SJCAM just keeps launching cameras. After the recent release of the SJ6, SJ6 Air, SJ360 and SJ7 Star, they announced their first ever dash-camera – SJ DASH.
SJ DASH is a car camera (dashcam). For all of you who do not know, a dash camera is a camera which main objective is to record traffic accidents and incidents. Wide majority of the dash-cameras have no batteries, but capacitors. Most of such cameras are not waterproof nor dust-proof; these are made to be used inside your vehicle.
Some of the most prominent features of the newly-announced SJDASH are :
- full HD recording
- built in WiFi
- Sony Sensor,
- Touch-Screen LCD
- G-sensor
- 140° wide-angle lens.
SJCAM is stepping up their game. They tried to enter the VR market by producing SJ360 and now they are entering the world of car-cameras. The news about the released first appeared on SJCAM’s official YouTube channel.
Price
SJCAM revealed exclusively for us that the retail price will be $89 and can be purchased from GearBest.
Update 6/21/2017
Specifications
Even though the specifications were not yet officially released, from the video and the packaging we were able to discover that the camera uses Sony’s IMX 323 sensor. There’s no info on the processor.
- Size : 89.9 x 51.9 x 14 mm
- Sony IMX 323 Image Sensor
- 140 degrees wide angle lens
- 1080p resolution
- WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Package
From the video, it appears that the packaging is quite minimalist and tidy. Inside the box, there is a camera with two mini-boxes which contain accessories. On the box, there is a QR code for both the Android and iOS app. There is also a security code check on the package, so you can be safe that this is a genuine product.
Once everything is unwrapped, here is what you can expect:
- 1 x Camera
- 1 x User Manual
- 1 x 3,5 m car charging cable
- 1 x Suction Cup
- 1 x SJCAM sticker
- 1 x lighter plug
If you are an action camera user, I am sure this amount of accessories might disappoint you. To be fair, this camera is not an action cam. It’s supposed to be placed inside your car onto a windshield. That’s why all the accessories here are more than enough to get you started.
Camera Preview
Camera comes in single color – matte black. Besides built in WiFi and Sony Sensor it has a very large 3″ touch screen at the back.
It is important to mention that camera does not have a battery, it has a capacitor. This means that it will only work when connected to a power-source (a car charger or a power bank).
On the front on the camera, beside the wide-angle lens and logo, we can see the speaker. On the backside, there’s an LCD screen together with status and WiFi indicators. Right side contains memory card slot. Left side is reserved for power button, whereas the power connecting point is located at the bottom.
The person doing a video mentions an interesting thing about the manual. According to him, the manual is an actual manual with detailed instructions and not just a quick start-up guide.
Another interesting thing happened in the video. While trying to navigate through touch screen, SJCAM employee discovered that only the bottom part of the screen will react to a touch gesture. Whether or not this will change we are yet to see, but video really shows that only the bottom navigation arrows are responding to the touch.
New SJCAM Car App
The App that SJCDASH uses will be different, compared to standard SJCAM Zone which is used by all of SJ action cameras. This camera will use SJCAM CAR app. (Android link | iOS link).
App itself is designed quite well and appears easy to use. I tried it out, despite not having a camera to connect it to. It consists out of 3 sections : camera, gallery and settings. It’s interesting that inside the settings part there is a installation guide and the instructions for use pamphlet.
Summary
We have yet to see the reviews and the footage recorded with SJDASH. What do you think about this approach by SJCAM? Should we expect them to create more car cameras in future?
Please be aware that this is just a news article and that information gathered here is not confirmed officially. If you have any more information about SJDASH, feel free to leave a comment or email us, and we will gladly update the article.
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Capacitor is better than battery, is it correct? I think capacitor will be more durable than battery in the hot sun.
That all depends on what kind of camera it’s implemented in. For a dash-camera which will probably work longer continuously under the heat, yes. But for an action camera, capacitors aren’t a good solution. They have their own limitations as well.
Why do you say “But for an action camera, capacitors aren’t a good solution”? What limitations?
For start, camera has to constantly be plugged in into a power source. Imagine having a sport camera with a wire sticking out of it for charging, you’d need 100m cable for any sort of action shoot 😀 Action cameras are not made with capacitors, they have batteries instead. All of them.
I found this article that might be able to help you.
The role of a capacitor is to help with the camera start and also contain sufficient power for close-down operations, e.g. detecting the voltage drop (car engine switched off), and then processing the last recorded seconds. It can’t keep the camera going for more than just a few more seconds. Similarly, when the car engine is on again, the power will raise (to car battery charging level) which can be recognized and used to start the cam.
My concern is with the SJDASH choice of color; matte black anything behind the windshield will get hot, whether the camera is working or not! So I’d be careful to try and install the camera further back where there’s some shade (which would also help with direct sunlight situations). Might not be so simple, though.
I am using rental car and the car changes often. I bring my own dash cam.
Does the SJ DASH date and time reset each time I remove from the vehicle? Or is there an internal battery/memory to save the date and time? How long will the date and time be saved if there is no power input (did not use the cam) to the dash cam?
Thanks
Since this is not our review artilce, it’s news article, we do not have information on such details, so you should ask SJCAMHD support about those features.
We will review this one soon.