Good quality aftermarket backup cameras?

[iamdub]

The threads I've seen any of this stuff mentioned were mostly about connecting an OEM camera to an aftermarket HU or they were so old the links were dead and/or cameras have long been discontinued. The people talking about how great their aftermarket camera was haven't been active for years so I'm not gonna bother reviving an old thread to ask. Maybe I'm using the wrong search terms, but humor me if you know of existing threads or if you have what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for recommendations on aftermarket backup cameras. I want something that mounts similar to the OEM camera and not a cube with a U-shaped bracket like a cheap fog light and definitely not a license frame camera. I know I can get an OEM camera for around $40, but I recall reading of aftermarket cameras with much better picture quality than what was available on these rigs. I don't care about operating voltage or it being plug-and-play. I can get whatever transformer may be necessary and I can solder wires as needed. I just want a known good quality camera. I'll likely be buying two and maybe even four.

 

[mazdawg(Mikey)]

Here at work we deal with Audiovox/Advent cameras. i think the ACA400 has a really nice stock look.

 

[iamdub]

Thanks, Mikey!

That's the style I'm going for. It looks like the lines and mirroring can be disabled as well. How does it's picture look in day and night? Any fisheye lens appearance? Can you compare it to the OEM camera's quality (day and night resolution, etc.)?

 

[MidwestMike]

Not an answer, just more input/confusion...

I've been pouring through the Amazon reviews. By the time you're done nothing sounds good. Some are better in the dark, some the light, some have a nice field of view, some are clearer, etc.

One little blurb:


I wired up all three cameras on my work bench, hooked them up to a 20" monitor and compared them.

Here's the long and short of it;

Esky 170--09

Pros -
Frame is heavy duty aluminum and has a great finish.
Night time image is unparalleled thanks to the numerous IR LEDs.
Guide lines are good (and useful)

Cons-
Daytime image is the weakest of the three. Picture is fairly low resolution and the colors are all wrong since it is an infrared sensitive camera.
This camera is the bulkiest of the three and when in the standard orientation it blocked easy access to the latch on the MDX hatch. It is possible to remove the camera, flip it around and then install the plate upside down but I was hesitant to do this because I thought it looked a little bit weird. Others might not be bothered by needing to potentially do this.

Esky EC180-19

Pros-
The EC180-09 has a very good daytime image and the widest field of view of any of the cameras I tried. It is also the highest resolution.
It has a couple of LEDs to assist with night time lighting, which does help, but at night you will get reflections from the LEDs (coming off of the highly reflective license plate) in the sides of the image, which is annoying.
Despite a prominent review of this camera overheating I left it on my workbench for 3 straight hours in a 75F basement and it never shut down or overheated at all... so that issue appears to be fixed.
The camera itself is fairly discrete and unobtrusive. Will not block any crucial license plate info. It is also pretty low profile so it didn't interfere with the handle/latch of my car.
Good guide lines, clear and easy to use.

Cons-
EC180-09 had finish issues ... there was some kind of residue or adhesive (black colored) around the camera lens. It was very flaky and colored black and initially thought it was paint, but it appears to be something else.
As previously mentioned night performance is adequate... barely... but the reflections from the IR lights is an annoyance.

Cosmic Optix

Pros-
This camera had the best daytime image quality hands down. Image was bright and clear and resolution was good. It looked a little less pixelated than the Esky cameras.

Cons-
This camera had a more limited field of view than the other two cameras. I'd estimate it to be around 160 degrees or so. The Esky plate frame camera was about 170 and the Esky bar camera was around 180 degrees.
This camera has a bright chrome finish... which, based on my 20 years of experience with Colorado winters will get very quickly pitted with rust after it gets hit with wintertime magnesium chloride. They should offer it in a more durable neutral finish as the chrome finish also adds undesired "flash" and "bling" to something that I don't want to attract attention to.
Night time image of this camera was noticeably worse than the other two... to the point it might be unusable in really dark areas... especially directly behind the car bumper (where the car reverse lights don't reach).
The overlay guide image has an annoying flashing "STOP" that is distracting. My wife in particular didn't like it.

So which camera did we go with? We grudgingly went with the Esky EC180-19. I wish that there was a camera that included the daytime image quality of the Cosmic Optix Camera with the nighttime performance of the Esky 170-09 plate camera and the ergonomics of the EC180 camera.

Any of these cameras will do the job and hopefully you find yourself a little more informed now.

 

[jerryjoe28]

fallowing

 

[iamdub]

Not an answer, just more input/confusion...

I've been pouring through the Amazon reviews. By the time you're done nothing sounds good. Some are better in the dark, some the light, some have a nice field of view, some are clearer, etc.

One little blurb:


I wired up all three cameras on my work bench, hooked them up to a 20" monitor and compared them.

Here's the long and short of it;

Esky 170--09

Pros -
Frame is heavy duty aluminum and has a great finish.
Night time image is unparalleled thanks to the numerous IR LEDs.
Guide lines are good (and useful)

Cons-
Daytime image is the weakest of the three. Picture is fairly low resolution and the colors are all wrong since it is an infrared sensitive camera.
This camera is the bulkiest of the three and when in the standard orientation it blocked easy access to the latch on the MDX hatch. It is possible to remove the camera, flip it around and then install the plate upside down but I was hesitant to do this because I thought it looked a little bit weird. Others might not be bothered by needing to potentially do this.

Esky EC180-19

Pros-
The EC180-09 has a very good daytime image and the widest field of view of any of the cameras I tried. It is also the highest resolution.
It has a couple of LEDs to assist with night time lighting, which does help, but at night you will get reflections from the LEDs (coming off of the highly reflective license plate) in the sides of the image, which is annoying.
Despite a prominent review of this camera overheating I left it on my workbench for 3 straight hours in a 75F basement and it never shut down or overheated at all... so that issue appears to be fixed.
The camera itself is fairly discrete and unobtrusive. Will not block any crucial license plate info. It is also pretty low profile so it didn't interfere with the handle/latch of my car.
Good guide lines, clear and easy to use.

Cons-
EC180-09 had finish issues ... there was some kind of residue or adhesive (black colored) around the camera lens. It was very flaky and colored black and initially thought it was paint, but it appears to be something else.
As previously mentioned night performance is adequate... barely... but the reflections from the IR lights is an annoyance.

Cosmic Optix

Pros-
This camera had the best daytime image quality hands down. Image was bright and clear and resolution was good. It looked a little less pixelated than the Esky cameras.

Cons-
This camera had a more limited field of view than the other two cameras. I'd estimate it to be around 160 degrees or so. The Esky plate frame camera was about 170 and the Esky bar camera was around 180 degrees.
This camera has a bright chrome finish... which, based on my 20 years of experience with Colorado winters will get very quickly pitted with rust after it gets hit with wintertime magnesium chloride. They should offer it in a more durable neutral finish as the chrome finish also adds undesired "flash" and "bling" to something that I don't want to attract attention to.
Night time image of this camera was noticeably worse than the other two... to the point it might be unusable in really dark areas... especially directly behind the car bumper (where the car reverse lights don't reach).
The overlay guide image has an annoying flashing "STOP" that is distracting. My wife in particular didn't like it.

So which camera did we go with? We grudgingly went with the Esky EC180-19. I wish that there was a camera that included the daytime image quality of the Cosmic Optix Camera with the nighttime performance of the Esky 170-09 plate camera and the ergonomics of the EC180 camera.

Any of these cameras will do the job and hopefully you find yourself a little more informed now.

Ha! I read that review. I promise I did some research before posting! I read up on other forums, eBay and Amazon reviews. I searched through this forum's threads as much as reasonably possible before conceding that maybe this subject isn't so recent.

One thing I've learned with reviews is that many people say nothing unless they have a problem. One also has to consider the type of item they are reviewing and how it may be incorrectly installed or used for the application- like the people that give a low rating because the item didn't work for them because THEY ordered the wrong part.

There are just so many options and it seems the pertinent info, such as TVL, resolution, and LUX sensitivity, isn't listed in their specs or it's highly exaggerated. I posted this thread to get updated and pertinent info from those with firsthand experience. I know there are a ton of you with aftermarket head units with aftermarket cameras.

 

[jerryjoe28]

Ha! I read that review. I promise I did some research before posting! I read up on other forums, eBay and Amazon reviews. I searched through this forum's threads as much as reasonably possible before conceding that maybe this subject isn't so recent.

One thing I've learned with reviews is that many people say nothing unless they have a problem. One also has to consider the type of item they are reviewing and how it may be incorrectly installed or used for the application- like the people that give a low rating because the item didn't work for them because THEY ordered the wrong part.

There are just so many options and it seems the pertinent info, such as TVL, resolution, and LUX sensitivity, isn't listed in their specs or it's highly exaggerated. I posted this thread to get updated and pertinent info from those with firsthand experience. I know there are a ton of you with aftermarket head units with aftermarket cameras.

lol well I cant tell you a good one but I can tell you to steer clear of anything that has the "brand" LuxCam on it . this is the one that the seller gave me as a bonus when I bout my HU. while I cant complain to much as it was free I can tell you the picture quality is ahhh and it gets water behind the lens when it rains . after a little research I am almost positive it is the same camera as the Pyle PLCM18bC. it is possible that they are not the exact same but I know they have some of the same numbers molded into them soooo........ on a side note thanks for posting this question as I need to find one to lol

 

[08HoeCD]

I'd never had a backup camera on a vehicle until I got into this rig. The factory camera's definition is plenty fine. And how often or long are you even using it?

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I remember @Crippin87 recently used an Esky one for his button install...

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/best-backup-camera-install.94036/

 

[iamdub]

lol well I cant tell you a good one but I can tell you to steer clear of anything that has the "brand" LuxCam on it . this is the one that the seller gave me as a bonus when I bout my HU. while I cant complain to much as it was free I can tell you the picture quality is ahhh and it gets water behind the lens when it rains . after a little research I am almost positive it is the same camera as the Pyle PLCM18bC. it is possible that they are not the exact same but I know they have some of the same numbers molded into them soooo........ on a side note thanks for posting this question as I need to find one to lol

All good input. Yes, so many higher-priced items are just repackaged lower-priced ones. This can be good or bad depending on what you're actually getting. Getting input from other's personal experiences is the only way to know. We can look up as much info and pics of the LuxCam and Pyle camera(s) and avoid the ones that are identical, higher- or lower-priced. This may clear up the waters by whittling away some of the poorer options. The kicker is that some brands may use the same housings as the cheaper brands but have better quality internals.