Rear View Camera
I did buy a Mobius. It is true HD and has features similar to a GoPro; however, the infra-structure is not as well developed. It can be used as a video recorder. The low-light recording is not as good as a GoPro. I bought mine on eBay for $58 including the video output cable adapter. Incredible price.
It can be used just as a camera. They sell an adapter cable that has a USB power input and a video and audio output cables. When you power the device on it automatically turns the video on. Therefore, you could get a 5 volt USB adapter for your 12 volt car and have the video come on as soon as you turn on the key.
I have already removed the rear clip section to take to the painter for paint prep (oops, I just let the cat out of the bag for a future post...) so I didn't actually mount the Mobius in the thin slot at the top of the rear clip as I have done with the Boyo cameras. However, I think it will fit, but I would need to develop a mounting hardware to secure it.
I have re-investigated 25:8 video monitors for cars. There are several new offerings, but they all seem to be based on the Hitachi monitor that is in the Tview and thus don't have a very good resolution (800 x 240 RGB). I still don't want a 16:9 monitor, but that might be better to have true HD (if you could find a HD rear view camera!).
Where I stopped in my last post #192 on page 10 was the Boyo 420 on the Tview RV808 as shown in the first photo below. The second photo is the Mobius on the Tview. Notice that the colors are much better on the Mobius and it has a better resolution; however the automatic exposure control almost blacked out the inside of the garage. The weak link is again the Tview. The third photo is the Mobius recording played back through the computer monitor, much better resolution and contrast.
Now the bad news, the lens on the standard Mobius is slightly wider than some of the others; however, you can evidently get different lenses so that is not a factor. The really bad news is that you cannot mirror the image on the screen. I think to work well as a rear view camera, you need to have the screen mirrored as you are accustomed to in an actual rear view mirror. This is the deal killer for me.
I fail to understand why I can't buy a HD rear view camera and a HD 25:8 monitor for automotive use. They say that 640 x 480 is standard for a backup camera. I know that several of the new cars are coming out with rear view cameras and monitors, so It is just a matter of time before we can get improved rear view cameras and monitors.
Ok, so I'm stuck with the Boyo 420 and the Tview RV808. So I built a bracket to hold the monitor. The bracket is mounted with rivet nuts in the roof. In this position, it is less intrusive on the forward view than an actual rear view mirror would be. These automotive monitors are designed to clip onto an existing mirror, so they have a spring-loaded clamp on the back side. I had to trim one of the tabs down so the monitor could fit against the ceiling of the roof. The next photo is the monitor mounted on the roof. Since the roof is composed of two layers of fiberglass, I was able to run the video cable between the two sections of the ceiling to the back of the cockpit so it cannot be seen.
Sorry for the bad photo quality. Let me know if you find any better equipment...
-Bob Woods