A229 Pro Test & Review PP

[Panzer Platform]

So the only real difference is that they heated the garage up by 6°C between the two readings, while the cameras stayed at the same temperature!

No, not really. lol
The sun heated my garage during testing from 65℉ (18℃) to 75℉ (24℃).
I guess I should have included today’s forecast.
Low 46℉ (8℃)
High 76℉ (24℃)

If I repeated this test at night the parking mode temps would be;
Pro Hottest Temp: 123℉ (50℃)
Plus Hottest Temp: 115℉ (45℃)

 

[Nigel]

I guess I should have included today’s forecast.

Probably sun-visor temperature would have been more useful, presumably that didn't change much between the tests, even though the air outside the car did.

 

[TheSpanishInq]

Odd, same temps and about 1W extra power consumption in driving mode vs low bitrate mode!?!

VIOFO A229 Pro - Testing / Review - RCG

On Tuesday 26-Sep-2023, I was given permission from VIOFO to start posting info about the A229 Pro / A229 Plus dash cameras. I have not started my testing of the A229 Plus dash camera yet since it is scheduled to arrive later today. A229 Pro Unboxing The VIOFO A229 Pro will be sold in two...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[Panzer Platform]

Odd, same temps and about 1W extra power consumption in driving mode vs low bitrate mode!?!

VIOFO A229 Pro - Testing / Review - RCG

On Tuesday 26-Sep-2023, I was given permission from VIOFO to start posting info about the A229 Pro / A229 Plus dash cameras. I have not started my testing of the A229 Plus dash camera yet since it is scheduled to arrive later today. A229 Pro Unboxing The VIOFO A229 Pro will be sold in two...

dashcamtalk.com

When the A229 Pro goes into parking mode it drops from 4K to 2K resolution.
All 3 cameras drop to 4 Mbps Bitrate.
In normal recording mode the Bitrates are;
36 Mbps Front
24 Mbps Rear
15 Mbps IR Interior

 

[Nigel]

Odd, same temps and about 1W extra power consumption in driving mode vs low bitrate mode!?!

VIOFO A229 Pro - Testing / Review - RCG

On Tuesday 26-Sep-2023, I was given permission from VIOFO to start posting info about the A229 Pro / A229 Plus dash cameras. I have not started my testing of the A229 Plus dash camera yet since it is scheduled to arrive later today. A229 Pro Unboxing The VIOFO A229 Pro will be sold in two...

dashcamtalk.com

It is about 0.64W extra in the front camera, so about a 10% saving for low bitrate over normal recording, so we should see a difference in temperature of about -3°C when switching to parking mode, but the garage increased by 6°C, which should have more than canceled it out, except I suspect the car didn't warm up by as much as the garage, measuring the sun visors instead of the garage would have been better.

If your comment is about power consumption, then yes, the saving in power by using low bitrate is a bit disappointing, but although it saves on data written to the memory card, it takes more effort to resize (for the 4K dashcam) and compress since it needs a lot more compression. If we want a larger power saving, I think the way to do it is to reduce the frame rate, 15fps is perfectly good for parking mode, however it still doesn't give a large saving. Turning off HDR in parking mode should give some saving, but then you might need the HDR. Does anyone have some figures for how much power HDR takes?

If you want genuine low power consumption in parking mode, for long term parking recording, the answer is for the dashcam to snooze until it either detects an impact on the g-sensor, or the radar sensor (not available on the A229*) detects movement. However for supermarket parking, I much prefer low bitrate.

 

[TheSpanishInq]

It is about 0.64W extra in the front camera, so about a 10% saving for low bitrate over normal recording, so we should see a difference in temperature of about -3°C when switching to parking mode, but the garage increased by 6°C, which should have more than canceled it out, except I suspect the car didn't warm up by as much as the garage, measuring the sun visors instead of the garage would have been better.

Your right, I hadn't taken the rise in ambient temp into account. With (about) 1W extra power consumption, no matter what the cam uses it for, I'd expected higher temps. In other words, with the same ambient temp. the parking mode would show lower temps for the cam.

 

[mentadent]

They should add a fan

 

[Panzer Platform]

24.6° is what I measured the Horizontal FOV to be for the new Telephoto Remote cameras for the A229 Pro & A229 Plus.
For reference I measured the Horizontal FOV of the Front camera to be 112° FOV.





Shooutout to @DAP for suggesting test patterns to check focus.
It looks like I’ll need to modify my testing jig to back off the camera a bit.

@Vortex Radar
@Nigel
@Mtz
@ogzogz
@Agie
@TonyM
@Karagandinez
@DT MI
@rcg530
@safedrivesolutions

 

[Agie]

24.6° is what I measured the Horizontal FOV to be for the new Telephoto Remote cameras for the A229 Pro & A229 Plus.
For reference I measured the Horizontal FOV of the Front camera to be 112° FOV.

View attachment 72402
View attachment 72403
View attachment 72404

Shooutout to @DAP for suggesting test patterns to check focus.
It looks like I’ll need to modify my testing jig to back off the camera a bit.

@Vortex Radar
@Nigel
@Mtz
@ogzogz
@Agie
@TonyM
@Karagandinez
@DT MI
@rcg530
@safedrivesolutions

Looking good there chuck !

 

[Nigel]

24.6° is what I measured the Horizontal FOV to be for the new Telephoto Remote cameras for the A229 Pro & A229 Plus.
For reference I measured the Horizontal FOV of the Front camera to be 112° FOV.

112° for the front camera, and the image you posted shows 148 on the scale.
24.6 for the telephoto camera, and the image you posted shows 22 on the scale.
If the cameras were at the same distance, then I'm not sure that makes sense?


A zoom of x2.9 = 8.5x the detail on the license plates.

 

[Panzer Platform]

112° for the front camera, and the image you posted shows 148 on the scale.

24.6 for the telephoto camera, and the image you posted shows 22 on the scale.

If the cameras were at the same distance, then I'm not sure that makes sense?

All cameras tested at 50cm from "yardstick".

A zoom of x4.46 = 20x the detail on the license plates.

We'll see as soon as the sun comes up.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Oops.
I was so excited to get testing I forgot to take photos of the telephoto cameras.
The cameras arrived in “bulk” packaging with no identifying box, user manual, part number, nothing, nada, zip.
I’m not sure if these are pre-production, or the final retail versions.
But I’m 99% sure these are the retail units that will be sold to customers.
We now have an LED light that reminds me of the premium units I’ve tested from Thinkware, and GNET.
Of course you will most likely want to disable the LED in the settings to conserve power in parking mode, and not attract unwanted attention.
Or not.
We get a new 60cm USB Type-C cable with 90° on both ends, (the previous rear camera had one 90° and one straight.
As far as size goes they are basically the same size as the previous rear camera, (only slightly larger by a few millimeters).
I reviewed some file sizes an they are identical to the previous rear camera.
I don’t have any proof but these appear to be the same regular rear camera with a slightly enlarged case, and of course the longer telephoto lens.
Oh yeah, each telephoto had a different firmware, good thing I checked, and updated the older one.
Keep in mind the A229 Pro & A229 Plus rear cameras have their own processor chipset built in the case.
The newest firmware in the telephoto is V1.0 240419
Can’t wait to see if the night time HDR has been improved.
We have yet another new “one off’ CPL Filter.
From 2016-2021 we had just two, (CPL-100 & CPL-200).
In the past 2 months Viofo has released 3 different CPL Filters, (CPL-300, CPL-400, and now this one CPL-500)?
It feels like they’re making Super Bowl XIV commemorative tumblers from McDonald's, gotta collect ‘em all. lol

 

[Nigel]

We'll see as soon as the sun comes up.

My figures don't match yours because I am only looking at the centre of the image, and yours include all the fisheye on the main camera. The fisheye gives quite a lot of extra FoV, but doesn't change the magnification, because it is off the edge of the Telephoto image.

 

[Agie]

Oops.
I was so excited to get testing I forgot to take photos of the telephoto cameras.
The cameras arrived in “bulk” packaging with no identifying box, user manual, part number, nothing, nada, zip.
I’m not sure if these are pre-production, or the final retail versions.
But I’m 99% sure these are the retail units that will be sold to customers.
We now have an LED light that reminds me of the premium units I’ve tested from Thinkware, and GNET.
Of course you will most likely want to disable the LED in the settings to conserve power in parking mode, and not attract unwanted attention.
Or not.
We get a new 60cm USB Type-C cable with 90° on both ends, (the previous rear camera had one 90° and one straight.
As far as size goes they are basically the same size as the previous rear camera, (only slightly larger by a few millimeters).
I reviewed some file sizes an they are identical to the previous rear camera.
I don’t have any proof but these appear to be the same regular rear camera with a slightly enlarged case, and of course the longer telephoto lens.
Oh yeah, each telephoto had a different firmware, good thing I checked, and updated the older one.
Keep in mind the A229 Pro & A229 Plus rear cameras have their own processor chipset built in the case.
The newest firmware in the telephoto is V1.0 240419
Can’t wait to see if the night time HDR has been improved.
We have yet another new “one off’ CPL Filter.
From 2016-2021 we had just two, (CPL-100 & CPL-200).
In the past 2 months Viofo has released 3 different CPL Filters, (CPL-300, CPL-400, and now this one CPL-500)?
It feels like they’re making Super Bowl XIV commemorative tumblers from McDonald's, gotta collect ‘em all. lol

Quick on it after I asked Chuck thanks for this detailed write-up, that LED strip is a bit too big for me would have liked a smaller white dot one. But I'm no designer or technical expert like the folks at Viofo are, so what do I know lol

 

[Panzer Platform]

My figures don't match yours because I am only looking at the centre of the image, and yours include all the fisheye on the main camera. The fisheye gives quite a lot of extra FoV, but doesn't change the magnification, because it is off the edge of the Telephoto image.

I don't disagree, but I'm also not smart enough to understand what you said.
Hold your horses until I get some good DAYTIME test footage. lol

 

[TheSpanishInq]

but I'm also not smart enough to understand what you said.

That makes two, but I do find it very interesting material

 

[Dashmellow]

I think what Nigel is trying to express makes sense (sort of) but he is not explaining it well.

Every lens projects a cone of light onto the sensor that must be bigger than the size of the sensor so that it can capture the full angle of view captured by the lens and avoid any vignetting. This cone of light is called the Circle of Coverage and is also referred to as the Image Circle. When a manufacturer or dash cam modder selects a lens for a product or a project, careful attention must be paid to the specifications of the circle of coverage of the lens so that it closely matches (or exceeds) the size of the camera's sensor.

I disagree with Nigel's statement that it doesn't change the magnification because, well, it effectively does, especially if you use a telephoto lens paired with that same sensor.

The fisheye gives quite a lot of extra FoV, but doesn't change the magnification, because it is off the edge of the Telephoto image.

This is a topic that has been covered here on DCT previously and six years ago I created a graphic in Photoshop to illustrate this principle which I present below.

Basically, if you install a telephoto lens on a camera with a larger sensor you are not only using a lens with greater magnification but you could (depending on the image circle specs of the particular lens) be using a smaller portion of the existing larger sensor so the effect is one of increased magnification compared with a wider AOV lens paired with the same sensor. In some circumstances, the image circle could far exceed the size of the sensor and this too would increase the apparent magnification because instead of using a smaller portion of the sensor you are using the center-most portion of the lens's image circle over the whole sensor. There is a relationship between the size of the image circle thrown by a given lens and the size of the sensor the image is being projected onto. For dash cams this might be especially pronounced because an M12 telephoto lens fitted to a camera module that has a sensor originally designed for a standard lens (as I suspect might be the case here) might not be such a perfect match, although it could work quite well.

This illustration uses a white rectangle to represent a wider angle of view compared to a more telephoto AOV represented by the red rectangle.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Just got done configuring the test rig to check initial DAYTIME STATIONARY focus at 27 Meters, (CIGMAN CT-1000 Laser Rangefinder).
Top Row: (2 units) A229 Pro & (1 unit) A119 Mini 2
Middle Row: A229 Pro Rear (just in case)
Bottom Row: (2 units) A229 Pro Telephoto
Underslung: Vantrue S1 Pro (still waiting on firmware update for night time HDR performance)
Take note the Rear & Telephoto cameras are in their native position so you don’t have to “Rotate Image” in settings (upside down).
Check out the illuminated Status LED on the telephotos.
I double, triple checked the all lenses, and CPL Filters are clean.
I used a Vantrue microfiber cloth from the CPL Filter, and a Nikon LensPen.
So I don’t want to hear it Nigel. Lol

 

[Nigel]

Just got done configuring the test rig to check initial DAYTIME STATIONARY focus at 27 Meters,

What was the reason for choosing 27m?

20m might be useful, since that is the maximum distance that Viofo 4K dashcams, including A229 Pro, can read an EU license plate, and the telephoto needs to take over.
15m might also be useful, since that is the maximum distance that Viofo 2K dashcams, including the A229 Plus, can read an EU license plate, and the telephoto needs to take over.

Should also check it at maximum plate reading distance, which I think is about 60m for an EU license plate. Beyond that it wouldn't matter if it went out of focus, since it can't read plates anyway, but it is always nice to reach infinity with reasonable focus!

And at minimum focus distance, it could still be useful, because it may still read a plate that the main camera can't, so it would at least be interesting to know what the minimum focus distance is. Not sure how you judge what counts as acceptable focus for minimum distance though. Mtz said 9M, I'd hope to get a bit closer.

 

[TonyM]

What was the reason for choosing 27m?

I think that's the distance across the street.

My original plan is to film across the street because my neighbor has three cars with license plates that face my garage.

According to my inseam across the street is 25 Meters.
I’ll know for sure when the range finder gets delivered.