I bought this cam yesterday based on this., what i can tell you is that i judge a cam by its ability to read a license plate at 20 ft in direct sunlite., this is the only cam that can do it., also on nite quality., this cam is superior to a black vue with clear nite vision. Also., this is the only cam that i have had that can see stars... so im happy with the purchase
glad to hear you are happy with it. some people get unrealistic expectations thinking they will be able to read license plates at night at 60 mph past another car.
It has come to my attention that the cloud impact notification only works while you are driving, which is a big let down. I was only able to test this while in continuous recording mode so it slipped by my attention that it does not work while in parking mode. If you are looking for a cloud connected camera the blackvue dr750s-2ch is definitely the better choice as of now. One thing I did not fit into the review is hard wiring or the rear camera. Check out the F800 review in the description for more info on the rear camera, which can be purchased with the camera in a bundle or separate. Parking mode also requires a hardwiring kit either from blackboxmycar or thinkware's own, they typically run $20-30 but you can sometimes get them bundled for free. The cellink battery b is also an option, although an expensive option, if you want to run it camera off an auxiliary battery instead of your car battery. All of these can be found in the description where you can purchase any of these cams or accessories, they are affiliate links that help support my channel. Thanks!
I had this unit and it worked good except it overheated easily. I live in Southern California and it just fails to be able to handle the heat. I unit got so hot it was hard to grab at times. It also ate SD cards due to the over heating. Note, when it over heats it'll start up constantly until cool enough to function. So I had to constantly accommodate by parking in the shade or other means, which is not something anyone should be thinking about with these units. Another option is you can decide not to use the parking mode, then you can detach from he mount and put in the glove box or somewhere it does not get hot by the sun. Other than this issue it was has decent options and video. I must say though I'm glad I sold the car it is in!☺ Now looking for something else that does not over heat for my new vehicle!!
Very good informative review young fellow. My wife bought myself this camera for Christmas and I am very much looking forward to having it installed. Your review was solid, thorough and very open-minded which as a senior I very much appreciate.
Great review... I especially appreciate the fact that you mention the micro USB issue. I was forced to swap out my F770 rear camera cable for the F800Pro cable (only difference is the cable connector bends the other way). This is either a major oversight or it was done so as to appease installers who rely on installation of these cameras.
It really peaved me since hardwiring the rear camera is much more complicated for my truck than a car. Hopefully they don't switch it again. Thanks for watching!
Just had the F800Pro installed. The first thing I noticed is that the warning sounds are barely audible as compared to my previous F750 and F770. I have the volume at setting 3 yet I can barely hear the warning tones. Is it just me or have others experienced the same issue? I also noticed that the Front Vehicle Departure Warning doesn't work at all on my unit. It's enabled and yet when I'm at a stop light, the car ahead of me does not set this off even if I delay moving for a few seconds.
So the f800 and f800 pro are essentially the same? I really wanted the u1000 as the night vision from relatives who own it is crisp and clear. But I got a good deal on the f800 with includes the thinkware external battery
Hi, I just picked up the Thinkware F800 from best buy, but now im wondering if I should get the F800 pro. Im going to have the camera hardwired for Parking Mode...Have you ever had your battery drained on your car? I saw that the Pro version uses less power and that seems like a good feature for anyone planning to use parking mode.
Lots of stuff for someone just starting to look into these camera set-ups. I'm most interested in the parking mode for recording. I was wondering if I could download and view the output via a thumb drive to a home iMac? I don't have a smart phone and don't need alerts. I just want to be able to look at the recordings if something were to happen to my car.
Thanks for doing this review, I really enjoyed it, I'm just about to go and check out the Blackvue DR750S and see what that is like, I've been of the same opinion as yourself in as much as I wish manufacturers would make their dash cams all black instead of making them bright colours or putting silver lens surrounds etc on their products, dash cams by their very nature are not supposed to draw attention to themselves, thanks again
So I have this camera and tried first using a 200Gb sandisk card, as I saw online that some people had success with it. But it didnt work (tried formatting to fat via a tool, also tried formatting inside cam). The cam was able to read from the card, as I could put on there the flash files. But it wanted to format it and looped in booting. However then I bought a Sony 128 Gb microsd and it "works", but the thing is that it stops at 0,7gb/128 Gb. So I wonder if I might have to format it inside a PC? (have tried formatting it from the cam button and via app). I guess maybe there is a small partition on the sony card that could limit the cams potential? I also didnt manage to get it recording in parking mode, but maybe its tied to the issue with 0,7gb/128gb? (maybe it doesent have space for saving the parking vids). Other than that, I find dashcams to lack a bit in innovation, I dont understand why they need the bulky front cam. Would be much better if they had the same style front cam as rear (small cam with just micro usb). Then one could route just microusb and the main unit one could hide below the dash somewhere, this would mean less cables to stretch in a 2 ch install, also one could use standardized cables as microusb which would make upgradability a much better process.
My biggest fib with leaving your dash cam in the car is an idiot breaking in to steal it. The parking feature is nice but I wouldn’t leave it plain sight. It’s like it just screams. “Look at me come take me”.
I agree, I naively didnt realize this until after I posted my review because I had no hotspot to test it while parked and then I realized it didn't have that feature. the blackvue dr750s is the better option if cloud is your priority.
Is motion sensing only for the front or both front and rear? If it is only for the front, when the front motion sensor is activated does it only record the front or does it record the rear too?
it is for both the front and rear, records both too. the impact sensor is only in the front camera but regardless if either camera senses motion, or if the front camera senses and impact, both cameras record.
Great video. Questions & comments: • Would upgrading your car's main battery be a good idea? After all, the F800 and F800 pro is technically "always on." • Though the Cloud feature is great, currently don't have a home Wi-FI connection. It's nice to know I could activate it when I do get one. • Also: From your review, it looks like the cloud feature will get better with tone with periodic Thinkware app updates. • Wondering what integration would be like by installing a third camera by or on the rear license plate frame. Most accidents and fender benders tend to happen from rear impacts.
Now I am not an electrical expert but I don't think upgrading your battery would really help in the long run if the camera is draining it until its dead all the time, it just might take longer to get that far. I like this cam because you can set a timer such as 6 hours, or 48 hours (I set mine at 24 i think) so it doesn't just keep draining the battery down to 12v. My issue with the cloud feature is I didnt notice when testing that the impact alert is only while you are driving so you cant get notifications if someone hits your parked car like blackvue cams can do. It makes it very limited, more for parents or companies who want to get notifications when their kid or employee is driving. The rear cam should be able to pick up the license plate just fine. when your car is parked the video looks much sharper because there isnt as much video rendering going on from motion like when you're on the freeway. I have thought about the same thing, having a license plate cam but having both I think would be over kill.
Excellent review on Thinkware and dash cams info in general. I’ve had an A118C installed since 4/15 that has worked flawlessly. My only issue has been annoying radio reception interference. Please comment on any radio reception interference issues with the Thinkware F800 Pro and the Blackvue DR750S-2CH. Thank you.
Great video. Thanks. Is it possible you show how you run wires for both front and back cameras? Connection to car battery? And do you recommend having an external battery to avoid killing the car battery? Thanks.
I do have a video that shows it with the F770, but its on a truck with a topper so its a bit different. I use the cellink battery b which I keep under the passenger seat, so the power cable is wired along the passenger side, as is the rear camera cable, which I have go out of my truck and back up into my truck topper. with a car obviously it would be easier. I would just wire the cable along the passenger side along the headboard. most cars have some sort of weather stripping material along the roof liner. th-cam.com/video/1uCq2oh9HAs/w-d-xo.html
Either the F800 Pro or DR750S-2CH. I am a big fan of Blackvue and Thinkware and like the convenience of 2 channel systems. I can't decide which I like more. The F800 Pro has a better form factor IMO and I prefer some of the features such as partitioning file types, but I just wish the F800 had better cloud support. The 60fps looks good on the DR750S but it seems blackvue has issues with focus still. I also prefer how thinkware switches to parking mode based on the power connection, not a g sensor like blackvue cams.
US Dash Camera Good comparision thank you! Im waiting for the 4K dashcams to arrive now in 2018. Iknow Blackvue is in th game. Do you know if Thinkware have some models planned? (I also tend to favorize Thinkware). Also, have you noticed that overheating stopped cameras of this calibre to work? When 4K arrives, im wondering if that might become a problem since the form factor is quite small on those cams..?
I like your review. Good to see that Thinkview will use something other than a Thinkview micro SD Card. BlackVue strong arms you into using their BlackVue cards, even though the one that came with my BlackVue was faulty. Have you used that Samsung car in a BlackVue?
i am currently running a samsung evo card in the blackvue dr900s model. it does have issues maybe once or twice a month. this didnt start happening until well after my review but i plan to mention it in an upcoming best dash cams video. i still use it, but from time to time it has an error and misses a file and restarts. it only ever misses 1 min but its something to note. blackvue recommends using their cards if you are experiencing this issue with other brand cards.
So I received my Thinkwae F800 Pro from Amazon and had it installed yesterday. Parked the car outside overnight I started the car this morning at 11h00 South African time the thing wouldn’t switch sand still won’t switch. Could it be the device was damaged by the sun? I am super stressed considering I spent so much mo eye buying this thing. Is it a common occurrence or is there something else that I’m missing?
When are they going to come out with a 4 channel unit because you would probably need to buy 2, 2 channel units and use the main cameras for front and rear.
Great video! One question I have, does the camera automatically save the prior ten seconds, during and ten seconds after a impact is detected in the second parking mode? (Timelapse mode) Thank you for your feedback in advance!
In timelapse mode there is no buffered recording, it will just continuously record 2 frames per second while you are parked. the low frame rate allows you to record a lot more footage without taking up as much space on your memory card.
@@integralcam but on this timelapse mode- it seems like all images look blurry/ smeared. is that true? Also, are you receiving actual stills [jpeg sequence]? Or is this timelapse combined into a video file?
I just upgraded to the F800 pro but when I start my car all I get is silence. I don’t get the notification that I’m connected to gps but the light is let up showing I am, what’s going on.
Been using the F800 Pro front and rear dash cams for about a month so far and they work great. Software is a little buggy on both iOS and MacOS versions, but the company says they're working on it. It still works though and doesn't impede the functions of the camera(s) or the recorded video. Parking mode with Time-lapse is really great, even at night. Well worth the money spent, but I really hope Thinkware updates their software soon.
i have also had some issues with their app, i bought a new phone and struggled to connect it. after doing a factory reset on the f800 pro it worked fine tho!
It really varies by the battery. Ideally you should set a 12 to 24 hour timer tho because car batteries are not made to slowly drain over night. If you want long parking mode recording you should consider a cellink battery b, but that can add several hundred dollars to your budget.
Hi.. My biggest concern is leaving my car parked in public as my current car has been vandalised three times and now I'm getting a GT-R, I'm even more paranoid.. What's the best dashcam with the most advanced parking mode..? I want notifications if anyone comes near my car and to be able to view the dashcams from whereever I am.. What would you recommend..? I currently have the BlackVue 500 or 550.. I purchased them a few years ago and haven't really used them much because I blew the engine on my car and it's been off the road for two years now.. Any advice, please..? Thank you..
jamesRPM I don't know. I've just returned a dr750s-2ch for the _Parking Mode_ not working as expected. I'm waiting for a new one, if it has the same issue, I'll get the F800 pro.
Hey, I am not too familiar with teslas, but from what i read teslas have a 4g connection but does not provide a wifi hotspot for users? Unless this has changed since the article I read. You need to have a hotspot that any device can connect to such as your phone. if you are looking into cloud features though I would look at the blackvue dr900 or dr750 cameras because their cloud feature is far more advanced than the thinkware f800 pro. Check out my channels most recent review.
When you're in parked mode trying to record activity around your vehicle, is it not possible that it will be in plain sight and now might cause somebody who otherwise wouldn't break in to get the camera?
During playback I want to have the camera record sound but the constant beeping when ever there is a bump in the road is horrible. If you turn down the sound for the beeping you also kill your audio! Is there anyway to kill one without the other?
pretty sure there is a setting to turn off those notifications. Or maybe you just need to turn off the g sensor during normal recording. Could have sworn you can leave them on but turn off the beeps too. I still use the f800 pro in my truck and get the main audio alerts but i turned off the g sensor for normal recording i dont feel like i need it.
You can turn off the sensors during normal recording too. Personally I don't use the g sensor during normal recording. I use the f800 pro, i get the audio alerts, but do not get beeps from bumps in the road. i am 100% sure this is possible as I set it that way myself.
Sorry for the slow response, if you haven't gotten an answer yet, no they do not. the blackvue cams almost all use a g sensor based parking mode. once it senses you havent driven for 5 min it switches to parking mode. once you start driving it senses that and goes back to normal recording. thinkware uses a 3 wire cable, a ground, ACC wire, and BATT connection. It detects when your car is on or off to automatically switch between parking mode or normal recording. I personally prefer thinkwares solution but blackvue seems to work just fine anyways.
What is your opinion on a system like this, compared to say two A119S cameras? The benefit of the two separate cameras is the image quality, lower cost, plus independence of a phone app (it works now, but what about next year?) due to the settings being accessible through the screen of the camera. Of course you're losing some of the advanced functionality, but I don't particularly care for the WiFi stuff.
If you just want great video quality for driving, two A119 or A119S cameras is a much better option. Personally I want a good parking mode though. I prefer to have a camera with a buffered parking mode that works on both motion detection and/or impact detection. I believe the A119 did add a better parking mode but from my understanding it is not buffered. What that means if you missed it in the video is it is always buffering 10 seconds of video so when it senses motion and/or an impact it saves 10 seconds prior to the motion or impact detected so that way you don't miss it on video. Many cheaper cams aren't buffered so for example the Anker Roav cams dont start recording for 5-7 seconds after the impact which means you don't really have the impact caught on video which is up in the air if that will be considered good enough evidence in the event of a hit and run insurance incident. I like that the thinkware (or blackvue and several other high end korean cams) have the buffered video so you record before and after the impact so there is no argument about whether or not they hit you. When it comes to stuff like wifi, I have not heard of anyones thinkware cams wifi going out, I have heard more comlaints from blackvue though. Personally I have had one blackvue cam several years ago die within a week but amazon replaced it. I think worrying about if the wifi will go out is a bit much for me tho because what about wifi in a cell phone? in a game console? how do i know any of the devices i buy will have their wifi go out? it doesn't personally give me a reason to buy cheaper devices if the more expensive ones offer something the cheaper ones don't. I think the video quality during parking mode is good enough for these cams as your car is still so the image doesn't have issues like when you are going high speed, but I do use an A119 up front too just for driving just for some more comfort of knowing I have really good video quality while driving too. Sometimes the 2 channel cams from thinkware or blackvue leave much to be desired when you are driving because the cameras struggle to process clean and clear looking video (which is why they look pixelated comapred to cams with great video quality like the A119) but again that issue isnt really prevalent while you are parked and not moving. I hope this all helps, you really can't go wrong with two A119 cams, but if you really want the best parking mode features I think you need to go with thinkware/blackvue/blacksys.
Thanks for the extensive reply! My concern about image quality is mostly the ability to recognize license plates, especially in the dark (and not have them be burnt out white due to the lights), so it's not an aesthetic concern at all. I want to make sure the plate is captured properly, which in my view is the main reason to have high resolution and high frame rate in dashcams. I don't care about pretty colors or pixelation at all, as long as the accident scene is clear and plates can be read. I agree with the parking mode concern, this is where I would go for an F800 (the low power mode in the Pro seems a bit after the fact, as you mentioned in the review, so probably not really the best) or another modern camera. I don't really have a big concern about parking now, but it could be an issue in the future. The main reason for cams for me would still be the insurance/accident scenario, to remove all doubt and to catch a license plate in case of a hit and run. Still, the parking mode follows closely. My Wifi concerns are mostly related to the apps. When I check the Google Play store, none of the vendors' apps seem to get very high ratings (thinkware scores a whopping 2.8 out of 5) and my biggest concern is them not being supported anymore at some point down the road. This is where the ability to control everything on the device is handy.
Great review! I’m leaning towards the F800. I don’t see any use for the cloud or energy saver mode on the Pro. Although I do wish the F800 came with 128GB support. If I were to purchase the F800 with the Cellink Neo along with 64GB card and I set it to Motion Detection with Parking Priority as my memory card partitioning, how many hours do you think it would last on average before it overwrites? Also what 64GB micro SD card do you recommend for Thinkware F800?
Oh man its hard to say, but I would not expect more than two days worth of footage if you park in high traffic areas. Its really hard to say because it depends on your personal circumstances. When it comes to memory cards, I have used transcend and samsung evo cards and never had an issue. I have only ever had issues with sandisk cards which are notorious to have issues unless you buy their expensive high endurance cards. Transcend also has high endurance cards but I have never had issues with their standard class 10 cards personally.
Hi there how are you? Someone has been scratching my car in the parking lot, I believe is the same person because whoever did, made a parallel scratch two days after the first one. So Which camera is the best to catch this type of act? Blackvue or Thinkware? Thanks
Both thinkware and blackvue have their pros and cons. Blackvue has options with better video quality, but thinkware is still good too, but their cams have power buttons so if you are parked somewhere such as in a garage you can just turn them off and they will turn back on when you start your car next. Blackvue cams do not have power buttons, you would have to unplug them and remember to plug them back in. If you drive at least 20-30 min a day turning it off my night be necessary though. Currently, if money is no issue, the DR900S-2CH from blackvue is my favorite. But with my truck i don't drive everyday i love that i can turn it off without draining battery when parked in my garage, I use cellink batteries.
ive watched so many reviews because im a broke person and only want to buy ONE good camera. im so worried to buy one and it ends up sucking. can someone please just tell me the best dash cam to get!? you keep comparing it to something called blackvue, so u seem to be biased towards that one which makes me think its your favourite, so im going to look into that one lol...
what is your price rance and I can tell you what i would recommend and why. My personal fav cams are by blackvue, thinkware, and viofo, but they each have their pros and cons. Depending on how much you are willing to spend I can recommend something different.
dash cams are designed to only record in short clips because once the memory card is full it starts erasing the oldest footage first. if you ever wanted to join all the footage you should be able to just use any video editing software like windows movie maker to drag and drop them into one timeline and convert it into one file.
I got the F800 Pro and the video quality is horrible. It is very grainy and almost digitized even during the day. In testing it out I am not able to read licence plates or even signs. Any suggestions on settings to fix this?
I uploaded a video from yesterday to youtube. This actually made the quality. Yes I do niece it looks worse than any videos I've seen of it online. th-cam.com/video/VZRKZg8hMpU/w-d-xo.html
I have this camera, I HATE it, firmware is crazy difficult to update. Customer support is lacking, it can not read license plates! Every time you start your vehicle, it's very chatty!
you can mute it in the settings. It's not the best in video quality, but generally any single channel camera will have better video quality than a 2 channel system because it requires more processing to render the HD footage. there are some 2 channel cams that might have better video quality like from viofo, but for the price they dont have nearly the level of advanced parking mode or network features. theres always a trade off with dash cams, if you wan't multiple channels and all the high tech advanced features you likely will not have the best looking video quality. unless you wanna spend a lot extra for the higher end models like the U1000, DR900S-2CH, or Viofo A129 Pro 4K (although the viofo is much cheaper it's parking mode is no where close to advanced as the U1000 or DR900, again trade offs).
I have the F800Pro hardwired and connected to a Cellink Neo. I have a problem with the camera failing to record a short time after leaving the car. When the power is turned off I hear the camera say "parking recording". I have the settings set to motion detection and medium sensitivity. The battery is always in the 90%+ range so that's not the problem...unless it's the voltage settings. Any suggestions for settings so its actually recording 100% of the time?
Some cheaper cams have better image but tend to offer less advanced features. It is really a trade off. License plates are always hard to read when you are driving fast, but the video quality would be more then enough to capture a hit and run in a parking lot. A high speed hit and run on the highway at night would be hard to capture with pretty much any cam tho.
@@integralcam F800 image quality is bad. atfull stop the license plate is blurry. maybe i happened to buy lemon unit. i picked up different , cheaper dash cam and the image is superior. night mode is just as good as on F800 and i paid $100 less.
At a full stop it shouldn't be blurry, this may sound like a dumb question but did you make sure to remove the projective plastic over the front lens? Sometimes people don't notice that on the camera when they first buy a dash cam.
@@bitekr2045 i would try contacting thinkware if you feel you might have gotten a bad one. You should be able to read license plates just fine of stopped cars near you. Thinkware has great customer service, I tried calling them just to test it and I got a live person in the US almost immediately.
I was searching for a Dash Cam that was compatible with Mac OS for managing the videos. I liked your video but was disappointed that you didn't discuss the Mac/PC compatibility.
I have used iPhones but I am not a big apple person so it often slips my thoughts sorry. I have never even owned an ipod. Love their phones tho (currently use a note 8 tho).
It really depends. If I were to choose between the F800 Pro (or the new Q800 pro that I am testing, review soon) or the DR900 from Blackvue, I would choose the DR900 but its a lot more expensive. Between the DR750 and F800 its a pretty even playing field IMO. I like that thinkware cams have power buttons so I can shut it off when I get home and I am parked in the garage. I have two vehicles, both have a thinkware or blackvue camera running off a cellink battery. The blackvue one often ends up draining until its dead because I don't always drive enough to keep it charged. The thinkware battery never dies because I can always shut it off at home with just a push of a button. I don't want to unplug the blackvue because I will forget to plug it back in later. Blackvue does win hands down when it comes to cloud features tho.
This model is no longer for sale. You would need to look at the Q800 or U1000. Check my reviews playlist for those and there will be links to amazon and blackboxmycar. I typically review them when they are new so in the video I might give the original pricing compared to current pricing.
I bought it....not happy with it.... lane departure :--not working all the time ....lane departure sound is very low it’s hard to listen. Forward collision:- FCW is same thing ....very low sound if your music on forget about the sound even though no music it is very hard to listen . Red light camera :- this sound is ok ... But not wow.... No screen:- it has no screen so hard to know if it’s working properly. Proper angel....all the time u have to go on ur cell phone to check it .... My recommendation:- go for ankar:- s1 very good much better than this even the price is very cheap
Anker cams are fine if you don't want all the fancy features. Personally I tell people I do not care for the lane departure, collision warning stuff. its not going to make your car brake for you and to me its a false sense of security. but the advanced parking mode features of the thinkware cams are much much more advanced than the anker cams.
So they bring something like this to the US market and add $250-$300 to the price. Sorry but there are dash cams out there just as good at a 1/4 of the price.
blueknight can you give some examples? I know there are some cheap 2 channel cams with dual 1080p now but none have the build quality and advanced features like thinkware and blackvue or many other Korean cams.
www.amazon.com/Veckle-Channel-Dashboard-Recorder-Recording/dp/B0746BCFBF/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522034370&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=dual+camera+dash+cam&psc=1 While this is only 1 example and doesn't have wi-fi, it's $300 less. Sorry but $460 for a dash cam is way too much.
I reviewed that camera. its a great affordable 2 channel camera. but its not equal to the f800 pro. the parking mode is not as advanced as thinkware, it does not have any sort of buffered parking mode, well developed smart phone app, cloud features or the same sony starvis sensors front AND rear. so say you only want impact detection on during parking mode, the thinkware will buffer 10 seconds and if someone impacts you in a parking lot it captures 10 seconds leading up to the impact . the veckle uses a combination time lapse and motion detection which is a good work around to not having buffered recording but it is a trade off. That cam is probably the cam i would most recommend on a budget for a 2 ch cam with parking features, but thinkware is on a totally different level. besides having more features, better build quality, they have real customer support over the phone in many countries (i tested this myself) and not to mention wifi with a great smart phone app. the thinkware alerts you each time you start your car how many impacts it detected. i received both cams for review and if i had to buy one and could afford both, the thinkware f800 pro IMHO is worth it. You also have to remember thinkware cams are sold in retail stores in the US, you can buy thinkware at a best buy. many cams like the veckle are cheap chinese products that sell for WAY cheaper because they arent dealing with the MSRP in US retail stores dont have live customer service reps to answer your calls in many countries. that veckle is a great budget cam, but there are many reasons why its so cheap.
Ok, the F800 pro has some features I just don't care about. The cloud, Who really needs that? To be honest, I don't really care about the wi-fi, to me it's a useless feature. Same as the app for the smartphone, useless. It looks pretty, but doesn't serve any real purpose.You say the F800 pro can record 10 seconds leading up to someone hitting your vehicle while parked. So it's recording the whole time you're out the vehicle and saves the file just like when you're moving if someone hits you? That's not a parking mode, that's just normal operation. There might be reasons why the veckle is cheaper, but there's no reason (That you've given) why the f800 pro is $300+ more expensive. Maybe $100- $150 more, maybe. I like quality and features as much as the next person, but not to the point of being raped by these companies just because their selling it in the American market.
no its not constantly recording to the memory card tho it is buffering 10 seconds of recording on its internal memory. and when it senses an impact or trigger, THEN it record to the memory card. so when you check your memory card, only the important footage is saved. this can help your memory card life because its not constantly writing the the memory card 24/7. the veckle is a good cam i wont lie, but its still not on the same level as the f800. its like comparing a playstation 3 to a playstation 4. i can admit thinkwares cloud feature is limited, but if you look at blackvue, it can alert you thru your smart phone if someone impacts your car over the cloud in parking mode. thats something cheaper cams cant do. thinkware is half way there but not as good as blackvue yet. in the end, maybe the f800 pro isnt worth your money, and that is fine, but it has more features, it is a better camera. maybe not $300 better like you say, but there is a big gap between cams like the veckle and f800 pro. comes down to if you want to pay a lot more for a better camera, or pay much less and settle for something more basic.
I bought this cam yesterday based on this., what i can tell you is that i judge a cam by its ability to read a license plate at 20 ft in direct sunlite., this is the only cam that can do it., also on nite quality., this cam is superior to a black vue with clear nite vision. Also., this is the only cam that i have had that can see stars... so im happy with the purchase
glad to hear you are happy with it. some people get unrealistic expectations thinking they will be able to read license plates at night at 60 mph past another car.
It has come to my attention that the cloud impact notification only works while you are driving, which is a big let down. I was only able to test this while in continuous recording mode so it slipped by my attention that it does not work while in parking mode. If you are looking for a cloud connected camera the blackvue dr750s-2ch is definitely the better choice as of now.
One thing I did not fit into the review is hard wiring or the rear camera. Check out the F800 review in the description for more info on the rear camera, which can be purchased with the camera in a bundle or separate. Parking mode also requires a hardwiring kit either from blackboxmycar or thinkware's own, they typically run $20-30 but you can sometimes get them bundled for free. The cellink battery b is also an option, although an expensive option, if you want to run it camera off an auxiliary battery instead of your car battery. All of these can be found in the description where you can purchase any of these cams or accessories, they are affiliate links that help support my channel. Thanks!
Thank you for the input and the response.
If you want instant Notification while on park mode look for Cams that are LTE (Sim card) Not just Blackvue but thinkware has a model with LTE.
I had this unit and it worked good except it overheated easily. I live in Southern California and it just fails to be able to handle the heat. I unit got so hot it was hard to grab at times. It also ate SD cards due to the over heating. Note, when it over heats it'll start up constantly until cool enough to function. So I had to constantly accommodate by parking in the shade or other means, which is not something anyone should be thinking about with these units. Another option is you can decide not to use the parking mode, then you can detach from he mount and put in the glove box or somewhere it does not get hot by the sun. Other than this issue it was has decent options and video. I must say though I'm glad I sold the car it is in!☺ Now looking for something else that does not over heat for my new vehicle!!
Very good informative review young fellow. My wife bought myself this camera for Christmas and I am very much looking forward to having it installed. Your review was solid, thorough and very open-minded which as a senior I very much appreciate.
thanks for watching!
Great review... I especially appreciate the fact that you mention the micro USB issue. I was forced to swap out my F770 rear camera cable for the F800Pro cable (only difference is the cable connector bends the other way). This is either a major oversight or it was done so as to appease installers who rely on installation of these cameras.
It really peaved me since hardwiring the rear camera is much more complicated for my truck than a car. Hopefully they don't switch it again. Thanks for watching!
Really useful video, put together well and very thorough! Personal preference, it’s the Thinkware for me. Thanks
Does time-lapse effect the quality of the video?
So if it's slowed down, can you see for example the number plate etc.
Just had the F800Pro installed. The first thing I noticed is that the warning sounds are barely audible as compared to my previous F750 and F770. I have the volume at setting 3 yet I can barely hear the warning tones. Is it just me or have others experienced the same issue? I also noticed that the Front Vehicle Departure Warning doesn't work at all on my unit. It's enabled and yet when I'm at a stop light, the car ahead of me does not set this off even if I delay moving for a few seconds.
So the f800 and f800 pro are essentially the same?
I really wanted the u1000 as the night vision from relatives who own it is crisp and clear. But I got a good deal on the f800 with includes the thinkware external battery
Hi, I just picked up the Thinkware F800 from best buy, but now im wondering if I should get the F800 pro.
Im going to have the camera hardwired for Parking Mode...Have you ever had your battery drained on your car?
I saw that the Pro version uses less power and that seems like a good feature for anyone planning to use parking mode.
How does this compare with the A129Duo?
Lots of stuff for someone just starting to look into these camera set-ups. I'm most interested in the parking mode for recording. I was wondering if I could download and view the output via a thumb drive to a home iMac? I don't have a smart phone and don't need alerts. I just want to be able to look at the recordings if something were to happen to my car.
Thanks for doing this review, I really enjoyed it, I'm just about to go and check out the Blackvue DR750S and see what that is like, I've been of the same opinion as yourself in as much as I wish manufacturers would make their dash cams all black instead of making them bright colours or putting silver lens surrounds etc on their products, dash cams by their very nature are not supposed to draw attention to themselves, thanks again
thanks for watching and commenting!
So I have this camera and tried first using a 200Gb sandisk card, as I saw online that some people had success with it. But it didnt work (tried formatting to fat via a tool, also tried formatting inside cam). The cam was able to read from the card, as I could put on there the flash files. But it wanted to format it and looped in booting.
However then I bought a Sony 128 Gb microsd and it "works", but the thing is that it stops at 0,7gb/128 Gb. So I wonder if I might have to format it inside a PC? (have tried formatting it from the cam button and via app). I guess maybe there is a small partition on the sony card that could limit the cams potential?
I also didnt manage to get it recording in parking mode, but maybe its tied to the issue with 0,7gb/128gb? (maybe it doesent have space for saving the parking vids).
Other than that, I find dashcams to lack a bit in innovation, I dont understand why they need the bulky front cam. Would be much better if they had the same style front cam as rear (small cam with just micro usb). Then one could route just microusb and the main unit one could hide below the dash somewhere, this would mean less cables to stretch in a 2 ch install, also one could use standardized cables as microusb which would make upgradability a much better process.
My biggest fib with leaving your dash cam in the car is an idiot breaking in to steal it. The parking feature is nice but I wouldn’t leave it plain sight. It’s like it just screams. “Look at me come take me”.
Cloud notifications only work while you’re in the car...not while it’s parked so very disappointing.
I agree, I naively didnt realize this until after I posted my review because I had no hotspot to test it while parked and then I realized it didn't have that feature. the blackvue dr750s is the better option if cloud is your priority.
So which camera is the one you talking about the one that records while the car is parked?
Is motion sensing only for the front or both front and rear? If it is only for the front, when the front motion sensor is activated does it only record the front or does it record the rear too?
it is for both the front and rear, records both too. the impact sensor is only in the front camera but regardless if either camera senses motion, or if the front camera senses and impact, both cameras record.
Great video. Questions & comments:
• Would upgrading your car's main battery be a good idea? After all, the F800 and F800 pro is technically "always on."
• Though the Cloud feature is great, currently don't have a home Wi-FI connection. It's nice to know I could activate it when I do get one.
• Also: From your review, it looks like the cloud feature will get better with tone with periodic Thinkware app updates.
• Wondering what integration would be like by installing a third camera by or on the rear license plate frame. Most accidents and fender benders tend to happen from rear impacts.
Now I am not an electrical expert but I don't think upgrading your battery would really help in the long run if the camera is draining it until its dead all the time, it just might take longer to get that far. I like this cam because you can set a timer such as 6 hours, or 48 hours (I set mine at 24 i think) so it doesn't just keep draining the battery down to 12v.
My issue with the cloud feature is I didnt notice when testing that the impact alert is only while you are driving so you cant get notifications if someone hits your parked car like blackvue cams can do. It makes it very limited, more for parents or companies who want to get notifications when their kid or employee is driving.
The rear cam should be able to pick up the license plate just fine. when your car is parked the video looks much sharper because there isnt as much video rendering going on from motion like when you're on the freeway. I have thought about the same thing, having a license plate cam but having both I think would be over kill.
@@integralcam Does this Blackvue you suggestion have shut off timer also?
@@eremyjay Both thinkware and blackvue cameras have a timer function if you want them to shut off after a set period of time.
Excellent review on Thinkware and dash cams info in general. I’ve had an A118C installed since 4/15 that has worked flawlessly. My only issue has been annoying radio reception interference. Please comment on any radio reception interference issues with the Thinkware F800 Pro and the Blackvue DR750S-2CH. Thank you.
great point! But, no resources to validate on radio interference.. :\
Great video. Thanks. Is it possible you show how you run wires for both front and back cameras? Connection to car battery? And do you recommend having an external battery to avoid killing the car battery? Thanks.
I do have a video that shows it with the F770, but its on a truck with a topper so its a bit different. I use the cellink battery b which I keep under the passenger seat, so the power cable is wired along the passenger side, as is the rear camera cable, which I have go out of my truck and back up into my truck topper. with a car obviously it would be easier. I would just wire the cable along the passenger side along the headboard. most cars have some sort of weather stripping material along the roof liner.
th-cam.com/video/1uCq2oh9HAs/w-d-xo.html
Can you get streaming if you connect it to Hotspot ? So you can view from home
If you were going to buy a dash cam. right now, what would it be?
Either the F800 Pro or DR750S-2CH. I am a big fan of Blackvue and Thinkware and like the convenience of 2 channel systems. I can't decide which I like more. The F800 Pro has a better form factor IMO and I prefer some of the features such as partitioning file types, but I just wish the F800 had better cloud support. The 60fps looks good on the DR750S but it seems blackvue has issues with focus still. I also prefer how thinkware switches to parking mode based on the power connection, not a g sensor like blackvue cams.
US Dash Camera Good comparision thank you! Im waiting for the 4K dashcams to arrive now in 2018. Iknow Blackvue is in th game. Do you know if Thinkware have some models planned? (I also tend to favorize Thinkware). Also, have you noticed that overheating stopped cameras of this calibre to work? When 4K arrives, im wondering if that might become a problem since the form factor is quite small on those cams..?
Ragemutt Nothing this expensive. There are dash cams with the same features at a 1/4 of the price.
@@Blueknight1960 well which ones?
Thank you for extensive review
I have had the Q800 Pro in testing for a few weeks now, that review should come soon!
I like your review. Good to see that Thinkview will use something other than a Thinkview micro SD Card. BlackVue strong arms you into using their BlackVue cards, even though the one that came with my BlackVue was faulty. Have you used that Samsung car in a BlackVue?
i am currently running a samsung evo card in the blackvue dr900s model. it does have issues maybe once or twice a month. this didnt start happening until well after my review but i plan to mention it in an upcoming best dash cams video. i still use it, but from time to time it has an error and misses a file and restarts. it only ever misses 1 min but its something to note. blackvue recommends using their cards if you are experiencing this issue with other brand cards.
Just bought thinkwear f800. Them main reason was the heat in Vegas. Pro f800 doesnt do as well. That’s what I was told.
you're saying that the F800 Pro doesn't survive heat as well as the normal F800?
Do the Pro version's turn out faulty cause of heat?
Just got one bad it’s been fitted in now
Could you guys compare this with dod rc500s?
Tech Defender nhb
So I received my Thinkwae F800 Pro from Amazon and had it installed yesterday. Parked the car outside overnight I started the car this morning at 11h00 South African time the thing wouldn’t switch sand still won’t switch. Could it be the device was damaged by the sun? I am super stressed considering I spent so much mo eye buying this thing. Is it a common occurrence or is there something else that I’m missing?
Any news on your Thinkware F800 Pro? What happened to it?
When are they going to come out with a 4 channel unit because you would probably need to buy 2, 2 channel units and use the main cameras for front and rear.
Great video! One question I have, does the camera automatically save the prior ten seconds, during and ten seconds after a impact is detected in the second parking mode? (Timelapse mode)
Thank you for your feedback in advance!
In timelapse mode there is no buffered recording, it will just continuously record 2 frames per second while you are parked. the low frame rate allows you to record a lot more footage without taking up as much space on your memory card.
@@integralcam but on this timelapse mode- it seems like all images look blurry/ smeared.
is that true?
Also, are you receiving actual stills [jpeg sequence]? Or is this timelapse combined into a video file?
In parked mode can I turn off motion detection and still have impact detection on with buffer incase someone hits me?
I just upgraded to the F800 pro but when I start my car all I get is silence. I don’t get the notification that I’m connected to gps but the light is let up showing I am, what’s going on.
Excellent review, thanks to you I bought this camera
Thanks for watching, I hope you love it. I personally still use this camera in my truck.
You're going to regret it, Blackvue is a better camera
Thank you King US Dash!
how about this it has a feature off timer mode or parking mode?
👍🏼 Great review and very thorough. I'm going with the F800! Cheers!
eleones Good luck man! If you like, please post update on your experience here! :)
Been using the F800 Pro front and rear dash cams for about a month so far and they work great. Software is a little buggy on both iOS and MacOS versions, but the company says they're working on it. It still works though and doesn't impede the functions of the camera(s) or the recorded video. Parking mode with Time-lapse is really great, even at night. Well worth the money spent, but I really hope Thinkware updates their software soon.
i have also had some issues with their app, i bought a new phone and struggled to connect it. after doing a factory reset on the f800 pro it worked fine tho!
@@eleones 1 year later now. Were there any major updates to the firmware that are worth while?
How about the parking mode recording time... How long will it record before the battery depleted? Let say in a new car and good battery...
It really varies by the battery. Ideally you should set a 12 to 24 hour timer tho because car batteries are not made to slowly drain over night. If you want long parking mode recording you should consider a cellink battery b, but that can add several hundred dollars to your budget.
I like how the manual says “ThinkWAR”
I didn't notice that haha
Hi.. My biggest concern is leaving my car parked in public as my current car has been vandalised three times and now I'm getting a GT-R, I'm even more paranoid.. What's the best dashcam with the most advanced parking mode..? I want notifications if anyone comes near my car and to be able to view the dashcams from whereever I am.. What would you recommend..? I currently have the BlackVue 500 or 550.. I purchased them a few years ago and haven't really used them much because I blew the engine on my car and it's been off the road for two years now.. Any advice, please..? Thank you..
jamesRPM I don't know. I've just returned a dr750s-2ch for the _Parking Mode_ not working as expected. I'm waiting for a new one, if it has the same issue, I'll get the F800 pro.
what city are you in where your car got vandalized three times?!
hornetluca Any update on the 750 parking issue. Interested in getting one for the same reason. Got some shady people in my area.
MBisFrenchy I got a new 750 and it works as expected. 👍
hornetluca Great thanks.
Any idea about using the F800 PRO with a Tesla Model X which has WIFI and 4G connectivity built into the car. Can the car be used as a hot spot?
Hey, I am not too familiar with teslas, but from what i read teslas have a 4g connection but does not provide a wifi hotspot for users? Unless this has changed since the article I read. You need to have a hotspot that any device can connect to such as your phone. if you are looking into cloud features though I would look at the blackvue dr900 or dr750 cameras because their cloud feature is far more advanced than the thinkware f800 pro. Check out my channels most recent review.
When you're in parked mode trying to record activity around your vehicle, is it not possible that it will be in plain sight and now might cause somebody who otherwise wouldn't break in to get the camera?
westernsharpie definitely
Not, they are generally pretty slim and small, apart from the rear camera you can’t even notice I have a f770.
During playback I want to have the camera record sound but the constant beeping when ever there is a bump in the road is horrible. If you turn down the sound for the beeping you also kill your audio! Is there anyway to kill one without the other?
pretty sure there is a setting to turn off those notifications. Or maybe you just need to turn off the g sensor during normal recording. Could have sworn you can leave them on but turn off the beeps too. I still use the f800 pro in my truck and get the main audio alerts but i turned off the g sensor for normal recording i dont feel like i need it.
US Dash Camera there is no way to do it from the app. I'll try the camera itself. Thank you.
@@integralcam I tried everything. Not happening. Gonna just keep using my gopro.
You can turn off the sensors during normal recording too. Personally I don't use the g sensor during normal recording. I use the f800 pro, i get the audio alerts, but do not get beeps from bumps in the road. i am 100% sure this is possible as I set it that way myself.
Do both Thinkware F800 and Blackvue use the same type of hard wire kit?
Sorry for the slow response, if you haven't gotten an answer yet, no they do not. the blackvue cams almost all use a g sensor based parking mode. once it senses you havent driven for 5 min it switches to parking mode. once you start driving it senses that and goes back to normal recording. thinkware uses a 3 wire cable, a ground, ACC wire, and BATT connection. It detects when your car is on or off to automatically switch between parking mode or normal recording. I personally prefer thinkwares solution but blackvue seems to work just fine anyways.
What is your opinion on a system like this, compared to say two A119S cameras? The benefit of the two separate cameras is the image quality, lower cost, plus independence of a phone app (it works now, but what about next year?) due to the settings being accessible through the screen of the camera. Of course you're losing some of the advanced functionality, but I don't particularly care for the WiFi stuff.
If you just want great video quality for driving, two A119 or A119S cameras is a much better option. Personally I want a good parking mode though. I prefer to have a camera with a buffered parking mode that works on both motion detection and/or impact detection. I believe the A119 did add a better parking mode but from my understanding it is not buffered. What that means if you missed it in the video is it is always buffering 10 seconds of video so when it senses motion and/or an impact it saves 10 seconds prior to the motion or impact detected so that way you don't miss it on video. Many cheaper cams aren't buffered so for example the Anker Roav cams dont start recording for 5-7 seconds after the impact which means you don't really have the impact caught on video which is up in the air if that will be considered good enough evidence in the event of a hit and run insurance incident. I like that the thinkware (or blackvue and several other high end korean cams) have the buffered video so you record before and after the impact so there is no argument about whether or not they hit you.
When it comes to stuff like wifi, I have not heard of anyones thinkware cams wifi going out, I have heard more comlaints from blackvue though. Personally I have had one blackvue cam several years ago die within a week but amazon replaced it. I think worrying about if the wifi will go out is a bit much for me tho because what about wifi in a cell phone? in a game console? how do i know any of the devices i buy will have their wifi go out? it doesn't personally give me a reason to buy cheaper devices if the more expensive ones offer something the cheaper ones don't.
I think the video quality during parking mode is good enough for these cams as your car is still so the image doesn't have issues like when you are going high speed, but I do use an A119 up front too just for driving just for some more comfort of knowing I have really good video quality while driving too. Sometimes the 2 channel cams from thinkware or blackvue leave much to be desired when you are driving because the cameras struggle to process clean and clear looking video (which is why they look pixelated comapred to cams with great video quality like the A119) but again that issue isnt really prevalent while you are parked and not moving.
I hope this all helps, you really can't go wrong with two A119 cams, but if you really want the best parking mode features I think you need to go with thinkware/blackvue/blacksys.
Thanks for the extensive reply! My concern about image quality is mostly the ability to recognize license plates, especially in the dark (and not have them be burnt out white due to the lights), so it's not an aesthetic concern at all. I want to make sure the plate is captured properly, which in my view is the main reason to have high resolution and high frame rate in dashcams. I don't care about pretty colors or pixelation at all, as long as the accident scene is clear and plates can be read.
I agree with the parking mode concern, this is where I would go for an F800 (the low power mode in the Pro seems a bit after the fact, as you mentioned in the review, so probably not really the best) or another modern camera. I don't really have a big concern about parking now, but it could be an issue in the future. The main reason for cams for me would still be the insurance/accident scenario, to remove all doubt and to catch a license plate in case of a hit and run. Still, the parking mode follows closely.
My Wifi concerns are mostly related to the apps. When I check the Google Play store, none of the vendors' apps seem to get very high ratings (thinkware scores a whopping 2.8 out of 5) and my biggest concern is them not being supported anymore at some point down the road. This is where the ability to control everything on the device is handy.
Does the lens rotate all the way around if you want in cabin video?
no it can only face forward.
Great review! I’m leaning towards the F800. I don’t see any use for the cloud or energy saver mode on the Pro. Although I do wish the F800 came with 128GB support. If I were to purchase the F800 with the Cellink Neo along with 64GB card and I set it to Motion Detection with Parking Priority as my memory card partitioning, how many hours do you think it would last on average before it overwrites? Also what 64GB micro SD card do you recommend for Thinkware F800?
I forgot to mention that I plan on getting a 2-channel F800.
Oh man its hard to say, but I would not expect more than two days worth of footage if you park in high traffic areas. Its really hard to say because it depends on your personal circumstances. When it comes to memory cards, I have used transcend and samsung evo cards and never had an issue. I have only ever had issues with sandisk cards which are notorious to have issues unless you buy their expensive high endurance cards. Transcend also has high endurance cards but I have never had issues with their standard class 10 cards personally.
Hi there how are you? Someone has been scratching my car in the parking lot, I believe is the same person because whoever did, made a parallel scratch two days after the first one. So Which camera is the best to catch this type of act? Blackvue or Thinkware? Thanks
Both thinkware and blackvue have their pros and cons. Blackvue has options with better video quality, but thinkware is still good too, but their cams have power buttons so if you are parked somewhere such as in a garage you can just turn them off and they will turn back on when you start your car next. Blackvue cams do not have power buttons, you would have to unplug them and remember to plug them back in. If you drive at least 20-30 min a day turning it off my night be necessary though. Currently, if money is no issue, the DR900S-2CH from blackvue is my favorite. But with my truck i don't drive everyday i love that i can turn it off without draining battery when parked in my garage, I use cellink batteries.
ive watched so many reviews because im a broke person and only want to buy ONE good camera. im so worried to buy one and it ends up sucking. can someone please just tell me the best dash cam to get!? you keep comparing it to something called blackvue, so u seem to be biased towards that one which makes me think its your favourite, so im going to look into that one lol...
what is your price rance and I can tell you what i would recommend and why. My personal fav cams are by blackvue, thinkware, and viofo, but they each have their pros and cons. Depending on how much you are willing to spend I can recommend something different.
@@integralcam okay awesome thank you!!! I think I'd like to max out ay $500 cad
Great review thx
My Thinkware f800 pro only records on One minute clips how do you show the entire trip is that a software problem? Thanks E J .
dash cams are designed to only record in short clips because once the memory card is full it starts erasing the oldest footage first. if you ever wanted to join all the footage you should be able to just use any video editing software like windows movie maker to drag and drop them into one timeline and convert it into one file.
Nice, comprehensive review
I got the F800 Pro and the video quality is horrible. It is very grainy and almost digitized even during the day. In testing it out I am not able to read licence plates or even signs. Any suggestions on settings to fix this?
is it worse then what i show here or what other youtubers are showing from their cams?
I uploaded a video from yesterday to youtube. This actually made the quality. Yes I do niece it looks worse than any videos I've seen of it online.
th-cam.com/video/VZRKZg8hMpU/w-d-xo.html
bad idea not to enable the security light. that is very important to ward off the bad guys
I have this camera, I HATE it, firmware is crazy difficult to update. Customer support is lacking, it can not read license plates! Every time you start your vehicle, it's very chatty!
you can mute it in the settings. It's not the best in video quality, but generally any single channel camera will have better video quality than a 2 channel system because it requires more processing to render the HD footage. there are some 2 channel cams that might have better video quality like from viofo, but for the price they dont have nearly the level of advanced parking mode or network features. theres always a trade off with dash cams, if you wan't multiple channels and all the high tech advanced features you likely will not have the best looking video quality. unless you wanna spend a lot extra for the higher end models like the U1000, DR900S-2CH, or Viofo A129 Pro 4K (although the viofo is much cheaper it's parking mode is no where close to advanced as the U1000 or DR900, again trade offs).
Thank you!
thanks for watching!
I wish you would review DDPai mini 3
I have the F800Pro hardwired and connected to a Cellink Neo. I have a problem with the camera failing to record a short time after leaving the car. When the power is turned off I hear the camera say "parking recording". I have the settings set to motion detection and medium sensitivity. The battery is always in the 90%+ range so that's not the problem...unless it's the voltage settings. Any suggestions for settings so its actually recording 100% of the time?
I find F800 standard image blurry. License plates are not readable. Cheaper dash cameras have better image.
Some cheaper cams have better image but tend to offer less advanced features. It is really a trade off. License plates are always hard to read when you are driving fast, but the video quality would be more then enough to capture a hit and run in a parking lot. A high speed hit and run on the highway at night would be hard to capture with pretty much any cam tho.
@@integralcam F800 image quality is bad. atfull stop the license plate is blurry. maybe i happened to buy lemon unit. i picked up different , cheaper dash cam and the image is superior. night mode is just as good as on F800 and i paid $100 less.
At a full stop it shouldn't be blurry, this may sound like a dumb question but did you make sure to remove the projective plastic over the front lens? Sometimes people don't notice that on the camera when they first buy a dash cam.
@@integralcam yes I did
@@bitekr2045 i would try contacting thinkware if you feel you might have gotten a bad one. You should be able to read license plates just fine of stopped cars near you. Thinkware has great customer service, I tried calling them just to test it and I got a live person in the US almost immediately.
I was searching for a Dash Cam that was compatible with Mac OS for managing the videos. I liked your video but was disappointed that you didn't discuss the Mac/PC compatibility.
There is mac software for it! Blackvue is one of the great companies that support mac.
I have used iPhones but I am not a big apple person so it often slips my thoughts sorry. I have never even owned an ipod. Love their phones tho (currently use a note 8 tho).
Well all I keep hearing is Blackvue and thats the older version of Blackvue. Sounds like Blackvue is the way to go.
It really depends. If I were to choose between the F800 Pro (or the new Q800 pro that I am testing, review soon) or the DR900 from Blackvue, I would choose the DR900 but its a lot more expensive. Between the DR750 and F800 its a pretty even playing field IMO. I like that thinkware cams have power buttons so I can shut it off when I get home and I am parked in the garage. I have two vehicles, both have a thinkware or blackvue camera running off a cellink battery. The blackvue one often ends up draining until its dead because I don't always drive enough to keep it charged. The thinkware battery never dies because I can always shut it off at home with just a push of a button. I don't want to unplug the blackvue because I will forget to plug it back in later. Blackvue does win hands down when it comes to cloud features tho.
How much it costs
This model is no longer for sale. You would need to look at the Q800 or U1000. Check my reviews playlist for those and there will be links to amazon and blackboxmycar. I typically review them when they are new so in the video I might give the original pricing compared to current pricing.
Tmobile has a hot spot on their phones
Watch out man... 02:50...
Good point about the position of the cable jacks..that is poor engineering
I bought it....not happy with it....
lane departure :--not working all the time ....lane departure sound is very low it’s hard to listen.
Forward collision:- FCW is same thing ....very low sound if your music on forget about the sound even though no music it is very hard to listen .
Red light camera :- this sound is ok ...
But not wow....
No screen:- it has no screen so hard to know if it’s working properly. Proper angel....all the time u have to go on ur cell phone to check it ....
My recommendation:- go for ankar:- s1 very good much better than this even the price is very cheap
Anker cams are fine if you don't want all the fancy features. Personally I tell people I do not care for the lane departure, collision warning stuff. its not going to make your car brake for you and to me its a false sense of security. but the advanced parking mode features of the thinkware cams are much much more advanced than the anker cams.
dang i thought u were gonna eat shit at 19:43
So they bring something like this to the US market and add $250-$300 to the price. Sorry but there are dash cams out there just as good at a 1/4 of the price.
blueknight can you give some examples? I know there are some cheap 2 channel cams with dual 1080p now but none have the build quality and advanced features like thinkware and blackvue or many other Korean cams.
www.amazon.com/Veckle-Channel-Dashboard-Recorder-Recording/dp/B0746BCFBF/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522034370&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=dual+camera+dash+cam&psc=1 While this is only 1 example and doesn't have wi-fi, it's $300 less. Sorry but $460 for a dash cam is way too much.
I reviewed that camera. its a great affordable 2 channel camera. but its not equal to the f800 pro. the parking mode is not as advanced as thinkware, it does not have any sort of buffered parking mode, well developed smart phone app, cloud features or the same sony starvis sensors front AND rear. so say you only want impact detection on during parking mode, the thinkware will buffer 10 seconds and if someone impacts you in a parking lot it captures 10 seconds leading up to the impact . the veckle uses a combination time lapse and motion detection which is a good work around to not having buffered recording but it is a trade off. That cam is probably the cam i would most recommend on a budget for a 2 ch cam with parking features, but thinkware is on a totally different level. besides having more features, better build quality, they have real customer support over the phone in many countries (i tested this myself) and not to mention wifi with a great smart phone app. the thinkware alerts you each time you start your car how many impacts it detected. i received both cams for review and if i had to buy one and could afford both, the thinkware f800 pro IMHO is worth it. You also have to remember thinkware cams are sold in retail stores in the US, you can buy thinkware at a best buy. many cams like the veckle are cheap chinese products that sell for WAY cheaper because they arent dealing with the MSRP in US retail stores dont have live customer service reps to answer your calls in many countries. that veckle is a great budget cam, but there are many reasons why its so cheap.
Ok, the F800 pro has some features I just don't care about. The cloud, Who really needs that? To be honest, I don't really care about the wi-fi, to me it's a useless feature. Same as the app for the smartphone, useless. It looks pretty, but doesn't serve any real purpose.You say the F800 pro can record 10 seconds leading up to someone hitting your vehicle while parked. So it's recording the whole time you're out the vehicle and saves the file just like when you're moving if someone hits you? That's not a parking mode, that's just normal operation. There might be reasons why the veckle is cheaper, but there's no reason (That you've given) why the f800 pro is $300+ more expensive. Maybe $100- $150 more, maybe. I like quality and features as much as the next person, but not to the point of being raped by these companies just because their selling it in the American market.
no its not constantly recording to the memory card tho it is buffering 10 seconds of recording on its internal memory. and when it senses an impact or trigger, THEN it record to the memory card. so when you check your memory card, only the important footage is saved. this can help your memory card life because its not constantly writing the the memory card 24/7. the veckle is a good cam i wont lie, but its still not on the same level as the f800. its like comparing a playstation 3 to a playstation 4. i can admit thinkwares cloud feature is limited, but if you look at blackvue, it can alert you thru your smart phone if someone impacts your car over the cloud in parking mode. thats something cheaper cams cant do. thinkware is half way there but not as good as blackvue yet. in the end, maybe the f800 pro isnt worth your money, and that is fine, but it has more features, it is a better camera. maybe not $300 better like you say, but there is a big gap between cams like the veckle and f800 pro. comes down to if you want to pay a lot more for a better camera, or pay much less and settle for something more basic.
Helllllloooo Minneapolis!
Same as, same as, same as, wtf