Battle of the cheap forward cameras and monitors

[GroovyGeek]

I currently have a license plate mounted forward camera on my BD. It does the job of telling me how close I can get to something in front of me but the field of view is not nearly sufficient to be of much use on the trail. I ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon to test

The cameras

#1 AUTO-VOX Backup/Front View Camera $28, 180 degree FOV (after $12 coupon)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBXWCB

#2 AUTO-VOX CAM7 Pro Backup Camera $42, 180 degree FOV (after $18 coupon)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMCF6NDX

#3 NATIKA Backup/Front View Camera $40, 170 degree FOV, (after alleged 33% off)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H852D49

#4 Pixelman HD backup camera, 170 degree FOV $32 (after alleged 20% off)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H4W9Z7Z

The monitors

A) Padarsey 5 inch TFT
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGRQRMW

B) Chuanganzhuo
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019GQLNJU

Initial observations

• The two Auto-Vox cameras are physically indistinguishable. Both look and feel identical, weigh the exact same 78g, and come in boxes that have different model #s printed on the outside that do not match anything on the Amazon product pages. It looks like one is labeled PRO and priced 50% higher without being any different from the "non-pro" version. Both have metal housing and a very substantial feel to them.
• The physical characteristics of the Natika cameras are identical to those of the Auto-Vox. Physical dimensions and external appearance are nearly identical.
• The Pixelman camera has physically smaller lens aperture
• The two monitors have near identical physical appearance except that the Padarsey feels a bit more substantial, probably just a slightly thicker plastic shell

Image tests with Padarsey monitor

All cameras were hooked up to the Padarsey monitor, placed on a tripod and imaged the exact same scene under relatively poor artificial lighting conditions

The two Auto-VOX cameras are indistinguishable

The Natika performed surprisingly poorly in comparison. Niot only is the field of view narrower (note the box along the lower left edge) but the fisheye distorction is very poorly controlled. It does not show well on the pic, but the imager quality was notably grainer and noisier than either Auto-VOX camera. The color rendering is way too warm (but that can be corrected in the monitor).

The Pixelman has the same nominal FOV as the Nakita, but in practice it is much smaller FOV. The color rendering is much colder than the Auto-VOX, which were close to reality.

Monitor comparisons

I then hooked up one of the Auto-VOX cameras to both monitors

First a repeat of the Padarsey image

and then the Chuanganzhuo image

The color rendeing is slightly different but the overall image quality is similar

Conclusions

The Auto-VOX cameras blow everything else out of the water and are surprisingly good for the price point. I will keep one of them (after returning both and ordering each individually from Amazon so I know which is which. I spent 15 minutes on a chat with Amazon and they were unable to help me identify which box is the "pro" model).

I am luke-warm on the Pararsey monitor. It is decent but I would be willing to spend 2x that for for something better. Unfrortunately the higher end options are all touch screens which I absolutely do not want.

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[GroovyGeek]

Here is the update. After detailed testing I concluded that there is absolutely no difference between the "pro" and "regular" camera other than the price. The AutoVoX website itself does not list two variants of this product. So I kept the regular and the Chuangamzhuo monitor because it had a longer AV input cable that did not necessitate hiding cables behind the A pillar trim, which is a PITA to remove.

For the moment the camera is attached with VHB tape in the gap between my light are and bumper, at some point I may drill the number. The camera comes with a very nifty AV/power cable combo that allows the camera and the monitor to share a single power source. This allowed me to cut the second AV input and power jack off the monitor. That reduced the bulk of the stuff that needed to be jammed in the gap between the windshield and the dash. The end isntall is clean with no cables dangling. The monitor is mounted in the upper left corner of the windshield.

As a test I placed a heat gun and a plastic box immediately in front of each tire, and both were visible on the monitor. As long as the camera lasts I am pretty happy with the outcome.

 

[Lifeliberty]

Is this an always on camera?
How's the wiring? Where is it powered?

 

[GroovyGeek]

Is this an always on camera?
How's the wiring? Where is it powered?

I have it wired to AUX6, only on when I flip a switch. The camera itself comes without a switch, you will have to buy that separately if you don't have upfitter switches.

 

[Lifeliberty]

I have aux switches.
That's a really great idea, I didn't know this was a thing. So the camera just plugs into the monitor? Then the pos monitor cable to aux, other wire to ground?

 

[Brian_B]

I was tempted to play around with this before - this post may seal the deal.

 

[Fishwrinkle]

in july i bought this, https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...2e2b-184e-4f2f-b9ff-5407c28d0629&ref_=ast_bln . it is now discontinued but you can find em for ~$125. i have the monitor mounted on a dash rail when i need it out on the trails. 7" screen can be placed on the dash strategically so it's not an obstruction. so the camera is wireless except for power, which is on an aux switch. screen is powered by the cig lighter in console.

camera has a nice spread for how i have it mounted and it will show about 14' in front of you on the screen. the camera is bulky but it really isn't that noticeable as you can't see the lens doing a walk by. contrast does suck at dusk or in the snow. i'll eventually try to find one that has good contrast, but that i'm sure comes with a nice tag.

 

[GroovyGeek]

I have aux switches.
That's a really great idea, I didn't know this was a thing. So the camera just plugs into the monitor? Then the pos monitor cable to aux, other wire to ground?

Camera cable has a specialty connection where the camera plugs in, a long red and long black wire for power, and a RCA connector with a short red wire coming out of it.

You connect the long red wire to the AUX switch of your choice, the long black wire to chassis ground, and the camera to the specialty connector. You then run the wire with the RCA connector through the firewall plug, route it to where the monitor is connected and connect to the yellow RCA connector on the monitor. Finally you cut off the white RCA connector on the monitor and tape it off (optional if you will never feed a second signal to the monitor), and you cut off the power jack on the monitor. Inside the remaining power jack cable is a red wire and a black wire. You splice together the red wire on the camera AV cable to the short red wire on the monitor cable, tape off the black wire and you are done.

Will sketch a drawing and post here in a minute

 

[GroovyGeek]

I have aux switches.
That's a really great idea, I didn't know this was a thing. So the camera just plugs into the monitor? Then the pos monitor cable to aux, other wire to ground?

Here is the wiring schematic

 

[Lifeliberty]

Thank you!

 

[Fortydegnorth]

I have the Natika camera now and I’m running it through the Naviks box. I agree with the Natika quality, it’s subpar. I might look into the other options to compare

 

[GroovyGeek]

in july i bought this, https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...2e2b-184e-4f2f-b9ff-5407c28d0629&ref_=ast_bln . it is now discontinued but you can find em for ~$125. i have the monitor mounted on a dash rail when i need it out on the trails. 7" screen can be placed on the dash strategically so it's not an obstruction. so the camera is wireless except for power, which is on an aux switch. screen is powered by the cig lighter in console.

camera has a nice spread for how i have it mounted and it will show about 14' in front of you on the screen. the camera is bulky but it really isn't that noticeable as you can't see the lens doing a walk by. contrast does suck at dusk or in the snow. i'll eventually try to find one that has good contrast, but that i'm sure comes with a nice tag.

The contrast can be adjusted via the monitor. That's the price you pay for cheap. On mine I had to set contrast to zero and brightness to 90% otherwise shadows looked black.

I would be perfectly happy to pay $300-ish for a high quality camera and 5" IPS monitor but theybdont seem to exist.

 

[BAUS67]

Got a Pyle PLCMTR71 from the wife for Christmas. Planned to hook to aux switch. Camera at any speed.

7” screen. No “Oh Shit” handle in my Base so thought I would just use a Bronco bolt to mount a stem to hold the monitor.

Pyle PLCMTR71 Commercial-Grade Backup Camera System with 7" Monitor and Weatherproof Camera with IR Night Vision - Walmart.com

 

[Fishwrinkle]

The contrast can be adjusted via the monitor. That's the price you pay for cheap. On mine I had to set contrast to zero and brightness to 90% otherwise shadows looked black.

I would be perfectly happy to pay $300-ish for a high quality camera and 5" IPS monitor but theybdont seem to exist.

yeah, i've played with the settings and it's as good as it gets. i agree with the quest for the unicorn of a camera at that price point.

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