Although I usually make gameplay videos, I have been wanting to expand into the real world when it comes to vehicles, drivers and conditions for a long time now. Something along the lines of Jay Leno's Garage, Top Gear and The Grand Tour (just to name a few).
Like a lot of other folks, I have used the most readily available equipment on hand, my cellphone, to capture still shots and short movies. Despite the advancement of cellphone technology during this century alone, I have read and been told that dedicated cameras can offer up better options for improved quality.
Like a lot of other folks, I have used the most readily available equipment on hand, my cellphone, to capture still shots and short movies. Despite the advancement of cellphone technology during this century alone, I have read and been told that dedicated cameras can offer up better options for improved quality.
The trouble is I am confusing "cheap" with "on a budget."
Exhibit "A."
On sale at Princess Auto (a little bit of everything store, including automotive accessorizes) for only $19.99 CDN (regularly priced at $34.99), the ADURO DVC 300 appeared to be a low cost solution for one of my camera needs. I was hooked on the sale price, the packaging had a "professional" look to it and the specs seemed to be adequate. All in all, other than a Micro-SD card (which I had), it seemed to be "out of the box" ready to go.
Mounting on the windshield of my Mitsubishi RVR was a snap, although the hanging power cord looked a little on the unprofessional side (no, I wasn't going to spend an extra minute or two to tuck it out of view). I read through the instructions to quickly learn how the thing worked and discovered there was quite a few complicated finger/button tricks to perform what I considered to be simple functions, like removing the date before recording. After a few minutes of trial and a lot of error, I decided to just test the whole system out and see the results....
I guess the upside is I only paid $19.99 CDN (not including taxes) for it, so I am not nearly as upset as I would have been paying the full price.
As I commented in the video, changing the resolution from VGA to 720p made no difference in perceived video quality or speed. The audio not keeping in step with the video was the biggest letdown and I don't see how that problem could have been resolved (short of running any captured footage through a video editing program to match it all up, or close to it).
One issue I didn't mention was the recordings were in 3 minute segments and I couldn't find away to change that (the capture clips rolled into each other, meaning as long as the camera detected motion, the next segment starting picked right up after the one ending).
The quality of the camera itself was sketchy. I felt if I squeezed it just a bit too hard, it was going to snap or my finger would get cut up going through it. As for the user interface, (not a touchscreen, you have to click through the buttons and pray it does what you want it to) it was a frustrating experience and I doubt few out there would have the patience to push through in an attempt to achieve the desired (if available) setting results.
I think I will end this disappointing experience by packing this setup back into the box and dropping it off at a Goodwill Store or Value Village.
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