Vicovation Vico-Marcus 4 UHDR Dash Cam Review

Video Quality

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You can playback your saved clips right from the device itself by going to its video album. Here you will find your data arranged in a grid which you could select to show as proof, for example, when you’re caught in an accident.

This leads us to its picture quality.

During daytime, the Vico-Marcus 4 produces detailed and crisp images with good saturation. If you would look at the sample video above, it effectively shows the tonal balance between the bright sky and dark areas under Skyway. Although small areas have been either washed out or underexposed, there were still details left which is a really good attribute to have for image sensors — it still kept some of its details without compromising exposure.

With its settings at 1440p, you would immediately notice its Movie Mode look that gives the video a wide aspect ratio (21:9). You can also compare the effect of its 52mm CPL filter that attaches to the quick mount bracket (2:22 on above video has CPL filter, 3:16 onwards has no CPL filter).

At night, with its settings at 1080p with HDR, we were able to get some details on our surroundings which had lamp posts installed. Driving at SLEX (2:35 on above video) showed the road and its markings clearly, but early on the video you could hardly make out of anything when no headlights were around.

On a positive note, you could still clearly see the plate number of the vehicle a car or two ahead of you.

What we noticed, though, was that the video looks like it was treated with some sharpening filter. This could be an automatic thing that the software adds to make details appear clearer, but it’s a bit obvious during daytime.

With that said, it is still understandable since the camera isn’t made for producing a natural look anyway, but aims to get the important details (like plate numbers) as much as possible.

Conclusion

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Vicovations’s Vico-Marcus 4 is one dashboard camera that gives good concentration towards picture quality but doesn’t fall short on what it’s made for. Its 160-degree wide-angle lens combined with the 21:9 ratio gives off details that reveal more than what other cameras could show.

At Php8,700 it doesn’t have GPS built-in and additional accessories which is kind of a bummer considering its asking price. For comparison’s sake, the HP f310 has GPS embedded at its core and it’s cheaper at Php7,999, although it lacks the 21:9 ratio, 2K recording and HDR technology.

Vicovation Vico Marcus 4 specs:
2-inch LCD display
4MP CMOS sensor with f/2.0 lens
Ambarella A7 image processor
3-axis G-sensor
72 x 53 x 33mm

What we liked about it:

21:9 aspect ratio
160-degree viewing angle
HDR
Impressive tonal balance

What we didn’t like:

Bulky
No built-in GPS

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

9 Comments

David says:

8 years ago

@Andrew
Where you brought your Marcus4 and what SD card you use? Hopefully is not Sandisk. VicoVation does not support Sandisk.
This applies to all SD Card that the read and write speed is slow. If your card is too slow, the camera may stop recording as the card can’t keep up with the output of data from the camera, regardless of your recording settings. Try SD card with above 40mbps speed and UHS-1. Hope this help.
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andrew says:

8 years ago

Hello,

I bought a marcus 4 few days ago and i have a problem : i recorded for about 1-2 hours but when i want to see the movie on my laptop it only has 20 seconds or less…what am i doing wrong? can you help me please?
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David says:

9 years ago

What I see, Marcus 4, blends in during the night. Not like others cam available in Philippines where it is too bright (white) during the night. In the night footage, what amaze me is the reflection or deflection of lights seems like non-existence. Not sure if the car was tinted heavily or else.

What I found in FB where there is a Chinese Cam, name ROGA X18+ (https://youtu.be/SAkofQ0qBR0?t=15) and A11 (https://www.facebook.com/1000093*****272/videos/1531051533*****1/) where my personal point of view can match up with Marcus 4. Take a look of the footage.

I hope Mr. Kevin Bruce Francisco can write a review on these five dash cams (Zumi, Vico, HP and ROGA) together having them installed side by side.

Thank you Mr. Kevin Bruce Francisco for the review and as a dash cam enthusiast, hope to see more review on the high end type like Thinkware, BlackVue etc.
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Elite's says:

9 years ago

Dashcam nowadays necessity na natin to, bukod na useful siya para ma record mo ung accident mo (huwag naman sana) / accidents nang iba. Iwas goyo din sa mga traffic enforcer na balak kang “kotongan” kasi ang Marcus may built-in audio recorder din kaya maririnig mo ang mga nasa loob ng sasakyan.

@Gio – nasa page three po mayroon po na price. 8,700 pesos
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gio says:

9 years ago

Walang price? Kulang yung info.
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juanchoweb says:

9 years ago

Oo nga e hehe

Digest says:

9 years ago

Sana may Dash cam roundup para maganda comparison ng bawat product with the price performance ratio. Necessity na dash cams ngaun. Lalo na’t mag eelection nnaman.
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John Nieurzyla says:

9 years ago

My experience with most Car videos, when using in Philippines, they tend not stay attached to windscreen as the heat causes problems, and when used on the dash, also fail to work if used when strong sunshine as the heat is too much for them.
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izrayel says:

9 years ago

this uses a capacitor, best suited for our extreme hot temperatures. that is why battery operated dashcams is not advisable as the battery is almost guaranteed to fail due to extreme heat,

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