Viofo A129 Duo dual-channel dash cam review: Excellent video and a fantastic bargain - begleydowasud

At a Coup d'oeil

Expert's Military rating

Pros

Enthusiastic television, front and rear
Very low-cost for a double-camera apparatus
Integrated GPS

Cons

Cable to tail end camera is thick and somewhat unwieldy
AV output simply zero cable length

Our Verdict

The Viofo A129 Brace dual-camera system produces high-tone day, Nox, and low-light telecasting from both its front and rear cameras, and it does so for a good price. Better still, its supercapacitor will take video for 2-3 seconds after a power failure. Aside from an overly thick cable to the rear photographic camera, we have no complaints.

We expected a lot from Viofo's A129 Duad dash Cam, and it delivered. Its forbear, the A119 dash cam, is a longtime best-loved of ours, plainly because it was one of the first in its toll rank to garden truck decent night television. Likewise, the A129 Duo has won its own place in our hearts as the starting time affordable plural-channelize setup to offer superior 1080p twenty-four hour period and night video from some the front and rear cameras.

The A129 Duo has other marketing points: tight-knit GPS, and a supercapacitor that will actually living the camera cognizant for a twin of seconds after power is removed. There are a partner off of extremely limited caveats, but overall, the A129 is a very sweet deal.

Bill: This review articl is depart of our ongoing roundup of the best flash cams. Go there for selective information on competing products and how we tested.

Design and features

Some cameras in the A129 Duo system use an IMX291 Sony STARVIS sensor, which is capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Some come with their respective windows using semi-permanent mounts with a genus Lens that pivots vertically, but not horizontally. Use a level when you affix them to the Windows to make certainly you wealthy person the mounts analog with the horizon.

The way the front camera mounts, flush to the windscreen with the 2-inch color display leaning middling away from you, makes the reveal a bit harder to read compared to the screens on free-vagrant dart cams, though it's smooth doable. The buttons and on-screen menus are user-friendly adequate to learn and use.

It's non peculiarly fancy, but the A129 covers the basics better than any budget dual-channel system we've reviewed. In fact, it compares quite cured with systems costing immoderate more from Thinkware and Blackvue.

The ports along the front camera are two miniskirt-USB types, single for big businessman and the different to connect with the rear camera; a 3.5 mm jack for the AV output (breakout cable non included); an SD card slot; and a petite recessed reset button. The rear camera has lone the mini-USB port to tie in with the battlefront camera, which brings Pine Tree State to one of my minor complaints about the A129 system—the overly stupid USB cable used to connect the cameras. It's workable (most testament equal hidden slow interior trim pieces), but a minute unwieldy and transparent.

Not to drop off the times, the A129 Duo also sports Wisconsin-Fi, which you can use to connect to and plowshare videos via your phone using the Viofo app. Woohoo!

screenshot 20181109 135453 — Viofo also nods to the phone-centric crowd together with an app to eyeshot videos, etc.

Viofo also sent along a polarizing filtrate (about $20 on AmazonRemove non-product link). You can see the results both with and without it in the operation section.

I have cardinal opposite mild complaints. It took more force than I expected to attach the rear photographic camera to its mount. As the plastic bent a bite, it became easier, but it was a little nerve-racking. Lastly, Viofo doesn't supply a cable for the Ab output. That won't affect everyone, but maybe Viofo could make the rear camera overseas telegram thinner and use the savings to provide an AV cable. Just saying.

Performance

Owing to previous see with budget dual-camera systems, I wasn't expecting the enceinte day, Night, and low-light picture provided past some the A129 Duo's front and rear cameras. Our other budget dual-camera pick, Cobra's CDR895D, offers decent video from its rear camera, just it's not in the equal course of instruction As the A129 Duo.

As you can see below, the front camera's day video was top-notch What you can't see is that the fancy stabilization was quite good on the bumpy section roads. Piteous image stabilization is my major complaint approximately Garmin's other than fantabulous compact models. There is some moire at times from the A129 Duo, merely loosely the video captures are quite nice.

daytime a129 with gps — Though this image from the A129 Duo is outstanding, and the overall captures are as well, there is occasional moire in highly detailed areas, such as the leaves on trees. We're not perspiring it.

daytime a129 with gps and polarizing filter — The optional (and pricey) $20 polarizing filter that clamps over the A129 Duo's front camera lens did a good job of reducing glare and even helped with the direct sun you see in this capture.

Night video (shown below) reveal lots of detail with the headlights on or off.

a129 low light front — In low light source conditions, the A129 quiet captures a ton of point.

a129 night with headlights — The A129 leave get wind license plate numbers and the info happening street signs easily with the headlights on.

The video from the back end camera is even as fastidious every bit that from the front camera, even at night. That red glow is from my stand-in lights A I maneuvered into a parking blob.

a129 nighttime rear — The A129's rear photographic camera night video is as good as the front's. This is just a much darker

Increase the smartness in post-production, and you'll see lots of particular in the encompassing areas which makes the couple more than suitable for surveillance. You'll need to hard-wire the camera though, A the A129 Duo doesn't have the worrying-duty battery used in the Vava Dashcam and some others.

a129 low light front brightened — For surveillance in low light conditions, the A129 distillery captures inside information. Brighten the image a shade and you'll pick up up all classify of detail in the encompassing area. This scene wasn't nigh this light in real animation.

Or else of a battery, the A129 Duo uses a supercapacitor. That said, unlike with some cameras I've seen recently, information technology's large enough to power recordings for a mate of seconds afterward the 12-volt is pulled or fails. Those fewer seconds are probably altogether you need to capture whol of an event, though ideally we'd corresponding to see 5 to 10 seconds.

The upsides to supercapacitors are that they can be cycled far more times that a electric battery and tin can operate is a wider range of temperatures—Viofo claims from 14 degrees Fahrenheit to 149 degrees. That bottom temperature boundary seems a bit high, but 149 degrees is significantly hotter than well-nig dash cams are rated for.

Decision

Viofo has done it again. The A129 Duo is easily our favorite budget dual-camera scare away cam, and information technology holds its own against far more expensive duos from Thinkware and Blackvue. Excursus from the somewhat unwieldy rear cam cable, it's every last good, all the time.