Thinkware X1000 review: An excellent dash cam, but you pay for it

Price When Reviewed

$299.99

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$229.99

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The $300, dual-channel (entrance/rear—with digital camera) Thinkware X1000 sprint cam presents distinctive entrance video captures (day and, particularly, night time). It additionally contains a useful IPS contact show, a cornucopia of driver help options, and a connection for exterior radar (really LiDAR). It’s extremely succesful, however dear for a unit with no inside GPS.

This assessment is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for extra opinions and shopping for recommendation. 

Design and options

The X1000 is an oblong unit measuring 4.1-inches large, by 2.4-inches excessive, by a mere 1-inch deep—the lens housing doesn’t protrude very far as you possibly can see within the images. Both the entrance and rear cameras provide a large 156-degree discipline of view, protecting the higher a part of the world across the car. Both cameras provide 2560 x1440 decision, offering a very good quantity of element and excessive dynamic vary (HDR) coloration.

On the again of the primary digital camera is a transparent, colourful 3.5-inch touchscreen that’s used to show reside digital camera enter (entrance and rear) and regulate settings. It took me a bit to get used to the show because it required a firmer press than the lately reviewed Cobra 400D. It was additionally tougher to learn throughout the day at a distance, largely due to the quantity of pink textual content used on the primary display. I’m being choosy, although—it’s enjoyable and simple.

On prime of the primary physique is a coupling for the semi-permanent sticky mount. The rear digital camera is mounted on its semi-permanent mount, although the cable is detachable. If I go away a digital camera on the windshield right here in San Francisco will probably be gone inside every week. For some motive, they’ve by no means taken a rear digital camera.

Also on prime of the primary digital camera are the facility jack, GPS jack (the GPS is a $40 choice and one other cable), radar jack, and the mini USB jack for the rear digital camera. The left facet of the unit has the facility button, microphone, and reset button (pinhole), whereas the best facet is house to the micro SD card slot. Note {that a} 32GB SD card is included—all the time a pleasant perk.

Again, the radar is definitely a LiDAR module used to boost the driver-assist options. It’s not for detecting RADAR indicators from legislation enforcement.

The X1000 is graced with a bunch of driver-assist options. The digital camera chirps at you any time it senses you’ve departed your lane, are approaching stable objects in your path, or are tardy in leaving the sunshine.

The sprint cam is fairly vigilant in these warnings and I finally turned off the help options as a result of I merely didn’t want them. That mentioned, the chirping didn’t trouble me. In reality, I missed it when it was gone. It was akin to having a pleasant chicken sharing the cabin. Go determine, and kudos to Thinkware for that.

More mundane options embody parking mode (wake on affect), in addition to sensitivity changes for nearly every part. You can flip off the HDR if for some motive you don’t like coloration.

Hard-wired, proprietary

Uniquely, in our expertise, the X1000 ships with hard-wiring fairly than the extra frequent auxiliary (cigarette lighter) or OBDII energy cables. The latter can be found, however at a fairly staggering $30 and $45, respectively. Thinkware’s uncommon coaxial energy jack means you’re possible caught with these dear choices.

Obviously, if you wish to hardwire this isn’t a problem. But OBDII installations are almost as clear, and much simpler for the common person. Beyond that, if a Thinkware cable breaks or goes dangerous on the highway, you’ll must order on-line and wait. The cables with USB connecters that almost all sprint cams use are sometimes accessible at truck stops and gasoline station comfort shops.

Performance

While I’ve my points with the X1000’s worth and proprietary wiring, it’s inconceivable to fault its entrance video. First off, there’s a outstanding lack of fish-eye distortion given the large 156-degree discipline of view. Then there’s the day video, which is properly saturated and exhibits excellent element.

But the night time video is the actual eye-popper. It exhibits a outstanding quantity of element, whereas nonetheless dealing with headlight flare and the like extraordinarily nicely. The solely cameras we’ve examined with the identical element in night time captures are the Cobra SC400D and the Nextbase 422GW, 622GW. However, these require brightening to see the small print, which the X1000 doesn’t.

If you’ve considered the night time captures in a few of our different opinions, the one under will impress you. The element is nothing in need of improbable, particularly given the 1440p decision and the truth that it’s lots darker exterior than the picture would lead you to consider. Note that that is with the headlights off. With them on, element is even higher.

You can flip off this Ultra Night Vision processing and produce darker captures when you like. Not one thing I’d do, however it’s doable.

The rear day captures (under) weren’t as detailed because the entrance, which is probably going as a result of optics. The colours are barely duller, the heater wire in my again windshield is squashed and the main focus is discombobulated (the horizontal blur about midway up). The picture remains to be fairly good, and element sufficient.

Rear night time captures aren’t nearly as good as these from the ahead digital camera both, although they’re nonetheless usable. You can actually see the heater wire (blue distortion) on this seize. That cab be remedied by extra cautious placement of the rear digital camera. Get somebody to face exterior the car to let you know if it’s located appropriately.

Worth it, however there’s competitors

There’s no arguing the standard of the X1000’s entrance video captures—they’re nearly as good as something we’ve seen at 1440p. It’s additionally versatile with each GPS and radar choices and the contact show makes it exceptionally nice and simple to make use of. If you’re into driver-assist options, the X1000 is a short-lister.

But once more, there’s the worth. By the time you add the GPS, you’re speaking almost $350. At that worth level you additionally discover the aforementioned $400 three-channel Cobra SC400D, which presents higher rear captures and a 3rd channel for an non-obligatory cabin digital camera, and the Nextbase 422GW/622GW, with their versatile modular inside/rear digital camera programs.