Triple dashcam covers all the right angles
Three camera Viofo A139 3 Channel dashcam with Wi-Fi transfer.
I’ve reviewed a lot of dash cams over the last few years but the Viofo A139 is the first not to feature any display. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and in some scenarios it’s desirable. Headline features of the Viofo A139 are the three cameras and wifi connectivity.
A single-camera dashcam is perfectly fine for most car owners but I do like ones where you can add a rear camera. So, why would you need a dashcam with three cameras? The most obvious use case is Taxi or cab drivers who need to record video within the cabin.
The A139 has a simple mount with a 3M pad to stick it to your windscreen. The A139 can be easily unhooked from the mount by sliding it to the right.
On the top of the A139 are a 3.5mm AV port to connect it to a monitor or TV but the required cable doesn’t come in the box. There’s also a 3.5mm mic jack (for optional external mic), rear and interior camera ports and a USB-C power port.
The A139 unit I received for this review came with both a rear and interior camera along with the necessary cables. The interior cable (1m) and rear cable (6m) come supplied and are really thin which makes routing them through your vehicle so much easier than the typical cables that come with every other dashcam I’ve reviewed. However, the USB-C to 12V adaptor cable is a more standard thickness so not as thin as the two camera cables.
The A139 has you covered from all angles. The front-facing camera can rotate up and down has a 140-degree field of view and uses a 1440p quad-HD Sony sensor. The rear and interior camera (170-degree FOV) also use Sony sensors but top out at 1080p. The interior camera can be placed where ever you want and is only limited by the length of the cable supplied. Like the front-facing camera, you can rotate the camera up and down but not sideways.
A useful addition to the front camera is the supplied polarising filter which helps to cut down on glare. This also helps with clarity and even contrast in certain lighting conditions.
Other features include GPS tracking (GPS module is in the base), motion-sensing thanks to G-shock sensors. You also get timelapse and parking modes although to get the most from the latter, you will need to purchase an optional hardwire kit to enable a constant 12v to the dashcam when the car’s ignition is off.
Dual wifi (2.4Ghz/5Ghz) is also built-in allowing a connection to the dashcam via the Viofo app which is available for iOS and Android. The app allows you to download video footage and stream live video from all three cameras. The app is necessary to set up the placement of the cameras to ensure they’re pointing in the right direction since it doesn’t have a display.
On the front of the A139 are five buttons for power, record, protect a recording, mic on/off and enable wifi. You’ll also find four LED indicators for Rec, Mic, GPS and wifi.
You can change settings like the quality of video captured including bitrate, resolution, loop recording length (off up to 10 minutes), turn on time-lapse recording, G-sensor sensitivity and enable WDR (wide dynamic range).
The rear and interior cameras are 1080p but only the interior has an infra-red sensor necessary to capture video in the dark of a cabin interior at night (black and white).
Video quality is excellent, especially from the front camera even in low light while at night.
The Viofo A139 is a specialist dashcam with all the essential features required by those who need an interior camera. Image quality is excellent and although it may seem like a small thing the thin cabling makes it so much easier to install and have a more discrete finish.
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