A119 Mini 2 Test & Review PP

[Panzer Platform]

I wasn't picking on you for your placement.

I didn't think you were. lol
You've got to be one of the most level headed members on this forum.
I was mostly referring to the comments I get on my experimental test footage videos on YouTube.
-Chuck

 

[LateralNW]

In-car cameras are made for the windshield. Those who want to record from the back, inside and from the side will have 2-channel and 3-channel models. External cameras do not have a microphone. Therefore, if you install a single main camera at the back, it may be affected by wind noise when the window is opened. This is something that can vary from vehicle to vehicle.

If there is a 1ch camera on the back window, I always go with the window open, those who say that they will not be affected by the wind should turn to action cameras. Or, if you insist on having a single camera and a dash cam at the back, you can take the a139, a229 1ch and take an external microphone and position the microphone in the front so that it is not affected by the wind.

Remember, some phones are waterproof and some are not (up to certain conditions).
In summary, it is important to use it for its intended purpose and to follow the advice.

Another use for a dashcam out in the open air.
At the 1m20s point this car goes from zero to 65mph (~110kph) and you can still hear the engine and road noise.

Point being the wind noise doesn't drown out the audio.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Another use for a dashcam out in the open air.
At the 1m20s point this car goes from zero to 65mph (~110kph) and you can still hear the engine and road noise.

Point being the wind noise doesn't drown out the audio.

That was neat, I did something similar trying to diagnose a control arm squeak.

 

[LateralNW]

That was neat, I did something similar trying to diagnose a control arm squeak.

Great idea, sometimes the video helps. I'm guessing you resolved it. Did you lubricate the rubbers or replace the control arm/s

What camera did you use as it also didn't seem to bothered by the wind.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Great idea, sometimes the video helps. I'm guessing you resolved it. Did you lubricate the rubbers or replace the control arm/s

What camera did you use as it also didn't seem to bothered by the wind.

I replaced the one bad control arm.
I use a Sony HDR-AS200V Action Cam from 2015.
It has really good audio.
It even has dual stereo microphones built it.
I use it to make all my YouTube videos.
The reason for so little wind noise is I use a homemade deadcat out of a $1 piece of fabric.
Here's part two of the video if you were really interested.
-Chuck

 

[kamkar]

My car just squeaked for 2 days, when warm, sound like a boat on a dock riding a fender.
But it stopped again.
I am putting my summer tires on this weekend, so will inspect what i can when i have each wheel off.

Also got to grease up my brakes, something there are squeaking too, so i assume they do not release properly.

 

[LateralNW]

I replaced the one bad control arm.
I use a Sony HDR-AS200V Action Cam from 2015.
It has really good audio.
It even has dual stereo microphones built it.
I use it to make all my YouTube videos.
The reason for so little wind noise is I use a homemade deadcat out of a $1 piece of fabric.
Here's part two of the video if you were really interested.
-Chuck

I remember when Sony released that camera and the different opinions about it.
The video quality looks great and I notice you use your phone I'm guessing to work out what the camera is seeing, very nice.

You have a garage!
You have a carpeted garage!
What luxury lol

Good video, love the green laser pointer.
I just changed the lower control arms on the car in the above video. High torque goes into them and they twist and knock when worn.
I've never come across those types of bolts for suspension I've only had to use them for head gasket repair.

I've seen other videos in usa and the bottom of the cars look f... but they still repair them. The term rust belt seems appropriate lol. In Australia i don't think they would pass a car inspection.

How do you clean the carpet if/when you spill oil on it?

Back to the mini v2 have you noticed any video frame loss/jerky play back?

With the new sensors this looks like a great alternative to the A119V3

Cheers.

 

[Panzer Platform]

How do you clean the carpet if/when you spill oil on it?

Whenever I work on stuff I lay cardboard down first.

Back to the mini v2 have you noticed any video frame loss/jerky play back?

I still haven't installed the Mini 2 in my car yet, (front windshield) to gather test footage on my regular test loop.
I'll be able to see if anything is out of the ordinary when I see that footage, and compare it with other cameras.

With the new sensors this looks like a great alternative to the A119V3

The V3 just won't die. lol
I think Viofo keeps it around for those folks who really dislike Wi-Fi & App usage.
I wonder if they'll put the IMX675 in it, and give it USB Type-C, and call it the V4. lol

 

[Mvgratz]

Panzer Platform, can you tell me if the cigarette lighter charger that comes with the mini 2 is fused or not? I assume it is, but didn’t see anything that confirmed this on Viofo’s website.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Panzer Platform, can you tell me if the cigarette lighter charger that comes with the mini 2 is fused or not? I assume it is, but didn’t see anything that confirmed this on Viofo’s website.

Here's some photos of it.
It doesn't look like there is a fuse in it.

 

[Mvgratz]

Here's some photos of it.
It doesn't look like there is a fuse in it.

View attachment 65330
View attachment 65331
View attachment 65332

Thank you for the quick response. I’ll eventually hardwire mine, but temporarily I’ll be running it and my V1G2 detector via a cigarette lighter splitter. It’s got a 10A fuse, and the V1G2 has its own fuse so I should be okay. Especially since neither draw much wattage. Thanks again.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I’m waiting for the sun to set so I can go out, and get my first night time “driving” test footage for the Mini 2.
I also have the A139 Pro, A229, and Original Mini on the front windshield for comparison.
I tried aligning all four cameras in my garage so they will have 50/50 road & sky, and be “equal” in relation to each other.
I recorded some sample footage, and it looks like they are all aligned equally, but when I look at the camera lens’ some are lower / higher than others.
Without a superimposed horizon line on the live view of the Viofo App, it’s very difficult aligning multiple cameras to the same horizon line.
Does anybody want to share their secret tip to getting all the cameras lined up with the same horizon line so it will be “fair” when I’m comparing test footage?
I don't want to get pencil whipped by @Mtz again. lol
@Dashmellow
@kamkar
@LateralNW
@rcg530
@Vortex Radar

 

[Dashmellow]

I tried aligning all four cameras in my garage so they will have 50/50 road & sky, and be “equal” in relation to each other.
I recorded some sample footage, and it looks like they are all aligned equally, but when I look at the camera lens’ some are lower / higher than others.

Seems like you are on the right track here but probably a bit more trial and error is needed to sort it out. It's really all about how each camera has a different lens with a different angle of view.

 

[Leonauto]

... if the cigarette lighter charger that comes with the mini 2 is fused or not? I assume it is, but didn’t see anything that confirmed this on Viofo’s website.

For such adapters, a fuse is not needed and it is never installed, because there is current protection in the converter module from 12V to 5V and if the load is exceeded above the permissible value, the module simply goes into protection and turns off the output voltage.

PS: fuses are placed in the cigarette lighter splitters, because there are just wires and contacts and there are no electronic elements,
and you can connect a compressor, a vacuum cleaner, etc. there. and if the device consumes more than 10A (or another value set by the manufacturer), the fuse blows.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Here is my usual test loop I’ve been using to test, and evaluate all dash cams since 2019.
This time I had the A119 Mini 2, Original A119 Mini, A139 Pro, and A229 on the front windshield.
Keep in mind my car is a 2004 model year with original windshield so it has plenty of rock chips from 19 years of highway driving.
You can really see the artifacts when I pass under street lamps.
Here are the settings & firmware levels for the four cameras.

A119 Mini 2: 2023_0509 (2560 x 1440) 30fps Bitrate: High 30Mbps HDR: On CPL Filter: Off
A119 Mini: 2023_0420 (2560 x 1440) 30fps Bitrate: High 30Mbps HDR: On CPL Filter: Off
A139 Pro: 2023_0321 (3840 x 2160) 30fps Bitrate: Maximum 60Mbps HDR: On CPL Filter: Off
A229 Duo: 2023_0413 (2560 x 1440) 30fps Bitrate: Maximum 30Mbps WDR: Off CPL Filter: Off

As an interesting side note take a look at the difference in file size for these 3 minute clips.
A139 Pro: 1.2 GB
A229 Duo: 640 MB
A119 Mini 2: 606 MB
A119 Mini: 390 MB

 

[Panzer Platform]

Check out these screenshots of the Golden Arches sign from the Mini 2, Mini, A139 Pro, and A229.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Here’s some highway test footage;

 

[LateralNW]

I’m waiting for the sun to set so I can go out, and get my first night time “driving” test footage for the Mini 2.
I also have the A139 Pro, A229, and Original Mini on the front windshield for comparison.
I tried aligning all four cameras in my garage so they will have 50/50 road & sky, and be “equal” in relation to each other.
I recorded some sample footage, and it looks like they are all aligned equally, but when I look at the camera lens’ some are lower / higher than others.
Without a superimposed horizon line on the live view of the Viofo App, it’s very difficult aligning multiple cameras to the same horizon line.
Does anybody want to share their secret tip to getting all the cameras lined up with the same horizon line so it will be “fair” when I’m comparing test footage?
I don't want to get pencil whipped by @Mtz again. lol
@Dashmellow
@kamkar
@LateralNW
@rcg530
@Vortex Radar

I haven't had the "problem" of having that many dashcams on my windscreen in one go but I would use a laser to give me a perfect line across the windscreen you may even be able to see the laser in the video.
Another method that is a lot cheaper is using a chalk line level method (might be a bit tricky but its an option). see both suggests below.

 

[rcg530]

Looking at your nighttime driving examples, I have to say the A119 Mini 2 with HDR on looks "the best".

• My rankings (best to worst):
  • Video: A119 Mini 2, A119 Mini, A139 Pro, A229
    • The A139 Pro (I assume it was operating in 1-channel mode based on the large file size) was only mediocre when it came to capturing license plates of cars that were stationary or only moving at a slightly different speed than your car. The focus quality of your A139 Pro seems to be a bit "soft" as well when compared to the A119 Mini 2.
  • Audio: A229, A139 Pro, A119 Mini 2, A119 Mini
    • The A119 Mini 2 audio recording is certainly better than the A119 Mini, but I wish it was more like the A229 or A139 Pro for the audio volume level.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Looking at your nighttime driving examples, I have to say the A119 Mini 2 with HDR on looks "the best".

• My rankings (best to worst):
  • Video: A119 Mini 2, A119 Mini, A139 Pro, A229
    • The A139 Pro (I assume it was operating in 1-channel mode based on the large file size) was only mediocre when it came to capturing license plates of cars that were stationary or only moving at a slightly different speed than your car. The focus quality of your A139 Pro seems to be a bit "soft" as well when compared to the A119 Mini 2.
  • Audio: A229, A139 Pro, A119 Mini 2, A119 Mini
    • The A119 Mini 2 audio recording is certainly better than the A119 Mini, but I wish it was more like the A229 or A139 Pro for the audio volume level.

Yo Robert,
Thanks for the evaluation.
I agree with the rankings.
The A139 Pro is in 1-channel configuration, the A229 is in 2-channel.
I can't tell the difference between the audio of the Mini 2 & Mini.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion the "soft" focus issue of the A139 Pro is due to the most recent firmware version.
The reason I say that is because my daytime footage with HDR OFF does not have this issue.
It only happens at night with HDR ON.
-Chuck