What I like and don’t after having the A119S mounted in my car for the past year.
Like
Video quality is good, both day and night, exceptional low-light performance. Be it low-light or complete darkness, the IMX291 sees a lot more than any other sensor currently being housed in dash cams.
Wedge design - As mostly just the lens is visible below the windshield's dotted area, looks very discreet when compared to dash cams that hang off a suction cup mount or similar adhesive mounts.
Lens adjustment mechanism has held up well. Even though it feels a little loose to the touch, doesn’t droop on its own.
Don’t like
Reliability was a miss, mainly due to the X-boxes bug (twice during May and then in June and November). Three firmware revisions later, version 2.2 released a month back claims to have finally squashed this long standing bug.
Audio - Conversations, ticking from the indicator and even sounds from outside the car are loud and clear but there’s a constant buzz/hiss that accompanies the audio. Most common suggestions are to power it using a wall charger or a power bank and see if the issue persists (a pointless test as the camera is not going to be used with a power bank or plugged into a wall charger). Point is, if my SG9665GC can remain immune to such interference while using the same power supply and cables, I think this could definitely be improved upon.
Erratic behaviour when powered using 3rd party USB cables - Again, Mini-USB cables from Monoprice that work flawlessly with my other dash cams (SG9665GC, Mobius and
A119) caused intermittent file and firmware corruption with the A119S.
Nitpicking
I know it’s not an action cam but nonetheless, red orange and yellow looks oversaturated.
Suggestions
Better quality control - Foreign objects embedded on the lens, improper alignment of the SD card slot, red light leaking through the lens housing and below the Record button (on my recently bought A119 V2), takes away from the feel-good factor.
Inclusion of angled wedge fillers for the mount, like the ones included with one of the Mini models. A comparatively narrow FOV doesn’t allow a centred view; if the camera is not actually mounted exactly in the centre.
As much as they are already, IMO VIOFO’s representatives need to be a little more participative and communicative.
Would I recommend the A119S?
If I don’t see the X-boxes or screen corruption for another 6 months, then yes, a definite yes.
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Going forth I plan on using the A119S mostly as a rear camera. Will keep adding videos as new firmware revisions with IQ changes/enhancements are released.
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Fairly discreet as a rear camera too, obviously depends on how and where it’s mounted. I was quite apprehensive about the camera being visible through the rear windshield, not as noticeable as I’d initially thought. On reviewing footage I’ve noticed a few people looking at the camera but nothing more than a glance. With mostly just the lens visible to the passing eye, probably looks like an unconventional reversing-camera mounted behind the windscreen.
A119S and Mobius 2
Opening post updated.