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I am curious how the video quality appears on the REAR "dash cam" with 20% rear window tint.
I have concerns about tint too but from the videos I've seen, it doesn't seem to be too much of an issue.
Thinkware's press release states the F800 availability in July at Best Buy for $299. At that price I'm willing to try out the newest design, but can't find any listed on Best Buy site. May have to visit a store later. I don't really care about the driving aids and alerts. Just want reliability in heat and excellent video quality.
Pulled the trigger on a pair of VIOFO A119S. Hoping the improved low-light performance will compensate for tinted windows. Will receive the kits this weekend and will post back after I have them installed.
Pulled the trigger on a pair of VIOFO A119S. Hoping the improved low-light performance will compensate for tinted windows. Will receive the kits this weekend and will post back after I have them installed.
Looks like also Black Box My Car just got the F800 in. I'm going to wait and see when they do a review on it along with it compared to the CH-200. I'll then decide on which one to buy along with a video showing how to install it on a LS400 and my review on it. I'm also interested in seeing how your cameras will turn out
Looks like also Black Box My Car just got the F800 in. I'm going to wait and see when they do a review on it along with it compared to the CH-200. I'll then decide on which one to buy along with a video showing how to install it on a LS400 and my review on it. I'm also interested in seeing how your cameras will turn out
I'm mighty curious about their review too. I'm just starting to dabble in the dashcam arena and $320 for just the front camera F800 was too steep for me. At that price I snagged two VIOFO A119S, two CPL, and two 64 GB microSD cards. However, I'm not completely eliminating the F800. If the review comes back as excellent then maybe I can move the pair of A119S to my wife's car and then upgrade to the F800 for the LS.
I'm mighty curious about their review too. I'm just starting to dabble in the dash cam arena and $320 for just the front camera F800 was too steep for me. At that price, I snagged two VIOFO A119S, two CPL, and two 64 GB microSD cards. However, I'm not completely eliminating the F800. If the review comes back as excellent then maybe I can move the pair of A119S to my wife's car and then upgrade to the F800 for the LS.
Yea the F800 is steep on price. I'll like to see the review and see if the video quality can beat my current setup. The CH-200 got me from the huge SD card size and the heat. In AZ it can get really hot in a car and I would not like a $500 cam dying from the heat. Looking at some comments on their channel I guess they will have F800 review sometime within the next two weeks.
Okay, I installed the VIOFO A119S during lunch, but only on the front (I have to do some research to see if I can just stick the second camera onto the rear window tint. I'm also curious if it will fit beneath the rear sunshade and whether or not the rear third brake light will cast too strong of light during braking.).
Initial impressions after a 10 minute drive is that it's okay. Not bad for $100-$120 per camera. It seems well-built and the interface is easy to use. It also came with different size attachment plates, which was nice. The super long 11+ feet USB cable will help with routing the power cord (which I haven't done yet). I do notice excessive sharpening in the image and videos. I also have the CPL attached to reduce glare. Overall, I think it is a decent dashcam and better than nothing. I do wish the viewing angle was wider but I bought the A119S knowing it had a narrower Field of View compared with the A119 and I was prioritizing the 1080@60 fps over FOV. The 60 fps does sort of give it a soap opera feel as the video is almost too fluid. Based on the screen captures below, I find the image quality is acceptable for the price -- it is not terrible but also doesn't blow me away.
You can make out license plates, both front and rear, while traveling 55-60 MPH if the vehicle is in the adjacent lane. Once you move beyond one-lane away it gets pretty difficult to make out any license plate numbers. This could also be due to the strong noon sun at the time. Perhaps plates will be more legible farther away with more even lighting. Of course, dashcams are not just for reading license plates and hopefully this unit will protect me in the event fault is ever challenged in an accident.
Glad I didn't have to affix the VIOFO mount to the dotted area near the top of the windshield. Instead, I stuck it to the Sirius/XM receiver.
From the outside it is pretty discrete. The dashcam is NOT the lens you see in the top center, that is the camera for auto-high beams. Hard to see with the shade but the VIOFO dashcam is actually to the left of the auto-high beam camera and has the power cord coming out. I will work on concealing the cable next.
I had Blackvue 2CH dashcam. No problems so far. You can stream real time or save any videos directly from your phone through the app. Pretty easy install
I had Blackvue 2CH dashcam. No problems so far. You can stream real time or save any videos directly from your phone through the app. Pretty easy install
The Blackvue is nice. I like that it streams to the phone and has a smaller form factor without a display, but it's 2ch kit also costs $400. I'm sure it is a great dashcam but that's more than I want to spend at the moment and the VIOFO seems to garner decent reviews and good reliability. Maybe I'll be able to snag a fancier dash cam in the future at a lower price. For now, the VIOFO will do.
Just finished running the cable tonight. It was just long enough with probably four inches of slack to spare. I wanted to run it under the headliner on the driver's side but, because of how I originally placed the camera, I ended up going across the passenger headliner and down the door jamb. It was surprisingly easy and almost zero evidence of where the wire is unless you know where to look. Took about 45 minutes without any special tools.
I just have to work on the rear camera next. Need to see if the VIOFO will fit with enough clearance for the rear sunshade. I'm really glad to have the rear reclining seats as I plan to just conceal the cable in the gap between the middle and outer seat.
Yea the F800 is steep on price. I'll like to see the review and see if the video quality can beat my current setup. The CH-200 got me from the huge SD card size and the heat. In AZ it can get really hot in a car and I would not like a $500 cam dying from the heat. Looking at some comments on their channel I guess they will have F800 review sometime within the next two weeks.
winter4w, those are some great videos on your YT channel. Definitely some close calls. I noticed the rear brake light doesn't seem to interfere with the image at night on your videos. Hope mine doesn't create any issues either. The image quality on your CH-200 is quite nice, noticeably better than the VIOFO, IMHO. Your videos make me want to upgrade already except the wife is already shocked to learn tonight that I spent $250 on dashcams. What editing software do you use to zoom into different areas of the video and add trailing arrows?
Installed the rear camera today. Wire tucked away nicely in the headliner and down between the seat gaps and then under the floor mat to the USB port in the back of the center console. The top bar of the rear sunshade does slightly graze the dashcam when raising and lowering the sunshade. I would have to position the dashcam too low and possibly on the heating wires of the back window if I wanted to completely clear the rear sunshade. I figure it is fine where it is since the rear sunshade is always up anyways (I turned off the auto-down during Reverse feature).
I went ahead and did the A119 for the front in my 2104 LS. Hardwired install was a breeze thanks to you all. Because I have a sunshade in the rear that I actually use what are my options for a camera in the rear?
I went ahead and did the A119 for the front in my 2104 LS. Hardwired install was a breeze thanks to you all. Because I have a sunshade in the rear that I actually use what are my options for a camera in the rear?
Congrats, bigsherv. In my post before yours, there's a photo of a second A119S I placed on the rear glass. The sunshade can still go up and down. It does contact the camera ever so slightly. If I had installed the dashcam another 1/4" lower then the sunshade can operate without any contact. Hope that helps.
I learn so much from this board I feel I need to give back whenever I can. I have the A119 with the GPS unit. It came with the camera I got so I use it. One thing I didn’t love about the setup I Had was how the power cord went up in a way that displayed the wire all the time. I am sure I am not the only person who is bugged by seeing wires. To solve it I need to resort to ordering a part from China via eBay.
To hide the wire I bought a 90 degree mini USB adapter. You can find mini to micro with ease, but mini to mini was impossible to fine. But eBay solved this problem for me. I bought this.
Below is my pictures of how my camera looks and what the adapter did for me. Hope this helps someone.
I thought I posted up in here before but I guess not.
My girlfriend has the Rexing V1, no problems at all - I myself have the Vantrue N2 Pro, which has built in front and rear facing dash cam. I was specific about mine in particular since I did not want the 3m sticky on the windshield, reason being is I have tint on my front and if one day I were to remove, I just didn't want hassle or problems - and I wanted to look at myself when I drive (lol).
Both dash cams that we run have zero issues.
Both run in loop and have incident awareness 'on'. Meaning, if an accident were to occur, it'll automatically save this to the SD card.
I wired both of ours through the driver side A-pillars, easy as cake.
I still recommend you take DOWN your dash cam in higher temps as to not mess up anything, I don't care what manufacturers state as to if it holds up to xxx temps, better safe than sorry and with the sun blaring down on these little devices that are usually black in color, well - you get the idea.
08-02-17, 09:57 AM
