A139 Pro Test & Review PP

I think a separate, non-brand-specific discussion about the pros and cons of STARVIS 2 would be a good idea. It could be more inclusive across the forum.

Then if PP, RCG, VR or anyone else wants to talk about any aspects of the A139 Pro they won't be wasting their time. Personally I'm also interested in the power consumption, the effects of using 1, 2 or 3 channels, the heat tolerance in parking mode, FW and app issues etc.
 
Mtz said:
I think A229 had HDR turned off.
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Lothar said:
A229 is capable of HDR? or did they release HDR in a later firmware update as I don't think the A229 had that feature during the initial release?
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The A229 Duo does not have HDR but it does have WDR.

1671570933494.png
 
I was reviewing sample footage putting together my A139 Pro review, and I found some LED Christmas trees like @Paul Iddon recent test footage.
I didn’t realize how nice it looked on camera.
-Chuck
 
Interesting to see that you have SLOW on the road after the rail crossing and not before.
 
Mtz said:
Interesting to see that you have SLOW on the road after the rail crossing and not before.
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From the signage on the road surface and elsewhere, the SLOW warning appears to be due to the upcoming school crossing, not the railroad crossing. Both the railroad and school crossing seem very well marked to me; better than some similar locations I've seen.

And the camera does a nice job capturing everything.
 
Dashmellow said:
From the signage on the road surface and elsewhere, the SLOW warning appears to be due to the upcoming school crossing, not the railroad crossing.
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I hold MTZ in the highest esteem, as a dash cam genius.
But c’mon Mellow, we all have our moments. Lol
 

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Panzer Platform said:
I was reviewing sample footage putting together my A139 Pro review, and I found some LED Christmas trees like @Paul Iddon recent test footage.
I didn’t realize how nice it looked on camera.
-Chuck
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They do look nice and at least not blown out Chuck.

Paul.
 
What firmware is the latest version?
 
Opinions guys - should I have the cam at a different angle? Higher up so less dash visible? I see @Panzer Platform (Chuck's vids) he has little dash showing for instance - far less than mine.

I can see clear plates in many positions, and not so clear in many positions. Do you think the lens is sharp throughout its range (this is another night clip, no CPL).


Paul.
 
Paul Iddon said:
What firmware is the latest version?
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Paul Iddon said:
Opinions guys - should I have the cam at a different angle? Higher up so less dash visible? I see @Panzer Platform (Chuck's vids) he has little dash showing for instance - far less than mine.
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Latest firmware is 1119; https://viofo.com/content/75-A139-Pro-Support/#Firmware

MTZ has personally taken me out behind the woodshed, and very sternly explained to me that I must maintain 50/50 road / sky at all times. This is because the engineers have designed the camera exposure for this 50/50 ratio. I agree with him 100% that this should be followed.

However about a year ago I discovered by accident if I adjust the camera more toward the sky it drastically reduces windshield glare on my particular car.
For some reason my specific windshield had a lot of glare, (even when I use a CPL Filter, and even at night). And I am still able to capture license plates when I review the recorded footage.

So for my A139 Pro review test footage I made sure to obtain the perfect 50/50 ratio for my daytime footage when the bright exposure of the sun is most challenging for the camera. However at night, when the sun is not being so mean to the camera I cheat a bit, and reverted to showing more sky.

Also, if 50/50 is so important how come there is no mention of it in the set up / install instructions in the Viofo User Manual? Maybe this needs to be put in the user manual, or even a superimposed 50/50 horizon line in the “live view” function of the Viofo smartphone APP like MTZ may have mentioned.

 
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Paul Iddon said:
Opinions guys - should I have the cam at a different angle? Higher up so less dash visible?
Click to expand...
Panzer Platform said:
I discovered by accident if I adjust the camera more toward the sky it drastically reduces windshield glare on my particular car.
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I find it depends on a variety of factors and that no one rule applies.

Do you drive a vehicle with a long hood (bonnet) or a short one. Is your vehicle black or some other dark color? Is it white or silver? Do you do a lot of driving under a canopy of trees in a rural environment or tall buildings in an a big city? Do you do most of your driving out on major highways with lots of open sky in front of you?

I've been using dash cams for more than 12 years now and while I have my preferences about how I like to aim my cameras, each and every one of them has required a certain amount of experimentation and fine tuning when aiming the lens up or down until I find the "sweet spot" where I get the optimal exposure and coverage.

Edit: I don't encounter issues with windshield reflections because I use a black dash mat. (and CPL)
 
Driving towards low winter sunlight was a good test of the HDR capabilities of the A139 Pro without a CPL.

4K30 46Mbps (2ch max bitrate), HDR-ON, CPL-OFF, EV=0

I have my camera angle set to about 50:50, however I have not yet experimented with varying this for optimum performance.

The lens on my camera seems fairly sharp from the centre to the edges. It is a wide AOV, so there is quite a lot of motion blur at the edges.
 
Panzer Platform said:
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The nighttime footage is looking very good. Even with Youtube decreasing the image quality.
Seems like way less noise than my T130 has at night.
Maybe you can drop a random screenshot that shows the full image quality?
 
Julian23 said:
Maybe you can drop a random screenshot that shows the full image quality?
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I would love to, but I don't know how to do that. lol
Sorry, I'm very basic.
-Chuck
 
I noticed this on a freeze frame from the other day - HDR is on:

a139_frame-X3.jpg


Anyone else? I assume this double edge (on the plate and car badge) is an effect from the HDR feature.

Paul.
 
Paul Iddon said:
I noticed this on a freeze frame from the other day - HDR is on:

a139_frame-X3.jpg


Anyone else? I assume this double edge (on the plate and car badge) is an effect from the HDR feature.

Paul.
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This is a coincidence.
If the necessary conditions are met, everyone will see this image.
That is, thanks to the reflective material of the plate; If the sun, camera, and license plate line up, everyone can come across the same image.
 
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