Vicovation Vico-Marcus 4 UHDR Dash Cam Review

Video Quality

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

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