THIS DASHCAM IS PERFECT IN NEARLY EVERY WAY!
TL;DR - Please skip to ‘Pros and Cons’ if you only want the details. Let me start by saying that I spent almost two months searching for the perfect dash cam solution for my car. We recently had our first child, and I was determined in every way to make sure that she is as safe as she can be whenever we are on the roadways. Twice a week, I also have to commute 70 miles each way, which is about 90% interstate, and 10% city driving. After encountering two road rage incidents on the same day, I finally decided had enough. If something goes down, I want proof of the person(s) at fault. I’ve likely read every review and studied every device that Amazon sells, including Wolfbox and Pormido. I eventually ended up on r/dashcam on Reddit, which is where I finally struck gold. Reddit always cuts through the noise for me, and this time was no different. The overwhelming choice there for brand is Viofo. They claim that Viofo dash cams excel in every way, and so far, that has been my experience. Installation: The install is about as straightforward as it gets. You need to run the wire to any cameras that you want, except for the main camera, which is built into the main unit. If you only want a single camera facing ahead, there is no wiring necessary, unless you plan on hardwiring the unit to your car’s 12V system. If you intend to utilize ‘Parking Mode’, you will need to have access to both a constant +12V and an accessory +12V, and a ground/earth. I opted for the latter, as I would like my car to be under surveillance at all times. If you opt for only ‘Driving Mode’, it will be an even simpler install, but that will not allow you to record while away from the vehicle. I planned out my route for the rear camera, and ran the single USB-C to USB-C cable, using the provided trim tool. It is very simple in most cases to tuck the wire away behind the vehicle’s interior trim paneling. The tool, although I have my own, was actually very good quality. Setup: Again, it was entirely straightforward. You power it on, go through basic setup for language choice and whatnot, and then you’ll want to enable WiFi so that you can use your phone and the Viofo app to configure the rest of the settings. This *can* be done using the physical buttons on the device, but it is MUCH easier to do on the app. There are so many wonderful options, that using the device’s GUI, although well developed, would be too much to do on a small LCD screen. Take my advice and use the Viofo App. It’s available for iOS and Android. You’ll also want to large Micro SD card to store your recordings. I started with a 16GB Samsung that I already had, but even at normal quality and bitrate settings, it filled up at just 2 hours of recording. This device does have ‘Loop Recording’, but I didn’t choose to enable it. I am fine with deleting the recordings as it fills, as I would rather be sure to have the footage if I discover later that I captured an incident that I didn’t notice right away. Loop Recordings are limited to 10 minutes in length, and that just isn’t enough for me. After operating to the 256GB memory card, I was then able to increase the quality and bitrate setting to the maximum of 2K for the front and rear cameras, and still have plenty of space. I can record about 12 hours without having to delete anything. Image Quality: I immediately tested this device at night by driving around my city and county at 11PM. I wanted to try to capture license plates because, whenever I’m driving, I always have to try to memorize the license plate if something happens, and that is not always possible. When I returned home and checked the footage, I discovered that the STARVIS 2 lenses actually made the possible at night! If you capture a license plate of any car within 10’ or so of yours, you will be able to read the plates using the video footage. Of course, with the audio recording, if you can read it aloud, it will capture your voice in the recording. I am now in the habit of reading the plates aloud for that exact purpose. There was minimal to no glare from either camera, although I do think that I will be ordering the additional lenses for my front camera, as I have a very bright display in the car that is very visible in the recordings. I suppose that is the price you pay for having exceptional Sony Starvis 2 lenses- you WILL capture EVERYTHING. As far as just overall video quality, the 2K and 1080P quality images are exactly as they should be, which is crisp and free of imperfection. These Sony Starvis 2 lenses are something you just have to experience for yourself to understand. Knowing what I know now, I would never use a dash camera without them. Temperatures: The one thing I was most concerned about when I started researching these devices was the sheer amount of failure from the elements. The device you choose will be subjected to extreme heat and cold, and the device you choose absolutely MUST have protections in place for this. Luckily, Viofo planned for this and they use special capacitors and other electrical components inside to ensure that your device doesn’t fail as a result of direct sunlight, freezing and condensation, and overall interior and exterior cabin temps. This was actually my biggest factor in deciding on which brand to choose from. The fact that Viofo not only considered this, but placed extra special care and attention to it, was the ultimate deciding factor for me purchase it. I have already connected with their customer service, and they have been extremely helpful in answering all my questions. I haven’t had any issues, but I wanted to reach out to be sure that I could contact someone if I needed to. Value for money: I actually waited until a Flash Sale to purchase my A229 Plus, and I managed to catch it for $169! I have literally never made a faster and more urgent purchase! You will not find ANYTHING with this kind of quality and features for that price. If you can, wait for a sale and pounce! 🐅 I have tested all the modes and everything works exactly as it should. If you have any questions about it, I would be happy to answer them. I will be monitoring this item for questions for the next couple of months or so, so if you just use Amazon’s product questions feature, I’ll see it and respond. I will also be updating this review every 3 months just to ensure that it’s working properly, and will include and issues and incidents that I encounter. PROS: • Price • Exceptional image quality • Night vision is amazing • Features • Ease of install • Durability Cons: • Doesn’t include a hardwire kit or SD Card Read more