VIOFO A119 video quality (bottom corners too dark).

[Gibson99]

Here's what I'm talking about. Not sure why those corners are dark and why there's that circular outline.
View attachment 26869

part of the problem is you have the lens aimed too high. when it records that much sky, it will wash out the video. aim it so that the horizon is just above the center of the frame. yes, you'll record more dashboard, but it will still record stuff like traffic lights and signs just fine. but more importantly, colors and exposure will look a LOT better. and the dark areas at the bottom corners of the windshield (caused by the fact that the wide angle lens is looking edge-long through a lot of glass at that distance) will be less dark.

also maybe consider moving your air freshener somewhere else so it's not reflecting in the window.

 

[DavidUK]

Those dark curved bottom corners are so uniform each side they do look like the lens picking up its own surround.

Hard to see how that's possible unless the lens has somehow been pushed in?

 

[jqnguyen]

part of the problem is you have the lens aimed too high. when it records that much sky, it will wash out the video. aim it so that the horizon is just above the center of the frame. yes, you'll record more dashboard, but it will still record stuff like traffic lights and signs just fine. but more importantly, colors and exposure will look a LOT better. and the dark areas at the bottom corners of the windshield (caused by the fact that the wide angle lens is looking edge-long through a lot of glass at that distance) will be less dark.

also maybe consider moving your air freshener somewhere else so it's not reflecting in the window.

Hmmm. I shall try that. Thanks!

I don't want to remove my air freshener... It's been sitting there for 3+ years.. . It's actually just the case, there's no freshener in there. lol.

 

[jqnguyen]

Those dark curved bottom corners are so uniform each side they do look like the lens picking up its own surround.

Hard to see how that's possible unless the lens has somehow been pushed in?

I don't think so.. I've been as careful as I could with the lens. I think I accidentally touched it once, but never with much force. I'll examine it in a bit when I get the chance!

 

[abarth]

only because I dabble in photography a bit. this effect is called vignetting. it happens in all types of lenses but the effect is most noticeable in wide angle lenses.

here's a good explanation.

 

[jqnguyen]

I just got the message that my SD card is full and my A119 stopped recording. Isn't it suppose to overwrite the SD card automatically? I just manually formatted the card through the Viofo to clear up the memory.

only because I dabble in photography a bit. this effect is called vignetting. it happens in all types of lenses but the effect is most noticeable in wide angle lenses.

here's a good explanation.

Interesting.. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I just got the message that my SD card is full and my A119 stopped recording. Isn't it suppose to overwrite the SD card automatically? I just manually formatted the card through the Viofo to clear up the memory.

Do you have looping turned off?

 

[jqnguyen]

Do you have looping turned off?

I have whatever was default. I checked the setting and it was set to 'OFF'. What time limit should I set it to?

I'm sorry for all the questions, everyone! I'm barely stepping into the dash cam world so there's a lot I need to learn.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I think most set it to 3 min, but everyone has there own preference. Looping set to off should not be the default setting. I think default is 3min. Maybe you turned it off by mistake? Anyway, longer lengths will create larger files.

 

[Bob Black]

@DavidUK: yes, I am already gathering some info about that Lukas LK-290 battery discharge thing. It's been recommended by this web, so I will give it a go (or maybe I'll have a go at Lukas' upgraded version with a digital display). My car can power lighter sockets for 30 minutes, after that my cameras stop recording (they record at full 30/60 fps even after ignition's off). After those 30 minutes have passed, I need my cameras to start time lapse recording.

//rear camera installed, had a quick run at sunset, need a bit of tweaking as image is too dark and grainy (maybe ramp up an EV one notch and point it even more towards boot). Tried it at 1080/60 and I really do like the smoothness of footage when viewed on my PC. May keep it as my default resolution and do the same for the front camera too.

 

[Gibson99]

@DavidUK: yes, I am already gathering some info about that Lukas LK-290 battery discharge thing. It's been recommended by this web, so I will give it a go (or maybe I'll have a go at Lukas' upgraded version with a digital display). My car can power lighter sockets for 30 minutes, after that my cameras stop recording (they record at full 30/60 fps even after ignition's off). After those 30 minutes have passed, I need my cameras to start time lapse recording.

//rear camera installed, had a quick run at sunset, need a bit of tweaking as image is too dark and grainy (maybe ramp up an EV one notch and point it even more towards boot). Tried it at 1080/60 and I really do like the smoothness of footage when viewed on my PC. May keep it as my default resolution and do the same for the front camera too.

a good rule of thumb with most dashcams is to have the horizon just above center of the frame. yes, that will mean the bottom of the frame is mostly your dash/bonnet/boot but it also means the picture will be better exposed and show a lot more detail and better colors. so try that before you tweak the EV setting.

 

[Bob Black]

Will do, cheers for your advice.

 

[DavidUK]

@Bob Black I think the Vicovation Power Plus looks better than the LK-290. Any users care to comment?
http://www.vicovation.com/productdetial.asp?id=E61BAB5B-D4D8-4BDB-9B97-D7064A93C859&lang=eng

Note that Lukas don't recommend the 290 for CANBUS equipped cars: http://lukashd.co.uk/product/blackvue-smart-power-device/
They recommend instead the LK-530 (which they don't sell anymore) and so you then find the LK-570... at £230!: https://lukashd.co.uk/product/lukas-lk-570-power-pack/

Vicovation have confirmed to me in writing theirs is fine with CANBUS.

And @jqnguyen I was saying the lens may have been pushed in during assembly, not that you'd done it. Other footage from other A119 cams doesn't have the vignetting.

 

[Bob Black]

Fifty quid? Well I need to think about it. Looks professional tho'.

 

[Bob Black]

Pointed the camera down and didn't mess with EV value and it is much better now (bar that reflection of course). This one seems to be okay so I'll swap it with the front one which has some slight out of focus issue.

 

[DavidUK]

See my photo: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...aviduks-a119-odyssey.21981/page-4#post-290412

 

[DavidUK]

Here's what I'm talking about. Not sure why those corners are dark and why there's that circular outline.
View attachment 26869

Don't worry, @Cainor has the answer: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...aviduks-a119-odyssey.21981/page-4#post-290454

 

[Gibson99]

Pointed the camera down and didn't mess with EV value and it is much better now (bar that reflection of course). This one seems to be okay so I'll swap it with the front one which has some slight out of focus issue.

I know the UK is ahead of my time zone, but I didn't realize it was a whole month ahead!

Might want to check your time and date setting

 

[Mtz]

That is better compared to if the year was 2017 thinking that you had sleep for a year!?

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[DavidUK]

Yes, I will check all settings today.