Via ST-O member Daboo (Chris), who also has one of these cameras, HaloCam was looking for testers for their M1 motorcycle dash camera that has front and rear cameras. I volunteered and was selected, with the expectation that I write a few reviews about the device. I purchased the camera from Amazon, and then Amos from Halocam reimbursed me. Amos is very good to deal with and he made it very clear that he wanted me to post an honest review. I did have to buy a micro-SD card that I was not reimbursed for. Based upon Chris' recommendation (get a U3 card for speed) and some reviews I found, I purchased this SD card:
The camera system was packaged well, with decent (not great) instructions, although the install was very straight forward. See Chris' thread for unboxing pics.
I mounted the cameras, front and rear...
The camera mounts seem a bit flimsy, but have worked out well. I had to fiddle a bit with the mounts to get them to hold the camera tight when all snugged down.
I placed the DVR in the tail of my ST1100. I bought a small semi-rigid electronics case to put it in and tie-wrapped all the cables. The cables are all color coded and there's plenty of length. This is the DVR with the case opened up...
I mounted the button on the left side of my dashshelf and the GPS receiver in my right side pocket...
The button takes a front/rear 15 second video or a front/rear picture, depending on how long you press it. It also blinks with a blue light to tell you the system is running. It's not bright and hardly noticeable during the day, not bothersome at night.
The DVR is controlled via wifi and an app on my iPhone. It works well. I can view/download video/pics to my phone or pull the SD card and transfer them to my computer. I set mine up to take front/rear video simultaneously in one minute increments. The video is 1920x1080 @ 30 fps. Each 1 minute video is ~52MB. With my daily 35 minute commute one way, I can go a couple weeks before files are written over.
I wired DVR power to a switched accessory. Video automatically starts within a few seconds of key on and continues until key off. It takes a few more seconds after power up to get a GPS signal, so the first few seconds of the first video might be off in time. The DVR has a battery, so the DVR can save files before it shuts down. The DVR also has an option to display your track on a map, but I haven't explored that much just yet.
Here are two simultaneous front/rear videos in the daylight...
And here are two at night...
I cleaned the camera lenses for the install pics, but the lenses were quite dirty for the videos as we've had quite a bit of rain the past couple weeks. TBH, I'm surprised they look as good as they do considering how dirty the lenses were.
Overall, for the $180 price, I'd give it 4.5/5 stars. Like I said, the camera mounts could be better but everything else just works really well.
The camera system was packaged well, with decent (not great) instructions, although the install was very straight forward. See Chris' thread for unboxing pics.
I mounted the cameras, front and rear...
The camera mounts seem a bit flimsy, but have worked out well. I had to fiddle a bit with the mounts to get them to hold the camera tight when all snugged down.
I placed the DVR in the tail of my ST1100. I bought a small semi-rigid electronics case to put it in and tie-wrapped all the cables. The cables are all color coded and there's plenty of length. This is the DVR with the case opened up...
I mounted the button on the left side of my dashshelf and the GPS receiver in my right side pocket...
The button takes a front/rear 15 second video or a front/rear picture, depending on how long you press it. It also blinks with a blue light to tell you the system is running. It's not bright and hardly noticeable during the day, not bothersome at night.
The DVR is controlled via wifi and an app on my iPhone. It works well. I can view/download video/pics to my phone or pull the SD card and transfer them to my computer. I set mine up to take front/rear video simultaneously in one minute increments. The video is 1920x1080 @ 30 fps. Each 1 minute video is ~52MB. With my daily 35 minute commute one way, I can go a couple weeks before files are written over.
I wired DVR power to a switched accessory. Video automatically starts within a few seconds of key on and continues until key off. It takes a few more seconds after power up to get a GPS signal, so the first few seconds of the first video might be off in time. The DVR has a battery, so the DVR can save files before it shuts down. The DVR also has an option to display your track on a map, but I haven't explored that much just yet.
Here are two simultaneous front/rear videos in the daylight...
And here are two at night...
I cleaned the camera lenses for the install pics, but the lenses were quite dirty for the videos as we've had quite a bit of rain the past couple weeks. TBH, I'm surprised they look as good as they do considering how dirty the lenses were.
Overall, for the $180 price, I'd give it 4.5/5 stars. Like I said, the camera mounts could be better but everything else just works really well.
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