VIOFO A229 Pro 4K HDR Dash Cam Front and Rear, Dual STARVIS 2 Sensors

Why it's worth it

The A229 Pro records 4K up front and 2K out back using two Sony STARVIS 2 sensors, the current benchmark for low-light dash cam footage. It logs GPS speed and location on every clip, and it doesn't ask you to pay a monthly fee to use any of it.

The two STARVIS 2 sensors are the reason to buy this one. Sony rates STARVIS 2 at roughly twice the low-light sensitivity of the original, with usable images below 0.1 lux — the kind of light you get on an unlit county road. That's the part of dash cam performance you can't fix later. PCMag's head-to-head comparison ranked the A229 Pro best overall in its price class, and singled out its nighttime footage.

Resolution still matters when it's the plate you need. Tom's Guide reports that 4K cameras resolved license plates at up to about 60 feet on real roads, versus roughly 40 feet for 1080p. Forty feet is a car length or two in traffic. If the car that clipped you keeps driving, those extra seconds of legible plate are the entire clip.

From our review of 7 dash cams, by Mark Jennings, Senior Product Reviewer

What we like

• +The two STARVIS 2 sensors are the reason to buy this one
• +Resolution still matters when it's the plate you need
• +Parking coverage here is genuinely usable, not a checkbox
• +The rest is quietly well-sorted

What to know

• –There's no LTE and no cloud, so you can't check on the car from your desk or grab footage remotely
• –4K fills cards fast, and the A229 Pro will happily overwrite a clip you meant to keep if you forget to lock it