Hey, it’s Andrew from Car Cam Central
and today we are reviewing the XiaoYi Yi
If you’re looking for your next dash camera
but don’t want to spend a lot of money?
The $70 Yi is a great choice for most drivers
[intro music]
This is XiaoYi’s first dash camera after
launching an action and a home security camera
It first released in China in January
and comes in two colours, Grey and Gold
If you want to see the Gold version
and better coverage of the basics
take a look at the review by Linus from TechLineHD
He also covers mainstream and non mainstream
smartphones and gadgets
Links in the description
Back to our Yi
on the front of the camera is a f/ 1.8 6-element glass lens
which is an upgrade compared to the
plastic lenses found at this price range
On the back is a 2.7” LCD screen
which is decently bright even under the sun
During our tap and press test it feels rather robust
It doesn’t creak or flex and it’s decently thick all around
The camera was well made even
With the intricate vents cut
into the top and bottom of the camera
These vents help remove heat from the camera through convection
The metallic paint sparkles and is odor free
and UV protected against fading
You think the grey version would be a little bit more discreet
but it stands out but I don’t think it’s a problem for most drivers
One benefit is the lighter colour is much cooler to the touch
as it reflects more sunlight compared to black cameras
This could improve reliability
If you look on left side of the camera you’ll see a SD card slot
which has a great cutout making it easier
to insert and remove cards even
if you have big fingers or trimmed nails
On the other side is a microUSB port for power
and can be used to transfer files
The Yi comes in a Chinese and an International version
I’ll bring up the differences as we unbox the camera
When you receive the camera
it will be shrinked wrapped and bound by a red paper strip
Since I have the Chinese version it has Chinese writing
in fact, everything inside is in Chinese
but I’ll show you how you can change it later
Both versions use a thick, double walled cardboard box
When opened, the camera is dramatically revealed
In the international version the camera is CE and FCC certified
which is a requirement to be sold in Europe and the United States
Whether the hardware has changed is a different story
Underneath the camera you’ll find the accessories
The Chinese version has a suction mount and a two port, 2-Amp charger
The international version uses a 3M tape mount
and a one port, 1-amp, CE certified charger
Moving onto setup, while you can install the camera out of the box
you may wish to change a few settings like the time and date
If you go into the camera’s menu there are less options
but the overall interface is outstanding
The camera uses digital labels which display the function
above your fingers and make it easy to understand
what you are pressing
One small complaint is the
“enter menu” & OK functions use the same button
It’s easy to accidently change your resolution and not notice
The iOS and Android WiFi app
give you deeper customization options
and allows you to view videos, update firmware and more
Launching it for the first time you have a friendly quick start tutorial
XiaoYi also links to other guides and resources inside the app
To connect to the camera it’s as easy as pressing the red button
It’ll do all the hard work of disconnecting you
from your current network and linking with your Yi
Once connected you get a live video stream
from your dash camera even when it’s recording
You can browse recorded videos but you’ll have to download it
there’s no options for streaming
This also shuts down recording but that’s not uncommon
I’ve only seen Blackvue’s DR650
as having the ability to record and stream videos at the same time
Looking into the settings menu you have additional options
such as removing XiaoYi’s branding from the video
As well the camera will automatically synchronize
the time and date with your smartphone after connecting
There’s also an interesting discover section
where XiaoYi has collected videos they found from other users
Maybe you’ll be the next hit
Installation is no different than GPS sat navs
You won’t need any tools and it’s finished in 5-10 minutes
Starting with your mount
it’ll slide into the T-slot at the top of the camera
You can also purchase 3rd party mounts
from Transcend, DOD Tech, and more as it’s a standard size
The Chinese version includes a suction mount
and I had no problems in cold or hot weather
The camera is pressed into place
and you can use the various knobs and nuts
to adjust and secure the Yi
The power adapter plugs into your power outlet
and you can run the cable around your headliner
to hide your power cable
Moving on we looked at how easy it is
to use the camera on a typical day
Like most cameras the XiaoYi turns on and records automatically
when it receives power
The Yi is one of the few cameras under $100
which has done a good job in letting you know
when your camera has failed
If there’s a problem a bright red screen appears
this is quite visible and will stick around until you close the prompts
But, it’s not as good if it’s missing an SD card
The message soon disappears
The LED status lights are placed in a good location
and can be seen even if the camera is installed
behind your rear view mirror
It could be more intuitive, the yellow is for recording,
red for battery charging status
Moving to the emergency record button
Most people use it to lock accident footage
or to save an interesting scene for later
The button is easy to feel out even in the dark
Once pressed it will lock the prior and following 10 seconds
from being overwritten
Less good is the placement of the record button
It’s easy to press the wrong one and turn off recording
Another advertised feature
is the lane departure and forward collision warnings
The ADAS system
In theory, ADAS should help to prevent accidents
In reality there’s many false alarms and it annoys more than it helps
You also have to lower the video quality to 1080P
which reduces sharpness
XiaoYi also recommends you connect your camera
to transfer GPS data to improve performance
But we find that’s not very convenient
If you do get pulled over or see something interesting
on the side you can rotate the camera
360° to capture what’s happening
If you were looking for a camera with motion detection
the Yi has no such feature
It’s not advised anyways as the heat tolerance isn’t the greatest
So jumping directly into video quality,
it’s one of the highlights of the XiaoYi
During the day video quality is sharp
At night it rivals more expensive cameras
and has some of the best video quality for the price
Comparing it against the Mobius you can see that the
dynamic range is better
There are less shadows which help you
capture the situation such as if a
pedestrian were to jump out in front of your car
Other cameras such as the $100 Dome D201
do provide better video quality
You can see it’s sharper with lower noise
but functionally it’s much worse
I find the Yi’s field of view at 165° is overly wide
It captures more of the scene but distorts distances
and reduces the size of objects which reduces legibility
Overall, for the price I think you’ll be
happy with the image quality of the XiaoYi Yi
Moving onto reliability it hasn’t been released long
enough to say how well it will perform
Looking at XiaoYi’s previous products they have had a
good track record so far
Few reported failures
I am concerned about the video focus shifting in hot weather
I tested this using my hacked toaster oven
and threw in the XiaoYi for an hour at 60°C or a 140°F
Over the span of an hour
you can see the video quality noticeably degrading
Once cooled down the camera was fine
In normal use it wouldn’t get this hot
unless you are recording while parked with the air conditioning off
which is not recommended
as the Yi wasn’t designed for these conditions
Overall if you are looking for a budget camera
and don’t live somewhere very hot
I think the XiaoYi Yi is a great choice
If you are looking at getting the Yi
I would purchase the international version
especially if you live in the United States
as it’s sold directly from XiaoYi through Amazon
with a one year warranty
Otherwise it’s available through GeekBuying
but dealing with the warranty is more difficult
The Chinese version is a little cheaper
and you can can change the firmware
so that the camera is in English
The link to my video will be in the description
Our website has more information on the Yi
as well you can download raw videos to
see the true quality as YouTube applies compression
As well let me know what what kind of content
you want to see from me next
whether it’s more reviews, guides
Let me know
In the comments below
So that’s the end of this review
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