Can't decide between A119 V2 vs A119S V2

sanchaz12

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Country
Netherlands
Dash Cam
Mobius + 'B' lens, Fake DVR-207
Hi all!

As a replacement dashcam for my G1WH I'm looking for a good value, stealthy, reliable unit with decent video quality.
Quickly I became aware of the follow-ups of the A118C. I read mostly good reviews about both the A119 and A119S, but both have their own drawbacks.
From the posts I read here I get a little confused because of all the different information regarding bugs/issues and later fixes. At this point I can't really tell which problems are fixed and which still exist to date.

From the information I have gathered so far I came to the following conclusion, and want to ask if this is (still) true:

- Both the A119 and S model are reliable, especially since the V2 mount.
- The A119 has a wider FOV than the A119S (respectively 160 deg. vs. 135 deg.).
My car has a central-mounted sensor area that might obscure a part of the video, in which case the A119S might be a better choice because of the narrower FOV.
- The A119S should technically have the better overall sensor, but I find sample clips on YouTube quite a hit or miss. In certain clips the A119S' Sony sensor tends to have more light halo's from headlights/streetlights facing the cam, but it also captures darker areas at night with more detail. But in the clips shared by forum member @Harsh the A119S has in my opinion the better quality, day and night. But Car Cam Central released a video today, in which they still recommend the A119 over the A119S and A119 PRO.
- I can't tell if the focus shift with the A119S depending on temperature changes has been fixed (or at least limited to a certain degree) with the A119S V2 F1.8 lens release.
- Most clips I see from the A119S have agressive over-sharpening. Some people said it will be fixed in later firmware updates, but I never read it is actually better now.
- The lens on the A119 is adjustable vertically and horizontally, the A119S is only adjustable vertically. Depending on where on the windshield you mount the A119S, it might be too far off-centre.

The A119 V2 with GPS-mount is currently $78.99 on Banggood
The A119S V2 with GPS-mount is currently $96.99 on Banggood

If the description is correct, both should be V2 and the A119S should have the new F1.8 coated lens.

Please let me know what you think!
 
From what I've gathered on here if night video performance is a priority, the A119S provides better quality. If night quality isn't as high a priority, the 'regular' A119 would be preferred because of the higher resolution. At least that's my general impression. My general take on the 60fps of the S is that it can be helpful in certain situations but even that has positives and negatives so basically the biggest things between the 2 cams is night performance.
 
Either one will be good, but i would go for the S version, and try to source a EU seller, UK amazon or German amazon.
 
CPL might help the light halos

A119Pro is also 1440 though and its quite possibly much cheaper than the other 2, as it is in the UK
(edit: this cam appears to have gone back up to £75 on amazon from £53 with GPS, so not as cheap anymore!)

160FOV makes things appear further away and also gives more of a fish-eye view, this is why I sold my G1W-S
 
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Please let me know what you think!
A129


Light halos are normally from dirty/scratched windscreens or fingerprints on the lens, don't judge the camera quality from those.
 
Please let me know what you think!
I own and like both ( V1) but I would lean toward the A119S. The A119S has noticeably better night (low light) capability. I like it a lot, day or night. I am slowly becoming impressed with A129 from what little I have read about it, so I would give it consideration.
 
My car has a central-mounted sensor area that might obscure a part of the video, in which case the A119S might be a better choice because of the narrower FOV.
- The A119S should technically have the better overall sensor, but I find sample clips on YouTube quite a hit or miss. In certain clips the A119S' Sony sensor tends to have more light halo's from headlights/streetlights facing the cam, but it also captures darker areas at night with more detail. But in the clips shared by forum member @Harsh the A119S has in my opinion the better quality, day and night. But Car Cam Central released a video today, in which they still recommend the A119 over the A119S and A119 PRO.
- I can't tell if the focus shift with the A119S depending on temperature changes has been fixed (or at least limited to a certain degree) with the A119S V2 F1.8 lens release.
- Most clips I see from the A119S have agressive over-sharpening. Some people said it will be fixed in later firmware updates, but I never read it is actually better now.
- The lens on the A119 is adjustable vertically and horizontally, the A119S is only adjustable vertically. Depending on where on the windshield you mount the A119S, it might be too far off-centre.

The A119S in my car is from the first production run, came with the f/1.6 lens. The lens has been revised twice since, the f/1.8 and the current one, I don't know the aperture but it looks identical to the lenses on the A129 Duo.

1.2 brought excessive sharpening, which was reduced with 1.7, it's still a bit over-sharpened.

The horizontal adjustment on the A119 is very useful if the camera is mounted off-centre but then the CPL can't be clipped on. As per the advertised FOV's, if mounted right next to the IRVM or sensor housing, the additional 5° on new lens should help the A119S with a more centred view. The f/1.6's 135° FOV falls short of providing a perfectly centred view if the camera is not mounted exactly in the centre.
 
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I am slowly becoming impressed with A129 from what little I have read about it, so I would give it consideration.

I am indeed aware of the A129, but for now I'm reluctant to install a dual-cam system because of the curtain-airbags and a very stubborn headliner seal.
Maybe my next setup will be dual-cam (when they finally introduce a decent wireless system). But for now I'll stick to just a front cam, but anyway thanks for the suggestion!

As per the advertised FOV's, if mounted right next to the IRVM or sensor housing, the additional 5° on new lens should help the A119S with a more centred view.

I took some time to just sit in the car and think about all mounting options, and I found that the rear-view mirror obscures the view of the housing on the bottom and right by a certain degree. If it all goes to plan I can mount the dashcam besides the right (passenger) side of the housing, with the lens assembly below the housing and this way still hide the dashcam behind the mirror. Otherwise I'll try to mount it centered on the housing (luckily it's a flat surface) with the lens sticking out below it.

Almost forgot to ask, does anyone have had problems with the A119/A119S getting confused by the short power cycle when starting the engine? I know my Mobius 1 with capacitor shuts down immediately after power loss (it has to), and does not power back on about 8 out of 10 times after power has been applied again. I think because power is applied again before it completely shut down, so it is not ready for a new startup yet and ignores it. I'm asking this because the A119 and A119S also have capacitors.
 
Almost forgot to ask, does anyone have had problems with the A119/A119S getting confused by the short power cycle when starting the engine? I know my Mobius 1 with capacitor shuts down immediately after power loss (it has to), and does not power back on about 8 out of 10 times after power has been applied again. I think because power is applied again before it completely shut down, so it is not ready for a new startup yet and ignores it. I'm asking this because the A119 and A119S also have capacitors.

Both work fine. Your Mobius can too, load version 2.33, it works.
 
Both work fine. Your Mobius can too, load version 2.33, it works.

Thanks, I'll load 2.33 on it.

In the end I went for the A119 V2, and if needed I'll also get a CPL filter later. The Viofo CPL filter prevents the lens from rotating horizontally, how is that with the other one? I mean the one that sticks to the lens with adhesive.

Anyway thank you all for your valuable input!
 
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