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Hands on with Zenfox T3 dash cam: Perfect for Lyft, Uber, taxis, and ride-sharing
Zenfox T3 3 chan dash cam
pros and cons
- Triple cameras
- GPS
- Parking monitor
- No on-board battery
- No lane departure warnings
Zenfox is a recent newcomer to the dash cam market. Founded in 2020, the company has positioned itself to bring innovation to the existing dash cam market.
Its triple channel dash cam, the Zenfox T3, launched in July 2020, brings front, interior and rear cameras and is perfect for taxi drivers, Uber drivers, for lift sharing and families who want to keep an eye on what is going on inside the car.
The Zenfox T3 3CH dash cam has an unusual design and form factor compared to other cameras I have reviewed. The camera fixes to the front screen using a sticky pad, and the front and interior cameras are adjustable to get the best views inside and outside of the vehicle.
Inside the box, there is the front and inside camera unit, a separate rear camera, car charging cable, USB cable, and a cable long enough to fix the rear camera at the rear of the car. There is also a front and rear mount with a sticker, and a card reader adaptor.
On one side of the unit there is a slot for a TF card up to 256mb (not included), and the other has ports for the USB cable for the rear camera, a power cable connector, and a power switch. On the rear of the camera there a set of menu buttons and a 2 inch LCD display.
The interior facing camera has four IR lights and an F1 8.6 glass lens to give good interior images even when the interior of the car is pitch dark.
The cameras have video resolutions of 1440P for the front quad HD with a 160 degree field of view which gives minimal lensing. The interior and the rear FHD cameras are 1080P with a 140 degree field of view.
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Sony STARVIS image sensors IMX335 5MP (front), IMX307 2MP (interior), and IMX291 2MP (rear) give good image resolution even in really low light.
The camera has a built in GPS logger too, and dual band Wi-Fi. It will automatically turn on and off when the engine is switched on or off. Videos are saved in 1/2/3/5, or 10 minute loops.
If the G-sensor is activated after a collision the current footage will be locked so it can not be overwritten by the loop recording. You can also press the OK button under the LCD screen to manually lock the current footage.
Zenfox also has an app which lets you view the live video, and download videos and images to your phone. However you can set everything you need such as time-lapse recording or bitrate and video quality from the buttons on the camera
The T3 also has parking mode to monitor events for 24 hours after the car has been switched off. However, you do need to purchase a cable to power the Zenfox directly from the car battery – not the car cigarette lighter.
The T3 does not have an internal battery to keep the unit powered when the car is switched off.
I missed having features that I grew to like on other dashboard cameras such as the Thinkware range of dash cams which have lane departure, proximity warnings, and speed camera alerts. However at under $250 the Zenfox dash cam is positioned at a different part of the market.
The Zenfox T3 3CH is coming to Amazon US later in 2020 However, it is currently available to buy on the Zenfox website.
All in all, this is an easy to use dash cam that gives all around views of the front and read or the car, with the added bonus of an interior camera.
The Zenfox T3 3CH three channel dash cam is a must for taxi drivers and anyone who needs the security of a complete view of what is going on inside – or outside of the car.