Opia2 Review

Milamber

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Joined
Dec 26, 2012
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Country
Australia
Dash Cam
A129 Pro Duo
Introduction

If you’re looking for a high quality dashcam that answers all of your surveillance needs as well as looking inconspicuous, the VicoVation Opia2 is definitely one of the strongest options around. VicoVation have a fantastic history of making dependable dashcams with an array of features and optional extras. The company itself isn't new, in fact it has a sizeable range of producing dashcams since 2010 including the popular and well-regarded Marcus models; the Opia2 is the new flagship and the results are impressive.

With a powerful Ambarella A12 processor, the VicoVation Opia2 has a clear picture, detailed and more vivid colours that any of its predecessors. Combined with new features such as the latest version of Smart Parking and time-lapse video, the Opia2 is the most advanced and powerful car video camera model created by VicoVation at the time of this review.

The packaging that the camera comes in has a neat design that looks premium, the camera is housed with lens and LCD protectors coupled with accessories and an instruction booklet on how to install the camera in your vehicle.

The packaging content is as follows:

  • 1x Suction mount
  • 1x Adhesive mount
  • 1x Quick release holder
  • 2x Short arm holders
  • 1x GPS Module (optional)
  • 1x CPL Lens Filter (optional)
VicoVation did a fantastic job with the engineering, not just with the solid design but also the choice of components. The front of the camera has a F.02 glass camera lens with two side USB connections, one for power and the other for the optional GPS mouse. The Opia2 uses a microSD card, which is housed on the left side of the dashcam when mounted and can support up to 128GB.
VicoVation offer great reliability, as the Opia2 uses a capacitor design. No cheap lithium battery in this camera which is very important for anyone using the park mode feature, or even just living in a climate were the outside temperature can reach 40°C in the shade, as the inside temperature of any vehicle can exceed 70°C in summer months. At 85°C storage temperature, the Opia2 is the ideal choice for anyone taking safety and reliability seriously.

Recording

The secret to the sharp, vivid colours, reduced glare and detail from the recordings is the recording resolution of 2K Ultra-HD, which is 1440p HDR (1440 × 2560). The picture quality is almost 2 times higher than 1080p, so if you’re looking for quality and the best possible video output for both day and night recording then this camera is definitely worth considering, especially since the housing consists of a 4 Megapixel image sensor.

The Opia2 is equipped with dual-display technology, basically this technology combines video format at 60 frames per second as opposed to 99% of the market which aim for 30 frames per second, this results in a much clearer picture quality with reduced ghosting on fast moving objects. The Opia2 is able to provide the perfect balance of brightness due to the exposure, which uses an advanced 3D-DNR and a high ISO picture quality to deliver very clear night recording.

VicoVation has introduced a new feature called Smart Time-Lapse, this provides surveillance over a long period of time with low memory storage requirements with an automatic switching between modes. The device makes one shot at the selected time interval (every 1 seconds / 10 seconds / 60 seconds) and creates a video with the pictures taken, so even if your storage capacity on the microSD card is not too big, this feature will accommodate your security needs.

The high-end bit rate at 19Mbits/sec allows for very fast rendering when recording near dense foliage areas such as trees, which would normally produce pixilation on the majority of dashcams but not on the Opia2. This camera has very good dynamic rage which allows for details to be identified in darker areas, as well as very good exposure for the change of lighting.

The Good and Bad

As with any dashcam, the impressive range of features delivered by the Opia2 has some setbacks as well.

Pros

  • High 1440p HDR image quality
  • Multiple mounting options included
  • Very good clarity for day and night recording
  • Useful range of optional accessories
  • Operating temperature up to 75°C
  • 60fps recording
  • 360 ° Coverage

Cons

  • GPS tracking is an optional extra
  • Poor warning notifications – no warning on SDcard error, no recording notification (the user has no check if the light is red or the LCD screen icon
  • English date format isn’t an option; for example, 13/02/16
  • No right-angle USB connectors – this is a problem for camera rotation and cables get tangled in front of lens

Key Features

  • 4-megapixel CMOS with an Ambarella A12 chipset
  • MP4 recording up to 2,560 x 1,440 at 30 frames per second 19Mbits/sec
  • 2-inch LCD display
  • Suction and quick-release mounts with included G-sensor to detect vehicle collisions
  • Omnivision OV4689 sensor: Dynamic Range = 64,6dB, Sensitivity = 1900mV/Lux-Sec, Native max resolution (Sensor): 2688 x 1520
  • Parking Surveillance mode
Price at time of review: $349.00 AUD

Video Footage

 
... looking inconspicuous ...
Yes, by comparison with say a Lukas LK-9750. But not by comparison with genuinely inconspicuous dashcams, e.g. A118, A119, JooVuu X, Mobius, SGZC12RC, etc.

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Last edited:
Yep, the camera is locked into a ball socket allowing full rotation which is very good for capturing incidents that may need to be recorded, many cameras are fixed.

Sent from my HTC 2PS6200 using Tapatalk
 
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