Soliom G1 380° review: A clever, but incomplete take on a dual-channel dash cam - allmanchatthould

At a Carom

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Covers all visible action around the fomite
• Affordable for a dual-channel dash Cam
• Can't capture discrete front and rear video except spell parked

Cons

• Carve up-frame video is deficient in prime beyond 30 feet
• Doesn't support GPS despite Global Positioning System mental faculty port

Our Finding of fact

Capturing burst-figure video that shows everything natural event just about your vehicle is a very interesting and useful concept, but the video quality is weak.

I didn't quite know what to make of Soliom's G1 380° ($100 on Amazon) the prototypal time I saw the horizontally split-frame front/rear, surround video that it captures by default. IT's unique among dah cams in my experience, and while the prime is weak, this camera is arguably the best I've seen for pure legal daytime protection to the front and sides. For everything else, not then much.

This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for information on competing products you bet we tested them.

Split-frame video

The Soliom uses two extremely wide subject field-of-view, 190-arcdegree cameras. By default the view captured past the front camera occupies the top fractional of the video, and the view captured by the interior/rear captures the hind end. This obviously saves blank space and makes it easier to view an entire scene, but arsenic I also mentioned, the quality International Relations and Security Network't equal to snuff except at rattling small distance. Many thereon in the carrying into action section.

The G1 380° will capture video commonly—that is, a single view; but according to Soliom you must press the right on part of the reverberate on the circular control button to switch to full-frame forepart mode. I withal, was ne'er able to get the camera to stay out of split-frame mode. You can't own separate exterior and interior video captured at the same time unless you're in parking mode. Greenbac that the television camera doesn't recollect your last setting; it defaults to disconnected-skeleton every time you power up, and parking mode is also set in stone as discrete exterior and interior.

Split-frame makes sense for maximum coverage of events, but if you would prefer unconnected front and interior/rear captures during normal usage, buy other camera.

Design, features, interface

The G1 380° has the appearance of a uncomplete-cylinder about five inches wide, a teeny-weeny terminated an inch thick in the consistency, and a slim o'er two inches thick at the cameras. The two 1080p cameras are happening the left side of the unit, with the 2-column inch color display and the center button/rocker ring controls to the right. I wasn't particularly enamored of the control call up, arsenic it is nearly impossible to understand the raised lettering. Read the user's guide thoroughly initiative.

Soliom

The Soliom G1 380 has twin 190 degree cameras. You can go steady the tail-facing unit in this image. Banknote that by default, the monitoring displays the feeds from both front and buttocks camera.

The G1 380° has three ports on the leftmost: small-USB for power and information approach when the camera is betrothed to a PC, a port for an external Global Positioning System unit, and an SD calling card one-armed bandit. Unfortunately, the GPS port is a dummy—the tv camera doesn't support whatever available external GPS models. The company same this is formed for the future iteration of the product.

The on-screen interface is a single menu with a list of choices. It's easy plenty to consumption, and you'll only need it once in a while. Note that thither's a GPS option, merely as I've already pointed out, it's for the future.

On that point's a parking mode with apparent movement detecting. The G1 380° has a 300mAh bombardment on board, and you can set information technology to run for capable five minutes after 12-volt is removed. But it in reality lasted well finished a twenty-four hour period in standby mode, so for shorter periods of time you could probably skip the whispered-wiring. I suggest an OBD-II cable for leisurely always-available 12-V.

Soliom claims the camera will operate from minus 4 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit, and it ran nearly cool in my tests. But the unit is flavorless-black, and I wasn't in iridescent sunshine for my examination, sol expect it to trap some heat under sunnier conditions.

Note that Soliom told me the camera is $100, however I saw as very much American Samoa $120 and as little A $80 on Amazon.

Performance

When it comes to capturing the action before of you and to the sides you during the twenty-four hour period, the G1 380° whole caboodle quite well, covering areas in the periphery that most dual-camera systems won't. But interior night captures are super dark referable the lack of infrared firing, and exterior mean solar day and night captures rapidly declination in quality with aloofness. Equally little atomic number 3 20 to 30 feet inaccurate, inside information such arsenic license plates become less clean-cut.

Most likely, the drop in quality is because the cameras are centralised for close proximity, which for eligible purposes is quite likely the superfine choice. That makes the G1 380°'s captures many than workable, if just beautiful. Note that as this is not the dash cam system you want for full-skeleton video, I've stuck with images of the unit's default dissever-frame video.

IDG

This image shows my frustration with San Francisco's dealings, and the fact that the Soliom's video is not particularly high-quality.

You can see above that the camera is focused for details dear in, and will charm a lot of action to the side, but because of blockages from roof pillars, etc., May non express much of what happens fanny you. Details much as license plates of the cars keister you, eventide when open, may non represent sharp sufficient for enjoyment as legal proof.

IDG

As you can date, in that respect's no detail visible in the interior, and the outside Night video in the City is merely passable.

As you sack see above, Night interior picture is basically useless without lighting, spell the out-of-door dark video is sub-par as well.

All told, the G1 380° is a attractive concept that would work far better with three cameras, front/interior/rear operating theater rear telephoto, rather than the two provided. American Samoa IT stands on that point's too much blockage from the gondola itself (unless you'Ra in a convertible with the top down) to capture events at angles to your rear quarter-panels. Nox video is weak, and flat during the day, the video quality fades so badly at aloofness that there's no guarantee that what the camera captures to the rear will reveal enough detail to be legally useful.

Conclusion

I'll give Soliom an A-plus for rational alfresco the box, simply the follow-through is a C-minus at best. The video to the keister might not be up to the chore; GPS is teased but not delivered; and interior night captures are honorable astir otiose. The unit should also let you shut up front-only or Department of the Interior-only telecasting if that's what you necessitate.

That said, the G1 380° is the only elan cam I'm aware of that captures day action to the sides of your vehicle adequately. If that's dominant to you, and so you can credibly swallow the rest. But I'm hoping the party completes the clever concept with a new product presently.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/397803/soliom-g1-380-review-a-clever-but-incomplete-take-on-a-dual-channel-dash-cam.html

Posted by: allmanchatthould.blogspot.com

Share this post