Picked up an A119S from amazon warehouse but now not sure

[ssandison]

Hi, I'm Steve and new to the forum and dash cams in general but it's been great fun reading all the info over the last few days, this is a great resource for new users.

I have been looking in particular at the Viofo A119 series of dash cams as they look good value but also seem high quality based on what I've read here. I am going on a road trip through Europe in June and I want to record our journey along the way so ideally want a cam that can take a large memory card, for example 256GB and I read somewhere on here that the Viofo A119 has been tested to this size. I plan to download the footage to an external HDD along the way at each stop also.

I previously bought a £32 cam off amazon branded orskey that was ok and I managed to get it working with my 256GB card but it only recorded up to 148GB worth of footage and didn't have a GPS. I guess it would be regarded as junk on this forum? That's when I started looking for advice and found here.

I ordered a Viofo A119S V2 on amazon which was a warehouse deal that looked like a bargain. £66 for the cam with GPS. Now it's turned up and it is missing the GPS part. The cam looks in good condition apart from this and I know I can get a GPS off ebay as a fix but now I am questioning whether I should just return it or not. I have read a lot over the last week and I went for the A119S because I will be driving mostly in day but there will be some night time driving which I also don't want to miss out on.

I guess I'm looking for advice on whether I should return this cam to amazon because it didn't come with the GPS but also whether I should change my mind and go for the A119 or the A119 pro as an alternative. Is the difference between them really that great? I read custom firmware can make a difference also. Has anyone else done a similar trip across Europe and filmed it using any of these cams? I'm travelling from UK to Bulgaria via Paris roughly 3 days of driving up to 12 hours or so each day. I will be doing it over 6 days stopping for a day in each stop. I'm really interested in any advice people can give.

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @ssandison
I'd contact the seller regards the missing GPS- they may just send you one instead of doing a return. For daytime vids the A119 does a little better than the A119S, but both are quite good. A119S does somewhat better capturing number plates at night, otherwise a pretty even race between the two. Neither will disappoint you day or night, both give top-level vids.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

How do you know it doesn't have GPS?

I think it will be a good camera for movie making.

 

[ssandison]

How do you know it doesn't have GPS?

I think it will be a good camera for movie making.

It hasn't got the GPS mount with it that I've seen in all the pictures of A119S. It's got a couple of normal mounts which don't have the mini USB socket on them.

 

[ssandison]

Welcome to DCT @ssandison
I'd contact the seller regards the missing GPS- they may just send you one instead of doing a return. For daytime vids the A119 does a little better than the A119S, but both are quite good. A119S does somewhat better capturing number plates at night, otherwise a pretty even race between the two. Neither will disappoint you day or night, both give top-level vids.

Phil

Thanks @SawMaster. This came from the amazon warehouse so not sure if it's a seller or amazon direct. I will try asking the question though but I suspect the person that shipped it thought the GPS would just be built in, probably didn't realise it was a mount at all.

 

[e_kjellgren]

How does the 129 compare?

 

[ssandison]

How does the 129 compare?

Yeah that would be nice to know also.

 

[ssandison]

Welcome to DCT @ssandison
I'd contact the seller regards the missing GPS- they may just send you one instead of doing a return. For daytime vids the A119 does a little better than the A119S, but both are quite good. A119S does somewhat better capturing number plates at night, otherwise a pretty even race between the two. Neither will disappoint you day or night, both give top-level vids.

Phil

Just to follow up. I contacted amazon who were really helpful. They offered to apply credit to my account for the cost of a GPS module. Unfortunately no one seems to sell it separately on amazon UK but they have looked up the cost from viofo in the US. I've seen them for around £10 on ebay so may go for this option. Unless someone thinks it's better just to go for the A119 V2 which is £59.99 with GPS on amazon at the moment. Your advice suggests that might be worthwhile.

 

[ssandison]

Is the higher 2K resolution of the A119 worth it over the A119S 1080p?

 

[Nigel]

Is the higher 2K resolution of the A119 worth it over the A119S 1080p?

Not for movie making, the sensor in the A119S is a better sensor if you want good colour etc. The A129 is similar to the A119S but with front and rear video channels, it is also newer and has a few improvements such as a better mount design. Some of the extra resolution of the A119 is lost to a wider field of view which is good for evidence, but fairly useless for movies.

 

[SawMaster]

With modified firmware @60FPS I think the A129 gives the best vids overall of any dashcam in it's price range today (single-channel version, not the "Duo"), and few higher-priced cams meet or exceed it. The "Duo" uses the same front cam, but when the rear cam is used the front cam is limited to 30FPS. It's all too close to call with each one being a little better for one specific aspect so it's down to personal preference. Here's my thoughts on these points with the modified firmware, not the stock firmware:

A119 for wide FOV and good daytime details
A119S for best night details and good daytime
A129 for the best daytime vid quality and best blend of all other characteristics

There are modified firmware threads for each of these cams here on DCT and links to raw video files which will show you exactly what these are capable of. If using stock firmware only go with the A129. Can't go wrong with any of these.

Phil

 

[ssandison]

With modified firmware @60FPS I think the A129 gives the best vids overall of any dashcam in it's price range today (single-channel version, not the "Duo"), and few higher-priced cams meet or exceed it. The "Duo" uses the same front cam, but when the rear cam is used the front cam is limited to 30FPS. It's all too close to call with each one being a little better for one specific aspect so it's down to personal preference. Here's my thoughts on these points with the modified firmware, not the stock firmware:

A119 for wide FOV and good daytime details
A119S for best night details and good daytime
A129 for the best daytime vid quality and best blend of all other characteristics

There are modified firmware threads for each of these cams here on DCT and links to raw video files which will show you exactly what these are capable of. If using stock firmware only go with the A129. Can't go wrong with any of these.

Phil

Thanks for all your advice. I think I'm going to check out the custom firmware threads for A119S and take a look at the videos. I reckon its probably worth keeping hold of if amazon give me a good refund on the missing GPS module.

 

[ssandison]

How warm should the A119S get? I’m just testing it in the house and it feels warm to the touch. Is that normal?

 

[DT MI]

How warm should the A119S get? I’m just testing it in the house and it feels warm to the touch. Is that normal?

I can't specifically address the VIOFO since I don't have one but all dash cams will generate heat - some more than others.

 

[Nigel]

How warm should the A119S get? I’m just testing it in the house and it feels warm to the touch. Is that normal?

About 20°C above ambient.

 

[ssandison]

About 20°C above ambient.

I’m not sure I can work that out but it feels quite warm to the touch. I’ll keep an eye on it.

 

[Nigel]

I’m not sure I can work that out but it feels quite warm to the touch. I’ll keep an eye on it.

Warm is good, hot is not so good, if you can't keep your finger on it without getting burned then it is time to disconnect it - might happen on midsummers day with the sun shining directly on it.

 

[ssandison]

Warm is good, hot is not so good, if you can't keep your finger on it without getting burned then it is time to disconnect it - might happen on midsummers day with the sun shining directly on it.

Seems fine to keep a finger on it. I was only thinking that it might get pretty hot on my trip. Bulgaria and Romania can be especially hot places.

 

[Nigel]

Seems fine to keep a finger on it. I was only thinking that it might get pretty hot on my trip. Bulgaria and Romania can be especially hot places.

If you are driving, you will probably drop dead due to heat before it will!
If you seal it in a parked car in full midday sun in midsummer then it will get very near its limit, so not really advisable, although people do and we don't hear of many issues.

 

[ssandison]

If you are driving, you will probably drop dead due to heat before it will!
If you seal it in a parked car in full midday sun in midsummer then it will get very near its limit, so not really advisable, although people do and we don't hear of many issues.

I would probably not leave it on apart from when driving during the trip.

Another issue now though. The record button started flashing red whilst it was recording. I tried to wake it up and it took a few seconds but seemed to be recording still. Is it not meant to stay solid red when recording?