Viofo A129 Pro Dual Dashcam - 4K Front + 1080 Rear

[Paul Iddon]

What kind of cards are you testers using for the new A129 PRO (4k) prototype?

In my 2 4K Viofo's I have a SanDisk Extreme PLUS 64GB microSDXC in one and a Samsung 128Gb EVO+

Both appear to be working fine.

 

[TonyM]

This morning I did a direct comparison of the rear camera on the A129 Duo and the A129 Pro Duo. I used the same rear camera, recording first on the Pro, then I switched the plug to the Duo a few seconds later.

As has been noted already, the Pro renders the video a bit darker than the Duo. What I did not expect is that the Field of View on the Pro is a bit wider than the Duo. That means that the Duo is cropping the video slightly, then resizing it back up to 1920x1080. EDIT: Or, it could be a difference in lens correction being applied by one or both processors.

Looking at the individual source frames there is not much difference between them. The Pro renders the red van better than the Duo which makes it look a bit orange.

 

[Nigel]

Looking at the individual source frames there is not much difference between them. The Pro renders the red van better than the Duo which makes it look a bit orange.

The Duo has the image slightly over exposed, especially the highlights and sky. The detail in the bright areas is much better on the Pro, but even the bumper of the red van which is quite dark has more detail on the Pro. The Pro only loses out slightly in the very dark areas, like the inside of the left rear wheel/tire of the red van, but I suspect most monitors are not displaying that dark detail anyway unless you turn the brightness up!

 

[gabilondo77]

What I did not expect is that the Field of View on the Pro is a bit wider than the Duo. That means that the Duo is cropping the video slightly, then resizing it back up to 1920x1080.

Very interesting...

 

[Nigel]

Very interesting...

Might find that the Pro sees the edges of the old CPL filters and you need the newer version of the CPL for the Pro if you don't want dark corners?

 

[FishyChips]

Will it be possible to use the Duo's rear cam with the front Pro? Or will they be incompatible?

The darker image matters to me, because I already have a rear tint. As both rears are 1080p, one having a fraction extra detail or 1% wider FOV is a secondary consideration to being able to actually see the image.

 

[Jeremy Wong]

I find the rear to be darker too. I will try adding a small amount of +EV to it today.

It's dull and rainy this morning though. Not best for test.

I like to record when it rains. Especially heavy downpours.

 

[TonyM]

Will it be possible to use the Duo's rear cam with the front Pro? Or will they be incompatible?

The darker image matters to me, because I already have a rear tint. As both rears are 1080p, whether one squeezes out a fraction extra detail or 1% wider FOV is a secondary consideration to being able to actually see the image.

Yes, that is what I am doing (and I think Nigel is too). I received just a front camera for testing. My understanding is that the Duo rear camera and the Pro rear camera are exactly the same.

 

[Jeremy Wong]

Will it be possible to use the Duo's rear cam with the front Pro? Or will they be incompatible?

The darker image matters to me, because I already have a rear tint. As both rears are 1080p, whether one squeezes out a fraction extra detail or 1% wider FOV is a secondary consideration to being able to actually see the image.

I've tested both Duo and IR rear cams with the A129 Pro. No issues as both can be detected by the A129 Pro.

 

[Paul Iddon]

I have here 2 4K scenes filmed side by side - the left hand cam is 3 or 4 inches further left on the car than the right hand cam which is located hard up against the left of the mirror mounting.

Both at the same bitrate, both at the same exposure levels.

Below this is the rear 1080p cam with the exposure at just +1/3EV...

It's a dull day, the rain had stopped a short time beforehand.

 

[Nigel]

The darker image matters to me, because I already have a rear tint. As both rears are 1080p, one having a fraction extra detail or 1% wider FOV is a secondary consideration to being able to actually see the image.

The darkness of the tint should be compensated for by the auto exposure, so if there is more detail on the Pro without the tint then I would also expect more detail with the tint. Of course no tint would give a better image, but switching from the Duo to the Pro shouldn't be an issue.

The darker image should also mean a faster shutter speed which may partly compensate for the loss of shutter speed due to the tint - the Pro is likely to have a little less motion blur. If it is actually too dark for you then you can turn up the EV setting for the rear camera, but I think it is currently at a good setting, just doesn't match the Duo, which I've always thought was a little bright.

 

[FishyChips]

Yes, that is what I am doing (and I think Nigel is too). I received just a front camera for testing. My understanding is that the Duo rear camera and the Pro rear camera are exactly the same.

I've tested both Duo and IR rear cams with the A129 Pro. No issues as both can be detected by the A129 Pro.

The darkness of the tint should be compensated for by the auto exposure, so if there is more detail on the Pro without the tint then I would also expect more detail with the tint. Of course no tint would give a better image, but switching from the Duo to the Pro shouldn't be an issue.

The darker image should also mean a faster shutter speed which may partly compensate for the loss of shutter speed due to the tint - the Pro is likely to have a little less motion blur. If it is actually too dark for you then you can turn up the EV setting for the rear camera, but I think it is currently at a good setting, just doesn't match the Duo, which I've always thought was a little bright.

Got it. Thanks all. So, if it's down to the Pro's image processing (and the change would apply to the Duo's rear cam anyway, if connected to a Pro) is that something that could be 'fixed' in a firmware update? If necessary, of course, depending on whether you guys judge it to be an issue in normal use (ie. no tint) and feedback to Viofo.

Does seem a tad dark to me even w/ Paul's +1 EV above, but I understand that a bit of extra detail in the light areas / less blur is a higher consideration to many.

Of course, us tint users are a special case. Will crank up the EV if it proves necessary.

 

[vipercro]

You are mistaken. the Sandisk A2 Extreme is U3 + V30 rated. 160MB/S read and 90MB/S write. More than sufficient.

https://www.sandisk.com/home/memory-cards

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

isnt Sandisk high endurance 256gb the best for dashcams..not ordinary sandisk cards?

<p>SanDisk® High Endurance microSD™ Card Class 10, Dash Cam Memory Card</p> | Western Digital

Designed to record for up to 20,000 hours1, the SanDisk® High Endurance microSD™ card gives you the peace of mind that your dash cam, home monitoring or security system will capture crucial footage when it happens, recording and re-recording worry-free. It’s built tough too—ready to record in...

www.sandisk.com

 

[Nigel]

Does seem a tad dark to me even w/ Paul's +1 EV above, but I understand that a bit of extra detail in the light areas / less blur is a higher consideration to many.

It was only +0.33, plus I guess the weather really was looking rather dark!

 

[Paul Iddon]

The 4K does look good though... On a One Way Street...

The other driver was I'm sure well aware of what he was doing...

 

[HonestReview]

The 4K does look good though... On a One Way Street...

The other driver was I'm sure well aware of what he was doing...

Maybe not. UK drives on "opposite side" of road to United States and Mainland Europe. Could have easily been a confused tourist. UK is joined by Australia and other oddball places to do so.

 

[Nigel]

Maybe not. UK drives on "opposite side" of road to United States and Mainland Europe. Could have easily been a confused tourist. UK is joined by Australia and other oddball places to do so.

I don't think any of the 76 countries that drive on the left have a rule that says you should drive against the arrows on a one way street!

And I don't think many of them consider themselves to be "oddball" either, they do make up over a third of the world population so it is not exactly odd Used to be nearly all of the world until places like USA decided to be different and swapped!

 

[kamkar]

Only some that are odd in the sense they have never been occupied by the British, but still for some reason decided on driving on the "wrong" side.

I think Sweden also drove on the wrong side not too long ago ?

 

[Jeremy Wong]

Here are two videos, from about the same time point, showing the recording in the first in H264 and the second in H265.

The second one needs a CPL fitting (will do that shortly) to remove reflections off the interior of the car.

I'm a bit fortunate to have 2 front facing A129 Pro's...

Here is a rear facing video - I'm not sure this is as clear and sharp as I expected it to be. I noticed at times it seemed a bit dark on other clips too. Need to check these out.

.

Paul. Do you have the file size different between H264 & H265? Also the bitrate?

Thanks

 

[Paul Iddon]

I'll check tonight @Jeremy Wong