Driving in the night with A119 + CPL

[Leopold]

Tested this during the weekend, rural roads with no other illumination than the car original headlights nothing extra.

I'd say it is not too bad but the exposure time is too long to see licens plate info, it blurs with speed differences and would require advanced video processing if at all possible.

The story behind this clip is that I got a tailgater behind me on this rural 2+1 road, lots of wildlife and also a bit of rain. Tried to tell the guy behind that I don't accept this by slowing down to 80 km/h on this 100 km/h road, then speeding up to maintain the distance behind.

Then I let these idiots pass me on the next 2-file segment only to see the passenger is winding down his window to de-ash his cigarette right in front of me (I cannot see this in the video but it was obvious IRL). I then decided that I cannot have those guys in front of me, who knows what else they had in mind when the road narrowed to one file again.

So I utilized the intercooled turbo engine a little, maintained a good distance until they parted from my path a few miles further down the road. We have some problems with road pirates here also, definitely take no chances when I see signs of strange behavior in the middle of the night.

On the video quality and sharpness, I think it would be better without CPL filter but still: I do not want to take it on and off all the time so it stays on.

 

[Zardoz66]

that's about the best you are going to get. some of the sony sensor ones might be a tad better, but not by much. the fact is you are on a dark road going what looks to be a good rate of speed.

 

[Leopold]

Yes I don't think it is so bad considering the conditions. I find it good enough for the purpose of a dashcam even if it is very hard to see registration plates at these long exposure times you may get at night... and especially with the CPL filter which in itself incurs a light penalty of approx two aperture stops.

And yes, it was a rather fast speed towards the end - 170 km/h according to the dashcam's gps to ensure a safe overtaking in the situation. Obviously the impact of speed differences are *much* more noticeable in low light conditions, even here when the speed difference was quite modest. In daytime conditions it is quite easy to read registration plates even if the relative speed difference is 180 km/h, like when you meet the other vehicle on a 90 km/h road.