VIOFO A329T 3-Channel Telephoto Dashcam - 4k+2k+2k - Unboxing, First Impressions & Testing Europe

[viofo]

those plates look so sharp it reminds me of thos Vantrue PlatePix demos. Is Viofo using a similar technology?

PlatePix is not a technology, it just reduces the shutter speed.

Also it is not a good leading, our plan is to keep using better lens and sensors for sharper and brighter video, not only reducing the shutter speed for a darker video.

 

[Nigel]

From the quick drive and the videos I checked, EVERY oncoming plate could be identified.
Excellent performance!

The plates on the telephoto images are considerably better than on the standard camera, but even the standard camera has read every oncoming plate - the telephoto wasn't needed!

Of course, on a wider road, with the plates further away, then the telephoto would be needed, but hopefully the other vehicle wouldn't hit you then.

PlatePix is not a technology, it just reduces the shutter speed.

PlatePix is a trademark, for marketing use. It does appear to work similarly to turning the EV setting down a stop!

 

[Dex_]

@viofo, did you try to use a SHDR frame number = 3 on some test FW?

And may be use SEL_SHDR_FRAME_NONE (use only 1 frame for SHDR) than SEL_SHDR_OFF allows to switch between HDR ON/OFF states more quickly?

 

[viofo]

@viofo, did you try to use a SHDR frame number = 3 on some test FW?
View attachment 80838
And may be use SEL_SHDR_FRAME_NONE (use only 1 frame for SHDR) than SEL_SHDR_OFF allows to switch between HDR ON/OFF states more quickly?

We did testing for the 3 frames HDR last year, it has more motion blur and ghost image, not good for fast-moving object.

 

[Dex_]

Thank's for your answer, I supposed same behavior but can't check myself.

 

[Julian23]

The plates on the telephoto images are considerably better than on the standard camera, but even the standard camera has read every oncoming plate - the telephoto wasn't needed!

Of course, on a wider road, with the plates further away, then the telephoto would be needed, but hopefully the other vehicle wouldn't hit you then.

I know that the A329(S) already has a very impressive plate capture. The screenshots I shared show how much better the telephoto can handle it.
There will be situations where the telephoto can capture the plate while the wide angle won't be able to.

This was just a first impression.

 

[Julian23]

I wanted to check if the change in the hybrid parking mode from low bitrate recording to LPID is noticeable.
Since I am running the A329T on the 70mai battery pack that is also running the Omni 4k, I can monitor the battery voltage.
This allows me to check the timer based switch to the LPID parking mode from the low bitrate recording.

Below you can see the battery voltage graph.
After 1h the A329T switches from low bitrate parking mode to the much less power consuming LPID. The voltage gets higher as the power draw is reduced.

It's nice to see that the switch works as it should and has a noticeable decrease in power consumption.

 

[trinode]

What kind of cable / connector does it use to connect the camera to the telephoto camera? it's odd to me that they don't have right angled connectors on both ends as I'd want to go up into the ceiling trim on both the main camera and telephoto instead of out to the side (probably the rear camera too, but that's bothers me less). I'm hoping I can source an alternative cable.

 

[Dan-UK1415]

What kind of cable / connector does it use to connect the camera to the telephoto camera? it's odd to me that they don't have right angled connectors on both ends as I'd want to go up into the ceiling trim on both the main camera and telephoto instead of out to the side (probably the rear camera too, but that's bothers me less). I'm hoping I can source an alternative cable.

All the camera use small coax instead of USB-C.
The interior camera & telephone camera cable has right angled connectors on both ends.

The rear camera has one right angle and on straight angle end.

 

[trinode]

All the camera use small coax instead of USB-C.
The interior camera & telephone camera cable has right angled connectors on both ends.

The rear camera has one right angle and on straight angle end.

Ah, amazing, I'd swear I saw pictures with straight connectors on one end, but maybe that was the rear camera. After a second look at the first post in this thread I see a double right angled cable, doh!

Thanks for the quick reply!

Just waiting for mine to arrive

 

[Julian23]

Ah, amazing, I'd swear I saw pictures with straight connectors on one end, but maybe that was the rear camera. After a second look at the first post in this thread I see a double right angled cable, doh!

Thanks for the quick reply!

Just waiting for mine to arrive

The rear camera cable has one right angled and one straight.
As @danlat1415 said and you already saw, the telephoto has right angled connectors on both sides.
I just looped the cable in the headliner to have a clean installation.

 

[Julian23]

Here is a quick overview of the bitrates at which the A329T is recording.
Max bitrate is selected

• Front: 65523 kBit/s or 65,523 Mb/s
• Rear: 27033 kBit/s or 27,033 Mb/s
• Telephoto: 27032 kBit/s or 27,033 Mb/s

A very healthy bitrate.
I did not see any artifacts in the footage at all, even when driving through areas with many trees.

 

[Julian23]

Here is a daytime comparison of the wide-angle and telephoto lens.
I tried to match the frames and crop as good as possible.

The distance to the car in front should be around 15m or 50 feet. I got a similar distance with the A329.
The distance to the oncoming car should be around 35-45m or 114-147 feet.

 

[Julian23]

Some more plates were capture at different distances.
First image is the wide angle and the 2nd one is the telephoto.

The rear cam will capture plates without issues.

First image is the wide angle and the 2nd one is the telephoto.

 

[Julian23]

It is also worth noting that audio quality or how good it handles louder low frequencies has been improved compared to the A329.
I get less distortion now.

 

[Vortex Radar]

PlatePix is not a technology, it just reduces the shutter speed.

Also it is not a good leading, our plan is to keep using better lens and sensors for sharper and brighter video, not only reducing the shutter speed for a darker video.

I'm surprised they're not also slightly bumping the ISO to compensate and keep the exposure levels constant. Perhaps concerns due to noise, but it's only a small change in exposure levels, plus you've got plenty of light to work with in the daytime.

 

[Nigel]

I'm surprised they're not also slightly bumping the ISO to compensate and keep the exposure levels constant. Perhaps concerns due to noise, but it's only a small change in exposure levels, plus you've got plenty of light to work with in the daytime.

It is between EV -0.6 and EV -1.0, so you would be looking at nearly doubling the ISO, which would probably double the noise, and people might notice that...

 

[Vortex Radar]

It is between EV -0.6 and EV -1.0, so you would be looking at nearly doubling the ISO, which would probably double the noise, and people might notice that...

I haven't seen many complaints about noise as is. I have seen some issues pushing the sensor on the A139 Pro w/ a CPL on dark roads at night. IIRC it was some banding or some other issues besides noise, but again I haven't really seen noise be a huge issue, particularly in the daytime like I mentioned earlier.

 

[Julian23]

Since we all seriously test these camera, I wanted to make sure that the A329T is prepared for the German Autobahn. 🤣
And it is. Fastest A329T yet. (on the road) 281km/h or 174mph

Some more plate capture.
These are difficult conditions for the camera. Headlights are off but its not very bright because the sun is still very low in the morning.

The first time the telephoto was not better than the wide angle. HDR is on.
The plate can still be identified.

 

[Augustus]

Since we all seriously test these camera, I wanted to make sure that the A329T is prepared for the German Autobahn. 🤣
And it is. Fastest A329T yet. (on the road) 281km/h or 174mph
View attachment 81101

Some more plate capture.
These are difficult conditions for the camera. Headlights are off but its not very bright because the sun is still very low in the morning.

View attachment 81103View attachment 81104
View attachment 81105

The first time the telephoto was not better than the wide angle. HDR is on.
The plate can still be identified.
View attachment 81106

Looks like it's off to a different dimension there! I'll one-up you and blast the A329T off to space hahaha

Still the A329T performs quite well considering the tough conditions