Dashboard cameras might become a necessity for every vehicle on the road soon, considering all the benefits it provides, we might say it’s the right and reasonable thing to do.
With this fast progressing technology, deciding what dashboard camera you should buy is getting more difficult.
So maybe today’s topic the Crosstour Cr900 will be the answer to the difficult “what dashboard camera should I buy” question.
Table Of Contents
Crosstour Cr900 at a glance
Among the range of Crosstour dash cam models, the Cr900 is an entry-level dual dashboard camera.
With its great features, and a reasonable price this might be your best choice when shopping for a dashcam.
Let’s start with the Cr900’s basic information, as I mentioned this is a dual dashboard camera, which means that you will have a camera installed at the front of the car and the rear.
This will give you an almost complete view of every angle of your car, making your trip safer.
Both of the cameras, the front and the rear offer a Full HD 1920 x 1080p max resolution, with high-quality footage no matter if it’s daytime or nighttime.
The Cr900 comes with a Novatek 96665 processor chip, Sony IMX323 sensor, and features like G-sensor, Super Hawkeye Nightvision.
It also has a built-in microphone and speaker.
The video format is MP4 with a date and time stamp.
The Cr900 supports micro-SD memory cards, unfortunately, the maximum capacity of the memory card is 32GB.
This size memory card can record footage of around 4 hours, so you might have to clean the memory card more often than you thought.
Besides transferring the footage with removing the SD card, the Cr900 also supports a USB port that you can connect to your laptop or smartphone to transfer data.
Connecting to your smartphone is not an option, since it doesn’t have Wi-Fi, but that is common in dashboard cameras in this price range.
You can fixate the dashcam to the adhesive mount that comes with it, and the long 5,9-meter cable that connects the rear camera to the front one.
Be sure that this cable length works fine for your car before purchasing.
Crosstour cr900 Features
Besides the basic features that go with most of today’s dashboard cameras, the Cr900 has some other interesting features.
These are some of the other features included in the Cr900 that make it a better trip companion.
GPS Track Your Path Option
Although it doesn’t come with a built-in GPS, you can buy an additional GPS antenna that can track your path, speed, and location.
All of the gathered data can be viewed in a specific render
Dual F1.8 Aperture
Both cameras can support the F1.8 Super Big Aperture, the rear camera can even support F2.2 or bigger.
The F1.8 is used because it allows more light to get in, therefore bringing better and brighter images.
Also, the Cr900 has a high dynamic range (HDR) that’s suitable for when there’s backlight or low light.
Sony Sensor
The Cr900 uses the Sony IMX323 sensor, it provides advanced imaging technology along with improving the processing efficiency.
The advantages of the Sony sensor can be noticed in a low light environment, like cloudy weather or nightscape.
Overall the sensor strengthens the imaging.
G-Sensor
Another great feature that the Cr900 has is the built-in G-sensor.
The G-sensors role is to lock important footage from being overwritten.
It can detect a crash and with the help of its 3-meter motion sensors and save the footage.
The saved footage starts 10 seconds before the impact so you can have all the details of the accident.
Super Hawkeye Night Vision
Both the front and rear cameras have an F1.8 aperture and HDR(high dynamic range)
This allows more light to come in, and the latter adjusts the imaging. The Cr900 gets clearer footage and image than any other dashboard camera at night.
Also, it’s important that the
Cr900 has no trouble catching license plates on other cars, unlike many other dashcams.
Video Quality
Video quality is the most important feature on any dashboard camera, so if you are indecisive between two cameras the one with better video quality should be your first choice.
That being said, the Crosstour Cr900 does not disappoint in that view.
The maximum recording resolution is full HD 1080p on both the front and rear camera.
The daytime video quality of the front camera is surprisingly good, and we could rate the rear camera as fair.
The nighttime video quality is good on both, the front and the rear camera.
It helps that it has a Super hawkeye night vision.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that the Cr900 is the cheapest quality front and rear camera on the market.
Wide Angle Dash Cam
The Cr900 has a one of a kind Dual 170° Wide Angle. Both the front and rear lens are 170° wide angles, making it a combined 340° angle covered ground.
This way the dash cam can provide a much wider vision, reducing the blind spots to almost none.
This makes it the only dashboard camera that uses a 340° wide-angle at this price range.
Novatek Processor
The processor chip is the most important part that determines the basic performance of a dashboard camera.
The Cr900 has one of the best processor chips on the market, the Novatek chip.
This chip improves the night vision effect and daytime video quality.
The Design
Even on the first look, you can notice how good the cameras look, with it’s black and sharp design this camera can only make your car interior look better.
The design makes it remain hidden behind the rearview mirror, that even you won’t even notice it. It’s very economical with space.
The front camera is 89 x 70 x 80mm in dimensions and has a 3’’ screen with 3 buttons that are located on the right side of the camera.
Also, it weighs 75 grams making it a lightweight dashboard camera.
Pros/Cons
Like every other dashboard camera, this one also has some pros and cons worth talking about.
I’m going to lay out some I found are the most important ones.
Pros
- The recording quality, both daytime, and nighttime.
- Amazing new features.
- A 340 angle recording view, 170 front angle, and 170 rear angle.
- Reasonable price.
- The front camera can be rotated up and down, as well as left and right.
- The rear camera can be rotated approximately 240 degrees up and down.
Cons
- A 32GB micro-SD card, usually this type of dashboard camera support 128GB memory cards.
- No built-in battery.
- No GPS mount.
- No motion sensor.
- It has some difficulties connecting to Mac laptops.
- Does not support Wi-Fi
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Crosstour Cr900 come with a micro-SD card?
No the Cr900 does not come with a micro-SD card.
Since you are going to have to buy a micro-SD card we suggest you get a Series 10, 32GB memory card ( since 32GB is the maximum capacity the camera supports).
This memory card will support at least 5 hours of footage.
Also, do not forget about the loop recording the camera has, clean the memory card once a month, so you won’t lose any precious footage.
What’s the minimum and maximum temperature that the Cr900 can handle?
The operating temperature of the Cr900 is between -20C and 60C, that’s 4F to 140F.
The Cr900 has a maximum of 60C, which is higher than most of the cameras in this price range.
What does the Emergency file (in the settings) mean?
The emergency file saves all the footage that’s recorded when the G-sensor is activated.
The G-sensor’s role in the camera is to detect a crash or shake, when it detects it the footage made in the next minute goes into this folder, giving it a priority so it won’t get overwritten.
This is because the G-sensor assumes it’s a crash or accident.
In parking mode does the motion sensor detect movement from people and cars moving by?
No, it can be better explained as an impact or vibration detector.
The sensor can detect a hit in the car, something like a breaking window, or if another car hits you.
Can the Cr900 take pictures?
Yes, the Cr900 can take pictures and are in JPG file format.
Does the camera speed show miles per hour (MPH) or kilometers per hours (KPH)
It’s your choice. You can choose which one to be shown on your footage through the settings, it has miles per hour and kilometers per hour option.
Can I use a bigger size micro-SD memory card?
Although Crosstour says that it only supports a 32 GB micro-SD memory card, some users have reported that it works just fine with a 64 GB memory card.
Keep in mind that this isn’t the recommended size and there might be some risks in trying a 64 GB memory card.
Conclusion
Despite the lack of some features the other manufacturers consider basic, like the mounted GPS, the built-in battery, or Wi-Fi but the Crosstour Cr900 makes up for it in video quality.
Equipped with the Novatek chip, Sony sensor, and the Super Hawkeye Night Vision, the video quality it provides can go toe to toe to other high-end dashboard cameras, despite being half their price.
The Cr900 gets you a 170 front and 170 back view angle and has alerts in case of fatigue.
Overall, we can say with certainty that the Crosstour Cr900 is a good dashboard camera worth considering when you are in the market for a new one.
