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The Roav DashCam C2 is a 4-lane wide-angle view lens dash cam. Its comes with a 3 inch LCD screen G-Sensor, wide dynamic range, Loop recording, night visions 1080p resolution, extreme temperatures resistance, and a 2 port Anker car charger.
Roav DashCam C2 Features
Features and specs taken directly from the Amazon Sales Page….
- TOTAL NIGHT-VISION: NightHawk technology and WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) video system deliver completely balanced images and footage. Clearly capture license plates—day or night.
- RICH, CLEAR VIDEO: Advanced Sony Exmor IMX323 sensor and Ambarella A12 chipset combine to capture every drive in brilliant, 1080p detail.
- SEE THE WHOLE ROAD: Equipped with an f2.0 wide-angle aperture lens, comprised of 5 lens elements, to capture 4 lanes of traffic and record more than just the car in front.
- EXTREME TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE: Designed with a steel frame to disperse heat away from internal circuits.
- WHAT YOU GET: Roav DashCam C2, Trim Removal Tool, 2-Port USB Car Charger, Suction and 3M Sticker Mounts, User Manual, Happy Card, our 12-month product replacement warranty and friendly customer service.
Roav DashCam C2 Review
About a year ago I purchased two Roav DashCam C2 and found them to be impressive. I do not totally love it but I find it useful and will continue to use it until it fails. Below you will find my review and some video samples taken from trips taken in our 2008 Scion xB and 2011 Subaru Forester. Luckily we have not had any wrecks or witnessed any.
Sadly I some how lost all my unboxing new product product pictures. So the pictures posted in this article were taken a few days before I posted this article and they are dusty and smudge (even after I cleaned them up.)
After opening the box and removing everything I found the camera to be on the larger side. It takes up a lot of windshield compare to Roav’s other dash cams. Its about the size of small cell phone. This could be an issue if you have a small windshield and have a cell phone and other items attached to the window. Luckily for our cars the dash cams were able to be hidden under the rear view mirror.
My wife’s camera failed after 10 months of use. It turned out to be a bad battery. It swelled up and popped the case opening. Roav support staff was awesome. They sent me a brand new unit within 24 hours. It would have been sooner if I could have responded to their requests faster. The camera arrived about a week later and they paid for the shipping for me to send them the damaged unit.
My camera is going on 15 months now and it still works and has no issues. These cameras are designed to work in extreme cold and heat so I believe my wife’s unit was rarity. This shouldn’t happen to often and if it does contact support if its less than 12 months old.
The Camera Hardware Setup and Camera Configuration
Before you can use the Roav DashCam C2 you need to decide if you want to use the suction cup mount or the 3M adhesive mount system. If you choose the 3M adhesive route then choose your spot wisely. You only have one shot at it. You will have to contact support if you need more adhesive tape (they use certain type they may not be able at the store).
Next you need to mount you the camera. Place the camera in the center of the windshield lined up directly under the rear view mirror or just below or to the side. Its ok to have the front of your car in the shot. The idea is to get as much of the front and the sides of the car as possible. I’ve reset the position a couple of times. Some of the video samples shows the front of the cars and some with none. I prefer to keep the front of the car out as much as possible.
Once you figure out where the Roav DashCam C2 needs to be, pull out the 10’ micro-USB cable and grab the interior crowbar tool. Start at the camera power port but don’t plug the cable. Leave a little bit of the cable loose and start by pushing the cable into the headliner edge. Use the crowbar if needed and slowly push the edge of the cable into the headliner between the windshield top and the headliner. Continue hiding the cable along the window. Then hide the cable under the a-pillar and down the side of the dashboard and under it. You want to hide the cable until you get to where the car charger is plugged in. Once completely setup plug in the camera and the power port.
Installed the micro USB. I used a 32 GB SanDisk. However, Samsung has a great 32 Micro-SD Card. I recommend investing a few more dollars on these. I’m slowly replacing my SD cards to Samsung. If you are on a longer trip and want to keep your travel footage get a 64 gig or a 128 gig. If you do not get a Samsung card, make sure to get one that supports high speed video support.
Once you have the card installed, power the camera and follow the instructions. I originally setup a 10 minute loop. That’s great for long trips but not a lot of fun tracking down a piece of footage in those 10 minute loops. Plus if you want to share that footage, you will need video editing software to cut it down. 10 minutes of boring video for a minute of two isn’t going to be fun for the viewers.
I also turn off audio because I don’t want my conversations recorded. If in accident or dealing with issues, your audio could be used against you. The audio is great if you get pulled over by the police, someone confronts you at your car, or it might catch your conversation with the people involved in the wreck if they are close to your car.
I turned off time/date stamp and the ROAV logo off. But I did set the date and time. This information has to be correct to use it as evidence. Also remove to reset your time for daylight savings. It does not auto adjust. Some of the video will show the Time Stamp and Roav logo.
Testing the Roav DashCam C2
Testing for the Roav DashCam C2 is easy. Just plug it in and go. I found video in most conditions to be good. However, bright headlights, when facing the sun, and the edges of the camera to not always be clear. There also a few times I found that license plates weren’t always clear. If I got to close, my headlights might cause a refection. If to far away it was blurry. At night sometimes you just couldn’t see it. But for the most part you see enough to be useable in court.
For testing I used a Scion xB and a Subaru Forester. We always have our cameras on. I have footage driving the muddy dirt roads in heavily forested area taken an hour before dark through pitch black night with only the headlights lighting the way. I have footage of rainy days and night. I even have footage just after a storm passed the area. Its bright out but no sun shinning. I have footage during the day and during traffic. Most of that footage is boring. As I get more footage I will add it here or you could always check out my YouTube Page for dash cam footage I’ve shared.
1. Low Light at Dusk and Full Dark – No Street Lights
The above video is a shorten version of the video. This was shot in the Subaru and is out on a 200 plus year old road near Port Gibson, Mississippi. As you can see from the video its dark out there even during the day parts. The video is decent. Please note that YouTube may have compress the video. Change the quality to see a better version of it.
2. Day Light Sun and Shadows – Morning Driving
This video was shot in the Subaru during morning rush hour. It shows what multiple lanes of traffic looks like and when you can and can’t see license plates clearly.
3. Caught in a Hail Storm
This is just a short boring video of hail storm. Example of evidence you could use the dash cam for. This could be turned into the insurance company so they can see how it really happened and when. Also take a look at the rainbow that was caught in the footage.
4. Full Rainbow Caught on the Dash Cam
This was taken a few minutes after the hail stopped on a back country road. Scroll through the footage. Towards the end the dash cam catches the full rainbow.
5. 4-Lane Expressway at Dusk While Raining
While driving home in the rain in the Scion. This is an example of a 4-Lane Expressway at dusk while raining. You can see cars passing by and when they come into view of the camera.
6. Splash Down
Driving home from work on the same day as the above picture and splashed by a vehicle passing by. Another piece of evidence if this splash had led to an accident.
7. Another Example of Low Light Footage that Shows the Quality of Video
This video was taken toward the ends of my trip home from work. The footage shows a few cars passing with their lights on. But check out the sides of the video. As I left the main road the flooded out muddy dirt road you will see the trees and the side of the road – the video quality is a little soft.
8. Footage at Night – No Street Lights
This footage was taken as a storm was coming to the area. You can see on-coming traffic and how well the headlight look. They really do not flare out the lens. At the end of the footage you can see a lightning strike that lights up the night sky.
To see more footage and future Dash Cam Footage, check out my YouTube Channel.
Final Thoughts
Overall I like the Roav DashCam C2. My wife and I try not to drive without one. We feel that with all the bad drivers, crossing wildlife, and catching accidents while out and about, we need to protect ourselves from the bad ones out there. Plus its great for capture your road trips. Just keep in mind that this isn’t a GoPro or a professional video camera setup. Its meant to catch accidents not look pretty for a movie.
The Good…
The quality is decent and worth keeping. We kept a handful of videos from several of our trips because we couldn’t film the trip with my camera or even stop to get pictures. It takes great video day or night, rain or shine, bright light and low light. It will get the job done when the footage is needed.
I also like that you have the option to mount the dash cam with a super strong suction cup mount system or us the more permanent. The suction cup system falls off every once in a while. But its easy to reinstall and usually only falls when their extreme temperature changes and condensation builds under the cup.
Although this unit is large and takes up windshield real estate, I think the larger size makes it easy to view footage on the unit or look at video as it records.
One of cameras failed about about 2 months before the warranty ended. It looks like the battery swelled up on a hot day back in August. But Roav Support helped us out. Within 3 back and forth emails they sent me a brand new one and not a refurbished one! They even paid for me to mail out the old one. After I received the new unit they asked a couple of times on how well the new one was working.
My other camera is doing great and doesn’t have any issues. Its passed warranty I plan to continue to use until it fails. Hopefully it will be few a years from now. I plan to move it to back of the car once I get my new dash cam.
The Bad…
What I don’t like about the camera is that doesn’t come with WIFI. This feature would be great. I really dislike removing the SD Card every time I want to save some footage. The spring release is crazy strong. If I don’t seat the the card properly it will shoot out the port. It will fly through the air and land anywhere from a few weeks to 15 feet away.
The Cost
As of this writing you can pick up the Roav DashCam C2 from Amazon for $61.99. If you are interested one of the other models or one of the smaller models, check out these dash cams from Roav.
If you want a dash cam with WIFI or just a smaller unit, take a look at these other options from Roav. I haven’t had the chance to test these units yet and plan to test them as I get the opportunity to. Units are highly rated on Amazon.
If you are need of a new micro-SD take a look a look at these options from Samsung. I’ve been using Samsung micro-SD cards in my Android phones for a few years and using them in GoPros. I find them to be reliable, fast, and long lasting.
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