New Viofo A139 !

[HonestReview]

I will use the internal cam for capturing video thru the car side windows. Capture of anyone cpming near your car and what side etc. How good is the internal camera for this purpose? What about at night, is the infrared really good? What I want to do is capture anyone coming near my car. Front and rear cam records anyone coming toward the car from those angles and the internal cam to record what they are doing on the sides. Is this realistic with the A139 trio cam?

The interior cam won't capture with any specificity. You can see in the vehicle's cabin during the day very clearly, and cars driving by without being able to make out plates. Good enough if someone sideswipes you to capture incident but nothing more. The infrared will let you see black and white within the interior of the car at night. You cannot see outside the vehicle at night if the area is dark and not illuminated.

Even in perfect lighting, if the only thing you had to go on was the interior camera and person managed to avoid the front or rear (unlikely), that interior camera wouldn't show more than a person near your car. They'd have to bend down to have their face seen by that interior cam.

 

[Nigel]

and the internal cam to record what they are doing on the sides. Is this realistic with the A139 trio cam?

It can only do half the sides at any one time, either the left, or right, or rear half of both, or front half of both, other than that it does a good job.

What about at night, is the infrared really good?

Other than the T130, it is the best dashcam IR i've seen, helped by having 50% more LEDs than most. The T130 does a little better because it has a sensor developed specifically for IR use rather than a normal sensor developed to include IR, however the inbuilt lens does restrict mounting options so I prefer the A139.

 

[HonestReview]

It can only do half the sides at any one time, either the left, or right, or rear half of both, or front half of both, other than that it does a good job.


Other than the T130, it is the best dashcam IR i've seen, helped by having 50% more LEDs than most. The T130 does a little better because it has a sensor developed specifically for IR use rather than a normal sensor developed to include IR, however the inbuilt lens does restrict mounting options so I prefer the A139.

I opt for the 50-50 view of half the passenger and half the drive window. Figuring that way I can optimize what is captured. Good enough to see a side swipe or if someone comes up to my car (police, vandal, etc). You couldn't make out the person unless they are in the window, but it obviously will record the audio. Good enough for insurance purposes. As the goal is the front and rear capture what the interior cannot.

 

[Nigel]

I opt for the 50-50 view of half the passenger and half the drive window. Figuring that way I can optimize what is captured. Good enough to see a side swipe or if someone comes up to my car (police, vandal, etc). You couldn't make out the person unless they are in the window, but it obviously will record the audio. Good enough for insurance purposes. As the goal is the front and rear capture what the interior cannot.

Or if you want full coverage then use an A119 V3 for the rear, then the rear A139 camera can be used at the rear but pointing forwards to get left and right coverage of sideswipes at the front, the interior can cover sideswipes at the left and right rear, and you gain QHD resolution for the rear camera.

Someday we will get a 4 channel camera, although I think we will be waiting a long time!

 

[DashCamUser123]

The interior cam won't capture with any specificity. You can see in the vehicle's cabin during the day very clearly, and cars driving by without being able to make out plates. Good enough if someone sideswipes you to capture incident but nothing more. The infrared will let you see black and white within the interior of the car at night. You cannot see outside the vehicle at night if the area is dark and not illuminated.

Even in perfect lighting, if the only thing you had to go on was the interior camera and person managed to avoid the front or rear (unlikely), that interior camera wouldn't show more than a person near your car. They'd have to bend down to have their face seen by that interior cam.

Thanks. This gives me some context to what I can expect. I like to use these cams for vandalism purposes. Wash my vehicle often. I check cams only when I see a new scratch. Hoping to catch someone approaching from behind, front or sides (in that they will pass the rear or front camera at some point). The side cam lets me know to what side of the car they went.

 

[DashCamUser123]

It can only do half the sides at any one time, either the left, or right, or rear half of both, or front half of both, other than that it does a good job.


Other than the T130, it is the best dashcam IR i've seen, helped by having 50% more LEDs than most. The T130 does a little better because it has a sensor developed specifically for IR use rather than a normal sensor developed to include IR, however the inbuilt lens does restrict mounting options so I prefer the A139.

Thanks. So, it doesn't matter where it is mounted, something will get in the way such as the headrests of the seats. Will it still capture movement to all 4 side windows? Meaning you can see something from from the driver window to the driver rear window and then walks around to the passenger rear window? The rear cam will capture the person as they walk past it from driver rear to passenger rear.

 

[Nigel]

Things will get in the way, but with the A139 interior camera you can normally position it where someone walking around the car can be watched throughout their walk. They may at times be behind a headrest or behind a door pillar, but you can see enough to know that they were close enough to scratch the car, and if they stop to do something then it will be obvious. You can't really record them actually scratching paintwork without an exterior camera, although Dashmellow might disagree, but it does probably record enough for evidence, especially if the microphone can record the scratching sound.

It does of course depend on the car, some have huge headrests and low roofs which will make positioning difficult, but you can check that beforehand, just put your phone camera in the position you want to use and check what it can see, remembering that the dashcam will be much wider angle.

 

[HonestReview]

Someday we will get a 4 channel camera, although I think we will be waiting a long time!

4 Channel cameras face several design hurdles. Both by car manufacturer and also by camera design.

Car Hurdles:

1. Not all Sedans have a fixed window. My Volvo Sedan has 4 doors that open and no place to mount. Hatchbacks, station wagons, and SUV's with fixed windows would be the target demographic. Trust me, I would love to have 4 channels.

Design Hurdles

1. 3 Channel cameras overheat in direct sunlight. For a 4 channel to be feasible, a design that mirrors Street Guardian's SD9663DR would be necessary. To have only the cameras mounted on the windows, and the main unit able to be placed in a shaded spot. 3 Channel cameras would also benefit from this design, too. Still don't understand why it isn't being implemented more often.

Or if you want full coverage then use an A119 V3 for the rear, then the rear A139 camera can be used at the rear but pointing forwards to get left and right coverage of sideswipes at the front, the interior can cover sideswipes at the left and right rear, and you gain QHD resolution for the rear camera.

For my vehicle, a 4 channel wouldn't be possible, even a DIY setup. Not unless I am going to mount a camera on the headliner itself to face out the windows. I don't have a fixed window on my Volvo to point outward. All the doors swing open with their windows attached.

But I agree. The A139 3 Channel Could have:

Main Unit - Front Windshield
Interior Unit Side Windshield
Rear Unit Side Windshield.
A119 V3 or another Camera Rear Windshield.

Of course that means you don't have an interior view. But on my Volvo where all 4 doors swing open with windows attached, the A139 is the next best option. I do the 50-50 interior view so I can see out of both right and left windows in the event of a side swipe, etc. Then front + rear camera.

People that have a fixed window could easily make a 4 channel view work. I guess I could too if I wanted a camera mounted on the headliner above my head or a passengers head. But that's not really a great option.

 

[HonestReview]

Thanks. This gives me some context to what I can expect. I like to use these cams for vandalism purposes. Wash my vehicle often. I check cams only when I see a new scratch. Hoping to catch someone approaching from behind, front or sides (in that they will pass the rear or front camera at some point). The side cam lets me know to what side of the car they went.

99% of the time, a person is going to be captured on the front or rear camera. The side cameras (or if you mount your own side cameras) are great for idiots that may sideswipe your car. The A139 with the 50-50 view could possible catch someone hitting their door into your car. And it will show a "person walk by". So if captured on front or rear, and then you noticed damage on the side, it would at least show this person's position.

I.E. Someone goes to key your car. They walk up from behind and are captured on camera. But then they walk to the side. You won't see their face unless they bend down to the view of the window. But it's still enough to prove in most cases the person is the one who caused damage. Especially if they are on the side of the car and you now see huge scratches.

Per my reply to nigel, if you want TRUE SIDE view, you need to use either a front + rear camera or two individual cameras on the side windows. You must have side windows that are fixed to get a good vantage point. There are other ways to mount, but a fixed side window found in SUV's, Station Wagons, CUV, etc are best.

 

[mentadent]

Viofo please make a 5 camera dashcam

 

[DashCamUser123]

I wonder how difficilt it is to build a 360 interior cam? Or close to it. One of those round ones. Doesn't have to be the best quality, just coverage.

 

[HonestReview]

I wonder how difficilt it is to build a 360 interior cam? Or close to it. One of those round ones. Doesn't have to be the best quality, just coverage.

They make one. A guy on here @98 SNAKE EATER has showcased the one he uses. It's pretty cool. Insta360 one x2

Insta360 ONE X2 – Waterproof 360 Action Camera with Stabilization

Unlock a world of creative possibilities with a pocket 360 action camera that shoots, stabilizes and edits 5.7K 360 video for you. No extra gear needed.

www.insta360.com

More of an action 360 cam that he doubles as a dash cam but it works great according to him and the videos he's posted here.

 

[HonestReview]

Viofo please make a 5 camera dashcam

Nah man vision 2.0. I want viofo to make aerial drones that follow me everywhere I go, giving me a birds eye view of my daily driving habits...

 

[Mtz]

I wonder how difficilt it is to build a 360 interior cam? Or close to it. One of those round ones. Doesn't have to be the best quality, just coverage.

Where will you mount the 360 degrees interior camera?

 

[Vortex Radar]

So I know I'm late to the party, lol, but I'm finally getting around to putting together my thoughts for an A139 video review and I've got a few questions while I dive into the details.

What's everyone's thoughts on HDR benefits in the daytime vs. nighttime? I was reading the earlier discussion in the thread about HDR vs. WDR and how HDR is most beneficial for recording highlights. That could be great for capturing plates at night when your headlights are shining on them as well as capturing bright details during the day when it's sunny. What are the trade-offs you guys have noticed and do you prefer HDR on or off? I haven't done head-to-head testing yet to directly compare.

Is anyone having issues with the iOS app connecting to the A139? I can't live preview video footage on iOS, but it works fine on my Android. Latest versions of the app on both devices of course.

Has anyone gotten the parking mode geofencing working? I was reading that people have been having issues with it. I still need to test it, but it sounds like a great feature and I'd love to use it personally.

I've noticed that the video files from different camera angles start and stop at slightly different times, so when I go to combine/overlay different angles in my video editor, one clip may be half a second behind the other and I have to manually sync the clips based on timestamps.

Buffered parking mode seems to be a bit hit or miss. Sometimes it captures impacts properly, other times it misses the impacts altogether. I've had much better results with my Blackvue and Thinkware cams.

Is there a way to get voice notifications strictly for card errors or a missing MicroSD card while also disabling all the other voice notifications? That'd be awesome.

Otherwise there's a lot of stuff I'm liking about the dashcam... the independent interior cam, the Auto mode for IR so I can get color in the daytime and IR at night, the thin cables which allows me to install A139 in cars where the A129 rear cables are too thick to fit and install, etc.

 

[SawMaster]

I only used an early beta version of buffered parking mode/motion detect, but that worked beautifully for me though it didn't for some others.
AFAIK it's sound on or sound off with no other choices. IIRC the start-up/shutdown sounds can't be muted. No testing of the other aspects you asked about.

Nicest and best overall of any cam I've had, lacking only 4K resolution, but it's 2K is exceptionally good so not much lacking there.

Phil

 

[sunmybun]

I only used an early beta version of buffered parking mode/motion detect, but that worked beautifully for me though it didn't for some others.
AFAIK it's sound on or sound off with no other choices. IIRC the start-up/shutdown sounds can't be muted. No testing of the other aspects you asked about.

Nicest and best overall of any cam I've had, lacking only 4K resolution, but it's 2K is exceptionally good so not much lacking there.

Phil

i havent tried other dashcams, but this one is great for its price.

which fw are you using as of right now?

 

[SawMaster]

i havent tried other dashcams, but this one is great for its price.

which fw are you using as of right now?

I'd have to check but it's an older one. I didn't need the features of newer FW versions but now that they've been tested without issues I might upgrade. Going to be lots of cam work going on this weekend for me. A139 remains as my all-time-favorite dashcam

Phil

 

[sunmybun]

I'd have to check but it's an older one. I didn't need the features of newer FW versions but now that they've been tested without issues I might upgrade. Going to be lots of cam work going on this weekend for me. A139 remains as my all-time-favorite dashcam

Phil

Thats surprisingg.
I thought there would be more well-rounded and more stable dash cams out there.
I just got a139 for the price, and local storage availability.

it does take alot of my time to switch to each fw and test drive with hdr disabled/enabled, h264/hevc, and etc.
I am still trying to find the best fw for me also. i tried 1.7_0218, 1.7_0302 and 1.6_0106. I have yet to do more testing. but i might go even back to 1.5.

hope you get what you want~

 

[vvs49]

After updating iOS iPhone 7 Plus, an error appeared in the VIOFO application, when you click on the Time for HDR item, the application immediately closes !!
Is there a new VIOFO app for iOS?