70mai A510: Installation and initial setup
Installing the 70mai A510 seems easy at first, but requires more effort when the wiring comes into play. The main camera can be easily attached to the windshield thanks to the electrostatic film. However, it becomes more challenging when laying the cables behind the interior panels. In particular, running the cable for the rear camera along the roof lining to the rear window requires a lot of patience and time.
In order to use the A510's advanced parking monitoring functions, the hardwire kit (available separately) is essential. It provides a permanent power supply to the dashcam so that it remains active even in standby mode and reacts to movements or vibrations. If the camera detects movement in parking mode, it automatically starts recording. In the event of a collision or break-in, the recordings are saved on the memory card and optionally also stored in the cloud. This option offers additional protection against data loss if the dashcam or memory card is damaged.
A clear point of criticism is the procedure recommended by 70mai for installing the hardwire kit. According to the instructions, the red cable should be wrapped around a fuse on the permanent plus wrapped and the yellow VCC cable must be connected to a fuse with ignition current. A risky procedure that can lead to loose connections, short circuits or even cable fires. Safer and more professional is to use a fuse thief, which allows a solid, insulated connection. Unfortunately, 70mai does not include this, which is why it is strongly recommended to buy such an adapter separately.
For the mobile data connection, I opted for a 1GB data plan from Congstar, which is very inexpensive at 2 euros per month. This plan is completely sufficient to use the emergency functions such as location monitoring and the live stream to check the current situation.
70mai A510: Image quality
image quality during the day
During the day, the 70mai A510 scores with sharp and detailed images in 2.7K resolution at 60 frames per second. Small details such as license plates and street signs remain clearly legible even at higher speeds. In addition, the 140-degree wide angle ensures that adjacent areas are well captured in addition to the road.
Thanks to the built-in Sony Starvis 2 sensor, the camera achieves natural color reproduction and balanced exposure. Exposure adjustments are usually made quickly, which means the camera maintains stable image quality even in the event of sudden changes in light, such as when driving through tunnels or entering shady areas.
The rear camera also delivers usable images in daylight. With its 1080p resolution and a 130-degree viewing angle, it covers a wide area behind the vehicle. On sunny days, the resolution is just enough to recognize relevant details such as vehicles, traffic signs and obstacles.
However, the lower resolution and weaker sensor of the rear camera compared to the front camera are noticeable during fast movements or rapidly changing lighting conditions, which can lead to slight blurring.
image quality at night
The front camera of the 70mai A510 really comes into its own at night. Thanks to the implemented "Night Owl Vision" technology, which is an optimized HDR function, the camera can still achieve good results even in low light. Road signs, lane markings and even license plates of oncoming vehicles are usually clearly visible.
The ambient lighting is captured realistically and the camera reduces glare from headlights and street lamps to a minimum. However, in strong backlighting, fine details are sometimes lost, which can limit the visibility of license plates, for example. Despite this weakness, the main camera delivers an impressive night vision performance overall.
The situation is different with the rear camera, which clearly struggles in poor lighting conditions. The lower 1080p resolution and the weaker sensor are clearly noticeable here. In dark scenarios, the sharpness of detail decreases significantly, and license plates of vehicles behind your own are barely recognizable. This is a problem especially in incidents involving rear-end traffic, as important evidence cannot always be clearly documented.
Here is a video showing the recording quality in different lighting conditions:
70mai A510: Smart functions and app
functions and app control
The 70mai app is the central component when using the dashcam. It allows you to access live views of the cameras, monitor the vehicle location in real time and conveniently view saved videos. The connection to the dashcam is easy via the Wi-Fi provided by the camera, so no mobile data connection is required.
ADAS functions
Once logged into the app, the user has access to all of the camera's important functions. This includes activating and adjusting the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) functions such as lane departure warning and collision warning. In practice, the lane departure warning worked reliably, while the collision warning was occasionally a bit sensitive. For privacy-conscious users, the required 70mai account login could be a point of criticism, as registration is necessary for full use.
Settings and adjustments
The app offers a wide range of setting options, including the choice of video resolution, the sensitivity of the parking monitoring and the calibration of the ADAS functions. Users can also use an editing function to edit and export videos directly on the smartphone. A practical feature is the manual backup of video clips to protect important recordings from being automatically overwritten.
GPS and location determination
The built-in GPS module is seamlessly integrated into the dashcam and allows speed and location information to be displayed in the recordings. The GPS data is also saved on the memory card, which is useful in critical situations. However, the test showed that the location determination is not always precise, which can occasionally lead to deviations of up to 100 meters. This can lead to difficulties in precisely locating the vehicle, especially in large parking lots.
parking monitoring and cloud storage
24-hour parking monitoring requires the use of the optional hardwire kit, which provides a permanent power supply. In parking mode, the dashcam remains active in standby mode and records automatically as soon as movement or vibration is detected. Emergency recordings taken during parking monitoring can then be uploaded directly to the cloud. Cloud storage is limited to 520 MB, but is enough to save important recordings in an emergency and access them from anywhere.
battery protection and automatic shutdown
Another useful feature of the A510 is the automatic shutdown, which deactivates the camera as soon as the battery voltage falls below a predefined protection value. The function protects the vehicle battery from deep discharge and ensures that the vehicle starts without problems even after long periods of inactivity.
