At a look
Knowledgeable’s Score
Execs
- Entrance, inside, and rear cameras
- Separate inside digital camera for versatile placement
- Nice picture high quality
- Rear digital camera pretty much as good because the entrance
- Cellphone connectivity
Our Verdict
For the cash, you’ll be hard-pressed to discover a higher three-channel sprint cam system than Viofo’s A229 Plus 3-channel. Robust 1440p entrance and rear captures, GPS, cellphone connectivity, and voice management are simply a few of the highlights.
Worth When Reviewed
$279.99
Greatest Costs In the present day: Viofo A229 Plus 3-channel sprint cam
$269.99
In order for you most video protection of your car and its environment, you want a three-channel sprint cam resembling Viofo’s A229 Plus 3ch. Its entrance, cabin, and rear cameras seize nearly all the things not blocked by your car’s roof pillars, and with colourful element.
Additional studying: See our roundup of the very best sprint cams to study competing merchandise.
What are the A229 Plus’ options?
The A229 Plus 3-channel system sports activities a 1440p fundamental entrance digital camera (Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 5MP) in addition to a discrete 1080p cabin (Sony STARVIS IMX307 2MP) and 1440p (IMX675) rear view digital camera. The fields-of-view are 140 levels, 160 levels, and 150 levels, respectively.
The benefit of a discrete inside digital camera is that you could place it for the very best cabin protection with out affecting the protection of the entrance digital camera. With entrance/inside combo cams, you’ll have to compromise one or the opposite view. However, there’s one other cable to cover.
The connections to the cameras are USB Sort-C with the odd exception of the port on the primary physique for the inside digital camera, which is a 3.5mm TRS cellphone plug. Go determine. I’d wish to see a right-angle connector on each ends of the rear digital camera cable, somewhat than only one. These are very helpful, particularly with Sort-C which is orientation agnostic.
The mounts are all sticky sorts utilizing semi-permanent adhesive. There’s no horizontal adjustment attainable as soon as they’re in place, so watch out along with your alignment. When you’re new to the method, you’ll find out set up a touch cam your self.
Tip: Connect the inside and rear cameras to the primary unit and energy it up so you may see on the primary unit’s 2.4-inch show the view they’re capturing earlier than you repair them in place.
The primary entrance digital camera detaches from its mount (which harbors the facility port), however the inside and rear cameras don’t. This invokes my customary warning about theft, and my customary caveat that even with an unlocked convertible in San Francisco, I’ve but to have a rear digital camera stolen. (Knocks wooden.)
Viofo provides each an non-compulsory polarizing filter, which does assist the day captures, at a slight deficit of brightness at evening. There’s additionally a Bluetooth emergency seize button out there.
The A229 Plus helps cellphone connectivity and to that finish contains 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi. There’s additionally an onboard mic to document audio and hear for voice instructions resembling “Take photograph,” “Video on,” “Flip off audio,” and so on. You might after all additionally management these features, in addition to alter settings, with the buttons under the show.
Viofo gives an app with a reside view, entry to recordings, and the copious settings for all three cameras. There’s GPS on board as you may see within the captures under, and the standard facilities resembling movement detection, parking mode, and so on. are all current and accounted for. This isn’t Viofo’s first hay journey.
Viofo gives an auxiliary energy plug with twin Sort-A USB ports and the cable to match (proper angle Sort-C to Sort-A). I didn’t see a Viofo choice for an OBDII energy cable (which I discover helpful for parking energy), however there are many appropriate cables out there on the varied on-line purchasing portals, and possibly your native brick and mortar outlet as properly.
How are the A229 Plus’ captures?
The A229’s captures are excellent, particularly the entrance and rear. The inside can be higher than common, however sports activities rather less element, being 1080p somewhat than 1440p like the opposite two. Given my getting older mug, I’m really blissful about that.
As you may see above and under, the A229 Plus’ entrance digital camera does a bang-up job with each coloration and element. And does so each day and evening. Headlight flare is minimal, movement compensation is superb, and there’s additionally not a whole lot of fish-eye. Great things.
The A229 Plus’ rear digital camera does nearly pretty much as good a job because the entrance. Once more, nice coloration and element — each day and evening (see under). Utilizing the identical 1440p STARVIS sensor actually pays off. Virtually all rear cameras we check are 1080p and very often use a less expensive sensor.
The A229 Plus’ entrance digital camera does a bang-up job with each coloration and element. And does so each day and evening.
Any blurriness within the rear evening seize under was from condensation and misguided use of Windex with vinegar. (I’ve stopped utilizing that for cleansing functions because it doesn’t appear to reside as much as its “no streaks” billing.)
The one factor improper with the next cabin captures is my selection of fashions (me). And sure, I used to be lazy and didn’t conceal the cable to the rear digital camera. Viofo may’ve opted for a right-angle Sort-C connector on that finish of the rear digital camera cable to make routing it a bit simpler.
Regardless, these are excellent captures with greater than sufficient element to seize the goings on inside your car.
The cabin evening seize is excellent due to the 4 infrared LEDs surrounding the inside digital camera lens. I opted to position the cabin digital camera a bit off-center to the suitable, but it surely nonetheless lined your complete inside and far of the motion out the aspect home windows.
In complete, the A229 Plus’ captures are prime quality. Each from a authorized (element), and aesthetic (coloration and processing) perspective. There’s minimal fish-eye impact regardless of the large fields of view, and oncoming headlights are dealt with with out undue flare.
Word that you just’re writing roughly 400MB of video per minute (150MB entrance, 150MB rear, 100MB inside at 30 fps), or 24GB an hour with all three cameras set to their highest decision. After all, older movies are overwritten so that you gained’t run out of room; nevertheless, I do suggest not less than a 256GB microSD card (the A229 Plus helps as much as 512GB) so that you document not less than the vast majority of your day.
There may be additionally a $300/£320 A229 Professional 3ch system that captures 4K to the entrance — nevertheless, that typically prices you 250MB per minute of storage so if you happen to go for that system, determine 500MB per minute for all three cameras. In my expertise, few 4K cameras have the optics to take full benefit and due to further compression concerned, the rise in obvious element isn’t at all times that noticeable. There are exceptions such because the Cobra SC 410D.
Relatively than a battery, Viofo opts for a brilliant capacitor that powers the digital camera lengthy sufficient (3-5 seconds) to shut the presently open recordsdata, however not lengthy sufficient to seize any extra motion. Word that energy loss is a uncommon occasion, even in accidents, however we’d wish to see some further run time with both an excellent bigger capacitor, or a number of capacitors in play.
Must you purchase the Viofo A229 Plus?
For the value, the 2K A229 Plus is a implausible three-channel system. You should buy it from Amazon (and Amazon within the UK). And I really like that the rear digital camera can be 2K: simply as a lot mayhem happens within the rear mirror as out entrance. Viofo is aware of all of the methods at this level, so that you’re all set within the facilities and options division as properly.
Until you need cloud connectivity resembling that provided by the Nexar One Professional or Nextbase IQ, the A229 Plus must be on the prime of your sprint cam brief checklist.
This overview initially appeared on PCWorld.com.