TechRadar Verdict
The Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam carries a high price tag, but the cost is justified considering what it does. If you want the reassurance of both front and rear camera coverage it’s worth the expense, but the cockpit view camera unit adds to the appeal. It’s easy to set up and use, is very dependable, and delivers excellent video quality both night and day. The design of the camera units is especially impressive, and all are less intrusive than some models we’ve seen. It's a real boon if you’ve got a small car or confined cockpit area.
Pros
- +
Complete dash cam package
- +
Features Sony Starvis 2 sensor
- +
Video quality is very good
Cons
- -
Lots of wiring to install
- -
Some setting up involved
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Two-minute review
Although there are plenty of options when it comes to the best dash cams, not all of these products offer a complete, one-stop solution. Enter the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam, which is just that: a collection of three cameras in one box. If you’re looking for a dash cam bundle that can film the view out of the front of your vehicle, as well as the back, and keep tabs on the interior, this could be it.
Viofo sees this as its current flagship model, and it has every reason to be pleased with the outcome. The Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam comes in a plush and well-presented box. The main 4K dash cam unit features 4K Sony Starvis 2 sensor technology and can capture 4K Ultra HD videos at 30fps with a 140-degree field of vision. This is supplemented by a pair of 2K Quad HD cameras, which are smaller but can still capture 30fps and feature a 160-degree viewing angle.
The all-important view out of the front of your vehicle is the star-turn here, with its 8-megapixel Sony Starvis 2, 1/1.8-inch IMX678 image sensor. However, the rear camera is no slouch either thanks to a 5-megapixel Sony Starvis 2 1/2.8-inch IMX675 image sensor, which Viofo reckons offers 2.5 times wider dynamic range in a single exposure than predecessors.
What that means is much better-quality video in a wider variety of driving scenarios. The wider dynamic range and better sensitivity to light ensure the overall shooting quality works more efficiently across a raft of different situations.
One such situation is capturing video at night or in very low-light conditions as experienced during winter months. Both camera sensors in this package benefit from DOL-HDR technology, which helps to boost the quality of after-dark capture. This becomes even more useful when it comes to the likes of capturing license plates, as well as helping you get clearer video when there are sharp variations in light, such as going through tunnels or when heavy traffic produces an endless array of glaring headlights.
The Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam is available direct from Viofo as well as the usual online outlets. It has an RRP of £293.88 in the UK though at the time of writing is discounted down to £269.39. If you’re in the US, the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam has an RRP of $359.99, which is also discounted to $329.99 at the moment.
Unlike the previously reviewed Nextbase iQ model, the package can be used without any type of subscription service to exploit all of its many and varied features and functions.
Bumping up the appeal of the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam still further is the voice-control feature, which lets you easily control the video and audio recording, Wi-Fi connectivity, and other basic commands with hands-free simplicity. Also handy on this front is the way the unit lets you know of any memory card errors without you needing to avert your eyes from the road to find out for yourself.
For everyday practicality, there's also 5GHz connectivity, which means the Wi-Fi setup is much more efficient than the included 2.4GHz band. It’s just a quicker way of moving video from the camera to other sources, such as cloud storage, web space, or your computer. If your laptop isn’t to hand, you can check over videos on your phone. The Viofo app is worth having for this purpose as it offers smoother and more convenient file handling.
As this is a pro-type solution, you get the bonus of an intelligent parking mode feature too, which requires you to hardwire the dash cam into your car. Once that's done, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefit of round-the-clock coverage, with the main point being it’ll capture video if someone damages your car while it’s parked up.
Parking mode is engaged automatically when the car’s ignition is turned off and you can manage settings from the Viofo app. For peace of mind, there’s a low-voltage function built in so your car battery will never be run down by the camera unit.
Another plus with the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam is its G-sensor functionality, which is the brains of the unit. It can detect any movement to your vehicle and trigger the capture of a 45-second video before an event and a 30-second video after anything happens, so you’ve got a complete record of any notable events that need to be documented. A GPS logger function will also capture vital details, including location, speed, and time, meaning you’ve always got an overview of every scenario.
Look out for the time-lapse recording mode, which captures condensed chunks of footage at 1/2/3/5/10fps minus any audio. This is handy if you’re keen to document an important or interesting journey without having mountains of footage to sift through at the end of it. Naturally, the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam will capture video in a loop-based setup with the added benefit of the G-sensor tech locking any video that it deems important, such as when a bang or jolt occurs in your vehicle.
When it comes to installing and setting up the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam, the process is thankfully very straightforward. You can, of course, get the unit hardwired into your car if you prefer a more permanent arrangement, but this model can simply be plugged into a 12V power socket in your vehicle and works from the off.
I was really pleased with just how easy this model was to configure. Viofo also includes a microSD card, which just needs to be formatted before use, but the camera does all of that for you during setup. Granted, there’s quite a lot of wiring to tuck away if you’re hooking up the internal and rear-facing cameras, but there’s an included plastic tool for helping you get it under trim panels and such. Once all that is done, this is very much a plug-and-play dash cam package, with the 2.4-inch HD screen offering up a great view of controls and the road ahead.
The design of the camera units is clever too, with a neat pivoting motion on both the main unit and the supplementary cams allowing you to get their viewing angle just right. This even worked on a sports car I was driving with a very angled windshield, which means the Viofo A229 Pro dash should work in most vehicles. Everyday use is just as impressive, which, as you’ll see from the footage displayed on this page, works well even if you’re driving in mid-winter conditions that are sub-optimal, to say the least.
Should you buy the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam?
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How I tested the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam
- I used it frequently over the course of one week
- I used it on a variety of journeys
- I recorded video for extended periods
The great thing about the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam is that it can be used by anyone without any installation skills. I chose to plug it into the 12V socket in my car, using the supplied cable while evaluating the on-screen controls and the app options.
Video footage was recorded on a variety of journeys from short commutes to longer treks. Road conditions and surfaces were also used to compare footage for things like clarity, resolution, and overall quality. Testing in the latter half of the year also means the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam was evaluated for the way it handled different light conditions, including dark mornings and inclement weather.
Performance was also evaluated over longer periods of recording time, to ensure the Viofo A229 Pro Dash Cam was happy with being on for protracted periods without overheating or malfunctioning.
- First reviewed December 2023
