Viofo A118C2 Dashcam (Novatek NT96650, Aptina AR0330)

[Agie]

Hi again everyone, time for another dash camera review. A massive thankyou to Bill over at @viofo , not only for his assistance but also his help in assisting other users here on the DashcamTalk forums. Not many places that you can purchase the Viofo A118C2 at the moment, but with some Googling you can find various vendors.

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Specifications: Aptina AR0330 CMOS sensor w/130 degree field of view, Novatek NT96650 chipset, 1.5 inch TFT display, capacitor. Full HD video recorded at 14.7MBps bitrate with a 512KBps audio recording bitrate (mono at 32 KHz). Recording modes of 1080p at 30fps and 720p video at 60fps.
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Box Contents: Viofo A118C2 dashcam, instruction leaflet, car charger (non-detachable and no USB port), USB-A to miniUSB cable, string (to remove dashcam), adhesive mounting clips, two mounting stickers for the dashcam (one spare), cable slot to hide dashcam wiring.
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Firmware Version: V1.0, 20161008 (Viofo is stellar with firmware support, so expect more to come soon).
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The final verdict: While it's not a dashcam that's going to blow anyone away with its image quality, it's a solid upgrade to the ageing A118. Viofo should be heavily commended for creating a package that brings noticeable improvements, while maintaining attractive selling points that bode well for those buyers on a tight budget. With the A118C2, Viofo demonstrates once again why it is king of the low to mid-end dash camera market.



Unboxing video:

The Viofo A118C2 doesn't change the form factor and core internals, sticking with the known quantity of Novatek NT96650 and Aptina AR0330 for the chipset and image sensors respectively. What has changed though is that the aperture has widened, letting in more light and now at F/2.0 instead of F/2.8. Field of view has also decreased from 170 to 130 degrees, which helps keep the focus on details such as licence plates. There is now also support for optional GPS logger and CPL filter.


My nitpickings:

• I am a firm believer of the charger cable to be detachable and have at least one USB-A port on board, the A118C2 does not break with the tradition of having it all integrated into one. Could prove costly in the case of hardware failure down the line.
• The screen is small and therefore the size of the font text should at least be far bigger. Found it difficult on occasion to read the text in comparison to larger-screened dash cameras.
• Other very minor gripes: support for extended options such as image rotation would have been nice, but i can understand Viofo needs to have product differentiation in its lineup. Also a guide (in the user manual) to installing the dashcam in the vehicle would be handy for those customers new to dash cameras.

The positive:

• Physical keys and lighting of the dash camera itself are very accessible and within easy reach. Audio capture is decent for the price.
  
• Packaging of the contents is a step above the rest of the market, it gives a real sense of security and faith in the dash cam itself. Foam to product the contents is a very nice touch and should be standardised across the market.
• Very low profile and cable slot, keeps it all looking slick and stealthy, and maintains the driver's privacy.
• Viofo brings its A-game to the dash camera space once again. Although there is not much visible changes in daytime footage, Viofo image optimisation is on point again with exposure changes handled swiftly and accurately. Detail is also very clear, with not much artefacting or sharpening of edges.
• Sunset footage is not blown out and details are preserved along with sky colours, which very few cameras can handle correctly. Viofo prefers accuracy over saturation and it shows very well here.
• Night-time footage is obviously constrained by the sensor on board, but considering the wider aperture on show here the A118C2 takes it up a notch over the older hardware. A sizeable amount more of light is let in and in scenes such as intersections, the sensor keeps details crisp.

Close-up photos of the Viofo A118C2 dashcam:

 

[Agie]

Viofo A118C2 Dashcam sample footage (and versus Viofo A119 dashcam):



[Viofo A118C2] Daytime footage, 1080p, WDR/HDR off:

[Viofo A119] Daytime footage, 1440p, WDR/HDR off:

[Viofo A118C2] Sunset footage, 1080p, WDR/HDR off:

[Viofo A118C2] Sunset footage, 1080p, WDR/HDR on:

[Viofo A119] Sunset footage, 1440p, WDR/HDR on:

[Viofo A118C2] Night-time footage, 1080p, WDR/HDR off:

[Viofo A118C2] Night-time footage, 1080p, WDR/HDR on:

[Viofo A119] Night-time footage, 1440p, WDR/HDR on:

 

[Agie]

Some screengrabs:

 

[viofo]

Thanks for your detailed review.

 

[OCD Tronic]

Nice Review