According to thousands of YouTube videos, equipping your vehicle with a dashcam is an excellent idea.
You may capture bizarre and hilarious slice-of-life videos!
But dash cams are also an invaluable partner in case of a crash.
This is because the data and footage from the device carry more weight than a personal testimony.
And this Thinkware f800 Pro does more than capture YouTube-worthy videos.
Table Of Contents
What Is Thinkware?
Thinkware is a leading location-based services provider offering drivers smart car information technologies since 1997.
Is Thinkware a Good Brand?
The company has a solid hold as the preferred choice for many drivers looking for dashboard cameras, including fleet owners.
Thinkware continues to advance and grow its smart platform services by releasing various dashcam models and GPS navigation systems.
What Are the Top Thinkware Dashcams?
Our picks for the best Thinkware dashcams include:
- U1000 for insane 4K image quality
- Q800 Pro for the best video quality
- F800 Pro for the best value
Our product review discusses the Thinkware f800pro and breaks down its features and specifications so you can decide if it’s right for your driving requirements.
What Are Dashcams Used For?
The dashboard camera, or dashcam, is an invaluable car accessory.
Dashcams provide foolproof records of everything occurring in front and behind your car.
These cameras are a popular vehicle accessory for regular drivers, bus and cab drivers, driving instructors, police officers, and more.
Benefits of a Dashcam
Here’s a deeper insight into the most notable benefits of purchasing and installing a dashcam in your vehicle.
First-Hand Evidence of an Incident
Millions of drivers invest their money and time in dashcams because they want to capture images of accidents.
These cameras begin to record when you start the engine and offer efficient, real-time, and straight-to-the-point proof in case of a traffic incident.
Solution for Undisciplined Drivers
The camera also helps you report undisciplined drivers.
Each driver has encountered a poor driver at least once in their driving career.
These irresponsible and reckless drivers can be annoying and put the lives of innocent passengers and other drivers at risk.
Use the camera to report on drivers who exhibit dangerous driving habits.
These include drinking and driving, texting and driving, or even road rage.
Perfect Monitoring Tool
A dash camera is the best solution if:
- You’re worried kids are taking the car for a ride, even after forbidding them
- You own a fleet of vehicles, and worried drivers are clocking extra miles in personal interest
- Lending out your vehicle to relatives or friends
- You want to know what happens after dropping your car off at the local mechanic’s
Helps Prevent Fraud
Insurance fraud is a big problem for insurance companies and honest drivers.
The dashboard cam records all events, which helps prevent scammers from extorting money from you illegally for something you haven’t done.
Record Road Trips
Turn your next road trip into an unforgettable experience you can reminisce about with a dashcam.
Do I Need a Dashcam?
A dashboard camera is a critical tool if you want to:
- Record car accidents
- Contest a ticket in court
- Capture the unexpected while driving with the current location
- Reduce insurance claims after parking your car and activate recording mode on motion or impact detection
Thinkware f800 Pro: Product Description
Are you looking for more value out of your value?
Then the F800 Pro dashcam is worth looking at.
How Does the Thinkware f800 Pro Dashcam Compare to Competitors?
The f800 Pro boasts a compact design and a premium look.
It almost looks like OEM equipment after installation, and it’s so small that you’d hardly notice it.
The camera fits behind the rearview mirror—you need to lean forward over the dash and look up to notice it.
Many dash cams are moving towards the 4K class, but this Thinkware dashcam model maintains a 1080p resolution.
How Do I Use Thinkware f800 Pro?
The dashcam comes with a power cord for plugging into your car’s 12v cigarette lighter.
Just plug the cord in, and you’re up and running!
You can also “hard-wire” the f800 Pro into your vehicle’s 12v power circuit.
The connection is the only way to use the parking mode surveillance feature.
A hard-wired connection also frees up the power outlet for your phone charger and other electronic devices.
The f800 Pro creates video files on an empty memory card with segments of one-minute chunks for easy viewing.
The dashboard camera records older footage once the memory card is full (loop recording), so it doesn’t require much attention until it captures a video you want to save.
Do I Need the Thinkware f800 Pro App?
Get the most out of your Thinkware f800 Pro dashcam by downloading and installing the Thinkware Cloud app for Android and iOS devices.
The app makes it easy to start Wi-Fi on your dashcam and log onto the ThinkwareXX SSID from your phone.
The dash camera uses your phone’s hotspot to access the Thinkware Cloud using the app.
The app lets you leverage geofencing, impact notifications, and Locate My Car features.
There’s an option to download images and videos to a PC and Mac viewing software from the microSD card, or you can connect to the unit’s SSD for real-time images.
However, the app and viewer don’t have editing functions to prevent altering evidence.
Thinkware f800 Pro: Key Features
Standard features in this dashcam are:
- Automatic incident recording
- Video and audio recording
- Continuous recording mode
- Memory card support
- In-app push notification
Here are the unique f800 pro dashcam features.
Video Quality
The tent-pole feature of any dashcam is its camera.
The main camera offers a resolution of 1920×1080, recording at 30fps.
Good quality Sony CMOS image sensors and decent lens mean images are sharp and detailed.
The f800 Pro’s rear camera is also 1080p.
You can record video from both cameras to a 16GB card in the f800 bundle.
However, you can upgrade the capacity up to 128GB.
Super Night Vision 2.0
The Thinkware dash cam also comes with Super Night Vision technology to provide visible and clear video in low-light conditions.
Increased sensitivity means clearer, brighter footage, so details are visible when an incident occurs at night.
Super Night Vision 2.0 also means that clear vision is available on the f800Pro even when driving in a low light environment.
Wide Viewing Angle
The field of view of many dashcams is between 130 degrees to 160 degrees.
A larger field of view may mean capturing more imagery, but this causes image distortion and reduced resolution around the edges.
The cam f800 Pro comes with a 140-degree diagonal viewing angle, which is optimal for distortion-free images of the road.
Time Lapse
The built-in time-lapse function of the f800 dash cam allows recording long videos and rolls them quicker than the traditional playback speed.
Time-lapse saves your time when watching extensive footage.
For example, you can review three hours of parking footage in a few minutes.
The feature is beneficial when:
- You have a low capacity microSD card;
- Parking your vehicle in locations with tons of traffic;
- You want to review activities around your parked car quickly.
Energy Saving Mode
The Energy Saving Mode puts the dashcam on standby in Parking Surveillance mode and wakes to record after an impact.
Energy-saving parking recording conserves energy and increases the total duration of the f800 Pro Parking Surveillance mode by up to three times.
Impact Detection
Thinkware f800 Pro has an active impact monitoring system that records footage on impact and stores the files away in a separate folder.
The recorded video footage is not overwritten and is easy to locate in the video folder, while the mobile app sends you a driving impact notification.
Motion Detection
Movement around your car triggers the feature.
A built-in video sensor detects movement and starts recording. The file footage is also in a separate video folder.
Motion sensitivity in the f800Pro is adjustable but is sensitive enough to ensure it records something than missing out on critical footage.
Front Vehicle Departure Warning (FVDW)
FVDW is a driver’s assistance feature that lets you know the car in front of you is pulling away from an intersection.
The system works in tandem with a collision warning system to alert distracted drivers to divert their attention back to the road.
Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)
LDWS is another feature that alerts you when the vehicle moves out of its lane.
The system detects the line marking on road surfaces and warns of unintentional lane departures.
LDWS is most effective on straight roads and when you’re not paying sufficient attention to the road.
The system will not sound an alarm if you turn on the turn signal before changing lanes.
Safety Camera Alert
Thinkware f800 lets you choose whether to receive alerts on red lights, average and static speed cameras, and mobile camera hot spots.
You can configure the feature to give specific camera warnings or disable it completely.
The speed camera warning system database receives updates every three months, and the latest version is available on the Thinkware website.
Thinkware f800 Pro: Is It Worth It?
The f800 Pro is an excellent dashcam.
It comes with many features, including a parking mode that runs for days.
This unit offers the best night video we’ve seen—front and rear.
If you love using your phone, this is one of the best dash cams.
What Needs to be Improved?
However, night vision has improved even on dashcams less expensive than this one from Thinkware.
Most offer on-board displays, setup, and controls that work without a phone.
The Thinkware Cloud is an exceptional feature, but it relies on your phone heavily—a failure point in professional settings that requires re-thinking.
Wrapping Up
The Thinkware f800 Pro dash cam boasts a Sony Exmore R STAVIS image sensor for capturing excellent video, even in low light conditions.
A big plus is an easy installation, setup, and configuration process using the cam mobile viewer app.
Cloud capability and geofencing features are useful extras, while a comprehensive road safety warning system adds to the value.
The Thinkware dashcam model is a capable and sleek choice with extra features that make it better.
Get one today and make driving safer.
