If you own a car, one of the first things you should get yourself is a dash cam. I’ve been saying it for years but if you want to protect yourself and your loved ones, a dash cam is one of the best things you could possibly have in your car. The thing is, you don’t just want any dash cam. In this day and age, you need a dash cam that can not only record what’s going on in front of your car but also what’s happening behind it. You need something like that new Thinkware F200 Pro Dual Channel Dash Cam. This all-in-one bundle has pretty much everything you need to protect yourself and your investment in case of any unfortunate accidents or run-ins with the law.
So what makes the Thinkware F200 Pro a good choice? Well, if you get the bundle, it includes the optional rear camera. The bundle we received here also included two different cables, one for the 12V port and one if you want to hardwire your unit into the car. It also comes with a 32GB card and installation instructions and manual.
The Thinkware F200 Pro is an upgrade to the previous F200, which came out around 2-3 years ago. The F200 Pro still retains the same, small form factor in a very lightweight package. This is also a 2-channel unit and it’s able to record both the front cam and rear cam at the same time – front at 1080p and the rear also at 1080p, which is an upgrade from before.
Installation is pretty simple for both front and rear units as it’s quite similar to other dash cams. Find a place on the front windshield for the front camera and then figure out exactly how you want to mount that rear camera. You’ll want to run it all the way to the rear window and most likely through the headliner. Depending on your level of expertise, you may need someone who is knowledgeable in removing parts as you will need to tuck these cables in behind panels in order to get a very clean install. The last thing you want is a bunch of wires hanging everywhere. That also goes for the power cable. It’s super long so you should be able to route it all the way around the windshield, down the side of the pillar, under your dash, and then to any available power port you have, whether it be on the dash or in your armrest. If you’re going the hardwire approach, it’ll go to your fuse box.
In terms of feature set, the Thinkware F200 has a wide, 140-degree view angle which should capture all you need upfront and while the rear camera has a 160-degree view angle out the back. It has built-in video enhancement technology ensuring the most vivid video recordings under any circumstance. The wide dynamic range allows the camera to eliminate excessively bright spots on the recording to correct its color balance in order to ensure a clear image. The unit also has full voice alerts.
Other notable features include embedded Advanced Driver Assistance System for road hazards, Parking mode, Super Night Vision, and Time Lapse for Parking Surveillance mode. Note that the Parking mode will require hardwiring into your fuse box. and ADAS requires GPS.
The only thing the Thinkware F200 Pro is missing however is built-in GPS. You’ll have to purchase an optional GPS antenna and get that feature by connecting it to the main unit. You’ll probably want to pick it up as it unlocks the ADAS system in the dash cam.
To get the most out of the Thinkware F200 Pro, you will need to download the Thinkware Cloud mobile app on either iOS or Android as well as the PC Viewer app for your computer. The mobile app is used to connect to your dash cam when you’re out via built-in Wi-Fi. With this, you can view recorded video, live view, and adjust the settings of your dash cam. The PC Viewer app on the computer is used to view your captured videos in greater detail. You can use it to scan all recordings, share and save video files, view detailed GPS logs, and also adjust dash cam settings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Thinkware F200 Pro is a solid update to the budget F200 line. It adds a few new features, such as the Advanced Driver Assistance System and Super Night Vision mode. Not only that, the F200 Pro now also records in full 1080p for the rear camera. What I am a bit disappointed in is the lack of built-in GPS, though you can easily fix that with the purchase of the optional GPS module. The unit also includes built-in Wi-Fi.
While not Thinkware’s top-of-the-line dash cam, the F200 Pro is a much more affordable choice than their higher-priced models that can run almost twice as much as this. The F200 Pro is good enough for most people as it does have a lot of the features that the other models have, just in a smaller, lighter, and less expensive package.
You can pick up your very own Thinkware F200 Pro here on Amazon.
