Added: 1 year ago
From: Techmoan
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  • btw I've got the exact camera from ebay lol like $27

  • An excellent review, I have a dash cam in my vehicle for about three years now. It is defiantly for peace of mind. If somebody blows a red light, I want proof. Like you I have never crashed into anything. Defensive driving is what it is all about.

  • great review. very comprehensive and good voice and sound quality. 

  • Comment removed

  • ever had it working as a web cam?

  • Sounds like Ringo Starr

  • just a quick note about these cameras. I've had this one for quite some time, + 1.5 years. Just realised that the 720 x 480 picture (which people seem to champion over the likes of the AEE / Vevo MD80 type camera which is 640 x 480) is actually a 640 x 480 picture scaled to 720 x 480. Check it out by filming a round object like a desk fan then playing footage back with VLC and changing aspect to 4:3.

  • jaja Sounds like James May from Top Speed!

  • I bought one of these. It lasted a week before packing up. Piece of shit.

  • where i can buy this camera?

  • captain sLOW!!!

  • Omg ITS JAMES MAY!!!

  • @Techmoan how is the picture while driving at night?

  • @aperson9923 It' been a long time since I looked at this camera..it's in a box somewhere. It won't be great at night - no cameras like this are.

  • @Techmoan there are plenty cameras good at night around $200us

  • Check out my Dash Camera Videos.. all HD quality. Yours look good and I like the reviews

  • Are you the Russian sniper ??

  • I used to use this camera, my only problem with it was that the picture 'wobbled'. This was due to the vehicle's engine running - obviously some sort of interference (but from a diesel?)

  • @sludgeguts That's CMOS wobble - caused by vibration.

  • @Techmoan Yes, after sending a couple back as 'faulty', the seller eventually admitted that this was a known issue with these. Strangely, I have other similarly priced cameras which don't have that annoying wobble. You mention if there is a real need for someone to have a camera in their car - I, personally, feel that every car should come fitted with at least 3 - 2 front, 1 rear, and maybe even side cams. I have a T-eye which has 2 cams (front\rear) and although it cost over £200

  • @Techmoan It paid for itself within 2 years after some moron cut me up, forcing me to brake just as I was removing his rear 1/4 panel & redesigning his bumper. As I went into the back of him, he claimed I was at fault, I claimed he was at fault. Insurance would have gone 50/50 as no independant witnesses. Footage showed him teararsing down my outside (as I was going through traffic lights at a left turn junction) whilst the front cam showed him come into view as he shot across my

  • @Techmoan offside and slammed on his brakes when he realised there was a car in front of me. My damage came to nearly £2k - he was given at least 3 chances to change his story before his insurance told him they had video of the event showing him at fault. They refused to pay for his car. I drive a bus for a living & the company have installed multiple cams - the public think we are fair game for complaints, video has saved my bacon a few times.

    Good comprehensive review by the way.

  • Automatic record and replace has the following negative associated with it. Suppose you have it secured to your helmet and you get creamed in a hit and run. Your unconcious and taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, the camera continues to record and eventually overwrites the only evidence you may had to find or procecute to offender.

    Dash cams are great evidence but only if your in a condition or state of mind to stop the video and preserve it following and incident.

  • @HolaThereTuber It's a good point. Thats one reason why you might want to get a SD card that outlasts your battery. There are of course more expensive cameras with G force sensors that are supposed to save the last few recordings from being overwritten in the event of an incident. The V1000GS car camera that I tested is supposed to do this.

  • UR DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!!! lol it kinda bugged me out for a sec wut state is that?

  • @slickshadow22 - His accent sounds British, and the scenery looks British, so I suppose he's in Britain, where everyone drives on the left side of the road.

  • James May voice LOL

  • how does the camera perform on night driving?

  • how do these cameras work? do they auto delete? and is there one that doesnt require batteries? one that uses the lighter socket thing...

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  • @shobin05 You didn't even watch the video did you? This uses a USB cord to charge directly from an adaptor that goes in your car's lighter slot. And yes, it auto deletes and records over all the oldest footage first. As stated, with a two second delay in starting to record between the footage.

    No idea why I bothered telling you that, as I don't think you even watched the video... I'm far too nice I guess.

  • @Fredrock1982 yes actually i didnt bother to watch lol thanks anyway

  • u guys r driving on the wrong side of the road!!!! lol im jk i noticed it wasn't America =D

  • Are you sure the 2 seconds weren't on the tail end of the previous file?

  • Not Ringo.. it's James May dummy

  • OMG ITS RINGO STARR

  • Excellent review - thanks!

  • Are u related to James may??

  • recording and charging at the same time gave me an idea I bought a cig lighter extension lead and a £8 alarm backup battery and cobbled together a dinky portable rechargeable security cam, great for sheds,up a tree in car with no risk of draining the battery, so good I knocked up a few for friends and relatives

  • Great review, thanks. Won't be getting it now. Looking for something a little more efficient and reliable. I also prefer the ones that clip the footage every 10mins instead of 5. Hopefully I can find something with less than a 2 second delay for my purposes.

  • Don't waste your money on these cheap cameras. They'll break within a month.

  • @LuxeXx Not mine.

  • bamboo floor!!!!

  • @subarukrn1 OK, here's how to set the clock.

    1- Plug your DVR into the computer.

    2- pop up screen shows up or you need to find the pop up screen under computer, Removable disc (?) , click on "Open Folder To View Files".

    3. NEXT to DCIM folder, RIGHT CLICK and go down to NEW, select TEXT DOCUMENT and label it "tag".

    4. Open the "tag" folder and insert the following into the Document.

    [date]

    2011/12/19

    21:27:00

    (Copy and paste).

  • You will need to make changes as instructed.

    2011 is year,12 is month, 19 is day

    Time is 24 hour time.

    Change the date and time to the correct date and time. Click on File and choose 'Save As"

    Pop up screen will ask you if you want to save changes choose "Yes".

    TURN OFF DVR at the button on the DVR itself. Screen disappears and unplug DVR. Time will be set.

    

  • Sounds complicated but once you do it a few times it's not that difficult.

    The DVR may not hold the time for very long as it will change back to 1-1-2008

  • i got this toy,today ...thanks...but i can,t set the clock!

  • nice floor, is that laminate?

  • thnk you good güzel dvr

  • Does this camera also have the autostart recording feature, when plugged to power like the other cameras do ?

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  • do you only need the drivers from this disc for it to be a webcam, as my disc is corrupt, i cant seem to find drivers on google, your review as been handy if the disc is not needed for anything else then i dont need to worry cheers ..del

  • @moonbear Its just a webcam driver that's all - you can download it from my blog - TECHMOAN.COM

  • @Techmoan cheers i couldnt see it but will look again later, think i only need it to set the date and time, dont need it for webcam :)

  • @Techmoan Exactly what I needed, thanks.

  • Was this taken in the UK? lol... How much did you pay for this toy?

  • Thanks for that review, it's really good ! ;)

    What dashcam would you suggest for a cheap price but still a correct quality like this one? (Except Without that 2sec gap :) ) If possible from Ebay. Thanks

  • £16? only ones i can find are £32.99

  • @YuJays 7dayshop.com has them for 14.99 delivered i think :)

  • lol 5.51

    mad

  • awesome review!

  • I noticed somebody asking about lengthening the size of the video files from 5 minutes, did anybody manage to do this?

  • I just started using 2 of these in the car (1 forward & 1 backward) and can confirm there is a 0-3 second changeover between files. Not sure if it is avoidable.

    The battery life I got was actually better than advertised. Over an hour every time. Also, this DOES work with SDHC cards as well.

    My main gripe is the LED location. It's easy to mistakenly stop recording when you want to start and vice versa. There are a few other issues, but due to the price I'd also recommend it.

  • How long can I record with 8 GB MicroSD? Thank you Techmoan!

  • Anyone know if it is possible to increase the 5 minute video file length to say 30 minutes. Losing 2 seconds of footage every 5 minutes is inconvenient. Other cameras using this same processor have longer video times. Thanks Kevin

  • Like if you just noticedthe store ,"CURRYs" 2:22

  • Excellent review, clearly spoken and everything was nicely explained.

    I have a question though regarding the 2 second delay between clips... Is it possible this can be overcome via a firmware update or something?

  • @mattd28 No - the gaps are just down to the time it takes to delete a file and start recording a new one. This will be restricted by the speed and bandwidth of the processors etc.

  • I got this today but i am still waiting for the micro SD card to be delivered, So i thought this would be a great chance to try it out as a webcam. But the disc doesnt work. It comes up with an error even if i manually find the launcher file. Can someone please post a link to where i can DL this software please ?

  • @JBDUK117 Go to my site TECHMOAN.COM and look on the Files and Drivers page for the files you need.

  • @Techmoan Thanls alot (: Love the videos.

  • @JBDUK117 JUST FUCKING GOOGLE IT YOU DUMB SHIT!!!

  • I hope the battery isnt cuput, ive now set it to record to drain the battery again and will then try recharging, if no go then im just going to get a differnt camera as I cant rely on it.

  • Check my channel for video footage, I think these may have a problem, i've used mine about 6 times now and it's been fine, today after my ride I looked at the camera and the green light wasnt flashing, how odd, plugged it in and yes it stopped recording thr last 10 minutes of my cycle.

    Now the card isnt full. I just plugged it in and the red light started to flash as normal, but has now stopped after 10 minutes, this isnt right, it should stay on for atleast 3 hours charging,

  • As a result of this informative video, I purchased tha D011 and it arrived today. It is a great little camera for the price and very versatile. Thank you.

  • Re: over recording old files.

    I would just like to point out that if the oldest file on the SD card is smaller than the new file it wants to replace it with, the camera will crash and and destroy the Master File Table on the SD card. Thus rendering all files and folders corrupt and unreadable. The card must then be reformatted.

  • sweet review full of information

  • how do you get the date and time set on this, ive followed the instructions but still shows 2008, or can you just disable the date on the video playback ?

  • Would this work as a sports camera ? anywhere to get from the uk and not abroad ?

  • @nicclaws you can get it from 7dayshop.com, check out my predator airsoft video, sometimes there is a slow motion effect if moving the camcorder fast.

  • Nice work. Good review, and a cool camera! i love it! And this camera is great for Time Lapse Photography too! you just need this device: tempusALL.bymac.org

    I got very professional time-lapse videos with camera! cool sunset videos!

  • What is the recording time, I mean, let's say I need it to be on for more than 7 hours a day in the vehical, will this stay on and record if I was to have it plugged in?

  • @markhorneyuk It's supposed to loop for ever...so if you kept it powered it should record as long as you need.

  • @Techmoan I really like your reviews - a fine job indeed. However, as thourough as you have been, could you please demenstrate the use of this camera as a webcam. You are supposed to be able to also video while charging the battery but this seems to be a feature I can't get to work. Really would like to see your input here.

  • @MrPhideo It's been quite a while since I reviewed this camera and it's now at the bottom of a drawer somewhere so unfortunately I can't do the tests you wanted, but hopefully someone else here can help you out by posting a response.

  • does this support microSDHC card or simply microSD?

  • @TheSGH91 Both...anything above 4GB is SDHC, so the fact that this accepts 16GB cards (possibly even 32GB) means that it has to support SDHC.

  • I've had two of these, the first one there was a rattling inside the case which while it wasn't audible in use, when playing a video it was very clear. Then the pivot ball used to rotate the camera ended up losing friction, meaning the camera would just "flop" and i would not be able to view the road. I got it replaced, but once again the pivot ball was loose, so i glued it. But the holder is very cheap plastic, and the fingers have broken off it now. Good camera, but very shoddy.

  • Hi mate, i want to get into vlogging on my bike, i just need a cheap camera to get inside my helmet somewhere as go pro are far to expensive at the min do you have anything to recommend or could you sell me one of these cameras to use.

    I'm only in Liverpool so I could do a cash on collection job I tried a mini 'keyfob' camera but it doesnt fit anywhere inside my lid.

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  • You probably won't need the CD if you use Ubuntu

  • Good Review! Thank you for sharing your experience!

  • How do you set the date and time on this ??? I cant get mine to work...

  • You sound like James May!!!

  • You sound like James May!!!

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  • bought mine fron 7dayshop and never got any instructions at all, do you know if it will charge when connected to laptop via usb, like an ipod for example? or only when connected do car lighter?

  • @stu0189 it will charge via usb, blue light stays on and red light flashes while charging.

  • dude are you james may?

  • Being a driver for 20 years certainly has little baring on whether or not you have a crash when it's someone else's fault, which is the primary reason for having such a camera, is it not? Search for 'highway accident caught on dash cam' and watch the first result - you'll see that no amount of driving experience would have got you out of that crash!

  • @TheSestren I don't think you are understanding my point. I've been driving for 20+ years without a crash. Assuming I have one today that means that I'd have to have attached a camera to my car for 21 years and recorded every single journey without fail to film that one crash. It would be my luck for the accident to be one where I'm hit in the side out of shot. Im not saying I'm a good or bad driver..but the best way to ensure I capture a crash on film I'd have to crash on a regular basis.

  • @Techmoan Do you not understand that there is every possibility that you could have been in an accident at any time in those 20+ years and that would have nothing to do with how good a driver you are? That's the point I was trying to make. I understood your point, I just think it was illogical.

  • @TheSestren Yes I understand that I could crash at any time. What I was and am saying is that if you are buying one of these cameras EXPECTING to capture footage of a crash on .... it you will either

    A) Have to be incredibly unlucky

    B) Crash on a frequent basis

    The odds of a normal, average, typical driver capturing a crash on camera are astronomical.

    A more realistic goal/use for this camera to would be to capture footage of journeys out just like a helmet camera.

    Hope that is clear.

  • I'm thick when it comes to computers/gadgets. Can you make a video or explain how I download the videos I make, to my computer, please? Do I need to buy something else or is everything I need in the box.

  • The ones on Ebay are all from China.

  • @whitbyjet65 The camera is almost certainly made in Hong Kong originally; even when you find one outside of eBay they appear to be of Chinese origin, so I assume any being sold in the UK are imported on the cheap. I bought one from a HK ebayer; works fine and delivery was about a week and a half.

  • Where did you buy this from? I can't find it anywhere.

  • @whitbyjet65 7dayshop stock it ...or at least they did when I last answered this question a few months ago...have a look there.

  • @Techmoan Thank you.

  • @Techmoan Just to confirm, yes 7dayshop do stock it now, had one delivered yesterday.

  • @Techmoan If James May leaves Top Gear I think you have a good chance of replacing him. :-)

  • @whitbyjet65 I gut it from ebay, they really good ones, check my channel to see the quality. recommended :)

  • @HusamHamtini I bought one. It worked for two days and then stopped working/ Also the sucker thing doesn't stick any more. Absolute junk. My advice is don't buy one.

  • thanks for video.

  • This review helped a ton ! However I got one of these cameras and I can't seem to get my accurate date and time displayed. I followed the directions but still ... it didn't work. How did you get it to work ? Any help ?

  • Very Good video, all about the item being reviewed, no gay music. Great and professional.

  • I've had terrible luck with these cameras. The micro SD card constantly gets corrupted (yes, it could be a fault card), and battery life has consistently been reduced over the past few months. One camera just stopped working all together, and the other has about an hour of recording time before the battery is dead. These are more trouble then they're worth in my opinion...

  • Hi,

    I've just received this camera (bought on ebay). And - unfortunately - it seems to be broken or I did something wrong. Anyway, after connecting it to PC via USB, my PC can't recognise it. Also, when I try to run CD attached, Run Time Error message appears. Anyone could advise? Thanks.

  • If you watch this and thinking of buying one DON'T. I have got one and it is crap. Not user friendly, doesn't over write the old footage so when your card is full it will stop recording. The fittings are cheap and the camera keeps falling out the holder. Also on many occasions the memory card gets corrupt and you have nop footage and keep having to re-format. There are better ones out there!

  • The removable lens might be for different lens types they plan to release

  • @ngt84 No, he is not.

  • The Reviewer is James May from Top Gear !

  • excellent review

  • Thanks, I bought this from 7Day Shop and they are very good for camera memory too.

  • Tried this on my bicycle using the supplied holder and works quite well, however the 4gb card is not enough for a decent ride. All the 16gb cards I have found are schc, has anyone tried one in this device?

  • @mpg2110 SDHC work fine in this camera.....just make sure you get your memory from someone whe doesn't sell fakes.

  • Wigan!!

  • Can you recommend a good 32gb dashboard cam to me? I want a quality one. Few years ago, I got a junk cam from ebay.

  • So if its a problem with the micro SD card, how can it be formatted? This is really annoying. I thought this camera was a good deal, but as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for..."

  • @LuxeXx The software supplied is purely a set of drivers to use the camera as a webcam...nothing more.

    To format any memory card or hard drive the procedure is exactly the same. Connect the card to your computer, preferably in a memory card reader or by attaching the camera to your PC using the USB cable. RIGHT CLICK on the appropriate disk drive that appears under My Computer and select FORMAT. Ensure you are formatting as FAT or FAT32 and not NTFS. Do not format your hard drive by mistake!

  • @Techmoan Thanks for your help! I've got it formatting right now, with my fingers crossed. Too bad it happened with some decent footage on the card...

  • Mine has crapped out after a week. I plug it into the computer via the USB, and the files are possibly corrupted, as gibberish symbols appear as file names. I cannot open anything, or pull videos out of the camera. The software doesn't seem to help, and I think its shot unless some has a link for troubleshooting. FYI, I plug it into the computer, and get a solid blue light and a slow flashing red light next to it. Not good...

  • @LuxeXx

    Same as you

    did you get any good avice or bright ideas? All my files are called Q_ of ~ or +_

    Nonsense and none open

    Disappointed as worked a treat before

  • @fatfishy1 Try formatting the card. If you right click on the external drive icon (camera's icon) there should be an option to format the micro SD card.

  • Got my DVR D011 today and while I have had some issues getting the software installed and I'll look at that tomorrow, I did some basic tests myself and was extremely happy with the results. I was able to run the camera while charging from the car socket adapter and was also able to use two different Duracell lion battery packs with USB outputs. One was 1150 mAh and one was 2000 mAh. Have yet to get the webcam function to work, but that's not important to me. I'll probably get the #11 next.

  • Hello,

    As the camera can be attached via a USB connector to the car lighter socket, have you also tried connecting it to any of the portable USB battery packs made for cell phones, MP3 players or other small devices?

  • @DarkWatch1962 I havent tried them with this camera, but I imagine that all USB power supplies would work the same.

  • you sound so much like james may of top gear ^^

  • Just curious, is filtering through traffic legal in the UK? Ad so far, from what i have seen on your videos, this D011 seems to be the best used as a dash cam, considering the costs. What do you think?

  • @imbiased The rules on filtering is complicated - AFAIK it's legal when the traffic is stationary. The D011 is a good cheap option - but the wide angle lens on the Car Cam with the flip down screen might be worth the extra for some people.

  • @Techmoan Regarding the wide angle vs the D011, the clarity of the D011, in terms of reading street signs and even license plates, was greater than the clarity of the flip down wide angle camera. The D011 did not allow me to see ALL of the license plates, but it did some, especially when stopped. However, your videos using the wide angle in comparison show little if any detail in this regard. Anyway, thanks so much for the videos, they have saved me (& so many others I'm sure) time & money!

  • how much video can you get per GB? Thanks i think im going to choose this over the key chain for my rc airplane... what do you think?

  • @starwarsgijo It will be too heavy for your plane. In the next few days I'll have a new review of a camera that will be ideal for you......stay tuned.

  • Thanks to this excellent video I have written down some instructions in English. The instructions that came with my camera appeared to be written in Klingon.

    I also managed to create a simple batch file that creates the TAG.txt to set the time and date when required.

    If you Google "mattsbits multimedia" you will find the instructions in my multimedia category. Article title is "DVR D011 miniDV Car Dash Camera Instructions In Real English"

  • Is it possible to remove the timestamp?

  • How do you connect the stick bit (with the thread at one end and ball at the other end) to the base? It looks as if it should just easily screw in however there is something already in the nut which means I cant screw it in....

  • @stripymonkey12345 It should jut screw in - If there is something already in the hole it sounds like yours is faulty.

  • Where did you purchase yours from?

  • @nintendojoe Mine was from EBay in HK. But in the UK you can get it from 7dayshop.

  • Comment removed

  • I only got a short usb cable i'd guess 50cm rather than 150cm. still a bargain though!

  • Do you think that this camera would be suitable for downhill mountain biking? whats the picture quality like? thankyou.

  • The camera doesn´t seem to do too well in low light conditions. I use this camera for paintballing. During the day, it´s excellent. However, at night time, it blurs. A LOT.

  • @Soger91 Yeah, but its probably strapped to your helmet, and I bet your turning your head constantly.  That's asking a lot of any camera at night...

  • Thanks for the review.

  • Many thanks for the review- very clear, concise and useful- much more so than the instruction sheet supplied! I had an the same problem as others commenting regarding the time and date setting initially. However, I was putting the TAG file in the file with the pictures, where it did not work. When I put it in the 'root directory' (alongside the DCIM folder) it set the time and date OK

  • James May reviewing cameras!

  • Thanks for doing this review. I am having issues with mine. When I turn it on and click the button, only the blue light comes on. The green light never comes on anymore no matter what I do. Only used it 4 times and I am thinking it is toast. Anyone experienced this?

  • @jackjohnson218 i had this and the problem was the FAT32 filesystem on the memory card had been corrupted. Formatting the card again fixed the problem. If only the blue light comes on it normally means the device is struggling with the micro sd. If formatting it doesn't fix the problem, try another SD card.

  • @robertjamesfrost

    WOW that worked!!! Thanks so much!!!

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  • Good review. Might get one or something similar for cycling journeys next summer.

  • fantastic review! thank you very much!

  • did you mesure the angle of view? looks wider than the 808 keychain camera

  • @wallaguest1 I didn't measure it, but I'm pretty sure it's identical.

  • OMG man! Your driving on the wrong side of the damn road. How on God's earth have you not gotten into an accident in 20yrs? Thanks again for the review.

    P.S.

    I did what you said ref the time stamp. The Time.txt file did not work. Any other ideas.