At a look

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Front, inside, and rear cameras
• Discrete inside digital camera for versatile placement
• Colorful, detailed captures
• Rear captures are as good because the entrance captures
• Phone 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. Strong 1440p entrance and rear captures, GPS, telephone connectivity, and voice management are simply a number of the highlights.

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 car and its environment, you want a three-channel system comparable to Viofo’s $280 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.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best dash 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 you can place it for the most effective cabin protection with out affecting the protection of the entrance digital camera. With entrance/inside combo cams, you will 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 useful, particularly with Type-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. If you’re new to the method, you’ll 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 fundamental entrance digital camera detaches from its mount (which harbors the ability 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 affords 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 obtainable.

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 comparable to “Take photo,” “Video on,” “Turn off audio,” and so on. You might in fact additionally management these capabilities, in addition to alter settings, with the buttons beneath the show.

Viofo offers an app with a reside 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 beneath, and the same old facilities comparable to movement detection, parking mode, and so on. are all current and accounted for. This isn’t Viofo’s first hay journey.

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 choice for an OBDII energy cable (which I discover useful for parking energy), however there are many appropriate cables obtainable on the numerous on-line buying portals, and doubtless your native brick and mortar outlet as effectively.

How are the A229 Plus’ captures?

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

As you’ll be able to see above and beneath, 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 nearly nearly as good a job because the entrance. Again, nice shade and element — each day and night time (see beneath). Using the identical 1440p STARVIS sensor actually pays off. Almost all rear cameras we take a look at are 1080p and very often use a less expensive sensor.

Any blurriness within the rear night time seize beneath 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 solely factor mistaken with the next cabin captures is my selection of fashions (me). And sure, I used to be lazy and didn’t cover the cable to the rear digital camera. Viofo may’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 car.

The cabin night time seize is superb 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, however it nonetheless coated the whole inside and far of the motion out the facet home windows.

In whole, the A229 Plus’ captures are top quality. Both from a authorized (element), and aesthetic (shade and processing) perspective. There’s minimal fish-eye impact regardless of the huge 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 advocate not less than a 256GB TF card (the A229 Plus helps as much as 512GB) so that you report not less than nearly all of your day.

There can also be a $300 A229 Pro 3ch system that captures 4K to the entrance — nevertheless, that usually prices you 250MB per minute of storage so in case 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 all the time that noticeable. There are exceptions such because the Cobra SC 410D.

Rather than a battery, Viofo opts for an excellent 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. 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 value, the 2K A229 Plus is a implausible three-channel system. And I like that the rear digital camera can also 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 effectively.

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