A pretty good quality camera from DDPAI. the resolution is very good (make sure you have a good video playback software in mobile or computer to realize this). But there is just 2 flaws, hence the cut in 1 star. Cons seems long only in explanation, but the pros of this camera are very high compared to cons.
Pros:
1. Excellent image quality in front (4k) and rear (1080) (check the attached screenshots).
2. Number / registration plate readability is excellent in day time. But during night time, the readability depends on relative speed of vehicle you are following.
3. Easy to install and configure the camera.
4. Not required for any registration or user ID creation for using App.
5. Timeline view in App is excellent and easy to use.
6. I'm not sure if this is mentioned in spec, but the HDR capability is quiet good during sunny days with direct light on lens.
7. Very good field of view angle of lens. This helped me in a situation where the camera recorded the face of the guy who stepped out vehicle (to the very edge of image frame) in an unfortunate situation. A mobile camera wouldn't be able to capture this.
8. Clear audio recorded of conversations happening inside the car (only in front camera, no audio in rear).
Cons:
1. If the relative speed of vehicle whose number you want to read is high, then it is too blurry to read (slightly technical. explained later in deep).
2. Even though the app is intuitive to use, the speed at which files are transferred is very slow. Each video file (front 4k cam) is 200MB for 1 min which takes around a minute to download to phone (tried in multiple phones, all are slow). I've used WiFI direct (2.4GHz) to transfer files from one Android phone to another, which is very quick. This slowness is issue of camera.
3. Certain settings are missing like how to select default video length per clip. Only 1 min video can be recorded. Cannot change it to 3 min or 5 min.
4. There is no shortcut key in camera to mark a video for emergency so that it will not be deleted. Some other cameras have this feature. If you forget to download the video on phone, it will be lost in loop recording. Emergency videos are kept undeleted only in case of share sensor collision detection.
5. Since this camera has super capacitor rather than a battery, it does not support emergency video recording for shake sensor when the car is off. 70mai has this feature which records for 1 min after shake sensor activation. Internal battery will take care of this. This DDPIA Z50 camera can do it only with external supply (battery bank or direct car battery connection via fuse box) and it will continuously record rather than just the shake sensor trigger part which is a bit of hassle to check back.
As for the 1st con, here is the deal with it. If a car is stationary (either directly in front of you or parked on sideway), and your car is moving (even at extremely crawling pace - 5kmph) the number plate during night time even with moderate well lit street light is not clear since the relative speed (difference between stationary car speed and your car speed) is high. This is also an issue if a bike crosses you from opposite direction and without halting it moves away, this camera won't be able to capture the reg. plate during night time (check the screenshot). Reg. plate readability is good when you're moving in same direction and almost same speed as the car whose plate you want to read. During daytime, such issue is not present; everything is crystal clear in day time (check the attached screenshot).
I tried consulting Nexdigitron for replacement thinking it would be a fault in my specific product. They were very quick in responding to my emails but I got the gist from the discussion that my expectations were wrong and there was nothing wrong with the device I received.
Even though the cons seem big, they can be easily overlooked considering it does the job in excellent way for 90% of the time.
Here are my opinions on few other concerns which I've seen some ask in forums:
1. Heating issues - Yes, the device heats up a bit if left in sun, too much to touch. But I felt this is acceptable since the rated operating temperature range is way above this (tried in Hyderabad summer - 40+). This shouldn't be any problem for most people.
2. 4K video quality legibility - 4K makes a bit of difference. I have used 70mai's 2k version for another car, and the clarity is different. Z50 is slightly better. And this is 4K native recording and not upscaled from some lower resolution.
3. Video FPS - Some 3rd party site mentioned 30 FPS, but I've been seeing consistent 25fps for both front and rear cameras (check the screenshot attached). FPS cannot be configured.
4. Amazon v/s Nexdigitron - Nexdigitron sells at a marginally cheaper rate in this website compared to Amazon and it is the same seller in Amazon if you need DDPAI products. Post sale support is very good and the emails are responded quickly. I f...