Aldi rear camera

[BoldonLad]

The USB lead which came with the light I purchased, is a data and charging lead.
I purchased light, online, because I was away from home, it was delivered to "safe place" as requested, just arrived home yesterday and have not tried it yet, but, so far, have charged battery, formatted SD card, edited config file, all as per instructions in the instruction book. All works just fine. Have recorded some footage in the house, no problem.

When gale force wind dies down, I will try it on the bike.

My only disappointment so far are:

1. the limited mounting options,
2. does the "beep" on switch on have to be so LOUD?

but, given it is almost half the price of the "opposition", I think I can live with that, if the recorded video quality if acceptable.

 

[Custom24]

I got this reply from Quesh today when I emailed them about the shutting off problem


We are currently waiting on the national holiday in China to finish so we can obtain the firmware for this item.

This will be available on our website as an update within the next 2 weeks.

 

[Jeff-T]

Have been trying to get mine to work since yesterday. Fully charged up, popped in sd card held the power button in unit made about four beeps all lights came on flashing then all lights go out. Will not stay on and video is not recording as no revolving lights around lens. Took memory card out and put in PC nothing recorded in the dcmia folder, it's empty. Checked properties and it is FAT32 . Anybody have any ideas, am I doing something wrong?

Wonder if it's worth resetting the unit. Unplug it from your computer, then switch it on and find the reset switch, under the dust cover, in between the charge port and SD card port. I think it needs a paperclip to push into the hole, and hold it for 10 seconds while the unit is powered on. Then try connecting it to your computer again. I also wondered if your SD card is corrupted - if you have access to another one, then it might be worth a try too.

 

[Gez73]

How do I format the card? Do I need to download the formatting software? Instructions very minimal. Records but not for any more than 15 minutes at present. I'm probably missing something obvious. Thanks Gerry

 

[BoldonLad]

How do I format the card? Do I need to download the formatting software? Instructions very minimal. Records but not for any more than 15 minutes at present. I'm probably missing something obvious. Thanks Gerry

To Format the Card:

Using a Windows PC Either:

1. Connect Camera to PC USB port, using supplied cable. Open up File Explorer. The camera should show up as a drive (E: or F: probably). Right click the relevant drive. From the Popup menu, choose Format.

or

2. Put the micro SD card into an SD Card Adaptor or SD Card Reader, insert into Sd Card Reader slot on PC or USB Port, as appropriate. Open File Explorer. The SD Card should show up as a drive (E: or F: probably). Right click the relevant drive. From the Popup menu, choose Format.

If you did 1. Disconnect Camera from PC, switch camera off, then on
If you did 2. Put micro SD card into camera, switch on

Now, when the card is connected to PC (either using SD Card adaptor, or SD Card Reader or Data Cable supplied) there should be a directory DCIMA into which recordings will be stored, there should also be a number of text files, one is the Config file you need to edit to set date/time. It is in the instruction book page 10. There is also a Readme file giving an example.

 

[Gez73]

Just done that thanks. Took 3 seconds! Thanks again. Gerry

 

[Jeff-T]

This evening was the first time I had tried the camera on a long commute home. It did switch itself off after 20 minutes. I switched it back on, and it did the same again after another 20 minutes. However, after switching it back on for a third time, it stayed on for the rest of the journey, which was another 26 minutes. I think the initial two recordings were overwritten, presumably because the disk had filled up during the ride.

I might try a system reset of the unit and then have another go at recording a full ride tomorrow.

Jeff.

 

[Arjimlad]

Thanks for all the advice above. I received mine on Monday, took it home & formatted the SD card in a PC. Having run it on Wednesday & today for commuting, it is loop-recording, overwriting the earliest videos.

I'm happy with the image quality although it is not as good as the Drift Stealth. Cars approaching from behind are certainly getting close enough to get a perfectly usable shot of the registration.

I have put the bike on aero and normal seatposts. Not used it after dark yet but the rear light seems pretty eye-catching with its steady & 2 strobe modes. For battery/safety reasons I'd always have another light on the go in any event.

 

[BoldonLad]

Sample of short ride using recently purchased, Aldi Rear Light Camera.

Conditions, Sunny with cloud, about 14:00 in the afternoon.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGYRauW7lm0tT1pMHR8nfOkAoptlvAXG

1.I am not happy with the mounting method. I found it impossible to get the velcro fastener tight enough to prevent the camera moving on the seat post due to vibrations from the road / track. I will try Cable Ties. (I know this will make removing camera, to charge it, difficult, but, Bike is kept in a locked garage, with electric supply, so, I will charge the camera without removing it from bike.

2. I need to rethink the clutter on my luggage rack, it obstructs the camera view.

3. I am quite happy with the video quality, bearing in mind, uploading it to youtube diminishes the quality of the video

4. The sound is dreadful!

5. The camera recorded for approximately one hour, not enough to fill supplied 8GB micro SD card, so, I cannot yet determine in the recording "loops"

6. The videos uploaded used approx 5.94GB of disk space

 

[PAKennedy]

Mine seems good quality from the footage I've been able to watch. It records the first ride of the day fine. 5 minute blocks. Then I switch it off. When I switch it on again it starts recording and all of the files are the right size, but nothing will play them. They all seem to be corrupt. Tried 2 different cards.

 

[mjr]

2. I need to rethink the clutter on my luggage rack, it obstructs the camera view.

Can you fix it to a rear strut of the rack?

 

[BoldonLad]

Mine seems good quality from the footage I've been able to watch. It records the first ride of the day fine. 5 minute blocks. Then I switch it off. When I switch it on again it starts recording and all of the files are the right size, but nothing will play them. They all seem to be corrupt. Tried 2 different cards.

Interesting. I have found that some video players (supplied with Windows 10) will not play the videos. Not sure if this is because they are .AVI files (my other cameras record in .MOV format). I have not investigated yet, so far I have been using the Acer Video Player, supplier with my Acer PC (Aspire E15 E5571-304M).

 

[BoldonLad]

Can you fix it to a rear strut of the rack?

In principle, I do not see why not. But, the only fixings supplied as standard are two velcro "straps". The straps go into a slot in the back of the camera, then round the seat post. I am sure I will be able to coble something together to fix it to the rack.

 

[BoldonLad]

Some further footage from Aldi Rear Light Camera.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGYRauW7lm01ftaE-XNWR89_iIkKGpc3

I promise this will not be a daily event!

I managed to secure the camera more firmly on the seat post, using the supplied strap.

Footage is mainly off road cycle tracks / shared use paths, so, not much opportunity to observe number plates, but, I think it gives a reasonable test in some difficult lighting conditions (ie low winter sun, contrast shade/dark). IMHO, the footage compares well to other "£40 cameras" (eg Mobius, Ambarella A7) and even to my (more expensive) Drift Camera.

Now, it remains to be seen how durable it is!

 

[lilith]

I was having issues with the camera turning off after 20min issue and I had a 64gb card laying around so tried that so far it's going for over an hour without stopping.

Wonder if the problem is cheap sd cards?