Best Dash-cam Video quality?

[superclarkey]

Hi,

I had a DOD470W+ for many years, and was a great camera when I first got it back in 2014/5, the camera has been faultless until the other day the screen failed on one of the units, (I had one in the front and rear of the car) I think they where around £250 each back in the day, so was over £500 for the pair.

I recently purchased a Viofo A119 V3 and even thought it was much cheaper than the DOD470W+, it really isn't that much better all, actually worse at night and slightly better looking in the day, but overall in the day about the same. The cheap CPL filter is crap also on the A119 V3.

So this begs the question, regardless of money what is the best Dashcam or CCTV setup for a car?

And I don't mean, what has the most features, or what pretends to be 4k.. I mean, outright best video quality with high bitrate that can capture day/night well. (I understand its not a cinema camera).

Ideally, I would have a 4 channel NVR type set up, with professional grade cameras installed around the car. I would be happy to spend allot more for a quality set up.

I can't see anything on the market that is decent, better to buy a DSLR and hang it off the rear view mirror?

 

[Nigel]

I can't see anything on the market that is decent, better to buy a DSLR and hang it off the rear view mirror?

A Viofo A139 Pro will do much better than that DSLR!

The Viofo A119 V3 is pretty good, but it does have its limits.

Not sure what sensor your DOD has? So I'm not sure how much better the A119 should be, but you do seem to have 2K resolution instead of FHD which is an advantage a lot of the time. In the rain and dark, all cameras are going to struggle, but just for low light I would expect the A119 to be significantly better than the DOD. Have you looked into using the HDR setting? Given your video, it may be worth using...

 

[superclarkey]

Yeah, tried a few settings to try and improve this, its being discussed here... https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a119-v3-is-this-normal.47930/#post-583414

I line about a DSLR was a joke lol, but it would defo have better video quality.. but wouldn't be any good as a plug and play device lol.

I think the issue I have is as you pay more for a dashcam you don't actually get much better quality, more features I don't care about.

I believe it has a Sony CMOS Exmor sensor, no idea about processing handling.

 

[superclarkey]

Oh, I also learned that I don't want a camera that sits right up against the window screen as it causes issues in the rain.. want one that is stood off on a bracket (I think the A119 V3 can be on a suction cup at extra cost)

 

[Nigel]

but it would defo have better video quality..

No it wouldn't! There are quite a few problems in using a DSLR as a dashcam, some would be better than others, but none would be good.

You can always fit an extra block of something between the sticky mount and the glass, Viofo supply an extra sticky pad.

But I'm not sure it is actually a good idea, normally it is better if the dirt, scratches, water drops are out of focus, and the closer to the glass the more out of focus they are. There are always exceptional conditions of course but I prefer closer. Maybe check your wipers are working well in the dashcam area, sometimes the ends of the wipers are not very effective.

 

[Dadi_T]

Oh, I also learned that I don't want a camera that sits right up against the window screen as it causes issues in the rain

You are making wrong and bad conclusions based on... nothing. This means that all 119v3 owners(wich are many) have image problems on rainy days wich is false. You are the only one.
And not only 119v3, but all Viofo product have this kind of mounting. In fact this is the best tipe of mounting for a dashcam.
You may have faulty product. That is why you need to do what some colleagues asked to, before you make some conclusions. Because, in my opinion, you don't know much about dashcams.

 

[superclarkey]

Yes your correct most DLSR wouldn't be decent, but top end ones would be Specially with specialist lens But the average joe's dslr no way would be better.

I mean if I was to hang my Canon 1DX-Mark III off the dash with a ultra-wide angle 11-24mm F/4 (around 100-110 FoV) set in 5.5K60 DCI - 10bit Raw output into a external recorded in Clog-2... I think it would out preform a £100 dash camera.. even at 21mp, but might not be practical at £12k plus lol

Just saying haha, but for the most part agree with you

 

[superclarkey]

You are making wrong and bad conclusions based on... nothing. This means that all 119v3 owners(wich are many) have image problems on rainy days wich is false. You are the only one.
And not only 119v3, but all Viofo product have this kind of mounting. In fact this is the best tipe of mounting for a dashcam.
You may have faulty product. That is why you need to do what some colleagues asked to, before you make some conclusions. Because, in my opinion, you don't know much about dashcams.

Agree with you, I don't know much about dashcams, I'm not a professional dashcam person by no means. But I can only go off what my eyes tell me when I look at the results.

I've started a thread where I'm open to suggestions to make it better, but nothing has been said yet that is any different to what I've already done.

I have also considered that my unit might be a bad copy.

But I still can ask if there is something better than what I have, as its not meeting my needs.

 

[superclarkey]

So, best quality image available from a dash cam in 2022 is.......?

 

[Dadi_T]

We have a new era in dashcam world: Sony Starvis 2 sensor. All top manufacturers will use this, but for now, the first and only dashcam with this sensor is Viofo A139 Pro, available in 1 channel, 2 channel and 3 channel versions.
Right now, this is the best you can get from a dashcam. It has just been released and you can make a preorder.
You may check the links below for more informations.

Viofo A139 Pro - 1|2|3 Channel 4K STARVIS-2 HDR + FHD dashcam

The first of the Sony Starvis-2 dashcams, the "Pro" model of the popular Viofo A139 dashcam. The A139 Pro looks and behaves very similar to the standard A139, with the only real difference being the front image sensor, and some extra processing power to handle the 4K HDR video. The standard...

dashcamtalk.com

VIOFO A139 Pro - Testing / Review Info

I've been a tester of the VIOFO A139 Pro 3-channel dash camera for the past couple of months. A139 Pro Features The A139 Pro will be offered in a 1, 2 or 3-channel configuration. If you currently have a VIOFO A139 dash camera and want to upgrade to a A139 Pro, you can purchase the A139 Pro...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[superclarkey]

This going to be available in all markets?

Know where I can pre-order one in the UK?

 

[Dadi_T]

VIOFO 4K HDR Dash Cam Front+Interior+Rear A139 PRO 3CH , STARVIS 2 IMX678 Sensor, Super Night Vision, Ultra HD 4K + 1080P + 1080

The First Real 4K With NEWEST Sony STARVIS 2 Sensor, being the first to deploy the newest Sony STARVIS 2 tech, A139 PRO 3CH is powerful enough to outfight most 4K dashcams on the market and support 3 channel 4K+1080P+1080P recording with highly upgraded image clarity and accuracy in license...

viofo.com

 

[superclarkey]

I saw that site but it looks like it might not be a UK store so don’t want to import one, any retailers in the uk?

 

[Nigel]

Yes your correct most DLSR wouldn't be decent, but top end ones would be Specially with specialist lens But the average joe's dslr no way would be better.

I mean if I was to hang my Canon 1DX-Mark III off the dash with a ultra-wide angle 11-24mm F/4 (around 100-110 FoV) set in 5.5K60 DCI - 10bit Raw output into a external recorded in Clog-2... I think it would out preform a £100 dash camera.. even at 21mp, but might not be practical at £12k plus lol

Just saying haha, but for the most part agree with you

Go on then, let's see the proof that your "Canon 1DX-Mark III off the dash with a ultra-wide angle 11-24mm F/4 (around 100-110 FoV) set in 5.5K60 DCI - 10bit Raw output into a external recorded in Clog-2" will outperform your A119 V3 in a side by side test on a rainy November night... and in sunshine so that we can actually see how it is performing...

Your first problem will be in focussing it, you need everything from the end of your bonnet to infinity in perfect focus...

 

[TonyM]

I saw that site but it looks like it might not be a UK store so don’t want to import one, any retailers in the uk?

The A139 Pro will eventually be available from https://viofouk.co.uk/ and probably also on Amazon UK, but at the moment it's pre-order only from viofo.com

 

[superclarkey]

Go on then, let's see the proof that your "Canon 1DX-Mark III off the dash with a ultra-wide angle 11-24mm F/4 (around 100-110 FoV) set in 5.5K60 DCI - 10bit Raw output into a external recorded in Clog-2" will outperform your A119 V3 in a side by side test on a rainy November night... and in sunshine so that we can actually see how it is performing...

Your first problem will be in focussing it, you need everything from the end of your bonnet to infinity in perfect focus...

Yeah that’s called hyper-focal (surprised you don’t know about this), perfectly achievable with a super wide angle lens.

Not to be confused with par-focal lens.

Looking at an online calculator you can focus at 0.5m and at f/4, 11mm everything from that distance to infinity will be in focus. (So already solved your first hurdle lol)

Don’t know why sunshine to a rainy day would bother a DLSR, can easily use the onboard metering to balance the exposure without affecting aperture.
Not to mention the dynamic range of RAW in clog2, game over for dash cam lol

Also the most DSLR are ISO invariance, so you can record with the histogram/scope at highest levels (where the most data is recorded) and recover it later in post.

Now, I was joking due to the impracticality, and I thought you would have got that, and I still do not think this would be more practical as it would be infact pointless and no sane person would prefer this set up to a dash cam which is good enough, however saying that a DLSR would 100% out preform a dash cam In image quality alone (only metric it will totally smash it) the professional 35mm sensor with a bit rate of around 2600Mbps (325MBps) wouldn’t out preform the tiny little sensor with 10x less bit rate and most likely gop/ipb compression.… where the DSLR can do all-inter frame. (So every frame is a 21mp photo lol)

You can also break the 180 rule with a dslr, so you can run a faster shutter speed per shot to freeze the action (at some loss of light capture). Way more flexible.

Am I going to waste my time proving this to you?, nope, my world will keep turning regardless of what you personally think/understand lol

 

[superclarkey]

The A139 Pro will eventually be available from https://viofouk.co.uk/ and probably also on Amazon UK, but at the moment it's pre-order only from viofo.com

Sweet thank you, think I will get one of these as looks like a decent spec and will be a improvement over the camera I currently have.

 

[Nigel]

Looking at an online calculator you can focus at 0.5m and at f/4,

So now we have a DSLR at F/4 competing with the dashcam at F/1.6 - what does that do to motion blur?

 

[TonyM]

Sweet thank you, think I will get one of these as looks like a decent spec and will be a improvement over the camera I currently have.

Before you jump on the latest device that's only just been announced, you might want to wait for some video samples to see if it really is an improvement. The 1440p IMX335 A113V3 should have been an improvement over your old 1080p IMX291 470W+ but for whatever reason you felt the video quality was around the same. Quality is subjective though. Viofo products generally tend towards relatively high contrast and sharpening for the purpose of capturing dashcam evidence rather than looking good.

Also consider the physical format of the A139 series. It is a wide wedge style, no screen, with the lens offset to the right. Now, that's ideal for me but it will not suit everyone. It seems likely that there will be an A229 Pro within a few months, which will have 4K Starvis2 and be a similar shape to your A119V3, including a screen.

 

[superclarkey]

So now we have a DSLR at F/4 competing with the dashcam at F/1.6 - what does that do to motion blur?

Are you actually being serious? The aperture of the lens has no effect on motion blur.

how can I take anything you say from this moment on seriously lol