Viofo A119 Beta & Production Units (Padwanjoe's Point of View)

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. A few days ago I received my A119 Pre-production sample. Thank you very much @viofo!
The camera looks very good and seems to be made of good material. The only question mark is how well the left-right lens adjustment will behave in time since there is no click mechanism to maintain the lens position.
Before I got it, I looked at the videos of the other DCT forum mates that received the A119 sample and all of them mentioned: blue is too strong in the videos.
After the first days of using it, I can say that my sample is not having the same behavior. Here is a video of a bright sunny morning day with the following settings: 1920x1080@60fps, video bit rate: 20.1 Mbps, no audio, default image settings.

For comparison, you can find in the my post about JooVuu X Cam a video recorded in similar conditions: <a href="https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-and-production-unit.14372/page-2#post-232423">Padwanjoe & JooVuu X Cam Beta Unit 2 and Production Unit</a>

 

[gretl4]

Why no audio?

 

[Padwanjoe]

I was talking on the phone. Most of the time I do not record audio.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. Just a brief update, text only, video to upload later.
My A119 sample is starting every-time I start the car engine and saves OK the last file which is playable on PC. The A119 is also keeping the correct date&time. There is some flickering when driving to an underpass. The REC button is poorly illuminated so the red led blinking is not visible during day. There are some sound cracking recording in all the videos and the recording volume is too low for my taste. The display is useful to set the camera and to playback the recorded files. The 2.0" display is large enough and the videos look good on it.
Overall, so far I am content with how the A119 behaves and look confident that further FW will solve some of the above-mentioned issues.
Keep well!

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. I have updated to the latest FW, mentioned by @viofo in the A119 sample test thread. It seems that the only resolution in which A119 now records is 1920 x 1080 @ 30fps. I tried to select any other resolution available in the settings but the A119 did not start recording. Only the red led of the REC button was blinking very fast and the Power button was the only one to work. I had to remove the micro SD card in order to be able to access the Menu and select the 1920 x 1080 @ 30fps. I am sure that things will be sorted. I will test the new FW tomorrow.
Keep well!

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi again. Here is the video I have mentioned in the above post no. 4 regarding the underpass driving: flickering. Video settings: 1920 x 1080 @ 60fps, video bit rate: 20.1 Mbps, with audio and default image settings.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hello. This morning we had fog, so if you are interested on how the Viofo A119 Pre-production Unit records under this weather condition, here is a sample:

I used the latest FW, i.e. the Apr 26th 2016 FW. Video settings: 1920 x 1080 @ 60fps, video bit rate 20.1 Mbps, default image settings, with audio recording set to ON.
Full media info is in attached txt file.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. After the fog and cold in the morning, the weather turned to sunny and warm in the afternoon. Perfect weather to check how the latest FW (ie of April 26th) behaves.
Here is sample of driving through a succession of sun and shade areas:

Video settings: 1920 x 1080 @ 60fps, video bit rate 20.1 Mbps, WDR set to ON, default image settings, with audio recording set to ON.
I can tell that the colors are very close to what they actually are.
Keep well and drive safe.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. For the last 3 days and a few hours I let my A119 beta unit to record attached to a window pointing towards a street with moderate to heavy traffic. I swapped 3 cards to randomly check if the records are playable and in the proper time order. I can tell that my A119 beta unit recorded flawless.

 

[Padwanjoe]

This a screenshot during a rainy day: I am happy with the focus and IQ. A119 beta unit with latest FW

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hello. I have posted videos recorded driving: towards the sun, though an underpass, having sun and shade succession and fog condition. Now it time for rain condition. The below video was recorded with an Viofo A119 Pre-production Unit with the Apr 26th 2016 FW. Video settings: 1920 x 1080 @ 60fps, video bit rate 20.1 Mbps, default image settings, with audio recording set to ON.

As I wrote before I am happy with the focus and IQ. A119 beta unit with latest FW

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hello. Starting with last Friday (17 June 2016) our local day temperatures are above 30-32 Celsius and the night ones are above 19-21 Celsius. The pre-production A119 Viofo camera stayed all the time in the car, parked under the sky in this hot weather. I had 3 trips during the week-end, all around midday, I am pleased to say that the dash cam started, recorded and properly saved the last file. I did not have much time to spend, but in the random videos I looked at, I did not see any focus shift/blur.

 

[Gibson99]

Hello. Starting with last Friday (17 June 2016) our local day temperatures are above 30-32 Celsius and the night ones are above 19-21 Celsius. The pre-production A119 Viofo camera stayed all the time in the car, parked under the sky in this hot weather. I had 3 trips during the week-end, all around midday, I am pleased to say that the dash cam started, recorded and properly saved the last file. I did not have much time to spend, but in the random videos I looked at, I did not see any focus shift/blur.

I haven't converted between Fahrenheit and Celsius but the rain has finally let up here and let it get plenty hot... mid 90s F and heat index around 115 from the high humidity. Mid 80s at night. No issues here either. My truck is parked outside all the time, no garage, and no tint other than the factory stuff on the tiny back windows. I don't take out the camera either.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. If I am correct 30 Celsius are 86 Fahrenheit.

 

[Gibson99]

Hi. If I am correct 30 Celsius are 86 Fahrenheit.

Google says you are correct! And 95f = 35c. 115f = 46.1c = sweat just dumping off you but it's so humid the sweat can't evaporate... yeah, sometimes living on the gulf coast kinda sucks.

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi @Gibson99. Yesterday were 38 Celsius = 100.4 Fahrenheit. But, as you said, it was to humid the sweat could not evaporate making the heat unbearable. I can stand the heat but not the heat & humidity combination. I think, this applies to dash cams as well.
On the other hand, who knows when the next FW for the A119 pre-production will be released?
Hi Bill @viofo any fresh news?

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. As I wrote in another post, I successfully updated to the last FW i.e of June 7th, 2016. I could made all the changes I wanted and the only issue I had was the one with the Emergency Button: pressing it did not work. First I thought this is due to changing of frequency from 60 to 50 Hz but changing back to 60 (which is the default, by the way) did not improved. After I reset the A119 pre-production to it's default settings, the pressing of the Emergency Button worked OK (the black warning sign on the yellow triangle and the beeps appeared) with all the resolutions and frequency.
After I reviewed some of this morning drive, I could say the IQ remained the same as per previous FW and the LCD is a little bit brighter during day time.
Keep well and drive safe!

 

[Padwanjoe]

Hi. Just wanted to share with you a funny (I think) video recorded with Viofo A119 Pre-production Camera:

Video recorded with the latest FW (7 june 2016). 1920x1080@60fps, video bit rate: 20.1 Mbps, audio ON, other image settings are the default ones.

 

[walexw]

Have you notice fliker on stop light on the front car and on number of the bus ( 0.11 and 1.19 ) ?

 

[jokiin]

Have you notice fliker on stop light on the front car and on number of the bus ( 0.11 and 1.19 ) ?

If they are LED lights they will always show flicker in the video, that's quite normal