Viofo A139 - First Impressions

[TonyM]

Viofo A139 - First Impressions

My first impressions after using the A139 3CH dashcam for a week :

The main unit with front camera is well made. It feels robust and secure on the GPS mount. The lens rotates up and down smoothly to any angle, unlike the clicked positions of earlier wedge cameras from Viofo.



In my car the A139 fits nicely on the black dots behind the rear view mirror, up against the right side of the sensor housing. Note that the camera slides off the GPS mount by sliding away to the right. The microSD card slot is also on the right side, above the lens barrel. The A139 may be more difficult to install on the left side of the screen if that is where you normally place your dashcam.



The coax cables that run to the interior and rear cameras are thin and easy to install behind headliner and door trim, however I find the brass plugs stand out against the black camera and cables. The end connectors are a push fit that clicks into place - this feels OK, but I would not want to unplug and re-plug the cables frequently. Therefore this may not be the best choice for someone who removes their camera from the screen each day.

The interior and rear cameras rotate smoothly up and down - in fact they can rotate a full 360 degrees. The A139 rear camera (left) is a similar shape and size as the remote camera on the SG9663DR (right).



Note the difference between the cables. The thin coaxial cable of the A139 is more discreet and does not rotate with the camera, although the captive mini USB plug on the SG9663DR feels more secure.

The latest FW V1.0 1113 allows the rear camera to be flipped with the mount on the other side.



I will add further observations in the next few days, after testing more functions and video settings.

 

[kamkar]

Yes the A139 do install better on the Left side of the windscreen due to its design.

 

[TonyM]

Yes the A139 do install better on the Left side of the windscreen due to its design.

Better on the left side?

 

[kamkar]

Seem like i pulled a Gomer Pyle, that should be better on the Right side.
But in my car dont matter much as i do not have a sensor array on the windscreen, but people that do if they want to install on the left side have to space the camera out more due to the lens placement on the main body, and also due to the way the camera slide of / off the mount.

I think i would still have kept to the regular wedge form factor, but you might want to have it a bit thicker than current housings for thermal reasons, and i think thicker is okay but taller or wider wedge cameras i would not want.

 

[TonyM]

V1.0 10-26 // WDR off // CPL off // Bitrate - Maximum
PiP compiled using VSDC video editor

 

[TonyM]

A139 - Dusk - V1.0 1113
WDR Off // CPL Off // EV-0

I adjusted my front camera angle higher for better metering. It was aimed too low before.
Here at dusk the front and rear cameras record well-exposed video with a mix of low sunlight and vehicle headlights.
The interior camera has automatically switched to IR mode.

 

[kamkar]

Yes the interior camera are quick to change to B&W, it would easy have been able to do color mode with those levels of light.

 

[Nigel]

Yes the interior camera are quick to change to B&W, it would easy have been able to do color mode with those levels of light.

It doesn't switch to B&W because of the light level, it is because it has turned the IR LEDs on, so the colour becomes very wrong unless it switches to B&W. If you are interested in the interior view then it switches at about the right time, if you are not interested in the interior view, just turn the IR LEDs off permanently.

 

[TonyM]

if you are not interested in the interior view, just turn the IR LEDs off permanently.

That is something I have considered. I only have the IR LEDs on for testing.

 

[TonyM]

A139 Front - Night - V1.0 1113

Under streetlights the A139 records sharp video with low noise. Away from streetlights, the video gain is turned up high resulting in visible noise. I think the gain in very dark conditions could be turned down a bit to keep better image quality.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah ISO skyrocket and bring image noise with it, but not sure how much of it noise reduction can take care off, but probably a lot of it as 3DNR might not even be on or at least not tuned properly.
I have seen the Russian modders make substantial improvements in this low light challenge with other cameras, so lets hope they will be able to help Viofo too

 

[joe384]

Your night footage looks slightly better than mine although you can't really compare with different roads and cars, I did notice the noise as well.

Hopefully I will be able to get my footage all organised and compare it with my Dr590W (which is probably even worse at night)

 

[TonyM]

Today my A139 front and rear cameras captured an impatient driver who almost ran over two schoolboys when he mounted and drove along the pavement, jumping the queue to the traffic lights ahead.

Front and rear views - A139
Side view - A129

 

[Nigel]

Today my A139 front and rear cameras captured an impatient driver who almost ran over two schoolboys when he mounted and drove along the pavement, jumping the queue to the traffic lights ahead.

Front and rear views - A139
Side view - A129

Let us know what the police think about the A139 image quality...

Seems like proof that we do need a 4 channel camera

 

[TonyM]

I'm filing the report with the Met right now

 

[Nigel]

Was he actually going as fast as the motion blur on the side view suggests?

I know it is winter, but there is blue sky in front and it is an A129 according to the overlay... but he has pedestrians just in front...

Edit: According to the time overlay he overtook 3 cars in 2 seconds, I guess the motion blur is telling the right story!

 

[TonyM]

Was he actually going as fast as the motion blur on the side view suggests?

Yes!

 

[kamkar]

Today my A139 front and rear cameras captured an impatient driver

Same here but on the motorway at 130 kmh.
I had pulled out to overtake some slower cars, and apparently that did not please the guy, okay i was only doing 122 kmh while i made my pass, but no law against overtaking at a speed slower than that, but still i got a flash of the high beam as he sat there 1 car length behind me.

 

[TonyM]

Video footage from today's dangerous driver on the footpath who almost hit two boys

Edit : Video clips withdrawn due to ongoing investigation by the police

I found during testing today that the A139 on FW V1.0 1113 does not always make a voice announcement. It does the first time the button is pressed. If it is pressed again within that video clip segment, then the multiple beep sound is made.

I also found that the A139 appears to save the current video clips to the RO folder when the event button is pressed, but neither the clips before or after the event are saved.

 

[kamkar]

That person should be permanently banned from operating a motor vehicle, and his cycle should be fitted with a tracker.
There are many people with whom we share our days, a great many of these are people that we should not in any way care about as they do not care about us.
It is pretty sad, but it is a fact our societies should deal with.

I also filmed a red light runner today, the person from my direction that had a green L turn arrow had to stomp the brake to prevent a crash.
And there was no doubt it was red in the other direction, a bus was already stopped in one of the two lanes for traffic strait across the intersection.