Great dashcam with the fantastic STARVIS2 sensor for better night time visibility. If you have LED headlights, older sensors can overexpose license plates of other cars, making them unreadable. This one fixes that issue by having HDR for dark conditions. I bought back in October for $420 off an ebay store, and that was with a voucher, so this is a good deal.
MERRYXMAS Code for $10 off (per $100?)
Definitely grab something with Starvis 2 sensor.
Just wondering if 229 Plus is better as it has Starvis 2 in the back as well.
Hmm also wondering the same. My A119s is starting to forget its settings regularly
In some instances yes in some not. I have the A229 Pro and its a nice step up.
Bought the A229 plus duo + hardwire kit from aliexpress around black friday with discount codes for under $270
Also stack with code Vancouver5% and it's $368.76.
Some random youtube blokes affiliate code i think
Cheaper alternative with starvis 2 sensor would be 70mai A810. Cost about $230-270 depending on sale.
I believe VIFIO has better image prosessing but 70mai is still produces comparable image.
I had the a129 pro duo and sold the car with it / moved countries. I bought the comparable 70mai with the same sensor on my next car to save a few bucks and it isn’t even remotely close. I would definitely spring for the viofo based on that experience.
Not sure about the other models, but 70mai A810 seems decent enough looking at few youtube comparisons.
No super capacitor either in the a810 so I'd pass. I have the A229 Pro and Vantrue Nexus 4 Pro and both are major steps up with their better image processing than the 70mai lot.
Isn't' the 70mai battery run? Think VIOFO is capacitor driven, saves a lot of hassle.
Do you know if there is camera that can be used as dashcam and reverse camera too?
you need to checkout viofoness which is better
Any difference buying from viofo.com vs the .com.au?
Viofo.com was about 10% cheaper when I bought. No GST on the tax invoice though. Dashcam arrived in about a week from HK I think.
worth getting now or waiting for boxing day sales?
Best investment i made for the missus. Got the earlier version and got her out of unwanted trouble and stress via recording proof.
My backup battery do people recommend with this?
Are these things easy to hardwire yourself? Which of the kits would I need to buy to hardwire this into a Rav4?
I wired one into a VW Golf. The nice thing about Viofos is they use a thin cable which makes it a bit easier. The only tough part was finding a suitable fuse slot to use on the car. Pro tip: take a photo of your fusebox before you start pulling fuses out!
You might be surprised how quickly these things drain the car battery, so have a good think about whether you really need parking mode (if that's why you plan on hardwiring).
dont they automatically turn off if it drains the battery too much?
Oh no I wasn’t planning on having parking mode. Just to have the wires not in the way and running across the middle etc.
It's easy. The main connection to the unit will be off your USB cigarette lighter or a dedicated car USB. The rear camera will be a mini USB off the main unit to the rear. The harder part is to route and tuck the cable from the front windscreen main camera to the rear windscreen camera. It works every time you start the car and vise versa.
My skoda has usb c on the rear view mirror casing
Simply clever
Started spewing as I paid 480 a few months ago, then I realised this is the 2ch not the 3ch
Sorry what does the channels mean? What’s the difference between a 2 and 3? Bit out of touch with dash cams atm.
3 x cameras. 1 x dash, 1 x inside facing driver + 1 x rear widow facing back
Yep thanks for that makes sense. Prob will off for the 2 ch.
@Smol Cat: Front and rear are suffice IMO. Opt for the highest resolution & memory capacity if budget permits. Don't get cheap junk as one day you may need it like i did. It saved me a lot of grief….. on 2 occasions.
Why would you want a camera facing you? For reaction shots on cool YouTube videos during an accident?
Aside from what’s been mentioned, 2ch can record in higher quality since it’s cramming less video data.
Look at it this way, you had recording protection during that time if you needed it. It's never right time to buy plus there is always an updated unit
We had this for a few months now. It’s quite good. Top notch quality. This was briefly $330 on ebay. Taken down after a few minutes.
I bought a front facing dash cam, the Navman 155 in the Telstra sale. I now wish I bought a rear one too. Should I throw the Navman in the trash and buy this, or buy a dedicated rear dash cam and have two things stuck to my windscreen and two cigarette sockets taken up to power both of them?
It's best to get this or a cheaper Viofo late model unit the supports two cameras as the unit micro SD memory records 2 camera's simultaneously and easy to view.
Does 4k chew through the storage?
Wondering this is stick with the 2K versions?
VIOFO A229 Plus 3 channel is more efficient for storage as it's 2k, 2k, 1080P. https://viofo.com/dash-cam/329-viofo-a229-plus-2ch-front-and…
I have the older hardwire kit for the a119 v1 which i never used. HK2 i believe it is, with the red wire and grounding wire only. Would it work with this a139 for parking mode? Recently had my car scraped in a parking lot :(
Is this good for capturing door ding events aka hit-and-runs?
The camera only captures the direction of where it is mourned + ~ 180 degree viewing angles. The rationale is to capture traffic incidents and not door dings unless the camera can see it
Awaiting 4K @ 60fps recording. 60fps really is so much better than 30fps, not just for smoother playback, but for getting number plates. Having twice the frame rate, you have a better ability to catch number plates at the ideal/sharpest frame. I find a higher frame rate picks up number plates better than a higher resolution. I’ll stick with my original 10+ year old 1080p @ 60fps Xiaomi Mi Cam which can easily pick up number plates of oncoming traffic on a 110km/h highway
I had the same unit. When you get the 4K unit, like i did you'll throw yours in the bin
I’d honestly much rather the higher frame rate. The A139 doesn’t even have the option to record at a 2k resolution and 60fps, that would have at least been a bit of an upgrade. 30fps to me is a major downgrade
That's fair enough. You'll only know how good these units are when you get one. Specs don't always translate to real life YMMV
Ah damn. This answers my qn outside this thread. I’d want 2k/60fps over 4k/30fps.
According to this video it can do 2k 60fps
Around the 4:30min mark
You don't need number plates. It's not like the movies where the getaway cars get 'away'. You cannot run anywhere in city's like Sydney in a car. Every junction and street corner is littered with cameras. A hit and run is such a serious offence that the Police will bring hell on Earth to get the person via all the video footage from Government sources to capture the hit and run driver. All you need is basic footage of what a car look's like, you don't need to capture the license plate. Within 2 mins of leaving your house in a car, you are captured and your face is captured by minimum 5 cameras in that 2 mins via State surveillance.
It's important the you capture the best quality to avoid unecessary work. To access external footage will be time consuming and all the red tape/hoops required for that to happen. Plus it's not guaranteed that the fiootage can be accessible
I run 2K, 2K, 1080P, 3 channel at 30fps for more efficient running, cooler running cameras that draw less power and records longer before looping. I have enough detail 360 degrees around the car to not need 60fps for number plates. That footage is enough. I agree that it makes it faster to nab the culprit if you can zoom into the number plate from a car that is 50m away when recording at 60fps but for the Police, it takes around 1hr 'extra work' to get a hit and run driver anyway. It's all automated.
@Dollar Dreamer: Number plates become crucial, especially during nighttime incidents. In a recent hit and run involving my parent-in-law in the daytime, the significance of clear identification through license plates was evident. The existing surveillance camera at the petrol station, failed to capture the license plate details. Consequently, my parent-in-law had to bear the excess costs and was ineligible for a replacement car. Despite the incident occurring on December 12, 2023, the vehicle's repair completion is expected only by January 24, 2024. This underscores the importance of reliable license plate visibility, especially in challenging situations like hit and run cases, which may be more prevalent with the increasing costs of living. Furthermore, with 4K technology readily available, it is advisable to protect against future updates to ensure optimal surveillance capabilities.
A few years back on a 100km/h country highway, 1 lane each direction with double solid lines. Mrs was driving and an idiot in the oncoming lane decided to overtake a car across the double solid lines nearly causing a head on collision with her at 100km/h both ways .She had to pull over as she was severely traumatised. When she got home I went through the footage, got the number plate of the idiot driving dangerously and put in a police report. This is a time I’ve needed to obtain a number plate to file a report.
not in sydney
What's better, the A139 Pro or the A229 Pro?
Bigger number more better…..usually….
The A229 have display for front cam, 2k rear cam, GPS module and voice control.
A139 only 1080p for rear cam.
How much it would cost to professionally get it installed and any recommendations in sydney (west)? Do we just provide cam to the professional or hardware kit (hk3-c I guess) as well? It would be my first dash cam so don’t have much idea about it.
Thanks all
Between $250 to $350 usually for installation , the whole thing can get really expensive if you can’t do it yourself
I know a guy installed ours easy done no fuss. Just provided him the hardwire kit with no microfuse (he provided them). $130. cheapest and the most professionally done job. his name is Peter. googled him on Facebook marketplace
Which state?
These seem great quality. Is there a good budget dash cam in the Viofo range that has front and rear cameras?
Also is it possible to use the video feed from the rear to input in a head unit as a reverse camera? Camera input on head unit is RCA.
Can the front camera do 2k/60fps?
Nope it can’t…
Oh! Same model?
Curious if any other brand with similar quality below $200? This one is out of my budget
Ordered one in the morning, bit haven't got any confirmation email yet….🤨
Order also, email confirmation arrived within a minite. Check your email spam folder, mine was there
Can I replace my A129 Pro with this and reuse my existing hardwiring/mounting setup, or will I have to rip out all the old stuff and start over?
Better check with Viofo. I can't remember the exact models because I've installed many at different times/cars, but I remember some older cables are not compatible with newer units.
Wondering if the Viofo A229 PRO 2CH for $440 (~$60 more) is better value? Seems to have a better rear camera from what i've read and video comparison I saw. However A229 Pro can't do 60 FPS at 2K, though you have to have HDR turned off to do that.
Don't forget the international transaction fees when purchasing from the US.
What SD card should we use these days? Viofo now recommends Sandisk but they never worked well in the past and most here would swear by their Samsung cards.
VIOFO do not recommend a few Samsung SD cards. https://support.viofo.com/support/solutions/articles/1900013…
Just do it.