VIOFO A119 Mini 2 Dash Camera

[mushdogs]

I’d been thinking of adding a dash cam for awhile, no particular reason other than it would be nice to have something hands free to grab the occasional trail footage from. My biggest issue was I didn’t want something taking up space on the windshield that I had to look at all the time, and didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on for decent video/picture quality. First heard a recommendation/review of this one on an overlanding podcast; then went and watched some reviews/recommends on the Tube of You. Took a chance on it with a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal. I’m pretty impressed with the picture quality, even at night and the fact it’s small enough to sit on the passenger side of the rear view mirror and I can’t see that it’s there. Has WiFi connection to phone/tablet downloading if desired, voice control and GPS. For a basic dash cam it seems worth the price to me. Right now it’s run to a 12v plug, will be hardwiring it next week or so. They’ve gone back up to full price for the now, but they were on sale before Black Friday a couple months back, would expect them to price drop again come Christmas.

Hidden from view from the driver seat.

VIOFO Mini Dash Cam Front A119 Mini 2, STARVIS 2 Sensor, 2K 60fps/HDR 30fps Voice Control Car Dash Camera with 5GHz Wi-Fi GPS, Night Vision 2.0, 24H Parking Mode, Supercapacitor, Support 512GB Max https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5MVB7NX/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[macleanflood]

I bought something similar. Akaso I think. Haven't reinstalled it since this summer when I had to swap the frame and tub after a mishap. Used some of the video footage on YouTube.

Just wish the rear view mirror would snap on to the windshield rather than strap over the existing mirror...less clutter...and that it had a compass and external thermometer.

The voice control is hilarious...the magic mirror as we called it would occasionally interject itself into conversations.

-Mac

 

[mushdogs]

I bought something similar. Akaso I think. Haven't reinstalled it since this summer when I had to swap the frame and tub after a mishap. Used some of the video footage on YouTube.

Just wish the rear view mirror would snap on to the windshield rather than strap over the existing mirror...less clutter...and that it had a compass and external thermometer.

The voice control is hilarious...the magic mirror as we called it would occasionally interject itself into conversations.

-Mac

Had to go look one up and see. Yeah, something like that that attaches to the mirror was exactly what I didn’t want for reasons you stated. I can see your point though about if it had a temp/compass function. So far haven’t had any issues with the voice control activating unintentionally. It could be humorous if it did, LOL. Can shut that feature off if it comes down to it. One other feature I like is it has HDR, and can be set to automatic. So it senses when the light levels would be better with HDR (such as night) and engages automatically and drops the frame rate from 60fps to 30fps for best video quality then shuts it off when lighting improves. Had been looking at an Akaso action cam to attach to the Rugged Ridge dash tray/mount I’ve had for awhile, but this VIOFO seemed the better option for my purpose, at least for the now.

 

[Zorba]

Thanx for the reminder. I bought one for the Jeep to try out a number of months ago, and was waiting for them to go on sale to get 2 more for the other cars. They were on sale, so I bought them - I think that the model is being discontinued, so its a good thing I got them now. Simple, unobtrusive, and does NOT require a damn PHOOOOOONNE!!

 

[mushdogs]

Thanx for the reminder. I bought one for the Jeep to try out a number of months ago, and was waiting for them to go on sale to get 2 more for the other cars. They were on sale, so I bought them - I think that the model is being discontinued, so its a good thing I got them now. Simple, unobtrusive, and does NOT require a damn PHOOOOOONNE!!

The Mini 2? I think it was released just this year.
I could see the A119 V3 maybe being discoed. It’s slightly larger, doesn’t have the latest and greatest Sony night vision frou-frou and has been in production a few years. I had been looking at the V3 because of the size, and saw the price has been dropping. The Mini 2 won out when the sale price was within 15 dollars of the V3. Either one is Jeep sized, LOL.

 

[Zorba]

The Mini 2? I think it was released just this year.
I could see the A119 V3 maybe being discoed. It’s slightly larger, doesn’t have the latest and greatest Sony night vision frou-frou and has been in production a few years. I had been looking at the V3 because of the size, and saw the price has been dropping. The Mini 2 won out when the sale price was within 15 dollars of the V3. Either one is Jeep sized, LOL.

My post was confusing upon review...

I meant that I bought a DashCam, but not THIS DashCam. I was just glad you brought the subject up because it reminded me to go buy two more of "my" model when they were on sale. They were on sale! ThinkWare F70.

 

[mushdogs]

My post was confusing upon review...

I meant that I bought a DashCam, but not THIS DashCam. I was just glad you brought the subject up because it reminded me to go buy two more of "my" model when they were on sale. They were on sale! ThinkWare F70.

Well now, that makes more sense.
You’re welcome for the reminder. Happy to have helped.

 

[ChasUGC]

Yeah, it's hard to get really good 1080p from a dash cam. I have two, front and rear, and I can't see the license plates, so that makes it difficult to catch hit and run drivers. You really need 4k.

 

[mushdogs]

Yeah, it's hard to get really good 1080p from a dash cam. I have two, front and rear, and I can't see the license plates, so that makes it difficult to catch hit and run drivers. You really need 4k.

Hit and run drivers aren’t a big problem here so not too concerned about license plate grabs. For sure if I lived somewhere that it was an issue I’d drop the money on something 4k. Don’t disagree with you on 4k being better at that. Supposedly the newer Sony Starvis 2 sensor technology makes reading them in 2k better. Haven’t looked to see how readable they are.

 

[Zorba]

4K also just SUCKS DOWN storage, so you have to have a lot more of it. Not that its necessarily a really big deal with today's cheap memory prices. I think the (1080) F-70 will store something like 8 hours with the card I have in it. Which reminds me (again) that I need to buy a couple more cards for the new cams that are inbound.

 

[B1Toad]

I've had a Rove 4K https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JT3698/?tag=wranglerorg-20 for 3 years in the motorhome and very pleased with it, I've been thinking about what to get for the Jeep. On the Rove, and probably most, you have the option of going to 1080. I think mine is set to 4K, it records 3 minutes at a time and I put in the biggest card it would take, then if something happens you just push the "save" button. I can't say how it does at night though, haven't tried it. You can watch playback on the unit itself or on a smartphone. (It may be a bit bigger than the one in the OP)
One big consideration for the Jeep would be easy removal when parked, I don't want to have to do a suction cup every time. I had a SmartWitness in my work van that had a permanent mount that you could easily pop the cameras in and out. What I didn't like about that camera is you needed to bring it in the house and connect to a PC to see footage.