[F87source]

Hey guys I got my first review for you guys today.

So as owners of expensive and insanely nice BMW m2's we all know that we want to keep these cars safe, and with the increasing amount of terrible drivers on the street we want a way to keep our cars safe.

so I picked up the viofo a129 dual channel dash camera, and for the price and performance I easily competes with the top of the line cameras.

I chose this camera because it was a capacitor based dash cam meaning it does not have a battery inside allowing the dash camera to withstand extreme temperatures (hot or cold) without loosing focus or shutting down. This means you can keep your dash cam on at all times even in direct sunlight on hot summer days without the camera loosing focus or shutting off to save the internal battery.

Ok lets talk about the camera itself, I purchased the A129 with the GPS module which logs position and speed and can be viewed on a dash cam view software. This allows me to prove my speed (If I was moving or not, and where I was) if an accident were to occur (god forbid). So in the event the other driver were to lie to the police about who was moving (sometimes not clear in footage), or where it occured I have it all logged. I also purchased two circular polarizer filters (VERY VERY useful) which reduces windshield glare significantly. The camera also has useful features such as wifi video streaming so you can download and view what the camera is seeing with the viofo app (I believe available on the apple store as well) which is available on the play store. Dual recording mode is 1080P only (there are video tests on youtube which are excellent), and 30fps.



Here is the unboxing:















Here are the installation images and instructions:
1)First pop the CPL filters on the front and rear cameras, it's really easy and make sure the tabs on the filter match the groves in the camera module when you snap it on. Make sure you remove the plastic lens protectors and the lenses are clean.

Front:


Rear:


Then wipe the windshield with isopropyl alcohol to remove any grease or oils that may inhibit the 3m adhesion, do the same with the rear windshield where you would want to mount the cameras. Then stick the gps mount on for the front camera, and the plastic mount for the rear camera. Note 3m vhb requires 30mins curing for 50% adhesion, 24hrs for 90% adhesion, and 72 hrs for 100% adhesion (IIRC).





2) now it is time to run cables, plug in the power supply cable into the the gps mount and run it into the head liner (there is a gap in the headliner that will allow you to route cables), to the a pillar. The gps mount is very useful in this case because because it allows you to run the cable directly upwards into the head liner instead of out of the side of the camera, and if you run duo cameras one of the usb cables will need to be straight making it look ugly to run cables if you dont have the gps mount.



At the A pillar you can wedge the corner of the trim out and run the cable in there towards the outside of the door where the rubber weather stripping sits. Once you you can lift the edge of the rubber up and run the usb cables to the end of the door and down towards the floor. Essentially you are running the cable around the door frame from one side to the other to the floor (this cable is for the rear camera. For the front camera instead of running around the door frame run the cable down to the floor where those of you with the smokers package will be lucky. You guys will be able to run the cable underneath the passenger side dash to the under dash cigarette lighter port.



3) The rear camera cable now may be run underneath the door sill trim which may be removed by pulling straight up, remove the clips in the door frame if they're stuck and you may reinsert them into the trim, this is the easiest way to put the trim in (use of a rubber mallet can help reinsert the trim. After that run the cable into the small gap of the side panel and run it to the rear seat.



4) The rear seat can be removed to help run the cables easier in the side panel. Removal is done by a firm pull of the middle of the sitting part of the cushion (passenger and driver side) and hinged off of the latched and removed or set on the transmission tunnel inside the car. The cable is then run behind the passenger side rear seat bolster to the back of rear shelf of the car. This is where things get tricky as the rear pillars have air bags (iirc) or were difficult to remove so your routing method may vary. What I did was run it up the passenger side bolster to the trunk and from there route it up the side behind the trunk liner to the top exposed metal where the speakers reside. From there I ran the cable back up beside the windhshield to where the camera would be mounted. Loose cables were secured by the 3m cable holders provided.







That's it your camera is now installed and ready for use! Please let me know if you have questions regarding my setup!

Available for purchase on: Amazon or directly from viofo.
*Note* Follow these instructions as a guide to your own install, but I will not be liable for any damages or injuries caused by the installation, proceed at your own risk.

[F87source]

Apologies for the lack of images, I am trying to figure out how to add imgur images here as they are too high in resolution to crop down and insert it directly onto bimmerpost.

Here is an album link for now:

View post on imgur.com

Edit- Got the images inserted! I hope you guys enjoy!

[rich8566]

Very nice. Two questions: the camera looks huge - what's the finished look from the outside and does it block your view out?

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rich8566

Very nice. Two questions: the camera looks huge - what's the finished look from the outside and does it block your view out?

Hey,
Yeah everyone always says in the image that it looks huge! But in real life the camera is actually surpisingly small, and it shocked me outside of the box how small it was, I'll have to get some measurements but it is smaller than half of a phone, approximately a but smaller than half of the mirror width.

No it doesn't block any vision onto the road because I mounted it passenger side directly behind the mirror so I don't ever see it. The benefit is that the camera has error beeps that never stops if something were to occur and effect recording such as a dead memory card etc. Plus it's a super wide recording lens so I lose almost nothing in terms of andle to the driver side, and if an adjustment is required I can lean to the right and access the camera, or use my mounted Android device (more to come later ) to make adjustments to it.

[rich8566]

Gotcha. Thank you.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rich8566

Gotcha. Thank you.

Not a problem!