Using the A129 in 1080p mode waste of money?

[Limeybastard]

I’m currently short listing some cams and have a question. Would it be a waste of money to purchase the A129 if only using it in 1080p mode as compared to just buying the A119 mark 3 which I believe goes up to 1440p? Cheers

 

[Nigel]

With small lettering on USA plates, 1440 is a useful upgrade, but the A129 Plus has the same sensor as the A119 V3, both will produce 2K of almost identical quality on the front camera, as will the A139.

If you are not worried about reading plates then the basic A129 is a good camera, especially at night. In reality many USA plates are hard even for 1440 cameras anyway, which is why some in the USA like the A129 Pro 4K.

 

[Limeybastard]

With small lettering on USA plates, 1440 is a useful upgrade, but the A129 Plus has the same sensor as the A119 V3, both will produce 2K of almost identical quality on the front camera, as will the A139.

If you are not worried about reading plates then the basic A129 is a good camera, especially at night. In reality many USA plates are hard even for 1440 cameras anyway, which is why some in the USA like the A129 Pro 4K.

Thanks for the feedback. What concerns me is 4K recording and the sunlight/ heat in my region. I used an A119 for the last 5 or so years and it was solid.

 

[SawMaster]

The less work a processor does the cooler a cam will run, and that's a factor in Florida. All the mentioned cams should be OK with that. I don't own one but I like the V3 as it's well developed and has no vices that I'm aware of. All the versions of the A129 cams have all had a glitch or two as most cams do- I'm not sure how those have been dealt with but do have a look at the forums for those you may be interested in. My A139 has been excellent; in fact it's my favorite cam ever at this point- but to be fair it needs mentioning that some more recent units seem to have loose coax connectors for the outboard cams and some are having reliability issues which I believe relates to recent FW but the jury is still out on that.

4K cams with enough processor and bitrate to make good use of the enhanced imaging run hot. Ones like the B4K don't do as much work but also don't do the best 4K vids. My B4K seems to handle the heat well as it was running when I did my last heat test reaching just over 65C for about two minutes without any problem. A good cam for it's very fair price. 4K makes better details possible but will also be darker at night as the smaller pixels capture less light each.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for the feedback. What concerns me is 4K recording and the sunlight/ heat in my region. I used an A119 for the last 5 or so years and it was solid.

For good hot weather performance, how about getting an A119 V3 for the front and using your existing one for the rear?

The 4K should be OK even in Florida if you are not going to use it while parked. When parked it will overheat on sunny summer days but will shut down to protect itself.

The A129 Plus should not get significantly warmer than the A119 V3, even when used as a dual camera. It uses the same processor and most of the extra work is done by the rear camera.

 

[Limeybastard]

Thanks lads.