Lukas LK-7900 Ace Blackbox Review (With Sample Day and Night Videos)

[Pipefish]

I've had the Lukas LK-7900 Ace for more than a month now and I've managed to test it under different conditions. This Korean-made dash camera (about $235 on Ebay), Qrontech Co.'s top-of-the-line model that has a Sony Exmor CMOS sensor, is sturdy and has a slew of features, including GPS, parking/motion detection mode, G sensors for event recording and full 1080p video at 30 frames per second. It also has a threaded lens that allows you to use filters (more on this later). It supports up to 128GB SD cards, which is four times the capacity of most dash cameras.


(These photos are from the Lukas website)

Angle Adjustment
The LK-7900 has a sticky mount so shaky videos should not be a problem. On the other hand, you're pretty much stuck with a certain angle once you attach it to your windshield, unlike cameras with suction mounts. The camera can be tilted vertically and comes with a holder that allows you to make it level with the horizon. You can't move it left or right. The holder is the one you stick on the windshield; you can remove the camera from the holder if you're not comfortable leaving it in the car.

Accessories
The LK-7900 has accessories that you can buy separately, including polarizer and UV filters, different models of power cutoff device and a lithium battery that doubles as a digital power cutoff device. You can also use cutoff devices from other manufacturers. The UV filter protects the lens, although I wouldn't recommend it because it could cause glare and flare when shooting against the sun and in night videos with street lamps directly in front. A polarizer can help minimize reflections, although it can create undesirable effects with some windshields, including rainbows.

The camera has a video-out connector. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with the necessary cable (Lukas, what were you thinking?!?). I had to test and waste money on several cables before finding one that works.

Settings Via Viewer Software
The camera comes with a viewer software that lets you change settings, including video quality (normal, high, highest); resolution (1080p or 720p); G sensor and motion sensitivity (can be turned off); date, time and GPS speed display; brightness, sharpness and noise filter. Normal driving videos are three minutes long and are about 240MB each. Parking and event videos last 30 seconds and are about 40MB in size.

You can also turn off the security LED in front of the camera to make it less conspicuous. It can display the GPS speed at the back of the camera, choose km/hr or miles/hr, change autoexposure settings (low, medium, high) for night videos, enable or disable sound recording by default and enable or disable the voice prompts, which have three volume levels and can be switched to either Korean or English.

The software also lets you manage storage by offering several ratios for driving, motion and event videos. You can also use the viewer to display driving position using Goggle Maps (you need an Internet connection). One defect of this software is that you can't adjust the window -- you can neither resize nor maximize it, forcing you to look at a small window even if you have a 30-inch LCD monitor. Strange.

Video Quality
The LK-7900 records sharp, crisp videos during the day. Focus is spot on. Night videos are not bad, although I have a feeling they could improve a lot when used with untinted windshields. Mine is a 3M BC30 tint, which means it only lets 30 percent of the light through. That's more than one stop of light lost. It's not an issue for day videos but is a limiting factor for night shots (check below for optimal settings). There's a slight white balance shift in day videos. Auto white balance handles fluorescent lights well, but doesn't perform as well with incandescent bulbs, giving you videos with a yellow cast.

I used the LK-7900 at night -- handheld and without the nuance of my vehicle's dark tint -- and I can confirm that it does shoot clean, clear videos at night.

Night Video Settings
If you find your night videos noisy, you can increase the noise filter to 3, which improved mine a bit. I found that increasing it to 4 makes videos look like plastic (less chroma noise but too smooth). You can keep brightness at the default 2 and sharpness at the default 3. Set AE settings at low. Of course, your mileage will vary. Bear in mind also that I have a dark tint (30% VLT), so my settings might not apply to you.

GPS Performance
The GPS locks within minutes as long as it's clear. My location was also accurately plotted on the Lukas Ace viewer all throughout. My time was also automatically adjusted after that. You need to set the correct GMT in the software.

Price
The LK-7900 costs about $235 (8GB, bare) on Ebay now, although I bought mine more than a month ago for only $217 with polarizer and UV filters plus the LK-530 battery/power cut-off device, which alone lists for about $100 now.

(This photo is from the Lukas website)

I've hardwired the LK-7900 to my fusebox, which means it can be set up to stay on all the time. I use the LK-530, a battery and power cutoff device that cuts power to the camera once the car's battery reaches a certain voltage, so your battery doesn't get drained.

Conclusion
The Lukas LK-7900 is a capable dash camera full of features, but it's not perfect. Some of the missing features present in lower-priced cameras can be added via a firmware upgrade. For one, it would be nice to be able to change the resolution and frame rate at least for parking/motion detection mode to save storage space, although this might be unnecessary if you have a 128GB card. Being able to input your plate number would also be a plus. Most important of all, Qrontech should improve the camera's auto white balance performance and get rid of the yellow cast under incandescent lighting. To its credit, this camera has a high average bit rate, which means that unlike its Korean-made rivals, it doesn't suffer from blockiness/pixelization. It delivers clean, crisp details.

In summary, here are the LK-7900's strengths and weaknesses.

PROS:
* Sony Exmor CMOS sensor means clean, clear videos at night
* Really sharp videos (focus is spot on)
* High average bit rate (11MB-12MB)
* Excellent build quality
* Relatively small
* Threaded lens for filters
* External battery that acts as a power cutoff device (11.9v-12.4v)
* Accurate GPS
* 128GB SD card capacity
* Security LED can be turned off

CONS:
* Bad auto white balance for incandescent light (yellow cast)
* Frame rate for parking mode can't be customized (defaults to 30 fps)
* Limited angle adjustment
* Window of Lukas viewer software can't be resized
* Plate number can't be superimposed on videos
* No video-out cable?!?
* Price (but you do get what you pay for)

Suggested features for future firmware in order of importance (to me):
* Improved white balance
* Different video settings for day and night videos based on time (brightness, sharpness, noise filter)
* Separately customizable resolutions for parking mode (i.e., full HD or 720p)
* Plate number on videos
* Customizable frame rates (i.e, 5-30 fps) for parking/motion detection videos
* Resizeable window for Lukas viewer software

Unencoded Sample Videos
Here are unedited sample videos. I have to clarify again that I have a tinted window that lets in only 30 percent of light. Without the tint, the night videos would have been clearer and brighter.

Day Videos:
http://db.tt/1lJ3N9DK (jeepneys and tricycles on highway)
http://db.tt/GxP4zbBv (ricefields)

Night Videos:
http://db.tt/PgiN47hP (street and parking)
http://db.tt/YEX5SmZF (street and parking)

Handheld Night Videos
Night video #1
Night video #2

Lukas LK-7900 Product Features
LK-7900 Firmware Download
LK-7900 Manual
Download Lukas Viewer
Lukas Power Cut-Off Devices

Setup on my ASX:

[Noel Salisipan]

Nice...

Pero ok na ako sa dash cam ko, wala pa 2k.hehehe (sa cdr-king)

Pipe, dami na namang bago yung tsikot mo, parang laging bago yan...

OT:
Stock pa yata yung wiper mo?