do you use
Does the camera work on a loop so it is permanently over-writing the oldest video – if not- how do you use it.
Is the night vision LED of any practical use?
Is it practical to use the unit as a still camera out of the car – and are the images of reasonable quality. A link to a member’s sample or a copy photo would be appreciated
Is this a reasonable source to buy from?
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Digigomart/Dod-F520-Car-DVR-/_i.html?_fsub=3154123011 (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Digigomart/Dod-F520-Car-DVR-/_i.html?_fsub=3154123011)
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I have not found a post showing how people have mounted the camera – a link or photo would be appreciated.
Alan, I'm sure the mount that comes with the cam is fine but I use a different one that I had bought previously.....:link: (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mini-Suction-Cup-Ballhead-Mount-Tripod-Holder-Car-Window-screen-Camera-/330711956430?pt=AU_TripodsMonopods&hash=item4cfff7fbce)
I have it stuck to the windscreen right alongside the rear view mirror. Using this mount means the cam is upside down but that isn't an issue as there is provision to turn the image the correct way up in the settings.
Where have you taken the power supply from for the charger – or if you run on battery and charge it when required – how long does the battery run for?
I have just been running it on the battery at this point and as I take it out after doing some filming I'm unsure how long it goes before it needs recharging.
I see the video format is MOV. What software do you use to edit and convert the file into AVI or whatever you use on Photobucket?
There's no need to convert them, both Photobucket & Youtube support MOV....
What size and spec of SD card do you use
I'm currently using a cheap "Team" brand class 10 32GB SDHC card.... :link: (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Team-Class10-SD-SDHC-Memory-Card-32GB-Extreme-HD-Video-/270743372021?pt=AU_Electronics_Memory_Cards&hash=item3f099000f5)
The F520 does support SDHC cards up to 64GB though.
Does the camera work on a loop so it is permanently over-writing the oldest video – if not- how do you use it.
Yes, it does...Your best bet though would be to check out the DOD website: :link: (http://www.dod-tec.com/product.php?cat_1st=4&cat_2nd=18) or perhaps download the manual : :link: (http://www.dod-tec.com/images/downloads/f520.rar)
Is the night vision LED of any practical use?
Haven't tried out the night time capabilities as yet....
Is it practical to use the unit as a still camera out of the car – and are the images of reasonable quality. A link to a member’s sample or a copy photo would be appreciated
I dodged the current showers and took a couple of sample snaps for you, Alan....
This first one is taken just with the standard lens setting and as can be seen the "fish eye" look is quite pronounced....
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/rustynutz69/TestPic1.jpg)
This second one was taken with it slightly zoomed to remove the fish eye effect....
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/rustynutz69/TestPic2.jpg)
Is this a reasonable source to buy from?
That's the same company that I purchased my cam from.
No issues as such other than I had to wait over a week for them to get more stock in, in spite of their ebay ad saying they had 8? of them available... :undecided:
Oh, and they are on the DOD blacklist (as are the other ebay sellers) so don't expect any support from DOD themselves.... :undecided:
Anyways, I hope this all helps.....Cheers :)
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They have 2 demo movies in this page.
http://www.dod-tec.com/dm.php?prod=f520.jpg# (http://www.dod-tec.com/dm.php?prod=f520.jpg#)
Or, lots of actual testing video are available at Youtube.
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Thanks a bunch - great info.
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Howdy.
I've also not taken any night time shots yet. I have my 500LFD set to create 5 minute segments which work out at around 250mb each (1920 x 1080p). I use a 32gb class 10 card.
I've routed power from my map lights. When I plug the cord into the camera it starts recording automatically within a few seconds.
I've just taken a few shots showing the mount position (click to enlarge):
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/th_IMG_20120622_083550.jpg) (http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/?action=view¤t=IMG_20120622_083550.jpg)
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/th_IMG_20120622_083607.jpg) (http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/?action=view¤t=IMG_20120622_083607.jpg)
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/th_IMG_20120622_083620.jpg) (http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30OwnersClub/?action=view¤t=IMG_20120622_083620.jpg)
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Looks like a good setup Steve :goodjob:
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I have recently sold a few items on Ebay - including a netbook computer, a digital camera, two mobile phones, a laser printer and some other bits and bobs.
I decided to use some of the proceeds by buying a DOD F520 car video which I have just ordered via Ebay. I imagine it will take a week or two to arrive - so stand by for questions when I get stuck in and get stuck........ :whistler:
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Good onya, Alan..... :goodjob:
I look forward to seeing some of your home movies....
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I've routed power from my map lights.
Can I see a pic of exactly how you've achieved this :question: :neutral:
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I've routed power from my map lights.
Can I see a pic of exactly how you've achieved this :question: :neutral:
I'm sure I posted some pics previously. If I find them I'll post the link. Just a couple of screws to remove then a wee bit of soldering (which isn't strictly necessary but I prefer to do it that way)
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That's good enough for me, thanks :goodjob:
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https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=9948.0 (https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=9948.0)
For my DOD installation I soldered a 12v floating lighter socket into the roof space (where previously I'd opened a USB adapter up as in the link above) and connected the supplied cigarette lighter adapter into that.
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On Wednesday 18th July I received a letter from Parcel Force UK stating that they were holding a parcel from Taiwan for delivery to me as soon as I paid them the customs clearance charge of £33.50 – which was a bit more than I expected. I paid it via the internet and they delivered the parcel yesterday afternoon to one of our neighbours (we were out for the day).
Amazing really because I placed the order on 8th July which means it took only 11 days to reach me which included 3 week-end days and being held for at least 2 days for customs clearance payment.
The parcel was of course my new DOD F520 car cam which I opened this morning and have spent about 3 hours playing with it and getting it installed in the car.
I was intending to install it behind the rear view mirror (as per Shambles) but on my new i30 the area where I would need to put the suction mount has shading which is too rough for it to hold suction. In addition – Shambles had found that the feed from the interior light was not wired from an ignition source – so I looked elsewhere.
This is the drivers view out through the windscreen showing the location of my Nuvi sat-nav and the new car-cam. As you can see the drivers view is not obstructed.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/CarCam3Medium.jpg)
Another view of the mounting position
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/carCam1Medium.jpg)
The USB cable from the car-cam is fed under the cowl above the tacho and speedo housings. There is just enough room to push the wire in between them – it circles the tacho housing in an anti-clockwise direction, travels down the side of the steering wheel housing and across the bottom of the dash to the open storage compartment in front of the gear lever where the lighter and power sockets are located.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/CarCam4Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/CarCam5Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/CarCam6Medium.jpg)
You can see that the cable to the sat-nav also travels round the tacho housing – but clockwise - and then follows the same route as the car-cam cable. The rectangular block in this cable is the wireless traffic receiver – you can also see its aerial heading off to the windscreen.
However – there is a snag – the power adapter for the car-cam plus its USB plug is quite long and I cannot avoid bumping it when I change into 5th gear. I have a similar (but lesser) problem with the sat-nav adapter when I go into first gear. I have therefore ordered a double socket lead which is fitted with a short plug. I will locate the extended sockets at the back of the storage compartment and plug the car-cam and sat-nav power adapters into them. This will also enable me to tape the adapters into the sockets because neither are a secure fit – the car-cam one in particular is very sloppy.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/carCam2Medium.jpg)
I have used the camera in anger and am delighted with the results. I have transferred a couple of test videos onto the computer and viewed them using Windows Live Movie Maker. As others have said the HD setting produces awesome quality video when saved on the PC in HD quality. I find if I save a video in computer quality, prominent sharp edges – road signs, window frames etc are slightly jagged and seem to shimmer.
You can now have a laugh at my expense. The first time I tried the camera – not in the car but hand-held in the garden – I was very disappointed with the video quality. It looked slightly blurred despite the camera being set to 1920 x 1080. I trawled through the various settings but was unable to find any anomaly. After 20 frustrating minutes I solved the problem by peeling the small disc of protective clear film from the lens.
I know you are going to ask for some example videos – but this must wait until I find out how to edit them to a suitable size and format for posting via photobucket here.
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Great write-up Alan and ingenious installation.
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Great write up.
Now all we need is a few vids from you to see how good the picture your driving is.
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:happydance: Glad you are happy with your purchase Alan. Neat install too :goodjob:
We are luck we don't cop those customs clearance charges... :D
I got a new Battery for Trish's MSI Laptop from Hong Kong for A$35 in less than 10 days and 3 pairs of Kids 3D glasses from the UK in about the same time for around A$20 including postage .. (So I was thrilled with the speed of delivery too) :razz:
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I know you are going to ask for some example videos – but this must wait until I find out how to edit them to a suitable size and format for posting via photobucket here.
Just post them up to Youtube as they are, Alan.....You can then do some limited editing with the Youtube tools....unless of course you want to do a professional job like Daz... :p
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When I first installed the car-cam it would switch on and start recording as soon as the ignition was switched on and switch off when the ignition was off. However If I stopped the recording by pressing the toggle record button the recording would stop - but then come on again a minute later and stay recording until I hit the record button in which case it would stop again for exactly one minute ad-infinitum until the ignition was eventually switched off. I had a fiddle with the camera settings and have cured this - but I'm not sure which setting did the trick. I can now stop and start recording at will, in addition to it going on and off automatically with the ignition.
My Camera settings now are :-
Size 1920 x 1080
EV +0
White Bal Auto
Contrast Standard
Sharpness Standard
Effect Off
Scene Auto
ISO Auto
Duration 15 mins
Recycle No
USB In Yes
Shutdown Power Off
Video Flip No
Motion Set No
Mic On
Yesterday the weather was cloudy and dull and the videos were fine. However - it is sunny today and the pictures are washed out with over-bright skies and dark shadows. There is a slight "veil" on the picture which is being caused by the reflection of the dashboard and the A pillars on the steeply raked screen - and I may have to find a way of moving the camera to a postion behind the mirror to minimise this.
What exposure settings are you guys using and do you change them to suit the weather all the time?
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Same basic settings here MrHo, though I have Recycle set to "5mins" and Duration set to "no"
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I had a similar problem to you with the washed out skies, but I can't remember what setting I changed now... :-[
Whatever it was, I've left it the same since and have been quite happy.....
I'll check the settings for you when I get home as I'm away for a couple of days..... :)
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customs clearance for a camcorder?! Do you have to pay for all parcels, which are sent from abroad or it depends on a declared goods cost?
(goods which value is up to 1000 Euro are free of charges here)
Congratulations with new camcorder.
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customs clearance for a camcorder?! Do you have to pay for all parcels, which are sent from abroad or it depends on a declared goods cost?
(goods which value is up to 1000 Euro are free of charges here)
Congratulations with new camcorder.
I am not sure what the UK rules are. If you bring an item into the UK from outside the Euro zone through airport customs - you will not be charged any duty if its value is less than a certain figure. It used to be about £30 - I have no idea what it is today.
However - if you import an item via post, courier or freight company it will have to be cleared by customs who make a charge for inspecting the parcel and the admin work if duty or VAT is chargeable.
The camera cost 109 USD and the postage was 60 USD. The supplier put on the customs form that its value was 4000 NT$ (Taiwan new dollars) which is equal to £85 or 130 USD at today's exchange rates.
Customs charged me £20.10 VAT plus £13.40 clearance fee. How this was calculated I have no idea and I will not waste my time contesting it. I know I have been ripped off - but us Brits are well used to it.
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That added up to a lot of money Alan (glad you are well pleased with it) :Shocked:
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What I've found, especially since upgrading (3 times) to my current DOD, is that if I ever leave the house without it I'll turn back and grab it. The drive feels 'naked' when it's not there.
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How to Install a DOD F520 Car Cam in a 2012 Hyundai i30
The windscreen of the new i30 is more steeply raked than the previous model – which makes installing a car cam more tricky.
Encouraged by the installation done by Shambles - I first tried to locate the camera behind and on the passenger side of the rear view mirror – but I was thwarted by the large area of black perforated screening bonded to the windscreen – which prevented the sucker mount from getting any suction. In addition – Shambles had found that the 12v feed to the internal light was not switched with the ignition – meaning that the camera would have to be switched on and off manually or the USB lead inserted/detached to switch it on and off.
Hence I mounted the camera on the top of the dash at the edge of the windscreen on the drivers side.
Initially I was very happy with the installation – until we had our first sunny day for several weeks because the reflections on the screen were casting a veil across the video and other reflections from the heater vents and A pillar were also ghosting the picture. It was clear that I had to find a way of fitting a “Lens hood” between the camera and the windsceen so that it looked through an area of screen free of reflections.
I did a lot of experimenting with bits of cardboard, sticky tape and profanity before I got a basic idea which seems to have worked really well.
INGREDIENTS
This is what you will need.
1). Buy a 44” Toshiba HD television. Discard the television, the cables, instruction book and all the packing – except for the Styrofoam blocks that protect each corner of the screen. This will be your raw material.
2). Now pop down to your favourite wine merchant and buy a case of 15 bottles of Australian Black Stump Durif Shiraz red wine – try and get the 2009 or 2010 vintage. The 2011 vintage for some reason is merely totally delicious rather than absolutely awesome. You will need this case of wine firstly to have something to enjoy when you celebrate your successful installation of the camera and secondly the box makes an ideal paint spray cabinet to protect your shed or garage from overspray.
3). A very sharp craft knife with a long blade or a Swiss Army knife sharpened and honed to perfection. Styrofoam is quite difficult to carve and it is essential that the knife is as sharp as a scalpel.
4). A sheet of fine emery paper to get the mounting surface of your lens hood dead flat.
5). A length if foam draught preventer – the sort you stick into gaps in doors or windows.
6). A small can of matt black hobby spray paint
7). A small amount of emulsion paint and a brush to apply it – the colour is not important (but a dark colour would be nice) - it will only be used as a sealant because I found that styrofoam melts if you spray it with a solvent based paint.
THE METHOD
The method is simple – you spend several hours experimenting with carboard templates to get the required geometry sorted – whilst ignoring the sarcastic sneers from her indoors that there are better things to do with your time.
You then take one of the TV corner protectors and you carefully carve it to the required shape. Carving is not all that difficult – you simply cut away all the Styrofoam that does not look to be a part of your lens hood. This can be quite an exhausting process because you have to keep trying it in the car with the camera in place to check that it is not visible in the picture. It took me a good hour of coming and going between the garage and the car before I got it right. The final stage is to carefully rub the face that will be against the screen on a sheet of emery laid flat on your workbench to get it dead flat.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030031.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030032.jpg)
You then spray it with the matt black paint and watch in horror as all your hard work melts in front of your eyes.
You now take a second corner block and repeat the carving procedure as described above. Even though you made one before – don’t be under the illusion that you have a template to copy from – you don’t – your previous effort is a black molten mess. It is at this stage that you start to wish that TV’s have more than 4 corners just in case your next efforts meet problems.
Once you have a carving you are satisfied with – give it a coat of emulsion paint to seal it and hopefully protect it from the solvent spray paint. After the emulsion has dried, you then cross your fingers and hold your breath when you spray it matt black – hopefully you will find that all is OK. You may need a second coat in several hours time.
Finally you attach the foam strip around the perimeter to ensure a perfect fit against the windscreen.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030043.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030041.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030037.jpg)
Don’t celebrate with the wine just yet – because you need to take the car for a spin in bright sunlight to check all is OK. Once you have done that – you can enjoy a glass or three of your Black Stump wine with your wife - who at long last has a bit of your company.
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:Shocked: Wow are there no end to your talents Alan.. :goodjob2: :goodjob: and as usual I love your sense of humour :rofl: :rofl:
Misha, don't try this at home either the TV or Camera would have been stolen before you had your 1st piece of foam carved... :whistler:
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:rofl: I don't care if it works or not, I can't stop sniggering :laughter:
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The only negative I can see is you can't hide the camera with a hat or sun shade when you are parked away from home like I do with my GPS... :confused:
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.. and thieves will think you have a 44" Toshiba in the boot ;)
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Taking a different approach, could a plastic polarising lens from a cheap pair of sunglasses be made to fit?
My polaroid sunglasses certainly work on my eyes when driving to remove reflections from the dash and glass. The CPL I have on my camera works a treat too.
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Here are some screen shots which demonstrate the difference between filming with and without my new Lens Hood.
In each case the upper picture of each pair is the one without the hood.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/VideosCompared3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/VideosCompared2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/VideosCompared1.jpg)
Pip
That is an interesting idea about polarising glass. I don't possess any - otherwise I would give it a try.
Just a thought though - if it was that easy - why haven't DOD used a polarising front glass on the camera lens? - after all they are sold specifically for use in cars
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That's a very noticeable difference.
You'll have to patent it. :)
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That's a very noticeable difference.
You'll have to patent it. :)
Maybe you could call it "The Ho" because it ain't half bad... :whistler:
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:Shocked: Wow are there no end to your talents Alan.. :goodjob2: :goodjob: and as usual I love your sense of humour :rofl: :rofl:
Misha, don't try this at home either the TV or Camera would have been stolen before you had your 1st piece of foam carved... :whistler:
Oh, no, thanks Daz. I think I would drill a hole in a windscreen window - the easiest way to get rid of those reflections :P
AlanHo
:goodjob2:
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Styrofoam? When did you become American? :whistler:
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Styrofoam? When did you become American? :whistler:
I have never known it by any other name. Polystyrene expanded foam is a bit of a mouthful - and since the Americans invented it they were the first to give it a generic name.
What do you call it up in Scotlandshire then?....................... :whistler:
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One of my irritating habits is to correct Americanisms when I hear them, ie "Can I get a" rather than "Can I have a" or "Truck" rather than "Lorry", "Train station" rather then "Railway Station" etc etc but the one that makes me blow a fuse is when people are asked "How are you?" and they reply "Good" rather then "Well" :disapp:
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One of my irritating habits is to correct Americanisms when I hear them, ie "Can I get a" rather than "Can I have a" or "Truck" rather than "Lorry", "Train station" rather then "Railway Station" etc etc but the one that makes me blow a fuse is when people are asked "How are you?" and they reply "Good" rather then "Well" :disapp:
I assume I am not alone (amongst Aussies) in using a mixture of those terms ... I use Truck rather than Lorry, think I have used Train station and Railway station at times.
You would hate this but I would probably answer "not bad" instead of good or well... :lol:
As far as the foam goes think Trish and I call it packing foam :whistler: but if pushed for the correct name I guess I would have said polystyrene foam :undecided:
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One of my irritating habits is to correct Americanisms when I hear them, ie "Can I get a" rather than "Can I have a" or "Truck" rather than "Lorry", "Train station" rather then "Railway Station" etc etc but the one that makes me blow a fuse is when people are asked "How are you?" and they reply "Good" rather then "Well" :disapp:
That's quite a load you are toting there dude, I bet you have gotten cotton pickin' mad so often when folks don't speak regular English which is the normalcy you are used to. Unlike you I am able to shrug it off - in fact I'm good and I could care less - whatever. Even the BBC news readers slip into mid-Atlantic lingo I don't know how many times a night - you do the math - then come back here and touch base again with this thread................... :whistler:
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He did say it was an irritating habit..... :lol:
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One of my irritating habits is to correct Americanisms when I hear them, ie "Can I get a" rather than "Can I have a" or "Truck" rather than "Lorry", "Train station" rather then "Railway Station" etc etc but the one that makes me blow a fuse is when people are asked "How are you?" and they reply "Good" rather then "Well" :disapp:
I'm with you to an extent.
One Americanism that I HATE is SUV for four wheel drive.
Sports Utility Vehicle means absolutely nothing in Australia, but so many people use it. Sports Utility Vehicle? What the hell is that? :undecided:
Lorry is not used in Australia, it's truck here. Train Station v Railway Station - I've never thought about that one and probably use either.
And as far as the "Good" reply rather than "Well" I tend to agree. I usually say either "Well" or "Not bad, thanks."
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And as far as the "Good" reply rather than "Well" I tend to agree. I usually say either "Well" or "Not bad, thanks."
Have you been to elocution lessons - that's much better than "Mind your own feckin business"........................... :rofl:
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And as far as the "Good" reply rather than "Well" I tend to agree. I usually say either "Well" or "Not bad, thanks."
Have you been to elocution lessons - that's much better than "Mind your own feckin business"........................... :rofl:
I was very well brought up.
It was after that things started to go wrong.
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The aluminum one used to irritate me, until I researched it, only to find that the English/British version was a mistake and by the time it was found to be a mistake it was almost impossible to rectify ergo, all the dictionary's were printed and aluminium was on common usage.
I do get annoyed with a lot of the Americanism tho.... and despite having been there often to visit family I still become homicidal sometimes.... Especially when they saw Awsome
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The aluminum one used to irritate me, until I researched it, only to find that the English/British version was a mistake and by the time it was found to be a mistake it was almost impossible to rectify ergo, all the dictionary's were printed and aluminium was on common usage.
Especially when they saw Awsome
Do they also spell it like that?.................... :Dunno:
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No.
Oarsum. :)
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The aluminum one used to irritate me, until I researched it, only to find that the English/British version was a mistake and by the time it was found to be a mistake it was almost impossible to rectify ergo, all the dictionary's were printed and aluminium was on common usage.
Especially when they saw Awsome
Do they also spell it like that?.................... :Dunno:
I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised Alan, I don't know where we'd all be without you to keep us all on our toes..... :P :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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I'll also be keen to find out which software editing package you settle on.
I tried movavi (the DOD recordings (doddings?) are stored in .mov format) but didn't feel comfortable with it.
I found virtualdubmod couldn't handle .mov files.
So, I settled on Xilisoft's "Video Converter Ultimate 6" which seems to do a reasonable job of editing & converting.
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I'll also be keen to find out which software editing package you settle on.
I tried movavi (the DOD recordings (doddings?) are stored in .mov format) but didn't feel comfortable with it.
I found virtualdubmod couldn't handle .mov files.
So, I settled on Xilisoft's "Video Converter Ultimate 6" which seems to do a reasonable job of editing & converting.
What about CyberLink PowerDirector?
I use both Movavi and Cyber for the time being
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I'll also be keen to find out which software editing package you settle on.
I tried movavi (the DOD recordings (doddings?) are stored in .mov format) but didn't feel comfortable with it.
I found virtualdubmod couldn't handle .mov files.
So, I settled on Xilisoft's "Video Converter Ultimate 6" which seems to do a reasonable job of editing & converting.
What about CyberLink PowerDirector?
I use both Movavi and Cyber for the time being
I too use powerdirector with whom I am miffed since, shortly after I BOUGHT a copy they brought out version 10 and I did not get an automatic upgrade.... Otherwise it fills the bill for me... I had a look at some of the professional editing stuff available on certain servers but found them to be a little to demanding of my precious time. I like the easy to used stuff nowadays.
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...I like the easy to used stuff nowadays.
And I prefer the free stuff ;)
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...I like the easy to used stuff nowadays.
And I prefer the free stuff ;)
Yeah me too Steve and back in the day, maybe twenty years ago when roxbox was the pinnacle of being an elite computer dooood I was briefly top uploaded in the WORLD (the computer world back then wasn't as global as it is now of course) and ya had to have a grasp of DOS and know how to use a BBS..... AAaaaahhhh those were the days.
But as I hurtle towards my 70's I must be gerrin soft. Almost everything on my poooter now is legit, blighmy, I am a law abiding d00000d...
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Yeah I don't have anything illegit, apart from my *cough* trial copy of Xilisoft, but I do prefer open source stuff, like 'handbrake' which I've been messing with recently :)
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Yeah I don't have anything illegit, apart from my *cough* trial copy of Xilisoft, but I do prefer open source stuff, like 'handbrake' which I've been messing with recently :)
Oh yeah, xilisoft looks cool... I use Prism for quick conversions when needed
http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/support.html (http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/support.html)
quick n pretty easy for an old fart
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Here is my very first ever video uploaded to You Tube. It is a 10 minute video taken with my new DOD F520 car camcorder of part of an evening trip from home through the neighbouring roads.
The original MOV file is 595,354 KB in size and took 34 minutes to upload to You Tube followed by 22 minutes processing time. I now know that for every 10 minutes of video I can expect to wait and hour before in can be accessed on You Tube.
I know its a boring bit of video - but I am chuffed to bits with the quality of the videos produced by this little camera - even in late evening as the sun was going to bed.
Test of DOD F520 Car Camcorder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTEmqYmV8_M#ws)
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That's great quality - you're right to be chuffed.
My upload speed (around 1.2MB/s) is nowhere near yours, so I convert my vids to mp4 before attempting an upload; saves YT doing it for me and saves me lots of time.
Sometimes, though, I cannot help but feel somewhat guilty as a member of this forum. Before you joined, you probably had loads of spare cash and plenty of time for your wife. Since then, it seems we've deprived you of both those assets :(
Did I really say guilty?
Scratch that :happydance:
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Yeah that's pretty good quality... Almost got the two pigeons at 1.14 :-)....
Did you speed up the video or is your middle name Sterling Moss (I selected and age appropriate candidate). :rofl:
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Bookmarked for later viewing have an early start today :Pout:
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When I first installed the car-cam it would switch on and start recording as soon as the ignition was switched on and switch off when the ignition was off. However If I stopped the recording by pressing the toggle record button the recording would stop - but then come on again a minute later and stay recording until I hit the record button in which case it would stop again for exactly one minute ad-infinitum until the ignition was eventually switched off. I had a fiddle with the camera settings and have cured this - but I'm not sure which setting did the trick. I can now stop and start recording at will, in addition to it going on and off automatically with the ignition.
My Camera settings now are :-
Size 1920 x 1080
EV +0
White Bal Auto
Contrast Standard
Sharpness Standard
Effect Off
Scene Auto
ISO Auto
Duration 15 mins
Recycle No
USB In Yes
Shutdown Power Off
Video Flip No
Motion Set No
Mic On
Yesterday the weather was cloudy and dull and the videos were fine. However - it is sunny today and the pictures are washed out with over-bright skies and dark shadows. There is a slight "veil" on the picture which is being caused by the reflection of the dashboard and the A pillars on the steeply raked screen - and I may have to find a way of moving the camera to a postion behind the mirror to minimise this.
What exposure settings are you guys using and do you change them to suit the weather all the time?
Finally got around to checking the settings on mine and the differences are: Effect on "vivid", Duration on "no" & recycle on "15 min" :undecided:
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One of my irritating habits is to correct Americanisms when I hear them, ie "Can I get a" rather than "Can I have a" or "Truck" rather than "Lorry", "Train station" rather then "Railway Station" etc etc but the one that makes me blow a fuse is when people are asked "How are you?" and they reply "Good" rather then "Well" :disapp:
That's quite a load you are toting there dude, I bet you have gotten cotton pickin' mad so often when folks don't speak regular English which is the normalcy you are used to. Unlike you I am able to shrug it off - in fact I'm good and I could care less - whatever. Even the BBC news readers slip into mid-Atlantic lingo I don't know how many times a night - you do the math - then come back here and touch base again with this thread................... :whistler:
Are you 110% sure about that?
http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2011/07/15/you-cannot-give-110-effort-%E2%80%93-an-explosion-of-pent-up-nerd-rage/ (http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2011/07/15/you-cannot-give-110-effort-%E2%80%93-an-explosion-of-pent-up-nerd-rage/)
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Excellent first effort Alan :goodjob2: :goodjob:
You live in a delightful spot :mrgreen: That huge camper looked a bit out of place across the road though :eek:
Found the mounting position of you camera a bit disconcerting.. felt like you were almost driving on / over the while line all the time :sweating:
Quite bright still for that time of night (I'm guessing the camera made it look lighter than it was?)
Interesting the way the time/date stamp was floating (I have mine turned off) but usually they are static :confused:
I must get a decent camera mount ( velcro attached to my dash mat is a bit crude compared to you guys) :-[ (off to search ebay ...
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Excellent first effort Alan :goodjob2: :goodjob:
You live in a delightful spot :mrgreen: That huge camper looked a bit out of place across the road though :eek:
Found the mounting position of you camera a bit disconcerting.. felt like you were almost driving on / over the while line all the time :sweating:
Quite bright still for that time of night (I'm guessing the camera made it look lighter than it was?)
Interesting the way the time/date stamp was floating (I have mine turned off) but usually they are static :confused:
I must get a decent camera mount ( velcro attached to my dash mat is a bit crude compared to you guys) :-[ (off to search ebay ...
Thanks for the kind words Dazz.
Although I am not happy about its presence, I can't complain about the motorhome opposite our house because it was there when we moved here almost 2 years ago. However, the owner won it in a competition and carried out significant work on the front of his house to be able to park it off-road. This provoked a storm of protest from other residents in the grove and official complaints being made to the Town Council - solicitors - appeals to the authorities about title deed covenants being flouted etc. I gather it went on for months but the protestors ran out of steam (and cash) and the matter was left in limbo. Hence the family with the motorhome (and their kids unfortunately) are ostricised by all the residents in the grove - bar my wife and I who are newcomers.
The camera is mounted on the right of the dash and it is an optical illusion that I am on the white line. I do tend to drive away from the kerb because our local roads have some formidable sunk drain covers and pot holes kebside - but not to the extent that I get too near the white line.
I had not noticed that the date/time stamp was floating until you mentioned it - how strange - I have just checked the original video on my computer and it is absolutely static. However - I recall when I uploaded the file to You Tube I got a message stating that You Tube had detected that some of the video was shaky and did I want it removed - I said yes. I therefore suspect that the picture has been cropped side to side and up and down to remove the shake which has caused the date/time stamp to float.
I am still battling with reflections off the windscreen. The addition of the home made lens hood has helped but even though it is painted matt black it has a degree of reflectivity and I can still see a veil cast across the picture which reduces the contrast and brightness when direct sun hits the windscreen. I have made a couple of lens hoods of differing shapes and materials which are slightly better but the steeply raked screen is a bugger. My next effort will be to try the suggestion about using a polarising filter and I am trying to get hold of one. I tried some polaroid sunglasses but the curvature of the lens created an even worse problem. A photographer friend is having a search through his jumble in the hope he has a small diameter one off a video camera.
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Gee, there are some small-minded people around.
No one talks to them (other than you) because they have a motor home. :rolleyes:
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Gee, there are some small-minded people around.
No one talks to them (other than you) because they have a motor home. :rolleyes:
The problem is that there is a covenant on all the house title deeds in our grove prohibiting the parking of vehicles on house drives other than cars or motor cycles. Hence Buses, utes, vans and caravans of all types are not allowed. The guy is flouting the covenant and the residents are concerned that it could be the thin end of the wedge, start a precedent and others might start parking large vans and scruffy caravans on their drives - thus spoiling the appearance of our little grove. I think the residents who are complaining have a point but I won't join in because it was there before we bought our house..
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Sounds like covenant without teeth to me :exclaim:
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I thought the reflection was well controlled Alan :confused: camera polarising filters are fairly cheap and readily available over here...
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I thought the reflection was well controlled Alan :confused: camera polarising filters are fairly cheap and readily available over here...
That may be so - but finding a polarising camera filter 24 mm dia at a sensible price in the uk is as rare as hens teeth
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Maybe it's time to rethink the power issue, seeing as that's what has forced your hand into its current positioning.
I've found it incredibly convenient to simply unplug the camera then detach it when I park up. Takes about 5 seconds in total.
In short, I believe your best bet is to mount it high up using the supplied bracket and take the power from the map light circuit.
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It would be a lot safer from theft too.. :confused:
You might have to get a 49 or 58mm filter Alan and just tape it on somehow (they are only about $5 over here) :razz:
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I decided to try using the car cam behind the rear view mirror to see whether the problem of screen reflections would be any better. As I have mentioned before, the 2012 i30 windscreen is very steeply angled which makes reflections a problem. In addition – there is a large area of the windscreen bonded with a black perforated mask which prevents the mount sucker from being applied in this area.
After considerable faffing about I eventually found a reasonable way of mounting the camera high up on the centre of the screen with the camera LCD screen just visible below the rear view mirror. I also found a way of neatly running the USB power cable from the cabin power socket so that it is switched on and off with the ignition.
This is the drivers eye view of the installation
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030074Medium.jpg)
The adapter plugs that come with my Garmin sat-nav and the DOD F520 are both quite long and get knocked by my hand when I change into reverse, first and 5th gears. The heavy spring on the central positive connection also has a tendency to push the plug out of the socket and thus lose power to the gadget. To solve this I bought a double socket lead which has a short plug less likely to be knocked when changing gear. I was also able to secure the sat-nav and car cam adapters into the extension sockets by a liberal application of insulating tape.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030072Medium.jpg)
I ran the car cam power lead across the car through the bottom of the dash – exiting by the drivers door. I then ran the lead up the A pillar by hiding it behind the rubber door seal.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030070Medium.jpg)
At the top of the A Pillar I brought the lead out from the door seal where there is a joint in the interior lining and took it round to the corner of the screen where I popped it behind the roof lining at the top of the sceen
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030069Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030068Medium.jpg)
The lead emerges from the roof lining above the rear view mirror and travels down the screen to the car cam.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030067Medium.jpg)
This are images of the camera on the mount supplied with the camera.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030065Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/P1030064Medium.jpg)
I feel that the camera is in a better location than when I had it at the foot of the screen because it can be angled down slightly to see more of the road close to the car. However – screen reflections are much worse in this position because it is not practical to mount a “lens hood” here – it would block too large an area of the screen and reduce the field of view for the driver.
I have ordered a 27mm diameter polarising filter (the smallest I could find) which will arrive in a few days – I am hoping that this will reduce the reflections – if not – it’s back to the drawing board.
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Well that's good work there.
I do think your lens is too close to the glass, though. Even taking into account the difference between our windscreens in terms of "rake", I have no such problems with glare. The black mesh does not affect the suction with my mount, and there is no interference with my vision.
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30/IMG_20120729_210429.jpg)(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/ShamblesX/i30/IMG_20120729_210507.jpg)
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You are a patient man Alan.. From your photos I am surprised that the sucker on the window is not visible in your videos now :eek:
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Alan, In Oz I can buy A4 laminating sheets which are adhesive backed from our local stationery shop. The adhesive is quite tacky, so perhaps you might like like to consider using a circular patch on the printed sunscreen area. It may open up other possibilities for you. Your current mounting looks pretty good though :goodjob2:
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My polarising filter arrive this morning and it has taken me at least an hour to fit it to the camera. The reason being the filter has a 27mm female thread and the camera lens housing has a diameter of about 22 mm.
I tried various means of filling the gap to hold the filter central including O rings, numerous layers of insulating tape and rings cut from plastic hose but none were satisfactory. I rummaged through my electrical and plumbing drawers for anything of suitable size - finding nothing - but in the process working up a thirst. My drinks fridge is in the garage so I pulled out a 1 litre plastic bottle of lemonade which I downed. I was just about to put the bottle in the recycling box when I looked at the neck which looked about the right diameter. Sure enough - 5 minutes later I had cut off the thread to expose a small plain spigot which I sliced off making a ring about 4 mm thick which happened to be a perfect fit and held the filter quite firmly.
However - not trusting just friction - I taped the filter to the lens barrel making sure that the ring on the front holding the polarising lens was still free to rotate.
I then went out to try it in the car - only to find that whilst I had been busy doing all this the sun had vanished, the clouds had blown over and it was raining. So I cannot check whether it will help remove reflections on the screen.
Bugger, bugger, bugger.................. :groan:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/CarcamampPolariser.jpg)
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Well, it looks impressive, Alan.....Fingers crossed it now works... :goodjob:
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This could serve to polarise camera operators accross the world.
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This could serve to polarise camera operators accross the world.
The sun came back out which enabled me to try the filter. It's back to the drawing board again Im afraid - my £8 polarising filter has made no difference no matter what distance the camera is from the windscreen or what orientation I turn the filter. The only thing the filter does well is to show up the toughened glass in the windscreens of the older cars and enhance the patches of blue sky.
Steve - I tried mounting the camera the same as you - but the reflections were worse than with the lens close to the glass. By worse - I mean more of them - because with the lens away from the glass it sees more of the windscreen - hence more reflections.
The camera is brilliant when I driving away from the sun - but when it shines on the dash and A pillars the reflections are quite intrusive.
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That's a shame and disappointment.
I hope you can work out a solution.
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Might be the time to start playing with the ISO setting...
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Might be the time to start playing with the ISO setting...
You need to explain that to me. I am under the impression that the ISO setting merely tells the camera what "Film Speed" it is using. In the case of a movie camera I guess that increasing the ISO setting will cause the camera to use a smaller aperture for a given scene - hence greater depth of field and the possiblity of more "grain" or noise.
I can't see how this will affect the camera picking up screen reflections.
Everyone who has posted their videos on this forum have experienced screen reflections when the camera is against the sun, some being quite strong - so I am not alone. However - being retired I have time on my hands and can afford to spend the time trying to minimise the problem.
My best results have been when using a "lens hood" to shield the windscreen reflections from the camera. This brings an added problem - it kills reflections of the dash, pillars etc - but casts a grey veil across the picture when direct sun bounces off the inside surfaces of the lens hood and into the lens. I have tried to cure this by covering the inside faces of the lens hood with blackboard paint, matt black paint, jet black velvet cloth, black craft foam, black backing paper, black flocked paper etc - but they all have a degree of reflectivity which casts the veil. I have ordered some special material that is used to line astronomical telescopes that is claimed to be the dogs whatsits at killing reflected light - to cover my lens hood inner faces with - if this doesn't work I will give up.
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The reason I mentioned ISO is that in the days I used to record on paper film (remember those days?) the ISO factor determined the sensitivity of the film; in our DODs I imagined it might make some difference to how the glare is recorded.
It was just a thought.
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Just had a thought Alan :idea: (now this might be "rubbish" as Shambles would say ..) but.. can you adjust the focus of these cameras can you try and focus past the reflection and then set the focus lock?
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Fixed focus lens I'm afraid. It has such a short focal length the depth of focus is from 10 cm to infinity. As it happens my lens is so close to the (angled) glass that any dirt or rain spots are totally out of focus - but reflections are not.
Thanks for the thought anyway.
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Alan, you did a great job with the polarising filter. Might I suggest as a test only, crudely taping a plastic polaroid sunglass lens to the camera. I know from wearing them, that screen reflections are eliminated. If you can prove in principle that it works that will give you a starting point from which to rig up a solution. You said you oriented the filter Does that mean you tried at least 90 Deg which the polarising filter should be sensitive to.
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Alan, you did a great job with the polarising filter. Might I suggest as a test only, crudely taping a plastic polaroid sunglass lens to the camera. I know from wearing them, that screen reflections are eliminated. If you can prove in principle that it works that will give you a starting point from which to rig up a solution. You said you oriented the filter Does that mean you tried at least 90 Deg which the polarising filter should be sensitive to.
It was my suggestion to try a polarising lens. I suggested a trial with sunglasses as well. Sunglasses are essentially the same as a proper polarising lens.
According to Alan, both failed to help. I have to admit I was surprised because like you I've found that windscreen refections are virtually eliminated with polaroid sunglasses.
I also use a similar lens on my camera and certain refections are equally controlled.
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:Dunno:
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As it happens my lens is so close to the (angled) glass that any dirt or rain spots are totally out of focus - but reflections are not.
Can't you move it back, Alan?
Mine is roughly 300mm from the windscreen.... :undecided:
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As it happens my lens is so close to the (angled) glass that any dirt or rain spots are totally out of focus - but reflections are not.
Can't you move it back, Alan?
Mine is roughly 300mm from the windscreen.... :undecided:
I suggest the relections are much further back already than the rain drops. Moving further back would only bring them even more into focus.
But still, something to experiment with.
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Another option that may be worth considering is a dash mat..... :undecided:
They are very popular in OZ, especially in the hotter States such as Queensland.
:link: (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GENUINE-HYUNDAI-I30-GD-2012-DASH-MAT-ACTIVE-ELITE-PREMIUM-/120934453506?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c28415102)
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I owe you guys an apology - especially pip who came up with the idea of a polarising filter.
I took the filter off the camera and looked though it with my eye at a reflection of a map which was sitting on the dash. I turned the front ring on the filter and bingo - the reflection could be dimmed to hardly perceptible. I therefore put the filter back on the camera - did the same test but it didn't work. I was flummoxed for quite a while repeating the procedure several times before I realised that I was putting the filter on the camera backwards - because the recess at the front was deeper than the recess in the back where it would normally screw onto a camera - it made it easier to hold against the DOD lens.
I had no idea that a polarising filter was directional - it only works in one direction - so I put it back on the DOD camera the right way round and...............
(turn your sound off - my fiddling with the camera which was hand held to rotate the filter is rather noisy)
This video was shot in a blinding hurry after sun set and the light was falling fast - it will be interesting to try it tomorrow with the camera properly mounted - especially in the unlikely event that we see some sunshine.
Polarising Filter on Camera lens (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvHLwvqEkR4#ws)
So apologies to troubling all you guys who made so many suggestions - and thanks for stimulating me into having another go when I had all but given up.
I will now crawl back in my box.................. :whistler:
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That is great Alan... If a clever chap like you had trouble working it out then what hope would the rest of us have had... :D
Just another example of the benefits of this forum and its many :brilliant: members :happydance:
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You may have saved other members a lot of perplexity too. :goodjob2:
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Nice word that.
flummoxed
adjective baffled, confused, puzzled, stumped, foxed, at sea, bewildered, at a loss, mystified, stymied, bamboozled (informal), nonplussed The leaders were flummoxed by the suggestion.
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I have taking advantage of a rare spell of sunny intervals to try out the polarising filter on the camera. It certainly significantly reduces screen reflections – but at the price of a very slight reduction in picture definition.
Here are some comparisons of screen shots – in each case the top photo is without the filter.
Sun at front of car
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/SuninFront.jpg)
Sun from side of car
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/SunfromSide.jpg)
Sun directly behind car
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/SunBehind.jpg)
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Well worth the effort IMO :goodjob2:
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Well worth the effort IMO :goodjob2:
:whsaid:
Good result Alan :goodjob:
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Fitting Polarising Filter to DOD FS20 Camera
One of our members has seen my thread on the DOD FS20 camera and has asked me exactly how I fitted a polarising filter which has significantly reduced windscreen reflections.
Rather than PM him the information – I thought it might be as well post my method in the open forum for the information of other DOD camera owners.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/DODCamera_zps048fea98.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/Filter_zps751606aa.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v308/AlanHo1937/i30%20Forum/FilteronDOD_zpsf3cb889e.jpg)
I bought the polarising filter from a UK Ebay seller. It has a rotating front ring which is used to get the filter into the optimum orientation and a short fixed body with a male thread for mounting it on a video camera with a screwed lens mount. Unfortunately the DOD camera has no thread on its lens so I had to make some sort of adapter.
Ideally I need a mate with a lather who could turn one out of metal or hard plastic – but this avenue was not open so I had to resort to “codging”.
I found that the top of a soft drinks bottle provided a solution – the part where it tapers down to the neck.
I cut off the threaded section at the top of the bottle and the bore was a good fit on the DOD lens barrel, I then parted-off a section about 11mm long and found that the internal dia at the other end had increased and was a very tight screw fit onto the filter thread. I reckon I got through half a dozen bottles before I hit on just the right section of the neck.
I then “screwed the filter into the adapter and tightly wrapped it with black insulation tape which overlapped onto the fixed section of the filter body. This stops it from “unscrewing” and gives it a better appearance.
I then pushed the adapter onto the camera lens barrel with a very fine smear of glue to keep it in place.
This is very “Heath Robinson” as a solution – but it works.
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Thanks Alan,
I'm looking for a filter myself, and remembered you mentioned you thought the lens was 22mm.
Would something like this be suitable?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110426020989?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110426020989?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649)
If that isn't good enough, I've managed to find the same seller still selling the exact same lens above, so can always get one of those and try your mod.
Thanks again :)
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I'm not sure about the lens you have found. Whether the polariser is in a rotating mount is not clear. I can't remember the diameter of the DOD lens barrel and don't want to pull mine apart to check - so you will have to make your own checks.
My method works - but I will confess you have to be a bit of a hobbyist to fiddle with making the adapter. It looks easy, but needs a lot of patience and a volunteer to drink several bottles of coke or Fanta before you get it right.
Good luck - but do please let us know what you decide and how you get on.
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Cheers Alan,
I think you said earlier in this thread the diameter is 22mm, and as I understand it you need a 24mm lens for that, so maybe the one above isn't ideal.
I have patience and a love for coke however, so I could always try on that front :D
I'm a bit confused about which part of the bottle you used, is just where the top screws on?
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Cut just under collar which is below the thread where the cap screws on. You are trying to finish with a piece having a bore with the lens barrel dia at one end and the screw thread at the other.
It would be even better if you know someone who has a lathe and could turn an adapter out of metal or hard plastic with a proper female thread for the filter.
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Cheers mate,
I've ordered a lens, and we'll see how this goes!
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Sorry, I also forgot to ask, which way up do you have the camera? Do you have it flipped or the correct way up?
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Sorry, I also forgot to ask, which way up do you have the camera? Do you have it flipped or the correct way up?
See post No 69 (https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=15671.msg179247#msg179247) in this thread................... :goodjob:
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Cheers, thanks a lot :D
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For those, whose F500's bracket got broken for some reasons (as mine is - one upper left holding rod went broken in winter, so I have to keep my camcorder in place by means of rubber band) - here is a spare one I found on Aliexpress (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mount-for-Car-DVR-Camera-F500L-F900LHD-Bracket-Cradle-free-shipping/650575287.html)
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For those, whose F500's bracket got broken for some reasons... here is a spare one I found on Aliexpress (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mount-for-Car-DVR-Camera-F500L-F900LHD-Bracket-Cradle-free-shipping/650575287.html)
Good one Misha :goodjob:
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Didn't get chance to try this yet, but have the polarising filter here. Will post my results when I get chance to try them.
Unfortunately, I haven't found a way in my Seat Leon to mount it near the rear view mirror without flipping the video. The windscreen is a very shallow curve, and you can't mount it without keeping the sucker in view. I'm convinced flipping the video loses a bit of the quality, but it could just be my eyes. I might just end up doing that and putting up with it! Has anyone else found flipping the video reduces quality?
I might have a go at fixing it to the dash and see how that looks. I have a spare TomTom sticky pad around somewhere...
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The problem I found with having the camera inverted was it pushes the lens further from the glass surface and it picks up more reflections. I was also unable to see the viewing screen because it was behind the mirror.
The i30 screen is steeply raked and I too had problems getting the suction mount out of the picture. I therefore added an extra "arm" in the mounting bracket which I made from a short piece of 15mm dia copper pipe partly flattened at each end, drilled for the friction bolt and filed to a half circle at each end so that it would pivot cleanly. Painted black it looks the bees knees and gives you more scope. I also added a small piece of wire from the mount which hooks over the mirror arm and kills vibrations. It also acts is a "safety rope" if the suction cup falls away from the screen - as mine does from time to time.
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I run mine inverted and can't say I've ever noticed any reduced quality... :undecided:
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Going to have a crack at this today.
One last thing I wanted to check.
Is everyone still using the picture settings from this post? (https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=15671.msg177877#msg177877)
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Had a crack at this today and seems to be working fine!
Here's the picture of my camera.
(http://f.cl.ly/items/3e2N2V0v372Q2q2e0n1j/IMG_0301.jpg)
As you can see my taping job isn't quite as neat as Alan's but I'd spent so much time fashioning the mount out of my bottle I'd had enough!
Here is a quick video showing the effects. It's a pretty good example because it's into the sun and you can see the light shifting, but watch the vent reflection on the dash.
DoD F520 Polarising Filter Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRwZnNVjtc#ws)
My main concern is, that when I'm driving the filter may vibrate because it's not incredibly secure, it's certainly not going to drop out, but you can pull it out with a fair tug (this is due to tape being used, something like superglue wouldn't have this). My second worry again about vibrations is that because of the front of the filter having the ability to turn, you can also pull it out slightly from the base, and because you have to be able to turn the filter you can't tape it up.
Alan, if I were to tape it up so that it coudn't turn to make it more secure, how would it look on a dull day?
Cheers for your help with this :D
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I find that I sometimes have to adjust the filter to suit the lighting conditions - it seems that a bright sunny summer's day with the sun high in the sky requires a slightly different setting to a similar day in the winter when the sun is low.
Perhaps I was lucky with the bottle top - but I managed to cut the bottle at just the right point for the filter thread to be such a tight fit I literally had dip the plastic in hot water to soften it slightly and screw the filter thread in. Hence the tape stops it from unscrewing and tidies up the appearance.
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Okay thanks.
I think I may have used a different portion of the bottle top/neck to you because I used a 2 litre bottle and the bottle top wouldn't fit over the lens.
I'll try adjusting my part because at the moment it's just sat in, if I cut it down a bit more and give it a shove it might fit tighter!
Seems to do the job anyway so thanks for your help. Just going to have to check my settings to make sure the video quality is as good.
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I've quickly learned that there is one problem to this solution Alan. You have to remember to adjust the filter as it gets dark!