Review: Waylens Automotive Camera

Raeshlavik

So, the Waylens is a new dash-cam that came about via kickstarter last year, but unlike most dash-cams is a bit more sports-car oriented.

Some of the more interesting features are the Bluetooth OBD2 integration, a dozen on-board sensors, and a cellphone app that allows for full video editing and posting while on the road. It also has a built-in 0-60 timer with countdown and acceleration sensing, and the ability to post your best reaction time and run to their leader-board.

The camera also has a 2" OLED display that you can use as an additional OBD2 gauge.

I got mine right after I picked up the 370Z from the company's web site, but apparently they do everything via amazon - so you can cut to the chase and just order there if so inclined.

And now, the review!

The first thing I noticed when taking the head unit out of the packaging is just how solid it is; it's a conical-shaped milled chunk of aluminum that would fit inside a roughly 2.5" cube and is quite hefty for it's size. The all-metal construction is integral to heat management as it acts as the heat-sink for the device.

It also comes with a nice suction cup windshield mount, the Bluetooth OBD2 box, a Bluetooth 'button' for remote marking your video, a 6-foot USB cable for PC use, a low-profile 12v cigarette lighter to USB adapter, and a 14-foot USB cable for in-car power.

The unit uses a micro-SD card for storage (128Gb max), but does not come with one - which I found a bit odd for a $500 camera...

Setup is pretty straight-forward for most users: install the app on the phone, turn the camera on, scan the QR code on the OLED screen, and you're pretty much done.

This ease of setup isn't universal though and I encountered some complexity with connecting my LG-V20 to the camera... Initially the camera works as a hot-spot and the app attempts to connect to said hot-spot so that you can use the app to configure the camera's WiFi to work with whatever you have in your house - but I have my phone set to not connect to anything I don't okay first, which confused the app.

The app is also a bit buggy yet and tends to be pretty crashy on Android - but they are actively updating everything as fixes are created.

There is also a desktop application which offers some basic video editing features and does the compositing of the data overlays, and it works pretty nice.

So, how well does it work?

In short; it's amazing.

The video quality is top-notch, with really good image stabilization and light sensitivity. It works equally well looking into direct sunlight as it does with only your headlights, and the resolution is good enough you can read oncoming license plates from still frames.

Here's a sample of the video quality and the various data you can record.

And here's what it manages at night. This video also shows the Waylens' built in 0-60 timer; it does a 5-second countdown, and the two chimes you hear are the 0-30 and 0-60 times.

For reference that was a 5.8 second run, but it was 34 degrees outside so the tires spun most of the way along the ramp - so don't assume anything!

The remote button allows you to mark the video with 'favorites' that bracket a minute before you hit the button, and a minute after. This lets you get right to the fun stuff in the middle of the three hour recording of slow moving traffic when you go to edit your footage.

As for recording time, I have a 128Gb micro-SD in mine and have recorded non-stop for hours at a time without running into space issues. So a $60 card should last anyone all day around the track.

The verdict:

If you're looking for a really good camera with really good data-logging and some really fun performance car toys, it's hard to beat the Waylens. I currently think the $500 price is fair for the hardware, but the software is still a bit sketchy. They are actively improving the software though, so this will hopefully be a non-issue in the future.

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Jayhovah

Looks pretty sick!! thanks for the review.

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