Viofo Telephoto Dash Camera Add On

[safedrivesolutions]

Here is our review of the new Viofo Telephoto lens
We go over pros and cons of this new add on

Viofo Telephoto Dash Camera to pick up license plates

 

[Dashmellow]

Pleased to see a nice brief objective review of this new lens module option, @safedrivesolutions. You raise a lot of good questions.

As someone with years of telephoto dash cam experience I've been a little frustrated that @viofo has not offered us any technical specifications about exactly what lens is used in this product. We don't know the focal length for example and we don't know the aperture.

I am surprised to see that the results are so poor in capturing license plate numbers of oncoming cars because one of the most impressive things I and others have experienced and reported about using telephoto lenses on dash cams is their almost uncanny ability to clearly capture license plate numbers of oncoming cars at a distance without motion blur. These lenses capture plates out ahead at a distance before motion blur becomes a problem which it tends to do as vehicles get closer to you.

Exposures are also often better than with a typical dash cam AOV because the AOV of a telephoto lens eliminates extraneous parts of the image such as the sky.

As many here know, I have been advocating for viofo to offer a telephoto lens option that has a slightly shorter focal length (wider view) than the one that was chosen for this unique and welcome product. From your initial tests Ben, I also think a lens with a wider aperture would be of benefit. I am guessing a different lens would help the performance of the new lens module and to my thinking a wider telephoto often does a better job of telling the story because there is more to telephoto lens capture than just recording license plates.

I've been experimenting with and using DIY telephoto dash cams for 7 years now. As I alluded to above and as confirmed by my earliest tests going back to 2017, the ability to clearly capture plate numbers of oncomg vehicles has been one of the most useful and impressive things about a telephoto camera and is one of the reasons I have been such a fan and advocate for having one.

So, to reiterate. I believe a wider angle telephoto lens with perhaps a wider aperture would go a long way to improving the results we see in @safedrivesolutions brief review here.

To be fair, a few others have posted some captures from the RTC300 Telephoto that are better than what safedrivesolutions has posted here, but his results are a concern. The RTC300 Telephoto should at least be able to duplicate these results and in his review, this is clearly not the case.

Here is one of the very first examples I posted to the forum back in 2018 demonstrating how effective a telephoto lens can be in capturing an oncoming licence plate number. And keep in mind that these are western hemisphere style and size plates. This is a variocal zoom ƒ/1.6 lens on a 1080P camera.




Here are some more recent examples from 2023 using a primary 12 megapixel 8mm ƒ/1.8 lens mounted on a 2K camera this time







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[safedrivesolutions]

Pleased to see a nice brief objective review of this new lens module option, @safedrivesolutions. You raise a lot of good questions.

As someone with years of telephoto dash cam experience I've been a little frustrated that @viofo has not offered us any technical specifications about exactly what lens is used in this product. We don't know the focal length for example and we don't know the aperture.

I am surprised to see that the results are so poor in capturing license plate numbers of oncoming cars because one of the most impressive things I and others have experienced and reported about using telephoto lenses on dash cams is their almost uncanny ability to clearly capture license plate numbers of oncoming cars at a distance without motion blur. These lenses capture plates out ahead at a distance before motion blur becomes a problem which it tends to do as vehicles get closer to you.

Exposures are also often better than with a typical dash cam AOV because the AOV of a telephoto lens eliminates extraneous parts of the image such as the sky.

As many here know, I have been advocating for viofo to offer a telephoto lens option that has a slightly shorter focal length (wider view) than the one that was chosen for this unique and welcome product. From your initial tests Ben, I also think a lens with a wider aperture would be of benefit. I am guessing a different lens would help the performance of the new lens module and to my thinking a wider telephoto often does a better job of telling the story because there is more to telephoto lens capture than just recording license plates.

I've been experimenting with and using DIY telephoto dash cams for 7 years now. As I alluded to above and as confirmed by my earliest tests going back to 2017, the ability to clearly capture plate numbers of oncomg vehicles has been one of the most useful and impressive things about a telephoto camera and is one of the reasons I have been such a fan and advocate for having one.

So, to reiterate. I believe a wider angle telephoto lens with perhaps a wider aperture would go a long way to improving the results we see in @safedrivesolutions brief review here.

To be fair, a few others have posted some captures from the RTC300 Telephoto that are better than what safedrivesolutions has posted here, but his results are a concern.

Here is one of the very first examples I posted to the forum back in 2018 demonstrating how effective a telephoto lens can be in capturing an oncoming licence plate number. And keep in mind that these are western hemisphere style and size plates. This is a variocal zoom ƒ/1.6 lens on a 1080P camera.

View attachment 73033


Here are some more recent examples from 2023 using a primary 12 megapixel 8mm ƒ/1.8 lens mounted on a 2K camera this time

View attachment 73034


View attachment 73035

View attachment 73036
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Great photos. which dash camera were you using for these tests. Also I want to note most of my tests were at minimum 60km/h or higher. I did not get the same results. i will say driving behind people it was cool how it would zoom in and get that critical information. I just feel like this is a trial run for a much more improved product in the future

 

[Dashmellow]

My footage was captured with either the Mobius 1 camera (1080p) and the Mobius 1S (2K). The wide shot from a traditional camera was with a Viofo A119 V3.

 

[Dashmellow]

i will say driving behind people it was cool how it would zoom in and get that critical information.

Yeah. I remember early on in some of my experiments with a telephoto lens and capturing images like this way out ahead of me in traffic and being kind of blown away. It just felt like a total game changer.

 

[safedrivesolutions]

My footage was captured with either the Mobius 1 camera (1080p) and the Mobius 1S (2K). The wide shot from a traditional camera was with a Viofo A119 V3.

never played with mobius.

 

[safedrivesolutions]

Yeah. I remember early on in some of my experiments with a telephoto lens and capturing images like this way out ahead of me in traffic and being kind of blown away. It just felt like a total game changer.

View attachment 73037

have you used the RTC300 from Viofo yet?

 

[Dashmellow]

never played with mobius.

A terrific and highly unique , versatile camera platform for FPV, dash camerers and general enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the developer has let the platform go fallow at this point but their cameras are still widely available. Many huge fans on the forum. Also one of the most durable and reliable cameras ever made.

 

[Dashmellow]

have you used the RTC300 from Viofo yet?

No, I don't own a A229 (yet). As you've probably noticed I've been asking and hoping that Viofo eventually introduces a small stand alone single channel telephoto camera that could be added to any existing camera installation. I believe it has the potential to sell very well.

 

[safedrivesolutions]

No, I don't own a A229 (yet). As you've probably noticed I've been asking and hoping that Viofo eventually introduces a small stand alone single channel telephoto camera that could be added to any existing camera installation. I believe it has the potential to sell very well.

Interesting. I guess the telephoto would be only for driving as parking mode it is kind of irrelevant

 

[Dashmellow]

Interesting. I guess the telephoto would be only for driving as parking mode it is kind of irrelevant

Yes, telephoto lenses are not generally useful for parking. I have 5 cameras in my vehicle including the telephoto. I run four of the cameras for 360º coverage all around my truck when parked, say at the supermarket, but I don't run the telephoto as there's no need to.

I did run the telephoto a couple of times when parked but that was a special case where I wanted to temporarily keep an eye on something specific on a particular location out on my property during hunting season. It was cool to have that capability.

 

[GPak]

Here is our review of the new Viofo Telephoto lens
We go over pros and cons of this new add on

Viofo Telephoto Dash Camera to pick up license plates

As you asked what we think about it ….

Here is what I think:
No way, I would trade my 2K rear camera back to 1K camera, especially the one optimized for interior, just to add additional telephoto camera hanging on my windshield.

In fact, I do not see much of a need to read license plates, especially on oncoming traffic.
The only reason to read plates, in my opinion, is if you are involved in “hit and run" accident, otherwise all involved in accident stop and work on post-accident deal (at that point you can have the plate number).
"Hit and run" accident with oncoming vehicle is nearly impossible.
Even with relatively low speed, usually all vehicles involved come to full stop, and at high speed head-on collision, the next trip is likely to be to hospital at best, or to cemetery at worst.
Honestly, I do not understand this obsession with plate reading.
The overall good image quality, day and night, to capture as much evidence as possible, is what matters most to me.

Think about accidents, with pedestrians, or cyclists, or with this new electric scooters on streets, etc., where you as a driver, most likely to be blamed if there is no clear evidence that it was not your fault.

Just my opinion.

 

[Dashmellow]

There are many possible scenarios other than the few you mention here and generally speaking, the more information and evidence one can capture the better off you will be. For example, I have captured clear images of people talking on cell phones (and their license plates) coming towards me at a distance with a telephoto camera who have nearly hit me because they were not paying attention whereas my "normal" dash cam didn't capture any of this with clarity. Using a handheld device where I live is illegal and can invite harsh penalties.

"Hit and run" accident with oncoming vehicle is nearly impossible.
Even with relatively low speed, usually all vehicles involved come to full stop, and at high speed head-on collision, the next trip is likely to be to hospital at best, or to cemetery at worst.
Honestly, I do not understand this obsession with plate reading.

This is simply not true. For example, another DCT member was side swiped by an oncoming vehicle that fortunately only took out his side view mirror but the driver didn't stop and just kept going. A classic "hit & run" leaving the scene of an accident violation. Fortunately, the multiple cameras in the member's car including a telephoto captured the guy's plate number and the police eventually located the driver and a prosecution ensued. There are all kinds of similar scenarios people report.

Many people here on the forum seem to have a fixed notion in their heads about what might or might not or could and could not really happen if they ever get into a mishap while out driving but the truth of the matter is that what can actually happen out on the roadways is often far more complex and unexpected than what we may anticipate. As a user of dash cams for 14 years and a member of this forum for 11 years, I've observed that only a fairly small percentage of dash camera owners have ever been in an actual car accident or other mishap and so for many their notions of what could happen and can happen and what they expect to capture on their cameras is merely theoretical until that day actually comes.