Hey
it’s Andrew with Car Cam Central
The $60 Viofo G1WS
is the cheapest camera we can recommend
for drivers in warm conditions
This replaces our former recommendation
the A118C and A118C2
So let’s
get into the details
[Intro Music]
Viofo’s G1W-S was launched in February 2017
and we got excited
as we previously pulled our recommendation
for all G1Ws
Before Viofo
the G1W was assembled
by a number of nameless factories
who competed on price and drove down quality
Viofo decided to make their own version
with their branding
upgraded the hardware
and quality control
We think Viofo
is the best
budget dash cam manufacturer
right now
Before jumping into the G1W’s details
I want to quickly explain
how it compares against our other
budget recommendations
so you can make a better purchasing decision
At the $60 range
if the G1W-S is our recommendation
for warmer temperatures
The $50 Yi Dash Cam
is our pick for cooler climates
like the United Kingdom
It has better video quality
adds WiFi
to transfer saved videos to your smartphone
and the reliability has been great
since launching in February 2016
Most importantly
Yi tells you when your SD card has failed
unlike Viofo's G1W-S
which can trick you into thinking it’s recording
The Yi’s issue is that in in warmer weather
the video becomes blurry
and it uses lithium ion batteries
which are more likely to fail
in warmer weather
Also its silvery metal finish
is quite noticeable to pedestrians
The final $60 alternative
is the Viofo A118C2
if you need a stealthier camera
It’s wedge shape looks nothing like a camera
However for everything else
it's worse than our other two picks
We also looked at a number of other popular cameras
but they don’t have the proven reliability
or performance of our three cameras
While you can spend less than $50
we haven't found a model
which we felt comfortable recommending
If you have the money
moving up to our $100 picks
is a big improvement
as they eliminate the major weaknesses
in our $60 cameras
For example the Viofo A119V2
has both capacitors for heat resistance
and proper warning notifications
when your SD card fails
We’ve recommended Viofo a lot
but after testing comparable products
from Anker Aukey Thinkware and more
they fell short of Viofo’s products
in their price range and category
This is not an ad
and we’ve never taken money for reviews
We do want to be upfront
that we’ve received the Viofo A119 for free
about a year ago
but since the beginning of 2017
we’ve purchased all our test cameras
at full retail value
including the Viofo G1WS
Now that you know the dash cam landscape
let’s come back to the G1W-S
so we can explain why
it’s our $60 warm weather pick
When you first get the camera
it comes in the old style cardboard box
It’s not as nice as Viofo’s newer packaging
but it gets the job done
The accessories are neatly packaged
And everything you need is included
Except a micro SD card
Viofo also added two extra mounts
an adhesive and rear view mirror designs
in addition to the usual Suction mount
Looking at the camera
it’s fairly wide
with a matte black brushed metal
and plastic texture
and no shiny elements
which can be found
In some of the more common G1W designs
Viofo looks the same on the outside
as the G1WCB
except it adds the Viofo logo to the corner
for branding
On the inside
Viofo made a number of big improvements
The Lens is now glass instead of plastic
which means it doesn’t warp under hot weather
The aperture is a larger f/1.6
letting in more light
The sensor is the Sony IMX323
which means better low light performance
The G1WS can take an external GPS
but I wouldn’t spend the money unless you need it
Viofo also manufactures their own circuit board
to maintain quality
Other companies can source from factories
with lower standards to compete on price
Looking from the outside
the camera is fairly stealthy
It’s black color blends in well
not as good as the A118C2
but much better than the Yi’s reflective silvery paint
Flipping to the back of the camera
there’s a 2.7” LCD screen
which is used to playback videos
and change settings
with buttons on the side
to navigate through the menu
The G1W feels cheap
While the brushed metal finish looks nice
the body feels flimsy and flexes easily
If you twist the mount it pops the case open
It could be better
but considering its older design and price
the quality is OK
To install the camera it’s simple
No tools are required
Viofo improved the suction mount
compared to the original
You can tilt the camera further
which allows you to see more of the road
I’d recommend the adhesive
or rear view mirror mounts instead
The adhesive mount uses black 3M VHB tape
which will firmly adhere to your windshield
and remove cleanly without residue
Viofo did not include an extra adhesive pad
but you can reuse the mount once or twice
if you’re careful removing it
The rear view mirror mount
clamps onto your windshield’s arm
I found it easy to install
and its windshield free solution
may appeal to some users
The power adapter
is a longer 11’ length
which means you can use this camera
in larger commercial vehicles
Pop in a micro SD card
we recommend the Transcend
or Sandisk High Endurance cards
and you’re done
After installation
the G1W can be used right away
but you may want to consider customizing settings
like the time and date
The navigation system
isn’t completely intuitive
but is otherwise easy to use
with plainly described options
You can also playback saved videos on the LCD screen
Once setup was complete
we looked at how easy it is
to use day to day
As with all dash cameras it does two things
One
it turns on and starts recording
when it receives power
Second
it overwrites the oldest files on a loop
so you never run out of space
Our major issue
is the poor error notifications on the G1W-S
with failed microSD cards
It could only detect one of our failed cards
and it doesn't say the actual problem
For the other cards
it either dissolves to static
or the camera appears to be recording
when in fact nothing is happening
I am disappointed
that testing my older G1W-C
that it could detect all four
of my failed cards
Unfortunately it’s hard to know
who produced this G1W-C
so it’s difficult to recommend
I think
This is the biggest problem with Viofo’s cameras
As all SD cards fail over time
Unfortunately
I haven’t found an alternative
And for me
It’s a good reason
To upgrade to our $100 recommendations
Or choose the $50 Yi
If you live somewhere cooler
The G1W
does start in slightly under 5 seconds
which is quite fast
You won’t have to wait on your camera
before leaving
Looking at the video quality
we found it quite good
The camera records at 1080P 30FPS
and most people will be happy
with the day and night performance
The G1WS officially supports up to 64GB cards
which gives you 8 hours of recording time
During daylight
the recorded video is sharp
and you can see fast moving details
like license plates
The dynamic range is quite good
so you won’t have dark shadows
obscuring any objects
as can happen with cheaper cameras
At night it has great low light clarity
which is what the Sony Exmor sensors are praised for
Compared to our former recommendation
the $60 A118C2
we found Viofo’s G1WS
to be better at night
The A118C2
uses the older aptina sensor
and a smaller aperture lens
We heated the G1WS to 59°C
to check its focus under hotter weather
We found it only lost a slight amount of sharpness
which is great
This is better than many cameras like the Yi
We also tested the audio quality
and we found our unit to be overly quiet
When we raised the volume
there was a lot of static
but oral comprehension was OK
We looked at other G1WS clips online
and we found their audio
to be much better
We think this is an isolated issue
with our camera
as we haven’t seen any other complaints online
The G1WS
provides good video quality for the price
and moving forward
we won’t recommend any new cameras
that look worse
There is a one-year warranty
which is usually handled by your retailer
Note that if you buy from Amazon
your item from some sellers
might come from the United States
but the seller is located in China
We’ll add links and notes
about retailers we like
in the description
So that’s our video guide on the Viofo G1W-S
Hoped you liked it
If we missed anything
ask your questions below
in the comments
and I or a member of the team
will get back to you
We’ll put updates to this video
and links to our in-depth article
where you can download raw video and audio
in the description below
We’ll also link to our article
where we talk about cameras
we didn’t like
And with that
that’s the end of this review
Subscribe for more
we’ll have a budget dual channel review
coming soon
Thanks for watching