VIOFO A139 Pro - Testing / Review Info

[futiless]

For the rear camera, IR is useless, everything is fine anyway !!

Your missing my point. It appears to make 'zero' sense to get the rear one as if you were to choose the interior version you could swap it to either. This would not be the case for the base unit+ rear package. Until someone tells me the rear camera has a different feature.

 

[vvs49]

Until someone tells me the rear camera has a different feature.

Probably the translator changes the meaning of your reasoning because it is not at all clear what you want !!
Well, it doesn't matter, everything will be as it will be!!

 

[TonyM]

It appears to make 'zero' sense to get the rear one as if you were to choose the interior version you could swap it to either. This would not be the case for the base unit+ rear package. Until someone tells me the rear camera has a different feature.

For a knowledgeable customer, yes, having 2x IR-capable remote cameras gives you options on how to install and use them. This does require an understanding of what IR can and cannot do, and a willingness to adjust the camera setup accordingly.

For the average customer who might never read the manual and is likely to just install and go, having 2x IR-capable cameras may cause problems such as IR reflecting off windows, excess power use, mono rather than colour video...

 

[futiless]

For a knowledgeable customer, yes, having 2x IR-capable remote cameras gives you options on how to install and use them. This does require an understanding of what IR can and cannot do, and a willingness to adjust the camera setup accordingly.

For the average customer who might never read the manual and is likely to just install and go, having 2x IR-capable cameras may cause problems such as IR reflecting off windows, excess power use, mono rather than colour video...

Can you comment to if the the interior stays mono even when the IR is set on OFF mode. Or does it affectively become a rear one by switching to color?

 

[Dadi_T]

Can you comment to if the the interior stays mono even when the IR is set on OFF mode. Or does it affectively become a rear one by switching to color?

What dashcam do you use right now?

 

[Deleted member 64174]

...

 

[Lothar]

Well this is preventing my purchase as the read camera 2 camera. sounds less valuable then, over the interior 2 camera. Why because you could use the interior camera one on either port and have full functionality whereas the the other wouldn't provide any real benefit what-so-ever.

Since this feature is "preventing your purchase" of this product, I'm curious as to which other dashcam that you are considering or have researched that has this feature that you seek.
Or is your plan to be without a dashcam until this feature exists?

Have you ever used a dashcam with IR?
Did you look at the comparison chart of front/interior vs front/rear posted on the first page of this thread by @rcg530 ?
The 2 hours extra runtime savings is significant. Why waste electricity powering an IR feature that one is not going to use on a rear camera?

It seems that your only argument is that because both (front/interior vs front/rear) are similar in price, you therefore want a rear IR camera which makes sense in theory but is not actually useful in practice.

 

[Dashmellow]

Your missing my point. It appears to make 'zero' sense to get the rear one as if you were to choose the interior version you could swap it to either. This would not be the case for the base unit+ rear package. Until someone tells me the rear camera has a different feature.

The interior lens is focused to be optimized for image capture inside the cabin of an automobile rather than capturing traffic and the surroundings outside the rear of the vehicle.

 

[TonyM]

Did you look at the comparison chart of front/interior vs front/rear posted on the first page of this thread by @rcg530 ?
The 2 hours extra runtime savings is significant. Why waste electricity powering an IR feature that one is not going to use on a rear camera?

Interior camera power consumption is only higher if IR is enabled, AFAIK.

 

[TonyM]

Well this is preventing my purchase

I see that you only joined DCT at the weekend - welcome to the site. I suggest you take a little time to read the A139 Pro threads, and there are probably some relevant A139 threads too since the interior and rear cameras are identical on that model.

The short answer to your questions is that apart from the IR lamps, the rear and interior cameras are not identical. Similar perhaps, but not exactly the same.

 

[Nigel]

This requires a special firmware to enable IR feature on REAR port, also if using 2 Infrared camera and enabled the IR LED on both, it will use more power.
Some other customers asked this before, but we checked it cost much develop time, so we hold this implement now.

So, if you want to use 2x IR cameras for recording the interior from front and rear, then you need to provide your own IR lamps and leave the IR set to OFF.

This is probably a good way to do it anyway, because the camera IR lamps in the front camera are likely to be in the view of the rear camera causing the exposure to be wrong. And the IR lamps for the rear will affect the front camera exposure. If you provide your own IR lamps then they can be positioned a good locations that don't cause problems.

You had extra IR lamps in one of your publicity photos, that gave really good image quality

 

[kamkar]

There are little use for IR in regard to outside objects, simply not range enough in a few LED's on the camera.

I am however contemplating, that when i get a new car, i will remove the fog lights and put 2 LEP lights there with a range of 2 KM,,,,, just to mess with the people here that do not know how to use the light on their car,,,,, most often the fog light.

 

[Nigel]

and put 2 LEP lights there with a range of 2 KM

Can you get infrared LEP lamps?

 

[kamkar]

No not IR, i want white LEP, to flash at the people with their fog lights on as they think a car with 3 / 6 lights on in the front look cool.

As i understand LEP it is UV laser that shine on phosphorous and it then give off massive amounts of white light, not sure if you could " contaminate " the phosphorous with something to kick off other wavelengths, or just use a IR pass filter in front of them.
Though i do think i IR pass filter it would probably melt.

PS: Not flash AT people, these are quite strong so that would be dangerous, so i want to flash 2 beams of light low just above the asphalt and parallel with it, i am unsure how much of a nuisance to other motorists they would be further out ( several 100 M ) when the beams have become wider.

 

[kamkar]

My new pocket light ( very small using a single 18350 battery ) just on high, if you put a finger on the glass, it will only be a few seconds before you have to remove it.
And this is a regular little LED pocket light, is so small it can get lost in a larget jacket pocket. ( wuben X-O Knight )

On turbo if you hold a cardboard coaster up against the lens, it will soon start to smoke, and i assume catch fire before the light throttle due to heat.

 

[Nigel]

or just use a IR pass filter in front of them.

Unless it is using an IR phosphor, there will be no IR to pass through the filter. If it is using an IR phosphor then there should be no white light. I don't think IR phosphors are used much, and if you did buy an IR phosphor it would probably work the other way around and emit white light when illuminated by IR - I've got one of those somewhere, used for seeing IR lights without needing a phone!

PS: Not flash AT people, these are quite strong so that would be dangerous,

Problem is that it is not going to work unless they get the beam in their eyes!
I'm not recommending it though, dangerous lighting is illegal here, for good reason!

 

[kamkar]

hehe noi it will probably not make those people stop misusing their fog lights, which you can only put on with severe reduced visibility IE so low visibility you would also reduce your speed.
But people put them on in daylight in the summer, or even more do with just a hint of rain,,,,, and thats not how they should be used.

So i am thinking if i could trump their measly lights with 2 solid beams, they might be prompted to turn off their measly fog lights.

TBH. The law are stupid, the fog light only light up a few meters in front of the car, so to me at least not annoying in that sense, but the law is the law, so in reality it should be followed.
And people here, well at least the ones in charge, are beating on their chests thinking and saying we Danes are all that, totally oblivious to the real world.

And i say this myself bending other laws myself as really they are stupid at best.

They say fight fire with fire, so fighting stupid with more stupid must be okay.


I remember on my Mitsubishi L200 i had 2 extra high beams, illegally installed as they could be on when the cars original high beams was also on, and so i had 2 X high beam.
I lovingly called those lights my "instant daylight" headlights, CUZ damn those Hella lights was bright, when on the cars own high beams just wasent visible.

 

[TonyM]

Back to the A139 Pro.... I assume it will work equally well with either the HK3-C or the HK4 hardwire kit?

I'm planning to run in either 1CH or 2CH mode (without IR) so the power consumption will be less than the 5V/2A rated capacity of the HW kits.

 

[kamkar]

I was wondering it said HK3-C hard wire kit.
But i guess i was just assumiong here that after the HK4 kit came out all new cameras would just use that.

 

[TonyM]

I was wondering it said HK3-C hard wire kit.
But i guess i was just assumiong here that after the HK4 kit came out all new cameras would just use that.

HK3-C has a straight USB-C plug.
HK4 has a right-angle USB-C plug.