Viofo A129 Duo Non-IR Image Quality

[jokiin]

That particular plate was never going to be read on a 1080 dashcam.

.... at that distance, jump forward a few frames and it can read, I think sometimes people get a bit too hung up on trying to read plates at unreasonable distances, the focal sweet spot of the lens covers you for anything you should be reasonably concerned about coming close enough to worry about, beyond that isn't as critical in the scheme of things

 

[CaptnEric]

The quality seems ok for me,I can't see out of focus issues on your footage,BUT I have checked the rear camera footage closely and you have the same problem as mine:rear camera is doubling a frame every 93 frames,so you will see a still image fore some miliseconds every 3 seconds aprox.Check my post here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/viofo-a129-duo-doubling-jumping-frames-on-rear-camera.39612/

Thanks for your feedback @gabilondo77 . The quality looks ok but if you look around the centre of the video and follow looking towards the right, you can see it's a little fuzzy.

Thank you for letting me know about the rear cam footage doubling up of frames. I never noticed this so I took a look at your post and your videos. In your rear video I did see a split second of momentary freezing every few seconds. Then looked at mine and it looks like I do have the same issue. I downloaded VirtualDub2 and watched frame by frame and it's definitely doubling up every 93 - 94 frames. I haven't checked the front cam though as it seems it's only happening on the rear cam. So now there is another issue that needs to be fixed along with the Parking G-Sensor sensitivity issue

 

[CaptnEric]

Thank you for your feedback @Nigel and @jokiin !

I wanted to know if this was normal recording quality for the A129 or I had a focus issue and it seems I got my answer and I can rest that the lens focus is good from your comments, so thank you for that, I really appreciate it. I'm not too fussed about being able to read licence plates all the time, I just used it as an example to highlight the focus issue. If this is the best footage I can get from the A129 and that is normal, then I'll just have to settle for that. Seeing that @BCHobbyist 's MOD firmware improved the clarity of the footage, I'll keep using the MOD.

It would be great if @BCHobbyist could give me his feedback too as he suggested I test it with the MOD firmware

 

[Nigel]

Thank you for your feedback @Nigel and @jokiin !

I wanted to know if this was normal recording quality for the A129 or I had a focus issue and it seems I got my answer and I can rest that the lens focus is good from your comments, so thank you for that, I really appreciate it. I'm not too fussed about being able to read licence plates all the time, I just used it as an example to highlight the focus issue. If this is the best footage I can get from the A129 and that is normal, then I'll just have to settle for that. Seeing that @BCHobbyist 's MOD firmware improved the clarity of the footage, I'll keep using the MOD.

It would be great if @BCHobbyist could give me his feedback too as he suggested I test it with the MOD firmware

I think for the A129, average is a bit better than that, but it is within the normal range for a dashcam, no dashcam lens is perfect, there is always some variation, we don't pay $100s just for the lens like DSLR owners do. So for me the question is if it is doing it's job or not, and I don't see a problem with that. If you want to be really fussy then there are some chromatic distortion issues on the left, but all dashcam lenses have similar issues, some are better than others, but since they are analogue devices with limited quality control due to the price there is a bit of variation, you can't expect a hand polished lens at the price of the A129, certainly not 2 hand polished lenses! If it was mine and I wanted to use it for making road movies then I would have a go at adjusting the focus a little, but for recording accident footage I don't see that as necessary.

 

[Airborne]

I was able to watch them and hope my camera works as well as yours, I am more worried about filming a accident I am involved in.

 

[CaptnEric]

I think for the A129, average is a bit better than that, but it is within the normal range for a dashcam, no dashcam lens is perfect, there is always some variation, we don't pay $100s just for the lens like DSLR owners do. So for me the question is if it is doing it's job or not, and I don't see a problem with that. If you want to be really fussy then there are some chromatic distortion issues on the left, but all dashcam lenses have similar issues, some are better than others, but since they are analogue devices with limited quality control due to the price there is a bit of variation, you can't expect a hand polished lens at the price of the A129, certainly not 2 hand polished lenses! If it was mine and I wanted to use it for making road movies then I would have a go at adjusting the focus a little, but for recording accident footage I don't see that as necessary.

Totally understand that logic. Don't get me wrong, I love the A129, I just wanted to make sure mine didn't have a defective lens

 

[CaptnEric]

I was able to watch them and hope my camera works as well as yours, I am more worried about filming a accident I am involved in.

Me too! Hopefully the G-Sensor works when it should

 

[BCHobbyist]

Hi @BCHobbyist
Today we finally had a day the sun came out. Still mostly cloudy but it's probably the best day we're going to get in Melbourne, Australia in the middle of winter.
I installed the MOD you recommended "FWA129_MOD-8Wl_v1.90+28F+16RMbs+Sharp48+Dice with the default settings. I only changed the date, time, time zone, length of recording and boot delay set to 5secs. CPL filter is on front lense.
There is a significant improvement in sharpness and clarity but still looks a little fuzzy around the centre of the video and continues towards the right. Don't know if it's just me so would be great for you to see for yourself.
I've highlighted the area in the following screenshot...

Screenshot2019-07-29-20h33m52s039.jpg

drive.google.com

Here is a raw video, the best footage I could get from today...

2019_0729_134443_052F.MP4

drive.google.com

After reviewing your 28 Mb/s sunny Australia day test footage it's very noticeable how higher bitrate improves detail over stock bitrate.
Your A129 is centered on windshield and well angled but Lens is not aligned and focused precisely, indicated by perfect left side focus and slightly blurry right side in every video frame confirming alignment issue. I created three Sharpness MODs A129 owners can use to compensate for Lens focus issues. Your test footage using Medium Sharpness ranked using good/better/best is "better", suggest loading Strong Sharpness A129 MOD-8WK then repeat video quality test. If there is little to no improvement suggest ordering a perfectly focused A129 Lens + Sensor module from Viofo. Welcome to the Lens Lottery, if you're lucky you'll be a survivor = LLS. (probably good idea to order new Lens anyway to correct alignment)
Download A129 Modified Firmware = https://viofo-dash-cam-modified-firmware.blogspot.com/p/download-a129-mod-file.html

 

[CaptnEric]

Hi @BCHobbyist ,

Thank you for your response! Yeah had a feeling the lens might have a focus issue and why I asked for everyone's opinion here. I really appreciate your feedback as it has confirmed my suspicions.

Before I install MOD-8WK, just a question...isn't the sharpness used in this mod the same sharpness level used in the official Viofo firmware?
If it is, is there any point installing it as my original videos showed the focus issue?

 

[CaptnEric]

Also, do I contact @viofo Support directly or place of purchase to order the new lens and sensor module?

 

[BCHobbyist]

Also, do I contact @viofo Support directly or place of purchase to order the new lens and sensor module?

From Viofo's Support webpage create a Ticket and request the exact Lens you want.

 

[CaptnEric]

From Viofo's Support webpage create a Ticket and request the exact Lens you want.

Thanks @BCHobbyist

 

[BCHobbyist]

Hi @BCHobbyist ,
Thank you for your response! Yeah had a feeling the lens might have a focus issue and why I asked for everyone's opinion here. I really appreciate your feedback as it has confirmed my suspicions.
Before I install MOD-8WK, just a question...isn't the sharpness used in this mod the same sharpness level used in the official Viofo firmware?
If it is, is there any point installing it as my original videos showed the focus issue?

The higher sharpness stock firmware + 28 Mb/s bitrate MOD-8WK will partly compensate for the blurry right side image, compare the footage and decide whats better. Creating another higher A129 Sharpness MOD is possible, there is no Firmware tweak to correct Lens alignment from side to side since one side will degrade, better idea is to get a new Lens.

 

[CaptnEric]

The higher sharpness stock firmware + 28 Mb/s bitrate MOD-8WK will partly compensate for the blurry right side image, compare the footage and decide whats better. Creating another higher A129 Sharpness MOD is possible, there is no Firmware tweak to correct Lens alignment from side to side since one side will degrade, better idea is to get a new Lens.

Ok thank you @BCHobbyist . I understand regarding the firmware limitations etc. I will try the MOD-8WK in the next couple of days and post the video. I was happy with the 8WI quality compared to the stock. If the 8WK gives me even a little better quality then I won't order the new lens