A139 (Pro) Telephoto Remote Camera

[DAP]

The double image of headlights is most likely light reflecting off the two surfaces of the windshield. The dimmer image is offset up due to the angle of the windshield.
It looks like plates are over exposed at night. You could try reducing the exposure a couple of stops to see if that helps.

 

[viofo]

I also did some testing with a telephoto lens, it is only a little longer than the current rear cam lens.

 

[Lothar]

I also did some testing with a telephoto lens, it is only a little longer than the current rear cam lens.

It's good enough to read the license plate of the 2 cars in front.

Is a 3CH dashcam with a telephoto lens possibly in Viofo's future?
Some of us don't care for having an interior cabin camera because we don't do rideshare for Uber, Lyft, or DiDi.

or even a 1CH telephoto dashcam in the format of an A119 V3 or A119Mini?

A number of us had this discussion starting from Post #155 in this thread below until the very end of the thread.

Linus tech tips on dashcams.

He is fairly accurate for low light conditions. In good lighting the Thinkware is probably a little better than he suggested, and if you are parked in good lighting then the Blackvue is a little better than he suggested. I don't think he was very accurate with regards to the SoCs, a lot of...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[TonyM]

I also did some testing with a telephoto lens, it is only a little longer than the current rear cam lens.

At about 2x zoom, or half the width of the regular camera, I find that a modest telephoto view can be useful.

I might run this telephoto camera alongside my A139 Pro, similar to your example.

 

[Harsh]

I also did some testing with a telephoto lens, it is only a little longer than the current rear cam lens.

Little more zoom. Please.

 

[TonyM]

Little more zoom. Please.

I was thinking I could try replacing the 6mm F1.2 with an 8mm lens, also for a little more zoom. I need to check a few dimensions first to see if it works.

I think you tried a few 8mm lenses. Which one did you like best?

 

[Harsh]

I was thinking I could try replacing the 6mm F1.2 with an 8mm lens, also for a little more zoom. I need to check a few dimensions first to see if it works.

I think you tried a few 8mm lenses. Which one did you like best?

I tried 2-3 brands before Fulekan. Earlier ones were 3MP. The 5MP ones from Fulekan are good, have been using them for a while now. I have 8mm in the rear and 12mm in the front. Plan on replacing the 12mm lens with an 8mm soon.

 

[Dashmellow]

I was thinking I could try replacing the 6mm F1.2 with an 8mm lens, also for a little more zoom. I need to check a few dimensions first to see if it works.

There are a few 3 MP 8mm starlight lenses available now from Treeye and Yumiki that I don't recall seeing when I purchased the two different 6mm versions I own. There's a 4K 8mm available now too.(10.5 mm BFL)

Yumiki M12 CCTV 3MP 8mm lens F1.5 Focal Length 8mm Sensor 1/2.5" ​

Starlight Lens 8mm CCTV Lens HD 3.0Megapixel IP Cameras Lens F1.5 M12​

4K Lens 12Megapixel Fixed M12 Lens 8mm Long Distance View 1/1.7 inch For IMX226 IMX178 4K IP CCTV camera or 4K Action Camera​

 

[kamkar]

Who ever came up with the idea that a anemic little Suzuki swift should have dual exhausts, should be severely reprimanded.

 

[viofo]

It's good enough to read the license plate of the 2 cars in front.

Is a 3CH dashcam with a telephoto lens possibly in Viofo's future?
Some of us don't care for having an interior cabin camera because we don't do rideshare for Uber, Lyft, or DiDi.

or even a 1CH telephoto dashcam in the format of an A119 V3 or A119Mini?

A number of us had this discussion starting from Post #155 in this thread below until the very end of the thread.

Linus tech tips on dashcams.

He is fairly accurate for low light conditions. In good lighting the Thinkware is probably a little better than he suggested, and if you are parked in good lighting then the Blackvue is a little better than he suggested. I don't think he was very accurate with regards to the SoCs, a lot of...

dashcamtalk.com

I have following this discussion since from Mobius telephoto lens.
I thought the best result is to have a telephoto lens with HDR support.

I am afraid the telephoto lens is out of focus while heating.

 

[TonyM]

I have following this discussion since from Mobius telephoto lens.
I thought the best result is to have a telephoto lens with HDR support.

I am afraid the telephoto lens is out of focus while heating.

It's nice to know you have been following our telephoto discussions for a few years

Now that proper HDR is becoming available, I agree that it could benefit a telephoto camera. Have you tried this with Starvis 2 yet? I have ordered an A139 Pro, but I have no plans to experiment with putting a telephoto in the front camera.

Focus shift due to temperature change can be more noticeable with telephoto lenses because they have such a shallow depth of field compared to wide angle lenses. For the enthusiast, we can adjust the focus until we find a good balance in cold / hot temperatures. I can see how this could be an issue for a manufacturer to achieve acceptable quality control for mass produced cameras.

 

[Dashmellow]

I have following this discussion since from Mobius telephoto lens.
I thought the best result is to have a telephoto lens with HDR support.

I am afraid the telephoto lens is out of focus while heating.

I'm aware that you've been following the Mobius discussion for a long time Bill, because you liked a particular post of mine in my "Mobius 5MP Varifocal Zoom 6-22mm ƒ/1.6" thread from all the way back on June 7, 2018.

When you liked the post it gave me hope that we might eventually see Viofo produce such a camera.

Viofo has always been one of the very few dash cam developers that has been interested in innovative design and engineering along with introducing unique new products that push the envelope whereas most dash cam developers these days essentially just copy what everyone else is doing. Developing a dual focal length wide/telephoto lens front facing camera seems like it would be right up Viofo's alley.

June 7, 2018

Well, many of us who have been experimenting with aftermarket telephoto lenses in our dash cams (primarily the Mobius) have found great benefit in having such optical reach and highly detailed capture of cars and scenes out in front of us. Of course, not one of us would be willing to give up our more traditional wide angle dash cams in lieu of just having the telephoto. Since the chipset technology for high quality dual channel cameras already exists and is already on the market in another form factor, certainly an integrated dual wide/telephoto lens front facing camera is quite viable and may have much appeal to a certain segment of the dash cam buying public.

It would not surprise me to learn that some enterprising dash cam developer has been reading this thread and is already putting the wheels in motion.

Also, here's a comment I posted to the same thread the previous day:

June 6, 2018

Now that we have viable high quality dual channel dash cams, the chipset technology already exists to build a dual focal length front facing dash cam. All that needs to happen is to get rid of the cable and relocate the remote cam module to the front camera housing and engineer the best telephoto into it. Or it could be a base cam with a short cabled front facing telephoto with flexible positioning and aiming.

I predict such a product may yet come about.

P.S. I've never experienced any heat related out-of-focus issues with any of the telephoto lens modifictions I've ever experimented with. I don't recall anyone else mentioning this either.

 

[Julian23]

Developing a dual focal length wide/telephoto lens front facing camera seems like it would be right up Viofo's alley.

A Starvis 2 camera with one wide angle and one telephoto lens in the same housing would probably capture every plate, even at night.

 

[Dashmellow]

A Starvis 2 camera with one wide angle and one telephoto lens in the same housing would probably capture every plate, even at night.

Those of us who have been around dash cameras for a decade or more have witnessed the introduction of new sensor technologies that have pushed the state of the art forward and go on to become game changers.

In the "early days" you could mostly only find 720p dash cams but eventually 1080p cameras were introduced. You could get pretty impressive results during the day but it was not "great" by today's standards. The cameras suffered from low bit rates that often produced poor dynamic range and pixel blocking artifacts. The main problem was that these cameras were almost useless at night. With most cameras, at best you could see a very grainy image in front of your car with your bright headlights on. Even driving on a brightly lit city street image capture wasn't so great.

Then, in 2013 cameras such as the LS300W, the nearly identical but lower priced clone the GT300W and the even lower priced clone-of-a-clone GW1 series were introduced. The cameras used the then new NT96650 processor along with the cutting edge Aptina AR0330 CMOS sensor. For the very first time with a few select exceptions (like the Panorma II) we now had a dash cam that could capture a serviceable image at night in low light settings with improved image quality during the day. This was an absolute game changer! Again, by today's standard it was just ok but back then it was groundbreaking and it changed the dash cam industry.

Before the AR0330/NT96650 combination was introduced footage like this was impossible. The detail and lack of noise and graininess was a new expereince.

Of course, we've seen a steady stream of important incremental improvements in sensor technology along the way such various Sony products like the IMX355 but the new Starvis 2 series is shaping up to be another one of those rare great leaps forward, game changing technologies that blow through the envelope. It will be interesting to see all the new products that eventually make their way into the marketplace. Maybe one of them will be a dual channel wide/tele?

 

[Julian23]

That's always how new technologies improve. Some baby steps and then a big one. You could compare it to car headlights. First, there was halogen. This got improved until there wasn't much to improve and xenon came around. A big improvement. And this goes on and on.

It will be interesting to see all the new products that eventually make their way into the marketplace. Maybe one of them will be a dual channel wide/tele?

Hopefully, there will be exciting new releases with the new sensor generation. A dual front camera would be nice.

 

[Dashmellow]

That's always how new technologies improve. Some baby steps and then a big one. You could compare it to car headlights. First, there was halogen. This got improved until there wasn't much to improve and xenon came around. A big improvement. And this goes on and on.

Well, of course. That's a given with any technology. Here I was talking specifically about the sensors (and processors) used in dash cams which have a relatively short history as a product category. I was speaking from the perspective of someone who has owned dash cams for more than 12 years going back to a time when their functionality and performance was far more rudimentary on many levels than it is today.

As for car headlights, first there were gas power headlamps, then the first electric filament bulbs (introduced in the 1890s), eventually sealed beam incandescent appeared and then there was halogen, xenon and so on.

 

[viofo]

It's nice to know you have been following our telephoto discussions for a few years

Now that proper HDR is becoming available, I agree that it could benefit a telephoto camera. Have you tried this with Starvis 2 yet? I have ordered an A139 Pro, but I have no plans to experiment with putting a telephoto in the front camera.

Focus shift due to temperature change can be more noticeable with telephoto lenses because they have such a shallow depth of field compared to wide angle lenses. For the enthusiast, we can adjust the focus until we find a good balance in cold / hot temperatures. I can see how this could be an issue for a manufacturer to achieve acceptable quality control for mass produced cameras.

We haven't tried telephoto lens with STARVIS-2 sensor yet.
We are also testing other STARVIS 2 sensor now, so we can do such testing in the future.
And maybe in 2023, it is possible to support real HDR for the rear cam with new hardware, it will make much more sense to use a telephoto lens.

I will share the lens spec here, and if some one wants to test, we can get some lenses and offer them for free.

 

[kamkar]

More starvis 2,,,,, well as if my sleep problems wasent severe enough on their own.
PS: Just got out of bed at 3 in the morning,,,,, BUT ! i did actually sleep 4 maybe 5 hours before that.
A telephoto camera for front install must be adjustable in every angle as aiming those are even more important, and if you have its install location offset a little, you will be filming the sidewalk or the opposing lane more than you would like.

I would be very interested in a front / front zoom system, as by now running the single channel systems ( often mobius ) are getting a bit old

 

[Dashmellow]

I would be very interested in a front / front zoom system, as by now running the single channel systems ( often mobius ) are getting a bit old

The problem with a zoom lens on a commercial dash cam product is that it would create havoc with the average consumer. People would go nuts trying zoom into the best focal length and then have to focus the thing and many would seek to return it in frustration. Leave the zoom lenses to us enthusiasts.

If Viofo were to produce a dual wide/tele commercially successful dash cam it would reallly need a carefully selected primary lens of a particular focal length which would be a simple "plug & play" install. Ideally, it would be the equivalent of an 8mm lens AOV as many of us have been talking about, depending upon the size of the sensor.

I agree that a telephoto lens module needs to be able to be aimed accurately according to each installation. A small but secure ball joint mount coupled with a small lens module on a short cable would be ideal.

 

[kamkar]

well it is just you guys that use the zoom lenses, i have always used a fixed lens in 8 or 12 mm flavor.