Review on Amcrest Full-HD 1080p Dash Camera ACD-830B (Black) - Car DVR Dashcam with 16GB Micro SD Card, Suction Cup Mount Bracket, 160° Wide Viewing Angle by Shawn Tolbert

July 23, 2017 - After several weeks of daily use, some features of this device have become clearer. My previous rating is still valid, but these extra points have resulted in me lowering my rating. mainly because they affect (at least in my opinion) the safe use and general usefulness of this product. The most annoying thing is that the device just turns on at the slightest movement. Even with the "Motion" function switched off. When I remove the camera from the windshield, I turn it off first. It turns on again when I remove the suction cup and again when I put it in the console. When I get in my car to drive to work every morning, I hear the DVR beep from the console. It doesn't really matter, but it's a bit annoying that the device seems to react as if the motion sensor were still on. On the other hand, it is all the more annoying when the device switches off after the start of the journey. It doesn't happen often - maybe in a drive of twenty - but I'm not going to fiddle with this thing while I'm driving, so I have to wait until I pull over or pull up to the curb. - to turn it back on. The camera has a "screen saver" setting that should turn off the rear display after a few seconds, but I've never enabled this feature and confirmed that it's still disabled, so the camera really just turns off. I bought a GPS device for this dashcam. I love the extra information it adds to the output video. The connection to the satellite port is a bit slow - it takes 3 to 5 minutes on average, but otherwise everything works quite well. The camera is indeed unstable when transferring video files to a computer and you may lose the files. This happens when you leave the SD card in the camera and use the "Mass Storage" option to connect the computer and the camera. The camera will turn off after a few seconds, and if you transfer files during this time, the active file will disappear from the SD card and will not be on your computer. To securely transfer video files, remove the card from the camera and insert it into the computer using a memory card reader. You can then transfer files securely. Overall, I still like this device, but I no longer consider it "a great camera at an exceptional price". Now it's more like "Okay. I got what I paid for." Revain, where there are many fakes and substandard goods. However, on the Amcrest website, the camera cost the same, so I decided to try it. It meets the listed specifications. The camera was shipped with Windscreen mount USB cable Micro SD card (16GB) Cigarette lighter power cable Manual and quick start guide There should have been a rubber washer on the windscreen mounting nut but it was nowhere to be seen Directly out of the box (after inserting the SD card) the camera turned on and started recording. I plugged it into my computer and the camera immediately recognized that it was plugged in. It offered me a "mass storage" option and by selecting this option, Windows opened an Explorer window The camera saves files in .MOV format by default, so the built-in Windows Media Player saves them p can easily process. Mounted on a windshield, the wide-angle lens takes some getting used to. Objects in the center of the screen appear very far away until you get very close. I couldn't see the traffic light until I was directly under it, and then it was hard to make out the color of the light. The camera captures both pillars at the edge of my windshield and what appears to be an oversized portion of my car's hood. The distortion inherent in wide-angle lenses becomes more apparent as you walk past them - suspension bridges, footpaths, power lines, etc. begin to curve around the edges of the screen. I was concerned about these aspects, but as it turns out, they're mostly related to the camera's very small display; As soon as I played the video files on my computer, the image was bright and sharp, and what wasn't visible on the camera's rear display became clear when played back on the large monitor. The wide-angle distortion that bothered me was hardly noticeable during playback and quickly forgotten. The controls are a bit risky while driving until you get used to it. The manuals don't explain all the features very well; I've been looking for a graphic explaining what the icons on the screen are but there isn't one. However, after reading the manual a few times, you will understand what they are for. I definitely won't be fiddling with the controls much while driving! The wide area equalization feature works fairly well but has some issues when going out in the sun. I noticed that the brightly lit clouds overhead washed out a bit and blended into the ground scene, even when there was no sun in the shot. However, the video was still very clear and clear enough that I could read license plates and street signs while playing. The only real downside I see with this device is if you decide to take the camera out of the car when exiting. The camera can only be attached to the windshield mount by screwing it in and then "fixing" with the lock nut. It would have been nice if the two pieces were joined together with some sort of clamping mechanism that would make it easier to remove the camera without disturbing the alignment of the windshield mount. Taking the camera with you is easy; It is small enough to fit in a pocket or tote bag. The camera plus mount is a whole different story. Also, you'll have to reposition your camera every time you want to record your ride. I really don't want to leave the camera in place during the day due to the strong Florida sun and heat around the windshield area - I'm not sure the camera can handle that kind of heat. When I bought the device, it also came with outdated firmware. As other reviewers have pointed out, finding a firmware update on Amcrest's website is NOT easy. However, once I found the download, flashing the camera was pretty easy and straightforward. The instructions say you need to remove the SD card from the camera, copy the .bin file to the card, reinstall it in the camera and turn it on. When the camera turns on again, use the camera controls to delete the .bin file. I did it a little differently; With the camera on and connected to my computer, I launched the mass storage option, which opened the file folder view in Windows Explorer. I copied the .bin file to a folder and turned off the camera. I unplugged it, turned it on, and the camera flashed the new firmware in less than 10 seconds. I turned off the camera and removed the SD card to use Windows to delete the .bin file. Unfortunately, Windows reported that the hard drive was corrupt and offered to fix it. After the repair, the .bin file was gone, so apparently for some reason Windows didn't like the .bin file and deleted it. However, the drive worked fine after I put it back in the camera, so everything worked. Next time I'll stick to the manufacturer's instructions. However, I really like this device because. So many that I decided to buy the GPS unit that came with the camera. I've been lucky for many years and haven't been in an accident. However, a few recent failures where other drivers ran red lights, ignored stop signs and give way signs made me pull the trigger and buy a DVR. I'm very happy with the quality of the camera itself and the video it produces; I think it will serve me well if I ever need it. I may even decide to buy a second device for backsight tasks. There is no "free or discounted price in exchange for my review". I paid full price for this device as listed on Revain and my views and opinions are my own based on my use of the device. I hope this experience helps you to buy a DVR. Dean Buzzell