Viofo Telephoto Dash Camera to pick up license plates

[@sartorius73]

I messaged Viofo on Facebook about the rear camera thing. They said that the internal camera port won't support or doesn't have enough power to run a Starvis2 2K camera and that's why they did this. I would think that they anticipated the complaints. Still frustrating. I might run a spare Mini 2 that I have as my rear camera and get another hardwire kit and use my existing 229 Pro with this camera. Because it looks like the benefits of the zoom to catch license plates makes it worthwhile, even though the oncoming plates at speed still aren't easily captured.

[@DanielWilliamIronside]

Such a stupid move Viofo. Decisions like this seriously make me question a company.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

I personally think this is more of a test of acceptance for future applications. But I guess we will see

[@MrSpiritmonger]

They are developing a new rear camera (which will use the interior cam port), so you can use front telephoto and keep the rear camera. They will release in near future

[@DanielWilliamIronside]

@@MrSpiritmonger then they should just make a different cable? I'd buy that, but I'm not spending money to replace a camera that isn't even a year old.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

@@MrSpiritmonger Yes i know i talk directly to engineering. But you will now downgrade to a 1080p camera. When 95% of our sales is front and rear camera systems. To tell someone that you need to remove that 2k rear camera run a brand new rear camera. take your 2k camera and throw it out because it is now useless to you to get your telephoto. It was ab ad execution.

[@nigels.6051]

​@@SafeDriveSolutions No, don't throw out the old rear! Keep it for when Viofo release the 4K+2K+2K camera, then you can use the 2K rear and the 2K telephoto... Not sure when there will be a 4K+2K+2K camera that is compatible with the old 2K rear though! The use of the 2K port was the correct decision, inconvenient yes, but an FHD telephoto paired with a 4K camera is not a lot of use, while the 2K telephoto does quite a good job of catching extra license plates, and bad behaviour in the distance.

[@glenn-perthwesternaustrali5916]

Hi Ben, I love the idea of the Telephoto camera but at the expense of not having the rear camera, I'll give this a miss

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Yes i agree

[@MrSpiritmonger]

They are developing a new rear camera (which will use the interior cam port), so you can use front telephoto and keep the rear camera. Table release in the near future.

[@glenn-perthwesternaustrali5916]

@@MrSpiritmonger Great, thanks for the info - I'll be looking out for it.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Still a 1080p rear camera

[@MrSpiritmonger]

@@SafeDriveSolutions I mean, if you get rear ended, do you need 2K to make out a license plate?

[@HughesyTech]

Great video Ben and a perfect summary of pros and cons. Waiting for mine to do some tests too I have to agree that until they refine the technology, its not necessarily a must-have, more of an augmented solution to the existing wide camera. I am sure Viofo is constrained by limitations of the wedge form factor and chipset and heatsink too, so hopefully the A329 Pro/Plus? has some better connection solutions or extra connection ports to faciliate this.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Yeah i do believe there are some challenges. I do like they are constantly trying to change the game. But i do believe there is a little ways to go still.

[@MrSpiritmonger]

They are developing a new rear camera (which will use the interior cam port), so you can use front telephoto and keep the rear camera. Table release in the near future.

[@quickstep2u]

VIOFO will probably come out with a new camera that addresses these issues.

[@PanzerPlatform]

Was HDR enabled for this test footage? -Chuck

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Yes it was but let me show you something on Viofo website. RTC300 Telephoto Camera is compatible with the A229 Plus/A229 Pro 1CH dash camera. 2K 30fps telephoto lens with Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 Image Sensor. "HDR feature captures sharp and vivid scenes in both extremely bright and dark areas." Extremely bright and dark areas.......

[@PanzerPlatform]

@@SafeDriveSolutions "Understandable. Have a great day."

[@JAYKOSTRANSPORTLLC]

I was going to install the telephoto lens as a rear camera but after testing it out , it didnt make sense for me because here in Florida , people don't have license plates in the front of the vehicles. I ended up installing it in the front and I will be using my tesla sentry mode for the rear footage .

[@playvision5667]

Better to get a camera with both options in the same device, than to stay with 2 dash cams.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Yes all in one would be nice

[@burnjack291]

Have the A229Pro 3 channel and was nice to have this but plug it to the rear cam plug is nonsense on their part how they design it. I want to keep the inside camera and the rear. Maybe they need to design a hub that you can add more cameras there so this way can be 4 ch or even 5 ch setup.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

I guess we will see what they come up with. When i first was told about this I thought it was to be plugged into interior port which would make sense for a lot more customers. When i recieved it i was confused because i had to plug it into rear camera port. This is mainly because it is a 2k resolution camera. I thinkthis is for market research purposes for future models. I guess we will see

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

That is not what Viofo engineering is saying

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

@@MrSpiritmongeri know what I know but I cant post it on here. That rear camera will be useless on future models.

[@aikz5]

I don’t think we need to add multiple cameras to solve this number plate reading challenge. This should be fixed within firmware to maximize utilization of existing 4K camera.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

I agree

[@OlsenTheWonderDog]

Does Viofo offer a three channel camera ostensibly for an interior facing camera that could swapped out for the telephoto camera?

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

That is the challenge they just created. The telephoto uses the rear camera port. If it used the interior camera port then I would have said yes. 😢

[@OlsenTheWonderDog]

@@SafeDriveSolutions Rather than having dedicated ports for interior and rear cameras, Viofo should have generic auxiliary ports that could accommodate a mixture of cameras or accessories (i.e., interior, rear, telephoto, or connection to radar unit with a power pass thru). It would add greater flexibility.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/viofo-telephoto-dash-camera-add-on.51363/

[@dong6839]

That infrared camera facing out the rear is going to look TERRIBLE when it's hit with headlights and overhead streetlights. That IR Cam port is designed to pair with a very special camera that's tuned to work with close up subjects that are washed with invisible IR lighting. If you want to see what it'll look like, just turn your interior camera outward and drive around with it looking out the front windshield. That's the exact quality of video you're going to experience when you have an IR cam facing out the rear with a long cable. It's a terrible solution if you ask me.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

I agree not a fan.

[@DavidPruittTV]

Thanks Ben

[@zerotolerance5581]

Disappointing, but it's encouraging that this will no doubt cause other manufacturers to also go in this direction and improve on this idea.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Yeah I think it is a start. The market will dictate whether they get behind it or not. I would rather have a rear camera than a telephoto in my opinion. But I also can see people want this add on and not caring about rear cameras

[@zerotolerance5581]

@@SafeDriveSolutions Well I would like to see telephoto integrated into the system and have tele + wide + rear. If people see the value of capturing license plates better, then I am sure it will happen. I have only started looking into cams in the last 8 or so months, and I am actually kind of surprised that something like this is only coming out now. :)

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

@@zerotolerance5581 there is a camera that @vortexradar reviewed by cansonic that had it built in. But if I remember it was very limited. like n orear camera. i dont think it had any parking mode features at all either.

[@zerotolerance5581]

@@SafeDriveSolutions Yes I saw that dual camera video. It is a good concept. Just not enough R&D or budget, I suppose. Looooot of cheap cams in this market I have seen. What amazes me is that this industry is still so niche in this lawsuit-happy world we live in. So niche that we don't have big name manufacturers like Sony or Samsung or LG making cams. These devices are, or at least can be very affordable, and extremely practical. :)

[@crutchclargo]

@@zerotolerance5581 Too much emphasis is placed on license plates. I would bet a dozen donuts that the dash cam owners that every actually need to capture a license plate number is minuscule to the number of dash cam owners. Approaching cars are a difficult beast when wanting to read the plates, regardless of the dash cam. Until VIOFO decides to get away from bargain basement pricing, they will struggle to provide a world class Starvis 2 dash cam. I just paid 1500 USD for a new Ipad M4, paying 400 to 600 dollars for a dash cam that actually is well engineered, with proper software is not a problem for me.

[@Sorin68]

What Dash camera would you recommend? Greetings from Romania

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Depends what it is being used for?

[@Sorin68]

@@SafeDriveSolutions I am a truck driver and every day I deliver merchandise around the city.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

@@Sorin68 most truck drivers get a front camera with wide viewing angle. Thinkware U3000 is great for this. It does lack at night time performance. Vueroid is better for night time performance though. However you may want to look at some GNET products like the GT900 as you can put 2 side cameras 1 on each mirror to catch any funny business happening on your sides of your truck. We typically sold lots of IROAD X11 for this type of application in the past as well for its wide viewing angle HDR and 2K resolution.

[@crutchclargo]

Nice report, good info. I do not care for the implementation of the zoom camera and will pass on it. Both of my A229 Pro get too hot and have resets, and that is with only the interior cam on both of them. I don't dare add the telephoto camera. I agree that both the zoom and standard lens should be in the same housing, but heat is already an issue and until VIOFO gets away from Novatec and hot running SDXC controllers, heat will be a problem. VIOFO needs to do a big re-think on the Starvis 2 and stop being concerned about camera housing shape and size. Everyone wants something different and VIOFO has split hairs so many ways to please all the needy people that now, their product is suffering. Unless VIOFO comes up with a game changer on Starvis 2, I am holding out to see what VUEROID offers to the U.S. market.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

Should be interesting to see what new manufacturers bring to the dash camera market. I do like the competition but not 1 dash camera solves all challenges. I would like to see a U3000 merged with Vueroid, merged with Blackvue LTE all in one. who knows

[@crutchclargo]

@@SafeDriveSolutions There is a large market for high end dash cams that 'do it all'. One of the smartest moves a dash cam manufacturer can make is to put the code in for a cloud connection of choice for the owner. Let the owner decide what cloud they want to use and how much storage. At present, the manufacturer clouds are too expensive for too small of a storage option.

[@SafeDriveSolutions]

I guess we will see how they develop products going forward.