rcg530
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2021
- Messages
- 1,711
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- Location
- California
- Country
- United States
- Dash Cam
- BlackVue, Thinkware, VIOFO, Vantrue, Blueskysea, FineVu
My A119 Mini 2 cameras are the ones with the updated lens. If you check out my A119 Mini 2 review thread on this site, you'll see all the details of my testing and delayed review until I received the updated units with the updated lens.If your Mini2 is some old version you have the old version of lens, actually the Mini2 has other lens.
I installed one of my A119 Mini 2 dash cameras on the rear window per a request from @Panzer Platform to compare the video from A229 Pro rear and A119 Mini 2 since both have a IMX675 image sensor.Also people should consider that Mini2 image setup is for recording the front image. The rear cameras should have more brightness because there is less light. This is why comparing a rear camera with a front camera will give visible different results.
Back to your work, for cameras without display or even for all cameras, Viofo could create the HLA on the APP live image. When you have more cameras you can align all of them the same just by using that HLA.
Right now I am aligning camera by using live view from APP instead of HLA I am looking at the smartphone front camera hole to imagine that there is the middle of the image.
Then I am taking screenshots. I have one master screenshot with first camera aligned at desired and then I am taking screenshot with the next camera. Then align. Then delete old screenshot, then screenshot again, then align again and so on. I need to have patience to do this because it is very important when doing side by side comparisons.
To attempt to get a consistent alignment of all the dash cameras installed on my front windshield, I use a laser level to establish a consistent line to aim the middle of the vertical field of view for each camera, I use the HLA if the dash camera's app offers one to adjust the camera to the horizontal laser line or I use a crudely made overlay I place on my Android device to create my own HLA.
I purchased an inexpensive self leveling laser level. I attached it to a photography tripod using its 1/4-20 mount. The first time I used the laser level for the dash camera alignment task, I pointed the laser level at my car’s windshield to adjust the height of tripod to the level with the laser level’s horizontal line being in the middle of the area where the front camera lenses are located. Each time I want to align the front cameras I move the tripod to the driver’s side of my car by the front door and aim it at the wall. I place the vertical line as close as possible to the center line of the car. I know the laser level is not projecting its laser lines from the middle of my car, but the I know where the "center line" of my car is when extended to the garage wall. I aim the laser level's vertical line to that same "center" line of my car on the wall.
While in the car, I turn on each dash camera and then align the vertical line as close as possible to the center of the field of view. I then adjust the up/down movement of the lens to the horizontal line projected across the wall from the laser level. For the VIOFO dash cameras, I rotate my Tripltek 8 Pro Android tablet to get the larger live view from the camera. I then overlay one of the static stickers I’ve repurposed to note where the horizontal center of the live view image is located. I used a black marker to draw a line where the middle of the field of view is located on the static sticker. It doesn't make a very dark line, but the line is decent enough to align with the green horizontal line projected on the wall.
I adjust the up/down movement of the lens to get the laser level line and the center line of the live view in sync with each other. Depending on how much of a curvature is present in the windshield glass where the dash camera is located, the camera’s horizontal center line and the laser level’s horizontal line might not be a 100 percent match, but I make sure the center portion of the camera’s live view horizontal center line is aligned to the center of the laser level’s horizontal center line. A fixed windshield mount won’t allow for the full leveling of the camera’s horizontal line across the entire field of view.
I could use the laser level for the rear cameras as well, but instead I use a retaining wall in my neighbor's front yard. I aim the rear dash camera's live view horizontal alignment line at the base of that retaining wall.