A139 - 3 channel dashcam - early impressions/review

[Paul Iddon]

This is the latest dashcam from Viofo - the A139 3channel dashcam.






It's a different design shape compared to their usual wedge shaped design - it reminds me of one of those E-Vape contraptions - but it looks good!

The front camera has a Sony IMX335 Sensor, 140 degree, 6G/7G lens, the interior camera: Sony IMX291 Sensor, 170 degree 6G/7G lens. The rear camera: Sony IMX291 Sensor, 140 degree 6G/7G lens.

The sensor from Novatek is the NTK96687.

The first thing you'll notice is the size - and that the dashcam has no screen; it's settings are done in the Viofo mobile app.

Note too, on the second image, the location of the memory card slot - on this model it is on the right hand side located just above the rotating forward facing lens, included with this is the CPL, a welcome addition straight out of the box.

Across the top of the camera body are the following:

1. AV out 2. External Microphone Port 3. Screw Hole 4. Rear Camera Port 5. Interior Camera Port 6. Power In (USB-C).

On the left is the reset and microphone, and as mentioned, on the right, the microSD slot. The camera can take 512Gb cards.

Across the main body the usual buttons are there: Power On | OFF, Recording Start | Stop, Video Protect, Microphone On | OFF, and the Wi-Fi On | OFF button.

The camera mounts directly to the windscreen via the GPS enabled mount.

Included with the cam (in the box) are the following: Card Reader Adapter, Trim Removal Tool, Static (Windshield) Stickers, spare Front Mount +3M Sticker and spare Rear Mount +3M Sticker.

The rear camera cable is 6 metres long, and the internal IR camera cable is 1 metre long. They attach into the top of the main body. These cables are incredibly thin - nothing like the cables you normally have to send through the car to the back window, and as a consequence, they tuck away very easily.

Optional accessories include: A Bluetooth Control, a Hardwire Kit, External microphone and a Screw mounting bracket.

Time frame for each video file is 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 10 minutes. When there is insufficient space on the Micro SD card, loop recording will automatically overwrite the oldest files (one by one). Loop recording files are saved to SD card in the DCIM/MOVIE folder.

Feature set:

Resolution:

Front Camera + Rear camera: 2560 * 1440P 30fps / 60fps + 1920*1080P 30fps Front Camera + Interior camera: 2560 * 1440P 30fps / 60fps + 1920*1080P 30fps Front Camera + Interior camera + Rear camera: 2560 * 1440P 30fps / 60fps + 1920*1080P 30fps + 1920*1080P 30fps

Time Lapse: Record video from frames captured at specific time intervals to conserve memory and reduce the time it takes to review video. The default is off.

Exposure adjustments:

Adjusting the value of the EV (Exposure Value) properly can create better footage under different light sources. It ranges from -2.0 to +2.0. You can adjust the EV for the front, interior and rear camera separately. The default is set at 0.0.

WDR:

On / Off. The dynamic range is the ratio of the brightest portion of the image to the darkest portion of the image. WDR enables the camera to deliver video with a near perfect exposure in varying lighting situations.

G-Sensor:

The G-sensor measures shock forces and locks the video recorded at the time. The settings from “low to high” determine the amount of force needed to lock the file from being overwritten.

Bitrates:

You can set the bitrate for video. High bitrate may improve the quality and smoothness of the video, especially when recording fast motion or high contrast scenes. Using high bitrate mode may decrease the amount of recording time available on your memory card. Using a low bitrate will save space and record for longer time.

Wi-Fi:

Off / 2.4GHz / 5GHz. Obviously, you are better off choosing 5GHz Wi-Fi mode.

Boot Delay:

The camera will boot seconds later when powered on. The settings are off, 5 seconds and 10 seconds.

Parking Mode:

Auto Event Detection Including buffered parking mode, the camera will automatically record a video sequence (from 15 seconds before the event to 30 seconds after the event) while a moving object is detected during parking. It will stop recording without new movements. With Time Lapse recording, Time lapse records a video at low frames at 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 15 fps, It keeps recording continuously without audio recorded. In Low Bitrate Recording the camera records video in low bitrate for both front and rear. It keeps recording continuously in mini file size with audio recorded.

Parking G-sensor:

Adjusts the sensitivity of the motion detection so minor motion caused by wind or rain doesn't trigger a recording. The G-sensor detects significant or sudden movement (such as an impact or collision), it will trigger an event recording. The recommended setting is High sensitivity in parking mode recording.

The IR LED's operate the following ways: On means IR lights are always on, so the video color is black and white. Auto means the dash cam will decide to turn on/off infrared lights with different light condition. Off means the IR lights are all turned off. You can also short press power button to enable / disable the IR LED.

Onto a bit of video then:

What is in the box:

Video under cloudy daylight driving:

Video from night time driving with internal camera set to IR (black and white footage):

The camera uses the same front sensor as the A129+ camera - the difference is the A129+ gives a wider view:

I drove the same route in daylight with the WDR "Off" on the left video and "On" on the right video:

The following three show the front, interior (sorry!!!) and the rear camera in bright daylight:

All three cameras utilise Sony image sensors - the front camera is IMX335, the rear and interior are both IMX291. That will give some very decent quality videos as you will see form the ones above.

My overall impression is favourable. I like the style, I really like the cabling for the extra camera modules and when you launch the app, you'll find navigation is quick and easy, especially with 5Ghz enabled.

So far there is little to fault the latest release on - however, I should mention the following:

Mine is powered by the supplied 12v socket/plug, and I do not use collision detection or parking mode (my car doesn't like having power drawn by dash cameras). With this in mind, I do however give this release a big thumbs up.

*Please note - I do not work for ANY dashcam company and these conclusion, whether interpreted as good bad or indifferent are my own.

Thanks for reading - and if you would, why not subscribe to my YT channel (just makes it more fun for me!!!)

Paul.

 

[joe384]

Are you able to flip the image on the rear cam, so you can flip the camera and choose what side the connector is on?

On one of the pictures of the contents in the other thread I'm sure it mentioned the IR camera is optional.. I wonder how viofo will sell it (with or without IR cam)?

 

[kamkar]

I think they will sell it as a regular dual camera, with a "Uber" interior camera option.
You could also get the full Monty and turn off IR and use the 2 remote cameras as side cameras, though that will also need a second long cable, Viofo could even sell it this way with 2 rear cameras, which are usable if you like me have fixed glass on the side ( doors in my case ) onto which you stick the cameras in a conventional way.

Vehicles that dont allow for mounting on fixed glass, well thats a whole other ballgame in regard to how then to best make side cameras thats possible to mount on the many different ways door / headliner / B _ C pillars are designed.
Personally i feel the best option is to mount off the top of the door side so the camera sit in front of the lowest part of the glass, but door trim ( plastics ) in this area are also not standard, so probably need some form of flexible but still strong mount to be able to install on most cars.
A second option if to go down in phone sized camera lenses, these even smaller lenses should make it possible to make the side camera units even smaller, and small is good not least on side systems and their install.

 

[Paul Iddon]

You can flip them yes.

I tried the interior both ways so it showed me sat on the left and the right as you view it.

 

[kamkar]

TBH my best idea is to provide some plastic that you can make soft in boiling water, then hold it up against the door top / window surface, and then you could conform it to those shapes and angles before the plastic harden again.
You would then have a flat surface up against your door glass on which you could mount the conventional camera housing / mount, and still have your window be able to go up and down as it is all mounted / stuck to the door plastics.

Maybe Kydex will be a good idea, i have not yet gotten around to try and make a knife holster in that material,,,,,, one of my many many little plans on hold due to financial reasons.

 

[Nigel]

TBH my best idea is to provide some plastic that you can make soft in boiling water

wouldn't that melt in the sun?

Maybe use some silicone putty.

​

 

[kamkar]

Yes that is something i an thinking about too, i am planning to do some testing with the styrene plastic we use for model building, but this just in regard to " could a normal person, with the tools and skill a normal person have actually do this"
And just as a proof of concept, then the dashcam makers can run with it if they feel like it, i am in no place to research material properties ASO, i will leave that to the ones that are willing to go all the way with my idea.

My proof of concept i will probably only use 1 mm plastic, and a heat gun / hair dryer to get it soft enough to conform to the shapes where i intend to put such a camera if that was my only option.

Fabricating a mount for side cameras i feel are very hard, i think you at least need 2-3 different models to cover most shapes.

 

[Nigel]

Fabricating a mount for side cameras i feel are very hard, i think you at least need 2-3 different models to cover most shapes.

I've never been able to work out where to put it even if I did fabricate it! If it is too close to the glass then it can only see out one window, the field of view is too narrow, and the motion blur is much higher because it is so close to the passing vehicles.

For me, I think the best place for a side camera is either on the opposite A pillar, but then it is not good for the rear, or where I have the interior camera now, which is on the overhead lamp, in a space that I think was designed for a map reading light but is actually just a cover panel.

 

[kamkar]

I had a side camera on the back of my B pillar, it worked fine, though drunk people was able to get their head that close and bump it, but it never came off.
But those locations are very close to curtain airbags ASO, the very bottom of the door glass not so much, first of all by then the bag are more or less unfolded + i dont think they deploy parallel to the glass and touching it.

Some cars even appear to have a fairly flat top of the plastic trim on the doors ( like yours ) so it might probably be flat enough to just stick a camera on without a special mount / adapter.

My biggest worry actually are to make it child proof, i am inclined to think that a foot or two of wire tethered from the camera ( like the K2S units have to a degree is the best option, then kids have no plugs to pull apart as you could have those inside the door )

 

[jokiin]

You can flip them yes.

I tried the interior both ways so it showed me sat on the left and the right as you view it.

left to right is mirror image, image flip would turn the image upside down which is what you'd need if mounting the camera facing the opposite way

 

[kamkar]

i mounted my camera so i had to flip it so up / down was correct, this also appeared fine aside for cars having mirrored license plates and me driving on the left which we do not do in Denmark.



As no other option was possible now, i had to flip my camera in the rear window.

 

[Nigel]

That is a true flip, what you wanted is a 180 degree rotate.

 

[HonestReview]

This is the latest dashcam from Viofo - the A139 3channel dashcam.

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So far there is little to fault the latest release on - however, I should mention the following:

Mine is powered by the supplied 12v socket/plug, and I do not use collision detection or parking mode (my car doesn't like having power drawn by dash cameras). With this in mind, I do however give this release a big thumbs up.

*Please note - I do not work for ANY dashcam company and these conclusion, whether interpreted as good bad or indifferent are my own.

Thanks for reading - and if you would, why not subscribe to my YT channel (just makes it more fun for me!!!)

Paul.

Why did I watch this...now I'm kicking myself. Last 2 months have been chaotic and just haven't had time to be on here. That interior view camera is just what I've been wanting! Man, I hope Bill Zhou will get some more samples. I really want to try this out alongside my A129 Duo.

 

[Paul Iddon]

The interior cam is good for those that need it - the image is clean and sharp - but a bit "in your face".... Watching myself is a little disconcerting though... all those facial movements I never knew about!!!

 

[jokiin]

The interior cam is good for those that need it - the image is clean and sharp - but a bit "in your face".... Watching myself is a little disconcerting though... all those facial movements I never knew about!!!

in your face suits the Uber crowd, facing out the drivers window suits the conspiracy crowd

 

[HonestReview]

The interior cam is good for those that need it - the image is clean and sharp - but a bit "in your face".... Watching myself is a little disconcerting though... all those facial movements I never knew about!!!

I have an interior camera from Zenfox but that's a whole other...

This camera looks like what I've been hoping would come out but now have missed the boat....

Maybe if they come out with their integrated 3 Channel (integrated front + interior) + rear I can get in on that trial. IRL had some major ups and downs over the last two months. Just haven't had much online time until now.

 

[jokiin]

This camera looks like what I've been hoping would come out but now have missed the boat....

not really, rumor has it they will sell them, you'll be able to buy one soon

 

[Johnc]

I see A139 is using the thinner coaxial cables. Can they bend easily and run around corners as the old cables?

 

[HonestReview]

not really, rumor has it they will sell them, you'll be able to buy one soon

Rumor has it being a beta tester / product tester is much better!

 

[viofo]

I see A139 is using the thinner coaxial cables. Can they bend easily and run around corners as the old cables?

Normally we do not suggest bend it too much. According to our testing, these coaxial cable is not easy to break, the same cables from the supplier are widely used on cars, trucks.