Mini 0826 Dashcam Review

[jeebowhite]

Hi Guys,

Took me a while, but I finally completed the dashcam review of the Mini 0826. I hope you enjoy it!

 

The Mini 0826 is a High Definition, GPS camera, with Advanced Driver Assistance Support. 

 

My friends at gearbest, have once again provided me another fantastic camera to have the privilege to test. You can find the camera here: http://goo.gl/qS5Eda

The camera comes with a basic instruction manual, sadly though it isn't very detailed. It provides the essential details, but there is an element of trial and error to get the camera set up as you want.

Opening The Box:
With a well decorated box, there seems to be an air of quality to the packaging. The Foam insert surrounding the camera is a better quality than most, which turn up in a cut out in a cardboard box.

 

Within the box you get what you expect, a Mini0826, DashCamera, and a 3 Meter cable, but you do get more, small details not many manufacturers would consider putting into the package.

You get a lens cleaning cloth, screen protector film, spare sticking pads, stick on cable tidy clips, USB cable, snap on polarising filter, GPS bracket, along with the instruction manual, No camera I have come across yet comes with such small details, which offers assurance, the product has been really well thought about during design.

The camera doesnt come with a sucker based windscreen mount, but instead sticks to the windscreen, or another interior panel directly by the bracket. It's a small disappointment, but can be easily rectified. A quick search on eBay finds alternative screen mounts, with flat decks -the camera could be easily attached to one of these adding 360 degree versatility, whilst keeping the remainder of the camera per design, at just under £2. It really doesn't put you off the camera, it just means a delay in simplifying the setup process, and perhaps a little effort to modify whichever you buy to suit your needs. Though its advisable to wear protective clothing, if you are anything like me, you might end up sawing into several digits with a pen knife...

With 26 minutes battery life, it offers a good balance of performance and functionality, for such a small battery. Dashcam's have a notoriously short battery life, with many budget brands lasting under 5 minutes. For a 330 mAh battery, 26 minutes, with three minutes screen on, and the remaining 23 with the screen off, is more than sufficient for short drives without a wire.

The camera's two essential components, include a GPS base, and a magnetic CPL filter.  Such small details have again paid testament to the design of the solution. The GPS base, whilst I am not a fan of the lack of swivel by default, does have an extra convenience. No matter which way you mount it, you will have suitable access to the charging port. With a charging port on the two longer sides, you can ensure you get the best installation. The magnetic CPL filter appears to make a difference, offering a crisper image, with a more vibrant colour to the image. Even without the CPL, the image quality is never the less clear and colourful, at first installation, I didn't see any reason to install the CPL.

At first power on, I couldn't help but notice a feeling of Déjà vu. The interface seemed very similar to the Ausdom A261 (which I previously reviewed) with a very similar screen presence, settings ranges, even down to the bongs.

Other functionality on the device includes Advanced Driving Warning Systems, inclusive are Foward Collision Detection System and Lane Departure Warning System, very similarly to the Ausdom A261, the system is rudimentary, but offers a very usable solution when configured correctly. These systems are less effective during the night, and can get confused when you pass a junction on a motorway.

Price:
At the time  of writing, the price is $89.84, which translates to roughly £64. The Camera can be bought (or viewed!) from this link: http://goo.gl/qS5Eda
Currently, at the time of writing they have a deal on: Add coupon code: "GBMINI0826". This reduces the price to $74.99 (£53.88)

Build Quality:
So far, everything has shouted to me this product is built well (at first glance). From the packaging, to the design, it all seems well, though I did have some minor disagreements with the camera. The screen is a little small, so viewing it and changing settings could be difficult unless you are wearing your reading spectacles. The buttons down the side of the screen, are a little small, great if you have small nimble fingers, but could be frustrating if you don't! 

Its not without its flaws though, these will be discussed later.

That said, it offers clear pictures, and with a 130 degree viewing angle of the lens, it ensures great coverage of the road ahead of you, and with the CPL, it ensures any light spread on the video is reduced and the picture is clear.

Daytime Samples:

 

Night Samples:

Overall, the camera offers a great specification, below is a summary

MINI 0826 1.5 inch 1296P HD LCD screen GPS car DVR camcorder
Support loop recording between internal card and external card
Support WDR / HDR
Support ADAS ( LDWS, FCW, FCWD )
Support CPL filter
License plate: 9 character driver number
Locking function 
Video format: MOV ( video ), JPG ( photo )
HDMI port: High definition video output
External storage: TF card up to 64GB ( not included )
Loop recording setting: Off / 1 minute / 3 minutes / 5 minutes, maximum length of each recorded video file is 3.66G
Copy function: Video clip can be copied between external and internal storage, then you will have backup after your hand over card to police or the court

Specifications:
1296P Super HD 
Display: 1.5 inches TFT LCD
Lens: Wide angle 135 degree
GPS tracker: GPS tracker
Image sensor: 3.2M pixel CMOS
CPU / processor: Ambarella A7LA50
Audio: Built-in microphone / speaker
Exposure compensation: -2.0EV to +2.0EV
Video resolution: 2560 x 1080 at 30fps / 2304 x 1296 at 30fps / 1920 x 1080 at 45fps and 30fps / HDR 1920 x 1080 at 30fps / 1280 x 720 at 60fps and 30fps

Camera:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Good
This is the portion of the review I pick my top things about the camera, the good in 3 words: Sturdy, Comprehensive, GPS

Sturdy: The build quality feels well put together, even the feel of the product, its not cheap plastic, it almost offers a suede feel about it!
 
Comprehensive: The offerings you get with the camera are fantastic, everything from GPS to the ADAS systems. The inclusion of small details such as number plate stamp on the video, to the provision of cable clips, it just feels well thought out and put together.

GPS: The GPS unit is seperate from the hardware, you can seperate the two, and as the power sockets are both (2) on the base, and one on the camera itself, they can be independently powered. You can have the GPS connected as a mount, and still disable it altogether, or just remove it from the screen, should you be partial to perhaps... testing the 0 to 100 speeds.

The Bad:
This is the portion of the review I pick my top dislikes about the camera.
The bad in 3 words: Hot, SD,Small

Hot: The camera does get hot in use, even on a relatively short run of around 30 minutes, plugged in to charge via the GPS mount, the bottom (under the screen) of the camera gets a bit warmer than I would like. Running it in winter, with cold temperatures, ensured it was noticeable, I do wonder if this affects longevity of the battery or other components overall, having said that, I have also run it on four hour drives around the outside of London, even getting warm, it was still perfectly functional.

SD: The SD card I found a bit fiddly. The loop recording on the 0826, is supposed to not only change files every 60 seconds (or whatever preset you opt for), but it should get to the end of the card and start afresh. So far I haven't found that, I installed a 64GB card, and I was warned "Card Size Limit For Recording". Ironically, I thought it was just unable to handle 64GB (Class 10 card), but the issue started occurring on a 32GB Class 10. I have mentioned this to gearbest, and will see what the outcome is. Just be careful and pay attention as you insert the card, It's not impossible to insert an SD card behind the slot, as opposed to inside it (as my 64GB card found to its demise!)

Small: Screens are a great feature on a camera, but I find this screen is too small. I strain my eyes trying to look at it, even wearing my glasses, there were moments, I struggled to read the screen. The buttons as well were too small for my liking, I didnt feel comfortable interacting with the camera, on a plus side, you just set it up and leave it as it is!

The Ugly:
The main "not so big deal" about the 0826, is the preference I have of a camera using a swivel suction mount. Windscreens come in different shapes, sizes and angles, unfortunately a rigid mount camera like this means you might see as much of your dashboard as you do the road ahead. I got around this problem, by ordering a universal mount from eBay, and after a slight amount of modification, I could mount the GPS element to the new mount, and then the camera to it also. This gives me a full 360 swivel suction base to the windscreen, meaning I can more easily manouver the camera into its optimum place.

Final Verdict:

Overall, I find the 0826 is a good camera, I prefer (what I can only liken to its big brother!) the Ausdom A261. The software fundamentally is the same, but the 0826 screen is small, as are the buttons. A camera that gets noticeably warm in winter, makes me wonder if there may be a slight design flaw.

Besides the lower half of it getting warm, and the small buttons and screen, it really is an excellent camera. Small details which others often wouldn't consider have been added to this camera, the manufacturer went for a small, sleek and stylish approach to the camera's design. 

[jace1969]

Another good review,i like these camera review with video links as you see the true picture.

Did you have any problems with the GPS signal as because mine is stuck to the plastic cover for the rain sensor/mirror i get no

GPS signal but do if on the window,left it on plastic as i have live online tracker so not a major thing.

[jeebowhite]

No problems here, it's now mounted as a rear view cam and even with the extra addition of the swivel Base it seems to receive GPS just fine :)

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[Micro]

On 2/16/2016 at 0:01 PM, jace1969 said:

Another good review,i like these camera review with video links as you see the true picture.

Did you have any problems with the GPS signal as because mine is stuck to the plastic cover for the rain sensor/mirror i get no

GPS signal but do if on the window,left it on plastic as i have live online tracker so not a major thing.

The gps antenna (ceramic with metal plate) faces through the side with the sticky, so with the shielding probably present inside the mirror/rain sensor mount, it's not going to get any or very low signal

[jace1969]

9 hours ago, Micro said:

The gps antenna (ceramic with metal plate) faces through the side with the sticky, so with the shielding probably present inside the mirror/rain sensor mount, it's not going to get any or very low signal

If I needed the GPS to work on mine i would have to look at another place but on the window but I have a live tracker so it stores all

the data on the online server.

I always keep my eyes open for these reviews as im always looking for a cheap spare or up-grade.