Given the negative reviews of the Blackvue DR650GW, I decided to look at alternatives when my el-cheapo Mobius ActionCam died. I went with the Thinkview F750. It's a nice unit and total cost was just under $400 from Amazon, including a Sandisk Ultra 64 memory card (comes with 16GB)
Pros:
- 1080P front / rear
- Customer service returns calls
- GPS locks reliably within three minutes
- Nice Mac / PC program to view video files -- shows both cams simultaneously, plots car position on map, displays speed and x, y, z changes
Cons:
- Rear camera cable is thick micro-USB, making it harder to fish. All the best regards to those of you who can stuff it through the hatch grommet -- I failed.
- Front unit seems "large"
- App is new and not feature complete -- the biggest "miss" from my perspective is that although you can view and download videos onto your smartphone, you can't do anything with them after that (like save to Photos or email to someone).
It also has lane assist, front collision warning and speed camera database, but I haven't explored how those work yet.
I also don't know if this is a pro or a con, but the box provides status updates by voice, so you don't have to look at and decipher the blinking lights. For example, you'll get a voice notification when GPS locks, or if you turn on manual recording.
Thanks to wk057, JPP, LastNLSig, egiljae & Fezzik for your installation tech notes! I don't have a lot of installation pictures to add, but to summarize:
- Power from unused microphone screen connector
- No hatchback drilling -- fish wire down to hatchback handholds and back up to window frame.
- Route cable on outside of hatchback boot
Also, that right side window frame fascia with connectors that tend to break. Note that they slip on from two different directions, so my take is pulling straight out is the best way to get it out.
Pros:
- 1080P front / rear
- Customer service returns calls
- GPS locks reliably within three minutes
- Nice Mac / PC program to view video files -- shows both cams simultaneously, plots car position on map, displays speed and x, y, z changes
Cons:
- Rear camera cable is thick micro-USB, making it harder to fish. All the best regards to those of you who can stuff it through the hatch grommet -- I failed.
- Front unit seems "large"
- App is new and not feature complete -- the biggest "miss" from my perspective is that although you can view and download videos onto your smartphone, you can't do anything with them after that (like save to Photos or email to someone).
It also has lane assist, front collision warning and speed camera database, but I haven't explored how those work yet.
I also don't know if this is a pro or a con, but the box provides status updates by voice, so you don't have to look at and decipher the blinking lights. For example, you'll get a voice notification when GPS locks, or if you turn on manual recording.
Thanks to wk057, JPP, LastNLSig, egiljae & Fezzik for your installation tech notes! I don't have a lot of installation pictures to add, but to summarize:
- Power from unused microphone screen connector
- No hatchback drilling -- fish wire down to hatchback handholds and back up to window frame.
- Route cable on outside of hatchback boot
Also, that right side window frame fascia with connectors that tend to break. Note that they slip on from two different directions, so my take is pulling straight out is the best way to get it out.
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