Is the Pro still worth it?

I do think 4K are the future in dashcams, but right here and now i would not spend any of my money on either of the 3 models selling.
Maybe something new later this year or next year.
Regardless of brand, what would be the best alternative for Australian summer you reckon?
 
Regardless of brand, what would be the best alternative for Australian summer you reckon?

I am in Australia (a hot part also - summer reaching 43-45c on occasion). I use both the A129 Pro Duo (4K) with a WD Purple 256GB SD card and an A119 Pro with a Samsung Pro Endurance 128GB.

Both have had no issues dealing with heat and the recent summer we had. Then again I don’t leave my car sitting in the sun all day with the camera recording.

I doubt any camera would last long in full sun on a 40c day in Australia. It’s just out of the design limits for most electronics.

It’s said Viofo cameras stand up well to heat due to the use of super capacitors and its general design. I have tried the lot of high end expensive dashcams (Blackvue, Thinkware and so on) that sometimes have worse video quality and cost in some cases triple (or more) of the Viofo units. The Blackvue DR900s 4k for example overheats regularly and its video quality falls behind the Viofo A129 Pro Duo 4k dashcam.

I’ve seen videos from Viofo dashcams where the car engine has caught fire and the camera still keeps going. It melted but the footage was saved and viewable. Viofo cameras do well in heat.

With this said, 4K cameras are the hottest running units out of all resolutions on the market. They are running closer to the heat threshold that a non 4K camera and are relatively unproven at this point.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Viofo A119 Pro or the A119 v3 if wanting to get a cooler running dashcam. Both are great and reliable cameras that get numberplates and details decently when needed.

I am still very impressed with my A119 Pro. It can see well at night and during the day get numberplates sometimes 2 cars ahead even when moving and ultimately this is what a dashcam is for – to get details when needed. Only thing I don’t like is the parking mode. Compared to Thinkware for example the Viofo cameras are very basic and lacklustre with their parking mode capabilities.

The 4K is nice but it’s not really needed (yet) I think. From my experience I have better chance of getting a plate on the A119 Pro or the A119 v3 than on my A129 Pro Duo due to its motion blur. Heat wise the 4K camera (A129 Pro Duo) will cut out sooner than either of the other non 4K models. If you leave your car constantly in the heat consider this aspect. I have not yet had the 4K A129 Pro Duo shut off for me while driving this past summer (2019/2020) due to getting hot. Parking mode I cannot speak for as I don't use it but I would expect it to cut out sooner than the non 4K units.

After trying out a bunch of recent dashcams and if I was asked to recommend for use in Australia here is my answers in no particular order:
  • A119 Pro: Good numberplate capture and night vision is good also - have been running one for over 1 year under normal driving patterns and not one problem.

  • A119 v3: Great all round, newer model - have been running one for over 6 months and not one problem.

  • Thinkware U1000 4K: Similar image quality to A129 Pro Duo, much better parking mode but costly - first to turn off in high heat.

  • A129 Pro Duo: Really crisp image, has some motion blur, night vision not great and huge file sizes - first to turn off in high heat.
    • Is fussy with SD cards - demands the best of the best or you will have beep errors.
      • I have had a 3 double beep errors in the time I owned it. Hasn’t happened again yet - not a common issue for me works 99.9% of the time so far.
    • Huge file sizes: 900MB per 2 minutes front camera only or 1.05GB approx for dual cameras on max quality
    • One of the best dashcams you can get right now I believe - I have no regrets. As of this post (6/4/20) I have been running the A129 Pro Duo 4K since October 2019.
 
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The 4K is nice but it’s not really needed (yet) I think.

Brilliant comparison mate! Do you think the $120 AUD difference between the Pro ($355) and non-Pro ($235) worth it or might as well save it for the card and get the non-Pro for now?
 
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I’ve seen videos from Viofo dashcams where the car engine has caught fire and the camera still keeps going. It melted but the footage was saved and viewable. Viofo cameras do well in heat.
...
If you mean this:

Apparently Blackvue is capable of the same thing. (probably even they are able to produce reasonable product)
 
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And in both cases a bad hard wire job was blamed :ROFLMAO:
 
Brilliant comparison mate! Do you think the $120 AUD difference between the Pro ($355) and non-Pro ($235) worth it or might as well save it for the card and get the non-Pro for now?
If wanting to choose between the A129 Pro Duo (4K) and the A129 Duo (Non 4k) I would choose the 4K Pro Duo. Also consider 2x A119v3 cameras. I think the standard non 4K A129 Duo is too low resolution wise so I personally would give it a miss.

The Australian authorized eBay reseller based out of NSW often gives discounts so keep an eye out for that. Link here. I got mine for 15% off and they gave me a free genuine Viofo HK3 hardwire kit when I asked for a deal.


If you mean this:

Apparently Blackvue is capable of the same thing. (probably even they are able to produce reasonable product)
Yes that's the video I was thinking of.

Regarding the Blackvue, you yourself knows they fail in heat. If I recall yours went purple and needed replacement. Too many reports of them overheating and shutting off. Mine did the same so I got rid of it after a few replacement units. Not fit for purpose.


And in both cases a bad hard wire job was blamed :ROFLMAO:
To quote the video description from the Viofo video:
This is the final moments caught on dashcam when the turbo failed on a modern vw Passat TDI.
So not bad hard wiring :p
 
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