Viofo A329T (unboxing & first impressions) (Sony Starvis 2 IMX678, Wi-Fi 6/GPS, HDR, Novatek NT98530, 4K front + 2.5K telephoto + 2.5K rear, HDR all)

Augustus said:
If you mention Rexing I'm going to throw up in my mouth haha
Click to expand...

I gave a Rexing 4 channel cam to my friend a year ago and it's still working perfectly, for what its worth. The rearview mirror one.
 
mentadent said:
I gave a Rexing 4 channel cam to my friend a year ago and it's still working perfectly, for what its worth. The rearview mirror one.
Click to expand...
Works but image quality isn't a priority haha
 
Augustus said:
If you mention Rexing I'm going to throw up in my mouth haha

Very true, but they're probably constrained by the chipset and i would say the NT98530 isn't quite up to scratch. It's so hard to find datasheets on Novatek chipsets compared to Sony's Starvis 2 sensors. So maybe there is a chipset in their hands but we just don't know about it yet...
Click to expand...
Was talking about the Vantrue N5

Time will tell I guess.
 
Augustus said:
Phew 😌 thought it also might have been that one. I keep hearing rumblings that there's not enough of a sales market for four channel but who knows for sure
Click to expand...
To be honest who needs a 4 channel camera with a telephoto and interior camera.
Some forum members (including me) would love it for sure.

But for the average Joe a 2 channel or even 3 channel camera is plenty.
 
Julian23 said:
To be honest who needs a 4 channel camera with a telephoto and interior camera.
Some forum members (including me) would love it for sure.

But for the average Joe a 2 channel or even 3 channel camera is plenty.
Click to expand...
My preference is front rear and telephoto. Interior didn't do it for me, unless it's built into the body like say Nexus 4 Pro was.

Don't want to wire up the telephoto and the interior. No room for millions of other dash cameras on the windscreen haha
 
Augustus said:
My preference is front rear and telephoto. Interior didn't do it for me, unless it's built into the body like say Nexus 4 Pro was.

Don't want to wire up the telephoto and the interior. No room for millions of other dash cameras on the windscreen haha
Click to expand...
There are some occasions where the interior camera is able to capture things the other two can't.
Door dings while parking or events just directly next to the car.

This is a problem a normal user won't have.
 
Julian23 said:
There are some occasions where the interior camera is able to capture things the other two can't.
Door dings while parking or events just directly next to the car.

This is a problem a normal user won't have.
Click to expand...
Spot on, didn't think about that , I'm just lazy haha
 
Serious question. Why would you want telephoto on rear camera? Cars are often close when driving in the city, and you may be too zoomed in to capture a plate?

Also, so is Viofo eliminating SSD capability for any specific reason? I did see a few threads where people had problems with SSD, but was this the norm?

I own a Viofo A139 Pro as my main camera. But maybe consider an upgrade at some point in future. Is the A329 a solid performer?
 
jsmith said:
Serious question. Why would you want telephoto on rear camera? Cars are often close when driving in the city, and you may be too zoomed in to capture a plate?
Click to expand...
You only want a telephoto on the front.
On the A229, the Telephoto unfortunately plugs into the rear camera socket, leaving you without a rear camera.
On the A329T that will be sorted, so you can have Front, Telephoto and Rear, which is what most people would want, but then you can't have a cabin camera, and the new A329 cabin camera is "Awesome"!
On the A??? that will be sorted, and you will be able to have Front, Telephoto, Cabin, and Rear.

jsmith said:
I own a Viofo A139 Pro as my main camera. But maybe consider an upgrade at some point in future. Is the A329 a solid performer?
Click to expand...
So far, the 2 channel version has been working well, and the 3 channel is based on the 2 channel, both using the new Novatek processor.
It should soon be time for an A139 Pro update to the new processor with decent bitrates on all channels.
 
jsmith said:
Serious question. Why would you want telephoto on rear camera? Cars are often close when driving in the city, and you may be too zoomed in to capture a plate?

Also, so is Viofo eliminating SSD capability for any specific reason? I did see a few threads where people had problems with SSD, but was this the norm?

I own a Viofo A139 Pro as my main camera. But maybe consider an upgrade at some point in future. Is the A329 a solid performer?
Click to expand...
Telephoto for front not for rear. You definitely won't be too zoomed in, as it provides an additional point of view when driving around. I've got the RTC300 Telephoto on my A229 Pro and swear by it, so I'm glad that it's now available on the upcoming A329S/T/SW series.

Folks have been asking the same question about the A329 versus A229 Pro on the forums the last few days. The A229 Pro has had it's problems with heat tolerance compared to the A329, but it at least shuts off safely in hot climates. It's not going to be an issue if you don't live somewhere that gets in the high 30+ degree Celsius in summer. You'd get 90% of what the A329 gets with the A229 Pro.

Viofo isn't eliminating SSD capability but they have backtracked on their statement that it supports SSDs in enclosures. The camera has been having issues with different cables and SSDs in enclosures, and also portable external SSDs from brands other than Samsung / SanDisk. Enclosures are pretty reliable these days so it shouldn't be having issues at all, neither for brands of external SSDs.

Whether it's a Novatek issue with the chipset or something on the Viofo side, we don't know. If you use a microSD card reader or usb thumb drive with the usb 3.0 port, it works flawlessly, go figure. But for now, actual SSD compatibility is kind of up in the air with the A329. I doubt it will be solved with the A329S series if it is indeed using the same Nt98530 chipset....
 
Augustus said:
If you mention Rexing I'm going to throw up in my mouth haha

Very true, but they're probably constrained by the chipset and i would say the NT98530 isn't quite up to scratch. It's so hard to find datasheets on Novatek chipsets compared to Sony's Starvis 2 sensors. So maybe there is a chipset in their hands but we just don't know about it yet...
Click to expand...

I have looked high and low, as the saying goes, for the 'white papers' on Novatek chips. I, by accident found some on a Chinese server, but failed to bookmark the link. The papers where a spattering of English and Chinese written language.
 
lufa6977 said:
I have looked high and low, as the saying goes, for the 'white papers' on Novatek chips. I, by accident found some on a Chinese server, but failed to bookmark the link. The papers where a spattering of English and Chinese written language.
Click to expand...
It's too hard haha I've tried myself in years past with various Novatek chipsets. The basic information is there, but there are parts missing, like the real meat and bones that we want to know!
 
Augustus said:
Found some more information. Advanced parking mode they claim - ultra-low power consumption of 0.2W, and a less than two second impact detection recording time.
Click to expand...
Wondering if the A329S has newer hardware than the A329 to support this, or can the existing A329 receive this parking mode as a FW update?
 
TonyM said:
Wondering if the A329S has newer hardware than the A329 to support this, or can the existing A329 receive this parking mode as a FW update?
Click to expand...
Fingers crossed that it can be back ported to the A329
 
Nigel said:
You only want a telephoto on the front.
On the A229, the Telephoto unfortunately plugs into the rear camera socket, leaving you without a rear camera.
On the A329T that will be sorted, so you can have Front, Telephoto and Rear, which is what most people would want, but then you can't have a cabin camera, and the new A329 cabin camera is "Awesome"!
On the A??? that will be sorted, and you will be able to have Front, Telephoto, Cabin, and Rear.


So far, the 2 channel version has been working well, and the 3 channel is based on the 2 channel, both using the new Novatek processor.
It should soon be time for an A139 Pro update to the new processor with decent bitrates on all channels.
Click to expand...

So are you saying Viofo planning on releasing a 4 Camera version then at some point? With a Front Camera and Separate Telephoto Camera? Then your standard Interior and Rear?
 
jsmith said:
So are you saying Viofo planning on releasing a 4 Camera version then at some point?
Click to expand...
I'm sure there will be a 4 channel Viofo dashcam at some point, not sure that it will be an A329 though, and I don't recommend that you wait for it to arrive, it could be a long time, they haven't got the 3 channel released yet! Then again, maybe not so long, the technology is close to being able to support it, and if anyone is going to achieve it, Viofo are likely to be first...

jsmith said:
With a Front Camera and Separate Telephoto Camera? Then your standard Interior and Rear?
Click to expand...
That would be one option, maybe not the best option though, what would you wish a 4 channel with Telephoto to look like?
 
Apparently, as I always say, we seem to be coming to a conclusion that it would be better to produce user-oriented cameras with alternative solutions, that each user can like the camera that suits them, and that they should use it in different ways by purchasing accessories when necessary.

The a329s series comes completely user-oriented..

I don't know if it will be 4 channels, but if it is going to be a four-channel camera, it would be better to call it A429 A349 A249 or something else.

Let's wait and see, we can say it's almost here..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top