A329 Test & Review PP

[Chuck McCoy]

wanting your tech to last

buy something proper

I would like to participate in this "suffering"

You guys (Agie & Julian) are preaching to the choir.
“But cheap, pay twice” I get it.
I’m retired on a fixed income living one step above poverty, and one pension check away from behind a homeless bum.
I make zero dollars testing dash cams.
Every time I receive a “free” dash cam for test & review I lose money because I end up buying specialized test equipment that will never be used for any other purpose.
I find myself deciding going out for a burger, or buying stupid MR30 connectors to test battery packs, (I can’t do both).
Bla, bla, bla I’m poor have pity on me.
I’m sure you guys are top wage earners in your respective fields, and I respect that.

Dash cam testing is my fun time hobby, and I love it so you’ll never hear me complain, (except now).
I have a feeling that’s why my dash cam test & review idol / guru quit, (it stopped being fun).
Shoutout to Andrew Lam from Car Cam Central.
I still watch his old videos because I’m such a fan, and I hope to bring 10% of the facts through the testing he provided.
It warms the ****les of my heart that my unintelligent efforts have been recognized by @GPak , and I’ll gladly take him up on his offer to purchase, and send me a “quality” SD card reader, and Type-C cable with his own hard earned cash.
Thank you very much GPak.
I’m trying my damndest to gather accurate, useful data with my limited resources for you, (people smarter than me) to interpret, and it often feels like I get attacked.
Most likely deservedly so.
End rant.
-Chuck

 

[Chuck McCoy]

In this test,

You missed the point.
I'm trying to simulate how "most" new customers will use the camera.
DAYTIME: 60fps, HDR OFF all channels
NIGHT TIME: 30fps, HDR ON all channels

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Based on the tests, I may buy the A329 if there is a sale on Black Friday.

I would only buy from Amazon US, so you have painless 30-Day return policy with free return shipping.
The alternative is grim, (3-Day & buyer pays return shipping to Hong Kong).

 

[Augustus]

You guys (Agie & Julian) are preaching to the choir.
“But cheap, pay twice” I get it.
I’m retired on a fixed income living one step above poverty, and one pension check away from behind a homeless bum.
I make zero dollars testing dash cams.
Every time I receive a “free” dash cam for test & review I lose money because I end up buying specialized test equipment that will never be used for any other purpose.
I find myself deciding going out for a burger, or buying stupid MR30 connectors to test battery packs, (I can’t do both).
Bla, bla, bla I’m poor have pity on me.
I’m sure you guys are top wage earners in your respective fields, and I respect that.

Dash cam testing is my fun time hobby, and I love it so you’ll never hear me complain, (except now).
I have a feeling that’s why my dash cam test & review idol / guru quit, (it stopped being fun).
Shoutout to Andrew Lam from Car Cam Central.
I still watch his old videos because I’m such a fan, and I hope to bring 10% of the facts through the testing he provided.
It warms the ****les of my heart that my unintelligent efforts have been recognized by @GPak , and I’ll gladly take him up on his offer to purchase, and send me a “quality” SD card reader, and Type-C cable with his own hard earned cash.
Thank you very much GPak.
I’m trying my damndest to gather accurate, useful data with my limited resources for you, (people smarter than me) to interpret, and it often feels like I get attacked.
Most likely deservedly so.
End rant.
-Chuck

I can't speak for Julian, but I'm far from top earner in my job category. I simply suggest those better constructed alternatives, and those brands are far far cheaper than local brick and mortar store products in the shops here.

To be honest, no one is going to be 100% happy with how you, me or anyone else tests a product. Appreciative of the results that come through for sure.

We can't change our circumstances, but we can change how we react to people. I don't let it get to me, I'm the one testing (or in this case, you are) so who cares what other people think. It's hard having a tough skin, it took me many years to grow one. But it does you a lot of good in the long run.

 

[lufa6977]

I can't speak for Julian, but I'm far from top earner in my job category. I simply suggest those better constructed alternatives, and those brands are far far cheaper than local brick and mortar store products in the shops here.

To be honest, no one is going to be 100% happy with how you, me or anyone else tests a product. Appreciative of the results that come through for sure.

We can't change our circumstances, but we can change how we react to people. I don't let it get to me, I'm the one testing (or in this case, you are) so who cares what other people think. It's hard having a tough skin, it took me many years to grow one. But it does you a lot of good in the long run.

I was raised in a family that had women that hitched horses to a chuck wagon every day and drove the wagon into the fields to feed the farm hands. Meals were cooked in a cast iron stove...chickens were freshly killed, usually by the women. I came out of my mama with tough skin.

People are the way they are, I will however, call them out when they get 'stupid'. 🙂

 

[Bladex]

$12.99 is just too darn expensive for me.
If the $5.50 model doesn't give me the warm & fuzzies I will return it, and get the Ugreen.
Would that make you happy? lol

from ignorance.

using those types of accessories to keep the card out.

Wouldn't it have a negative impact on the writing speed of the camera?
Taking into account that quite a few writing errors are reported due to not using suitable or writing speed cards, especially if 2 or more channels are used, if this type of accessories lowers the writing speed, writing errors may appear on suitable cards and They didn't give that kind of error.

It is a doubt that arises in my mind.
Although it was bought on Amazon there is no problem, it is returned and the issue is solved.

On the other hand, the USB type C port of the camera is to power the camera in external use to the car and also transfer data to a PC or other external media, but that port could not be used in the future with some new firmware such as channel 3?
According to what I read, as channel 3, mini HDMI could be enabled in the future if I'm not mistaken, but Type C would not be easier as it was with the a229 Pro.

greetings.

 

[Julian23]

You guys (Agie & Julian) are preaching to the choir.
“But cheap, pay twice” I get it.
I’m retired on a fixed income living one step above poverty, and one pension check away from behind a homeless bum.
I make zero dollars testing dash cams.
Every time I receive a “free” dash cam for test & review I lose money because I end up buying specialized test equipment that will never be used for any other purpose.
I find myself deciding going out for a burger, or buying stupid MR30 connectors to test battery packs, (I can’t do both).
Bla, bla, bla I’m poor have pity on me.
I’m sure you guys are top wage earners in your respective fields, and I respect that.

Dash cam testing is my fun time hobby, and I love it so you’ll never hear me complain, (except now).
I have a feeling that’s why my dash cam test & review idol / guru quit, (it stopped being fun).
Shoutout to Andrew Lam from Car Cam Central.
I still watch his old videos because I’m such a fan, and I hope to bring 10% of the facts through the testing he provided.
It warms the ****les of my heart that my unintelligent efforts have been recognized by @GPak , and I’ll gladly take him up on his offer to purchase, and send me a “quality” SD card reader, and Type-C cable with his own hard earned cash.
Thank you very much GPak.
I’m trying my damndest to gather accurate, useful data with my limited resources for you, (people smarter than me) to interpret, and it often feels like I get attacked.
Most likely deservedly so.
End rant.
-Chuck

Don't get me wrong. It was absolutely no attack towards you or intended as one.

They way I wrote it was to warn other members or people who read the forums and just read that there is a SD adapter that might reduce the temperature of the camera but then don't read anything else.
Just a little PSA for everyone.

I get it that money is not growing on trees, we all have to watch our spendings. I also appreciate your efforts to create reviews.
Same as @Agie , I'm far from a top earner. But it's good enough.

 

[Julian23]

Wouldn't it have a negative impact on the writing speed of the camera?

Maybe I can try later to do a speed test if it has an impact on the performance.

 

[Nigel]

You missed the point.
I'm trying to simulate how "most" new customers will use the camera.
DAYTIME: 60fps, HDR OFF all channels
NIGHT TIME: 30fps, HDR ON all channels

Some people will buy the A329 because of the 60 fps, others will buy it because it can run cooler, I’m not sure which group is “most”, maybe the cooler group. Currently that group does not know how much cooler it runs, when configured to be cool

So, the test with the USB card reader should be done with the dash cam configured for coolness.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

because it can run cooler

Prove it, all you do is talk talk. lol

 

[Julian23]

I did some speed tests with my cheap SD card reader regarding write speed and power consumption.
One thing I can already spoiler: It's not looking good.
I will likely create another thread to not flood this here.

 

[Nigel]

I did some speed tests with my cheap SD card reader regarding write speed and power consumption.
One thing I can already spoiler: It's not looking good.
I will likely create another thread to not flood this here.

I think the coolest microSD card reader I have is one of the Viofo ones that sometimes come with the cameras. It stays cool because it is not very fast, but the dashcams don't actually write very fast, so maybe that would work?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

cheap SD card reader

coolest microSD card reader

I was just thinking about that.
When I come back from gathering test footage from multiple dash cams, I use this rig to quickly look at footage from all the cameras, (see attached photo).
It’s very convenient.
Now that we have Type-C SSD on the A329.
I hope @viofo @VIOFO-Support will include Type-C Viofo Brand card readers with every camera, just like they have in the past with Type-A.
C’mon why not? lol

 

[DT MI]

C’mon why not?

Money

 

[Augustus]

I think the coolest microSD card reader I have is one of the Viofo ones that sometimes come with the cameras. It stays cool because it is not very fast, but the dashcams don't actually write very fast, so maybe that would work?

Maybe because it doesn't write at high speeds, then again could just be better constructed. SanDisk thumb drives and card readers, a lot of them run hot, not cos they write fast but cos they're just poorly made lol

 

[Augustus]

Money

Correct. Every little bit adds to the manufacturing cost, across thousands of units, all impacts through bottom line

 

[Augustus]

I did some speed tests with my cheap SD card reader regarding write speed and power consumption.
One thing I can already spoiler: It's not looking good.
I will likely create another thread to not flood this here.

Looking forward to it, link us the thread when you're done 🙂

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Shoutout to @GPak thank you so much!

The UGREEN card reader was just delivered;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0BNBXVLZS

The 2 Meter Type-C extension cable is scheduled for delivery tomorrow;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0D1V76CYB

I also received the $5.50 el cheapo;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B09L4NDV4X

How do I perform a “speed test” on these card readers to confirm & verify they will be “fast enough” to function properly with the A329?
I plan to use a Viofo Brand 512GB SD Card, (if that makes any difference).
@Nigel
@Julian23
@GPak
@Agie

 

[Augustus]

Shoutout to @GPak thank you so much!

The UGREEN card reader was just delivered;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0BNBXVLZS

The 2 Meter Type-C extension cable is scheduled for delivery tomorrow;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0D1V76CYB

I also received the $5.50 el cheapo;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B09L4NDV4X

How do I perform a “speed test” on these card readers to confirm & verify they will be “fast enough” to function properly with the A329?
I plan to use a Viofo Brand 512GB SD Card, (if that makes any difference).
@Nigel
@Julian23
@GPak
@Agie

You'd be measuring the card speeds more than anything, theoretical maximum write and read speeds of a product are rarely achieved anyway. If you're getting abnormally low microSD speeds on a decent A2 v30 card like viofo, I'd be suspicious of the card reader first of all

 

[Nigel]

How do I perform a “speed test” on these card readers to confirm & verify they will be “fast enough” to function properly with the A329?

How fast they are depends on what they are plugged into, and on what card is plugged into them, but the only speed that matters is if they are fast enough to work with the A329, so I suggest that you just try them out and see if they record reliably. How fast they are when plugged into a high spec gaming PC is not relevant. How fast they are when plugged into an iPhone might be of interest to some, but that is not what this test is about, and I don't think your iPhone is USB-C anyway.

I think what we are interested in is:

• How much cooler does the camera run when using an external card reader, compared to internal, and external SSD.
• Same for power consumption.
• Are they reliable.
• Do they work on the end of a 2 meter extension cable, so that you can hide them from thieves somewhere cool near the floor rather than in the heat near the roof, or lock them in the glove box.