Is still a good choice?

[mcgyver83]

Hi all, I'm interested in buying this dashcam beacuse with 170$ I will have dual channel front rear camera, wifi, gps, sticker mount, parking mode with wiring and polarized lens.
But I got this dashcam was released in 2019...is still a valid product for 170$?

 

[Nigel]

It is missing a few features compared to the more recent cameras, like Starvis 2 Image Sensors, good HDR, Voice commands, even voice notifications I think!

None of those new features are essential, but they are well worth having, I would certainly miss voice notifications. The A129 Plus does still work fine as a dashcam and it still seems good value.

It is time it gets an update, but nothing has been announced.

I think, if that is your budget, I would suggest you consider the A119 Mini 2 single channel dashcam, which has all those new features. In my view, for driving at night, Starvis 2 and HDR are more important than a rear camera, and you can always add a second camera later, maybe when there is another step forward in features and you can move the old camera to the rear and use the new for the front.

 

[mcgyver83]

Thanks for your reply.
I will reconsider the dual channel feature in favour of new features you described.

 

[kamkar]

Ciao mcgyver83, welcome to the forum.

I like dual channel, and also recommend it most often, but i also have to admit that 99% of the footage i have pulled from my dashcams are from the front camera, though mind you the 2 times i could potentially needed a rear camera, well first time it did not work ( insufficient power source ) and the 2 time the parking guard had timed out, both times my car got hit in the back.
Fortunately the first time the guy hitting us took blame just fine, 2 time the woman hitting me left papers then 30 minutes later removed them, but fortunately little old lady seeing it all took down her plate so no cost to me in either case.
Needless to say i now do not use 1 hour timer for parking guard i use 3 hour timer.

If money are tight getting a A119 mini 2 as mentioned is fine, and you can reuse old system in the back, there is a slight downside of the 2 cameras footage then are not in sync due to different boot times, but that should not matter in a dispute i would think.
It is also a bit annoying having to go to 2 places for memory cards, but if you do not share footage often like i did in the old days, it is just fine.

Your A129 will of course be a little bigger on the rear window VS a remote rear camera, but if that do not bother you, it should be fine to use there, be sure to use a good power source, not a long cheap USB cable like i did and so missed me getting rear ended.
Some cars have a 12 V plug in the back, or you can install one there yourself, i did that back in the day when i realized my mistake,

 

[mcgyver83]

Thanks for the reply.
I will install it using the wiring kit to take power from fuse box and have 24/7 parking mode.
I'm also looking for wifi camera to avoid to remove sd card to get videos, so I can also accept to have power and rear camera cables plugged in the front camera: I'm not expecting to remove it for a long time.

I'm also considering to remove from my bundle the polarized lens + remote BT button, invest on something more modern (A229 Plus 2CH or A129 PRO DUO ULTRA 4K) and later I will buy those accessories.

 

[Nigel]

I'm also considering to remove from my bundle the polarized lens + remote BT button

With voice control, you don’t need the remote button. The CPL is needed for some cars more than others, so give it a try without, if you have bad dashboard reflectors then add it later.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Whatever you decide, shop specifications first.
STARVIS 2 & HDR are a must have for image quality in 2024.
-Chuck