Garmin Varia Camera?

[djg21]

Originally Posted by mtb_frk

4-6 hours of battery life. Pass.

That 4-6 hours is with a new battery, after a couple years, then what 2 hours? If the battery was replaceable that would be a different story also.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/05/...ra-review.html

You have to expect this with a light and a camera. I've used the Cycliq Fly 12 CE and Fly 6CE for a handful of years and the Fly 6 CE battery could last for 4 hours only if the video capture rate was turned down to 720p at 60fps, the image stabilization was turned off, the light was not used, and a snowball could be found in hell. Most of my rides have been after work for around 1.5 to 2 hours in the early evening and the Cycliq would last just fine for those rides recording at 1080p at 30fps, with image stabilization on. But anything longer was an issue.

DC Rainmaker's review seemed a little harsh to me. His beef with the Garmin App in particular seemed a bit much. Transferring images wirelessly will necessarily be slow, and that should be expected. But you should be able to review image files by plugging in the device to a PC via USB-C (or by using an SSD reader) and that will be far faster and probably also will make it easier to identify and review relevant video files. This is what you do with the Cycliq, which by design would not transfer files wirelessly to a phone.

The lack of image stabilization would seem to be an issue. But the Varia is a safety device and not an action camera; battery life might be more important than image stabilization. A safety video need not be perfectly smooth to be effective evidence so long as its viewable and sharp enough to allow details like license plate numbers to be discerned. As I indicated, I often turned off image stabilization when I used the Cycliq in order to prolong battery life.

I don't know about the Garmin Edge Connect IQ Widget. Running the Cycliqs as smart lights/devices and controlling them from my Edge was a losing proposition. It was awkward and it ate the battery. I preferred to turn on the units manually and not run them as a light network or connected device.

I'm interested in the Garmin, as I have sworn off Cycliq given its crappy quality control and awful customer support. But I'm going to wait for the Varia firmware and the iPhone and PC Apps to shape up before I reach for my wallet. I'll give it a few months to see how the Garmin is received.

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by djg21

You have to expect this with a light and a camera. I've used the Cycliq Fly 12 CE and Fly 6CE for a handful of years and the Fly 6 CE battery could last for 4 hours only if the video capture rate was turned down to 720p at 60fps, the image stabilization was turned off, the light was not used, and a snowball could be found in hell. Most of my rides have been after work for around hours in the early evening and the Cycliq would last just fine for those rides recording at 1080p at 30fps, with image stabilization on. But anything longer was an issue.

DC Rainmaker's review seemed a little harsh to me. His beef with the Garmin App in particular seemed a bit much. Transferring images wirelessly will necessarily be slow, and that should be expected. But you should be able to review image files by plugging in the device to a PC via USB-C (or by using an SSD reader) and that will be far faster and probably also will make it easier to identify and review relevant video files. This is what you do with the Cycliq, which by design would not transfer files wirelessly to a phone.

The lack of image stabilization would seem to be an issue. But the Varia is a safety device and not an action camera; battery life might be more important than image stabilization. A safety video need not be perfectly smooth to be effective evidence so long as its viewable and sharp enough to allow details like license plate numbers to be discerned. As I indicated, I often turned off image stabilization when I used the Cycliq in order to prolong battery life.

I don't know about the Garmin Edge Connect IQ Widget. Running the Cycliqs as smart lights/devices and controlling them from my Edge was a losing proposition. It was awkward and it ate the battery. I preferred to turn on the units manually and not run them as a light network or connected device.

I'm interested in the Garmin, as I have sworn off Cycliq given its crappy quality control and awful customer support. But I'm going to wait for the Varia firmware and the iPhone and PC Apps to shape up before I reach for my wallet. I'll give it a few months to see how the Garmin is received.

Thanks, this is really useful perspective. You guys are pushing me over the edge to just buy it and see how the dust settles.


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[mtb_frk]

Originally Posted by djg21

You have to expect this with a light and a camera. I've used the Cycliq Fly 12 CE and Fly 6CE for a handful of years and the Fly 6 CE battery could last for 4 hours only if the video capture rate was turned down to 720p at 60fps, the image stabilization was turned off, the light was not used, and a snowball could be found in hell. Most of my rides have been after work for around 1.5 to 2 hours in the early evening and the Cycliq would last just fine for those rides recording at 1080p at 30fps, with image stabilization on. But anything longer was an issue.

DC Rainmaker's review seemed a little harsh to me. His beef with the Garmin App in particular seemed a bit much. Transferring images wirelessly will necessarily be slow, and that should be expected. But you should be able to review image files by plugging in the device to a PC via USB-C (or by using an SSD reader) and that will be far faster and probably also will make it easier to identify and review relevant video files. This is what you do with the Cycliq, which by design would not transfer files wirelessly to a phone.

The lack of image stabilization would seem to be an issue. But the Varia is a safety device and not an action camera; battery life might be more important than image stabilization. A safety video need not be perfectly smooth to be effective evidence so long as its viewable and sharp enough to allow details like license plate numbers to be discerned. As I indicated, I often turned off image stabilization when I used the Cycliq in order to prolong battery life.

I don't know about the Garmin Edge Connect IQ Widget. Running the Cycliqs as smart lights/devices and controlling them from my Edge was a losing proposition. It was awkward and it ate the battery. I preferred to turn on the units manually and not run them as a light network or connected device.

I'm interested in the Garmin, as I have sworn off Cycliq given its crappy quality control and awful customer support. But I'm going to wait for the Varia firmware and the iPhone and PC Apps to shape up before I reach for my wallet. I'll give it a few months to see how the Garmin is received.

I would take a wired battery pack to get more run time vs less. I have the 1st gen radar and I pretty much won’t ride without it. It’s that crucial to my riding. I’ve been waiting for this product for a long time. So hopefully improvements are made.

[Dired]

First impressions - this is a chunky boy, the build quality is excellent, and it feels very dense, no cheap plastics anywhere. Took a second to update and it connected to my Karoo immediately with a new combo light/radar screen. The mount is interesting and will definitely become an annoyance to disconnect due to the elastic bands. Hopefully a permanent solution is in the works. I was initially thinking to make a converter for my bontrager ion seat post mount but this would probably be too heavy and need a more direct connection to the rails. Not going into what dcr already said - it is what it is until they update the app. So far, very happy with this purchase, replaced my light and my radar, while adding a camera, with usbc.




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[djg21]

I use one of these on each of my bikes for my Garmin vtl515: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/521461

I just got one of these for my wife, to switch between her Tri bike with an aero Seatpost, and her gravel bike. https://bikerumor.com/kom-cycling-ga...ia-atop-mount/.

There are options.

As an aside, Velonews’ review is here. https://www.velonews.com/gear/tech-w...-varia-rct715/. Forget the app and this the Varia seems to be a pretty solid piece of tech.

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by djg21

Forget the app and this the Varia seems to be a pretty solid piece of tech.

You need a head unit that can two-way with the unit. My 520 doesn’t so I have to use the app and it does suck. I have about 100 miles on it now and will only buy one when I update to the new -40 series.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

You need a head unit that can two-way with the unit. My 520 doesn’t so I have to use the app and it does suck. I have about 100 miles on it now and will only buy one when I update to the new -40 series.

True. I use an Edge 1030 currently and my rtl515 works great with it. I’m holding out and probably will purchase a 1040 and a rtl715 together. I want the faster processer for navigation — the 1030 tends to lag and give late turn warnings when there are numerous turns in relatively rapid suspension. This has been a problem more in gravel rides where I rely on the Garmin for turn-by-turn directions.

I’m hoping someone will package the new Varia with the 1040 at a bit of a discount. I’m also hoping for a headlight/camera that isn’t a brick like the Cycliq Fly 12CE. I really like the Garmin Varia UT800, which works really well with the Garmin Connect IQ light widget. The automatic light adjustment mode works really well.

[Elefantino]

The 715 works great with the -30 series but the 1040 is soooo much nicer. The GUI is outstanding, a big leap forward.

Except that the 1040 is not official yet so forget what I said.

[LJohnny]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

The 715 works great with the -30 series but the 1040 is soooo much nicer. The GUI is outstanding, a big leap forward.

Except that the 1040 is not official yet so forget what I said.

Oh…ah… interesting. I almost got a 1030 plus so glad i did not….

[oldguy00]

Hey so its been a couple of months.......are people still generally happy with the varia camera?? Or better off going with the non-camera version and possibly a different camera to use with it?

Thx!

[Spdntrxi]

just ordered one myself.

Personally I'm after the incident capture and dont care about making GoPro style videos with it. I have a insta360 for that and even then I rarely do it.

I've had the varia since the first rectangle shaped one and both versions now.. so four varias in all

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by Spdntrxi

just ordered one myself.

Personally I'm after the incident capture and dont care about making GoPro style videos with it. I have a insta360 for that and even then I rarely do it.

I've had the varia since the first rectangle shaped one and both versions now.. so four varias in all

I'm a little confused about the settings for just saving radar activation, and/or just saving incident...... If you have it recording full time, isn't it saving it all anyway (in 30 second files?)?? Maybe I mis-understood how DCrainmaker was describing it all..

[Spdntrxi]

"activity" refers to radar threats = this will be busy recording a lot of stuff

"incidents" is either using your Garmin headunit or the varia built in incident detection to give you a 90sec locked clip (30sec before and 60 after)