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)

[jsmith]

Always funny seeing people buy the latest iPhone every year for 1500$ and drive 30.000$-80.000$ cars but will complain about a camera that will protect your expensive car for a few hundred $ 🤣

Agreed. However, there is also a need versus necessity argument. My A139 Pro and Vantrue N2X (given to review) work just fine.

If I didn't have other cameras, I would certainly buy an A329T. However, I have other models installed that meet my current needs. Would buying the A329T hurt me financially? No. Can my other cameras capture events to my satisfaction? Yes. My car new in 2016 was the equivalent of ~$40,000 new, which adjusted for inflation is about ~$54,000 in 2025. Car is fine, and I see no need to upgrade anytime in the near future unless it becomes problematic. Does what I need.

When my A139 Pro goes, I'll replace it with best model available at the time.

 

[lufa6977]

Always funny seeing people buy the latest iPhone every year for 1500$ and drive 30.000$-80.000$ cars but will complain about a camera that will protect your expensive car for a few hundred $ 🤣

Completely agree. These are likely the same people that spend $12 a day, 7 days a week at Starbucks for coffee. Over $300 USD a month for coffee but complain about paying for something like a dash cam, or the cost of food at the grocery store. 🙂

 

[TonyM]

I guess I'm in a different bracket. My mid-range phone is 4 years old, my 4-year old car cost £15K, but I like the latest dashcam tech!

I did buy an A139 Pro after selling some camera kit on ebay, but sold it a year later when our budget was squeezed. We're in a better position now that my partner has returned to work, but a £500 dashcam is hard to justify when she knows I have a few drawers full of new and old test cameras 🤣 - it's just that none of them have an IMX675 telephoto!

 

[jsmith]

I guess I'm in a different bracket. My mid-range phone is 4 years old, my 4-year old car cost £15K, but I like the latest dashcam tech!

I did buy an A139 Pro after selling some camera kit on ebay, but sold it a year later when our budget was squeezed. We're in a better position now that my partner has returned to work, but a £500 dashcam is hard to justify when she knows I have a few drawers full of new and old test cameras 🤣 - it's just that none of them have an IMX675 telephoto!

My Phone is an S22 Ultra and I use a high end gaming laptop I bought 3 years ago and slapped on a 4 year warranty. Bought it to play games, and did for a little bit, now I just do browsing, basic video editing, and very little that utilizes the money spent.

Sometimes, having the best doesn't mean you'll need it.

I replace things when they either no longer serve their purpose or stop working to the level I require.

I'm not rich or anywhere close, but I have a decent level of savings that affords me a sufficient cushion in life where spending "£500 on a dashcam" wouldn't cause me any real concern. However, I don't plan on buying another car anytime soon. But like you, I do like the freebies and testing technology. I wouldn't have all the dashcams or justify purchasing them if not for this forum.

 

[TonyM]

My original question was not about affordability for one person or another, but whether the A329x range is reasonably-priced for the features it offers.

My own thoughts, and it seems similar to other commenters above, is that the A329x range is at a fair price.

 

[Dan-UK1415]

My original question was not about affordability for one person or another, but whether the A329x range is reasonably-priced for the features it offers.

My own thoughts, and it seems similar to other commenters above, is that the A329x range is at a fair price.

My personal opinion - the A329T is a fair price for me, as is the A329WW (2x exterior)
3 camera set up, with telephoto.

I'm sure others will have similar views depending their needs (interior, exterior cameras etc).

 

[jsmith]

My original question was not about affordability for one person or another, but whether the A329x range is reasonably-priced for the features it offers.

My own thoughts, and it seems similar to other commenters above, is that the A329x range is at a fair price.

But the overall perception of reasonably priced and affordability are subjective in the consumer market. Viofo clearly deems the price point of a "£500 dashcam" to be reasonable in both turning a profit and making ample sales. If people don't buy the Viofo A329 at £500, and sales are dismal, the price gets lowered.

That's the whole point.

 

[Augustus]

But the overall perception of reasonably priced and affordability are subjective in the consumer market. Viofo clearly deems the price point of a "£500 dashcam" to be reasonable in both turning a profit and making ample sales. If people don't buy the Viofo A329 at £500, and sales are dismal, the price gets lowered.

That's the whole point.

I agree, and to add I think that since Viofo's model lineup is smaller than e.g. Vantrue (who have a lot lot more models), then the profit margin needs to be bigger for each unit. And to recoup development costs too on top of that. Totally understand why the price has crept up over the years, least when it comes to Viofo. 70mai don't have a ton of models either but I think they push heavily with advertising, even still advertising their older models such as the A810. But even they have used platforms like Kickstarter to drum up funds and interest too.

Every company has a different business model, and competition is always good to see, because it fosters innovation and moving the needle forward.

 

[-orion-]

VIOFO Support answer: We have closed the shipping channel to Poland as we have an agreement with our distributor in Poland.

Does viofo have no distributor in Germany? This is discriminatory.

It is more likely that Viofo don't speak Polish very well, and it makes more sense to have an enthusiastic local company sort out the marketing, TV adverts, etc., than for Viofo China to do it from China, or to set up a local Viofo office in Poland. There can be advantages to both companies.



Everyone knows that Poland is in the EU, so customers can buy from anywhere in the European Economic Area (including Iceland etc. who are not in the EU), so there is still decent competition on prices, and no reason to worry about monopolies.

@Nigel @viofo doesn't have to speak Polish, many Poles do speak English. Those who dont may want to Pay a local distributor markup but why force everyone? It is simply odd that @viofo can ship to our neighbor e.g. Germany which is also in the EU but not to Poland.

As long as the Polish distributor honors the VIOFO pricing and sale pricing that should be OK, I would think.

@lufa6977 The Polish distributor has a significant markup of more than $100 (!) on flagahip viofos and doesnt offer any pre-orderes with discounts as @viofo did. For example the 3ch a329t costs $550 now on www.wideorejestratory24.pl without any SD card and is available since barely a few days.

AFAIR the pre order price of a 3ch a329t was less than $500 and it came with a 256gb microsd bundled. If i could buy directly from @viofo as Germans can I'd pre order a a329t 3ch with a 256gb microsd CHEAPER than i can get the old a329 2ch with no microsd from the Polish distributor Today!

I actually decided not to purchase the a329t 3ch because I already overpaid, thanks our polish distrubutor, more than $100 on the a329 2ch i Got in December, not goig to overpay 20% each time.

@viofo, closing direct distribution in a Country and giving middlemen exclusive rights LOSES you customers.

 

[jsmith]

I agree, and to add I think that since Viofo's model lineup is smaller than e.g. Vantrue (who have a lot lot more models), then the profit margin needs to be bigger for each unit. And to recoup development costs too on top of that. Totally understand why the price has crept up over the years, least when it comes to Viofo. 70mai don't have a ton of models either but I think they push heavily with advertising, even still advertising their older models such as the A810. But even they have used platforms like Kickstarter to drum up funds and interest too.

Every company has a different business model, and competition is always good to see, because it fosters innovation and moving the needle forward.

I agree. I'm sure there's a lot of money exhausted on development. Companies have to recoup their expenses and make a profit, too. All companies utilize influencers and reviewers to bring attention to their products. However, Viofo also aims for the top tier buyer, while Vantrue would be more mid level.

The market always decides whether a product sells at a specific price point. There's that famous saying that an object is only worth what the consumer is willing to pay.

 

[Karagandinez]

Does viofo have no distributor in Germany? This is discriminatory.

Viofo Dashcams: Hochwertige 1-Kanal, 2-Kanal und 3-Kanal-Modelle

Hochwertige Viofo Dashcams: Wählen Sie aus einer Vielzahl von 1-Kanal, 2-Kanal und 3-Kanal-Modellen für klare Aufnahmen und zusätzliche Sicherheit auf der S

www.dashcam-shop.com

 

[-orion-]

Viofo Dashcams: Hochwertige 1-Kanal, 2-Kanal und 3-Kanal-Modelle

Hochwertige Viofo Dashcams: Wählen Sie aus einer Vielzahl von 1-Kanal, 2-Kanal und 3-Kanal-Modellen für klare Aufnahmen und zusätzliche Sicherheit auf der S

www.dashcam-shop.com

You proved my point, @viofo has a distributor in Germany and yet you can order directly from @viofo .

In Poland (which is also in the EU and a neighbor of Germany) @viofo intentionally BLOCKED direct orders from China and created a monopoly with distributors marking up flagship cameras by $100 compared to pre-order prices and take months to catch up with the latest models (most of them still dont offer the a329s).

Due to this Policy I overpaid 20% on the a329 bought in december 24 and decided not to buy the a329s 3ch to for my 2nd car.

 

[Augustus]

Thanks @viofo and @VIOFO-Support for the firmware update for the A329T.

firmware

VIOFO specializes in professional-grade dash cameras featuring Sony STARVIS 2 IMX sensors, 4K ultra-high-definition recording, and advanced multi-channel systems from 1CH to 4CH. Known for superior license plate capture — including dedicated telephoto dash cams for long-range identification.

www.viofo.com

Viofo A329T Firmware Update

• Release date: 2025-07-08
• Version: V1.2_250708
• File size: 87M

Changelog:

• Added: support long-press the menu button to enter the menu
• Fixed: the 60fps issue

 

[Augustus]

Found this nice video comparison between the Viofo A329S, Viofo A229 Ultra and the Vantrue S1 Pro Max.

Interesting results to say the least for the front cameras in the daytime where the A329S seems to come out on top - I do wonder if the newer processor gives it the edge compared to the Ultra. Vantrue doing god's work as usual when it comes to motion blur with it's PlatePix tech.

 

[TonyM]

Found this nice video comparison between the Viofo A329S, Viofo A229 Ultra and the Vantrue S1 Pro Max.

Interesting results to say the least for the front cameras in the daytime where the A329S seems to come out on top - I do wonder if the newer processor gives it the edge compared to the Ultra. Vantrue doing god's work as usual when it comes to motion blur with it's PlatePix tech.

The Ultra might be struggling because it was recording in 3CH mode, the front bitrate is lower in 3CH mode than the A329S.

Interesting that PlatePix showed itself best in the daytime under the trees. At night it was better than the A329S, but not significantly so.

 

[Augustus]

The Ultra might be struggling because it was recording in 3CH mode, the front bitrate is lower in 3CH mode than the A329S.

Interesting that PlatePix showed itself best in the daytime under the trees. At night it was better than the A329S, but not significantly so.

Good pickup, I was under the impression too that the Ultra had the older processor and WiFi 5 not WiFi 6, happy to be corrected but as you say perhaps it can't push out as much bitrate wise

 

[TonyM]

Good pickup, I was under the impression too that the Ultra had the older processor and WiFi 5 not WiFi 6, happy to be corrected but as you say perhaps it can't push out as much bitrate wise

Looks like the bitrate on the A229 Ultra's front cam also drops as you add more channels. The A329S' front cam bitrate is higher than that of the A229 Ultra's regardless of channel count.

1CH: 59.87 Mb/s
2CH: 36.11 Mb/s
3CH: 36.11 Mb/s

A329S front cam in 1/2/3 CH mode: 65.60 Mb/s

 

[Augustus]

True, guessing though it's not using the novatek NT98530 though issit

 

[EricSan]

Interesting that PlatePix showed itself best in the daytime under the trees. At night it was better than the A329S, but not significantly so.

It is curious to see relative performance in different settings and lighting conditions. Though they are all capable cameras, there is no clear conclusion about which tech/approach is universally best under all conditions. This is an interesting conclusion when each company is relying on similar underlying hardware (eg: Sony STARVIX, among others) and pushing the limits (in different directions) of what that hardware can do. The real limit is the underlying sensor, which currently has 2um x 2um pixels (for the IMX678). I'm thinking it would be great to see a sensor with 3um x 3um dimensions, but that would require increasing the sensor size from 4.4mm x 7.68mm for the IMX678 to something closer to 6.6mm x 11.6mm (50% increase). That would allow each pixel to gather 2x more light (4um sq vs 9um sq). This change wouldn't require a new processor since the resolution would be unchanged. We'd just have better image data, not more image data.

 

[TonyM]

I'm thinking it would be great to see a sensor with 3um x 3um dimensions, but that would require increasing the sensor size from 4.4mm x 7.68mm for the IMX678 to something closer to 6.6mm x 11.6mm (50% increase). That would allow each pixel to gather 2x more light (4um sq vs 9um sq). This change wouldn't require a new processor since the resolution would be unchanged. We'd just have better image data, not more image data.

IMX585 or IMX835?? 4K 1/1.2" with 2.9um x 2.9um pixels 👍 You might have to jump up to an M16 lens though, which would cost more alongside the larger housing etc.