Viofo A229 Plus 3ch dash cam review: All the coverage with all the perks

Price When Reviewed

$279.99

Best Prices Today: Viofo A229 Plus 3-channel sprint cam

$279.99

If you need most video protection of your automobile and its environment, you want a three-channel system corresponding to Viofo’s $280 A229 Plus 3ch. Its entrance, cabin, and rear cameras seize nearly all the things not blocked by your automobile’s roof pillars, and with colourful element.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best dash cams to find out about competing merchandise.

What are the A229 Plus’ options?

The A229 Plus 3-channel system sports activities a 1440p important 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 which you can place it for the very best cabin protection with out affecting the protection of the entrance digital camera. With entrance/inside combo cams, you could have to compromise one or the opposite view. On the opposite hand, there’s one other cable to cover.

The connections to the cameras are USB Type-C with the odd exception of the port on the principle physique for the inside digital camera, which is a 3.5mm TRS telephone plug. Go determine. I’d prefer to see a right-angle connector on each ends of the rear digital camera cable, relatively than only one. These are very helpful, particularly with Type-C which is orientation agnostic.

The mounts are all sticky varieties utilizing semi-permanent adhesive. There’s no horizontal adjustment potential as soon as they’re in place, so watch out together with your alignment. If you’re new to the method, you could find some suggestions in our install how-to.

Tip: Attach the inside and rear cameras to the principle unit and energy it up so you’ll be able to see on the principle unit’s 2.4-inch show the view they’re capturing earlier than you repair them in place.

The important 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 presents each an optionally available polarizing filter, which does assist the day captures, at a slight deficit of brightness at night time. There’s additionally a Bluetooth emergency seize button accessible.

The A229 Plus helps telephone connectivity and to that finish contains 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi. There’s additionally an onboard mic to report audio and pay attention for voice instructions corresponding to “Take photo,” “Video on,” “Turn off audio,” and so forth. You might in fact additionally management these features, in addition to regulate settings, with the buttons under the show.

Viofo offers an app with a stay view, entry to recordings, and the copious settings for all three cameras. There’s GPS on board as you’ll be able to see within the captures under, and the standard facilities corresponding to movement detection, parking mode, and so forth. are all current and accounted for. This isn’t Viofo’s first hay experience.

Viofo offers an auxiliary energy plug with twin Type-A USB ports and the cable to match (proper angle Type-C to Type-A). I didn’t see a Viofo possibility for an OBDII energy cable (which I discover helpful for parking energy), however there are many appropriate cables accessible on the varied on-line purchasing portals, and doubtless your native brick and mortar outlet as properly.

How are the A229 Plus’ captures?

The A229’s captures are superb, particularly the entrance and rear. The inside can be higher than common, however sports activities rather less element, being 1080p relatively than 1440p like the opposite two. Given my ageing mug, I’m really completely happy about that.

As you’ll be able to see above and under, the A229 Plus’ entrance digital camera does a bang-up job with each shade and element. And does so each day and night time. Headlight flare is minimal, movement compensation is superb, and there’s additionally not lots of fish-eye. Good stuff.

The A229 Plus’ rear digital camera does virtually pretty much as good a job because the entrance. Again, nice shade and element — each day and night time (see under). Using the identical 1440p STARVIS sensor actually pays off. Almost all rear cameras we check are 1080p and very often use a less expensive sensor.

Any blurriness within the rear night time 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 stay as much as its “no streaks” billing.)

The solely factor fallacious with the next cabin captures is my alternative of fashions (me). And sure, I used to be lazy and didn’t disguise the cable to the rear digital camera. Viofo would possibly’ve opted for a right-angle Type-C connector on that finish of the rear digital camera cable to make routing it a bit simpler.

Regardless, these are superb captures with greater than sufficient element to seize the goings on inside your automobile.

The cabin night time seize is excellent because of the 4 infrared LEDs surrounding the inside digital camera lens. I opted to position the cabin digital camera a bit off-center to the correct, but it surely nonetheless lined the whole inside and far of the motion out the aspect home windows.

In complete, the A229 Plus’ captures are top quality. Both from a authorized (element), and aesthetic (shade and processing) standpoint. There’s minimal fish-eye impact regardless of the broad fields of view, and oncoming headlights are dealt with with out undue flare.

Note 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. Of course, older movies are overwritten so that you gained’t run out of room; nevertheless, I do suggest not less than a 256GB TF card (the A229 Plus helps as much as 512GB) so that you report not less than the vast majority of your day.

There can be a $300 A229 Pro 3ch system that captures 4K to the entrance — nevertheless, that typically prices you 250MB per minute of storage so when you 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.

Rather than a battery, Viofo opts for a brilliant capacitor that powers the digital camera lengthy sufficient (3-5 seconds) to shut the at the moment open recordsdata, however not lengthy sufficient to seize any extra motion. Note that energy loss is a uncommon occasion, even in accidents, however we’d prefer to see some further run time with both an excellent bigger capacitor, or a number of capacitors in play.

Should you purchase the Viofo A229 Plus?

For the worth, the 2K A229 Plus is a improbable three-channel system. 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 tips at this level, so that you’re all set within the facilities and options division as properly.

Unless you need cloud connectivity corresponding to that supplied by the Nexar One Pro or Nextbase IQ, the A229 Plus needs to be on the prime of your sprint cam quick listing.