Just got the A119S and the video is blurry :/

[IvanhoeYU]

so if the retrofit is possible, it's easy, they can send us all the kit V1 (f1.6) to be placed instead of the actual one V2 (f1.8).
I have some doubts, probably they have seen something else with the V1 in term of lens QC (we don't talk gps holder).
difficult to believe that 20 cents saving cost is the main driver...or if yes it's stupid and the guy who has done it should be fired (and @gse hired ;-) )

 

[gse]

to be placed instead of the actual one V2 (f1.8).

I would like to have an original F1.8 or replacement kit, and install on my 119S, I like to conduct experiments.
My friends gave me 2pcs of F1.8 lenses, I checked only one, it does not fit, the horizontal angle is more than 130 ° of the horizontal, and that's a lot.

 

[gse]

One Russian brand faced the problem of defocusing on the DVR, because of the small case and the plastic holder, + the very hot matrix AR0330, the engineers coordinated the review and the DVR was very popular.
It was decided to install heat sinks and a metal holder:

 

[Dont Knowler]

... a Holder made of the material D16T...Dont Knowler I can share with you 1pc.

From what I know, D16T is Aluminum alloy, with a temperature expansion ratio which is not very good (22,9). It is approximately the same, as that of glass-fiber reinforced nylon or other relatively cheap reinforced plastic types. There are other relatively cheap metals or not so cheap plastic types available, which are so much better in terms of thermal expansion ratios (e.g. plain iron, with 11-12, or carbon reinforced plastic which is as low as 2 or 3 (! - the lower the better))
However I thank you for your suggestion, and am ready to test the holder. If it turns out, that even this not very sophisticated holder will be better that the stock plastic one, this would mean, that Viofo uses some absolutely non-compliant non-reinforced plastic for their holders.
Any chance for me to get (buy?) 2 pieces after the testing is done, if the results are satisfactory?
Please contact me at d.knowler (at) gmail.com for address and details

 

[gse]

по адресу d.knowler (at) gmail.com

Уже отписал.

 

[IvanhoeYU]

clear

 

[IvanhoeYU]

I don't know how you pros see it but with this test the dashcamp is outdoor, no windshield, so 16°C outdoor and to be honest it's the perfect condition for the dashcam to be cool itself, the cam becomes worm, so normal but not at all hot...I don't know for the components inside, probably +20°C , somewhere ending at 35/40°C comparing from the staring 16°C.

@jokiin , what is the accepted range for the functioning of the dashcam? in your QC? sorry to ask you, but it seems that @VIOFO_Support doesn't care about this topic/issue. or maybe I'm wrong as late in China.

I suppose that on the direct sun on the windshield and in the summer on 35°C out or on the hot parking it will be much more extreme.

By the way what do you think about the "normal" focus image, good or not good focus?

the videos show exactly the same thing, cooling down it becomes as at the start up.

"cold" picture
I don't know if good or not but you can see details like the child watch, eyes of the robot and look up at the roof, the metallic frame of the neighbors building.

"worm" picture
the image becomes blurry, the figures on the child's watch more difficult to see, no robot eyes (two white points) any more AND the most interesting is that there is no metalic barrier on the roof anymore. no, it's not special effect, it's the magical @VIOFO_Support a119s.
so with couple of degrees more, the A119S becomes blurry, i'll not push it more hot at the direct sun as for sure there can be some even worst damages (maybe not reversible), as now when it cools down for °10C the sharpness of the image becomes "normal"

 

[gse]

I suppose that on the direct sun on the windshield and in the summer on 35°C out or on the hot parking it will be much more extreme.

Everything is clearly visible, this test again indicates that there is defocus on heating.

All this we passed in 2013!

 

[IvanhoeYU]

sorry @gse but you are masochist if you are suffering so long
turn the page and if there is any serious manufacturer and go to other brand.

as for me I will either have something working correctly or not at all is it goes over my budget as it is actually with the SG DC9663 which seems to be an interesting device, and up to you with stable lens holder.

cheers

 

[IvanhoeYU]

and we can continue to discuss between three of us, with pleasure guys, but we are probably the drop of the water in the sea and maybe Viofo simply doesn't care about,2013???? as their business plan could be the low cost product for the as best as possible margin...if you have material margin and cost lowered for 1eur it counts a lot for the mass production...and in the short term it's in the pocket...long term is another story

 

[Nigel]

I don't know how you pros see it but with this test the dashcamp is outdoor, no windshield, so 16°C outdoor and to be honest it's the perfect condition for the dashcam to be cool itself, the cam becomes worm, so normal but not at all hot...I don't know for the components inside, probably +20°C , somewhere ending at 35/40°C comparing from the staring 16°C.

@jokiin , what is the accepted range for the functioning of the dashcam? in your QC? sorry to ask you, but it seems that @VIOFO_Support doesn't care about this topic/issue. or maybe I'm wrong as late in China.

I suppose that on the direct sun on the windshield and in the summer on 35°C out or on the hot parking it will be much more extreme.

By the way what do you think about the "normal" focus image, good or not good focus?

the videos show exactly the same thing, cooling down it becomes as at the start up.

"cold" picture
I don't know if good or not but you can see details like the child watch, eyes of the robot and look up at the roof, the metallic frame of the neighbors building.

"worm" picture
the image becomes blurry, the figures on the child's watch more difficult to see, no robot eyes (two white points) any more AND the most interesting is that there is no metalic barrier on the roof anymore. no, it's not special effect, it's the magical @VIOFO_Support a119s.
so with couple of degrees more, the A119S becomes blurry, i'll not push it more hot at the direct sun as for sure there can be some even worst damages (maybe not reversible), as now when it cools down for °10C the sharpness of the image becomes "normal"

The main difference I see between those images is the lighting, the first image has a lot more contrast which makes it look sharper.

It is not clear to me that there is an issue with the mount. If there is a focus issue then I wouldn't be surprised if it is caused by the lens changing temperature rather than the mount changing temperature, but it looks more like it's caused by a light level change to me.

 

[IvanhoeYU]

hi @Nigel , you're right for the "contrast" remarque and I have had the similar doubts as you have.
The first photo looks sharper but the colors are not so saturated.
The second one is blurry but with more saturated/warmer colors.

So I've done other tests and pictures under the same lighting condition, means indoor.
BTW even if, believe me, those two outdoor have been done in the perfect lighting conditions...cloudy sky, like as the photographers prefer, no direct sun etc. I have some others with light (sun) and I've already exlude them as I've new that one of you will have this remarque ;-)

so with the indoor artificial lighting, it's exactly the same, 100%, when the dashcam worms up, the closer objects becomes sharper and the distant object loose the sharpness. When the dashcam cool down the closest object loose the sharpens and the distant object becomes sharp.

I'll do the direct comparison with one Korean "old tech" Cowon AW1 and we'll see the results. tomorrow if possible.
And next week I'll receive an other A119S and I'll do the direct comparison between two a119s, some static outdoor tests, indoor and after in the car, so we'll see.
But for sure I'm trying to control as mush as possible the conditions of the test and the objectiveness of my eye.

It could be that we don't manage properly some parameters or we have wrong ideas...my supposition was that the sensor is changing the color saturation when warmer or some other electronics, as I don't see glass lens with so bad quality. Or @gse is right and it's the mount as he has fixed it already with the new aluminium mount.

The only reason why I don't send back the unit is that for me, like probably for many of other guys here, couple of $ means nothing, we like to found and especially to fix problems, and at the end even if it's maybe crazy I'll wait, I'm curious to see, how @VIOFO_Support we'll do the fix and upgrade. if it will be DIY solution I'll be willing to try. it will be my personal touch to my dashcam...funny isn't it how we are still boys willing to play around

Maybe it's my Slave mentality but I don't like to give up...even if sometimes it's the best thing to do, turning the page. I recommend it to others but having a lot of pain doing it myself.

PS: and again if someone knows the ref of the real good dashcam able to read plates on heavy conditions even with the car in movement, not at night with low light, with the 4k resolution, 120fps, big and sensible sensor able to catch objects in movement like the bird, optical image hardware stabilization etc. etc. I'm ready now to put the budget on (1000eur) if I can really see all details around my car; but no way more then 50eur for those gadgets we have on the market today.

 

[Nigel]

In that test I can't see that closer things come into focus when warm, maybe the camera is not close enough to the wall?

Have you tried refocusing it? If you focus it when warm then it will only be a problem when cold - much better, and maybe you can focus it so that it is OK warm and cold...

 

[gse]

but you are masochist if you are suffering so long

To the fermentation, the producer and not only Viofo are to blame for this.
Do you know how many manufacturers are attacking the same rake? almost everyone with this problem, if they were all taken into account, I would not have to deal with this.
Because I see this problem, she pointed to it six months ago, but it's not moving further than the writings on the forum.

 

[IvanhoeYU]

@Nigel, you can not see the closer object focused on those photos outdoors, I've done some indoor tests but as in my flat I didn't post it, but at the end why not. Anyway I don't care a lot about closest objects (less then 0.5m) I prefer to have focused distant, more the 4/5m as more important in the traffic.

I was thinking about the focusing in the worm phase, but when I've seen on youtube how to do it and that all this lens/mount plastic/glue is the mess, I preferred to see if Viofo will bring something else.
And by the way, if I refocus on 30°C, what about the summer when it will be 40°C or winter 10°C...
I agree that in cold condition, some blurry doesn't affect me too much as it's worming up quite quickly; we think in the same way ;-)

 

[Nigel]

And by the way, if I refocus on 30°C, what about the summer when it will be 40°C or winter 10°C...

I don't know how big the temperature range it is OK with is.

Maybe your lens is currently at the end of the good range and is OK between -30 and 20°C, if you adjust the focus to the middle of the range then maybe it will be OK between -20 and 30°C and if you adjust the focus to the other end of the range then maybe OK between 0 and 50°C.

The lens is an analogue device, it is not just good or bad like a digital device, and it is not just the lens mount that affects focus depending on temperature, all the glass elements in the lens also warm up and change their performance and the sensor will also change performance with temperature. Most people seem happy with the performance of this camera so it seems likely that yours is not so well focused.

 

[IvanhoeYU]

do you have some recommendation about the refocusing for the a119s V2 please?

I've never done it as received my first dascams 1 week ago and I am able to send them back I haven't tried to open it...but would like to play around so if it's only the focus issue maybe it will be interesting to do.
As all of you know the material of the mount is not the same in the V2 and more annoying is that I don't see the extra tightening ring as it exists on the V1 lens.
Without the extra tightening ring in V2 lens, I'm afraid that it needs the glue all the time before the rechecking. so it will be the mess.
With the V1 and extra tightening ring you probably have the better fixed positioning, and almost no glue needed for the cycles of the recheck/refocus. When all is done, one drop of the glue will be enough just to be 100% sure that it will not move anymore.

So all recommendations are welcome.

It's strange that Viofo didn't anticipate the focus setup up to the working temperature of the unit, if this is the only alternative in case of the lens. why to optimize the focus for the cold state, when the camera is used 99.99% in worm state?

In this video, they recommend some tips in order to reduce the working temperature (30fps vs. 60fps, WDR off, LDWS off, FCWS off; in my case it was OFF except 30fps but I'll reduce to 30fps to check)

 

[gse]

To fix the object, a drop of nail polish is enough, a retaining ring was placed on the metal holder, this ring is an extra detail.

 

[IvanhoeYU]

so there is no lock ring on the V2, if I understand well.
how you retain the parts fixed in place for the focus check / video.
does the V2 lens holder tightens enough in order to be able to refocus easily the lens without the lock ring and keep the right position before the drop of glue?

this is for V1, not V2

 

[Nigel]

so there is no lock ring on the V2, if I understand well.
how you retain the parts fixed in place for the focus check / video.
does the V2 lens holder tightens enough in order to be able to refocus easily the lens without the lock ring and keep the right position before the drop of glue?

this is for V1, not V2

They are normally fairly stiff to turn, easy to focus. The glue / lock ring is only so they don't creep out of focus as they expand and contract with months of temperature changes.