Buy it for the night video, or not at all The video is equally high-quality, but you’ll need to hardwire the camera to a constant 12-volt source to use parking mode.
The F800 Pro also captures in parking mode at a storage-conserving 2 frames per second. Though night video has improved greatly across the industry, this is still easily the best you’ll see.Īs you can see above, the F800 Pro’s night captures are nothing short of superb-best in the business, and it’s not particularly close. This is by far the most revelatory video I’ve ever taken at this spot. Though not as saturated as some day time video we’ve seen, the superior processing on the F800 Pro makes details stand out.ĭetails are readily apparent in the F800 Pro’s daytime captures, though the color palette isn’t as saturated as we’ve see with HDR cameras such as the Viofo A119 and the more recently reviewed Z-Edge Z4. What sets the F800 and hence, the F800 Pro apart is the superior quality of their night captures. The F800 Pro’s day captures are top-notch, but that’s a claim many a cheaper camera can make. I turn them all off because I don’t speed (much) and have a healthy respect for the chaos surrounding me on the roadways. All that info can make you feel incredibly well-informed, and who knows-maybe the feedback will improve your driving.
More handy for competent but aggressive drivers are warnings about red lights and red light cameras, speed zones, and mobile enforcement zones.
I’m going to say it yet again: If you think these are features you need, take more lessons or get off the road. That is, if you’re asleep at the wheel as the traffic in front of you starts moving, you receive a gentle reminder to get off the brake and accelerate.
Bad-driver techĪs I said, the F800 Pro offers ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) features such as lane departure and collision warnings, as well as a tardy departure warning. Having a viewing app to map where you’ve been is a nice perquisite, only it isn’t-it’s required to decode GPS location data. Thinkware provides the viewer shown below to show where you’ve been. The F800 Pro sports integrated GPS, but you wouldn’t know it from the video, as the location info isn’t included in the watermark. There are also indicator lights for GPS (if available), Record, and Wi-Fi. Most operations, including adjusting settings and viewing videos, are performed using the Thinkware Cloud app on your phone (iOS or Android). The interior side of the F800 Pro has buttons for controlling power, muting the microphone (handy for bypassing colorful verbal exchanges), connecting via Wi-Fi, and formatting an SD card. The F800 Pro is a bt more serious looking than the plain F800, and comes with Thinkware’s cloud service. The F800’s camera is extremely close to the windshield to reduce distortion, and swivels in the vertical with a range of about 90 degrees. On the top of the camera you’ll find the slot for the Micro SD card (Thinkware provided us with a 32GB card and SD adapter) as well as the reset button, while the camera is on the left side.
Still, adding it to the package will bring you up to $450 with tax.
The rear camera is $10 cheaper than last year, and the new model offers 1080p resolution with the same night-friendly Sony STARVIS sensor as the front. However, the USB port is not for connecting the unit to a computer-it’s a video input for the optional $100 rear camera. The right side of the camera is home to the AC jack and a micro-USB port. The gray-and-black color scheme gives it a more serious demeanor than the F800, and a more modern appearance than the older F770. The F800 Pro is a bit on the large size for a dash cam, measuring approximately 1.1 x 2.5 x 3.25 inches-that last being 4 inches if you include the 140-degree field of view, rotate-able camera, which sticks out to the side.