Did anyone buy the U1000 4K yet who can share their experience?

egonvdv

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Dash Cam
TWO Thinkware's U10002CH (rear cams used as side cams)
At nearly 600 eur for the dual, this really must be quite the camera…. or…?
 
So, it's finally available somewhere.

It's listed on amazon (1-CH) but currently not available. Want the 2-CH anyway... .
 
I've just been having a look and the U1000 based on the firmware looks to be based around the IMX334 8.34MP sensor for the front channel with the rear being the IMX335 5.14MP sensor - both are Sony Starvis sensors.
Code:
Front
IMX334        1/1.8   2.0u x 2.0u   8.42MP   Starvis

Rear
IMX335        1/2.8   2.0u x 2.0u   5.14MP   Starvis
I've been looking at getting one of the Dahua 1/1.8 8MP CCTV cameras as they've been pretty good quality at night - not quite as good as the 2MP Starvis sensors in terms of motion blur though but better in daylight with the extra resolution.
 
Ok, my biggest concerns are:
* Hardwire-kit only (maybe the optional lighter-plug is supported?)
* max 128GB SD-card (i hope 256GB is supported anyway)
* ~100€ more compared to the DC-900S 2CH which is expensive already
 
For dash cam, even use the same sensor, still can not same night video quality as CCTV cameras.

I haven't found big advantage for IMX334, maybe this related with Ambarella IQ tuning.
 
Ok, my biggest concerns are:
* Hardwire-kit only (maybe the optional lighter-plug is supported?)
* max 128GB SD-card (i hope 256GB is supported anyway)
* ~100€ more compared to the DC-900S 2CH which is expensive already
1. Come with hardwire kit directly, no normal charger like F800.
2. Support 128GB card.
 
I haven't found big advantage for IMX334, maybe this related with Ambarella IQ tuning.
Certainly it is not the image quality that justifies the high cost. Maybe it can be improved with future firmware upgrades, but the U1000 video I saw was only of average quality. It did have genuine 4K detail though, which makes it better than most other current 4K dash cameras!

The radar sensor looks interesting, but I'm doubting that it can see things soon enough to fill the pre-event buffer before an event triggers?
 
1. Come with hardwire kit directly, no normal charger like F800.
2. Support 128GB card.

Yes, i know. :) But i hope you can use the optional charger that they offer for their other cams.
Yes, also true, but Blackvue states the same, yet their cams work perfectly with 256GB cards.

Certainly it is not the image quality that justifies the high cost. Maybe it can be improved with future firmware upgrades, but the U1000 video I saw was only of average quality. It did have genuine 4K detail though, which makes it better than most other current 4K dash cameras!

The radar sensor looks interesting, but I'm doubting that it can see things soon enough to fill the pre-event buffer before an event triggers?

I think we saw the same video (well there are only 2 or 3 on YT) and sad thing is, you are completely right. It looks horrible, i like the Viofo A129 Pro quality much more. On the other hand, we don't know what the uploader did to the footage.
 
I think we saw the same video (well there are only 2 or 3 on YT) and sad thing is, you are completely right. It looks horrible. On the other hand, we don't know what the uploader did to the footage.
I've seen some original video straight from the camera, it was OK, but if I had paid the list price for the camera then I would be wanting DSLR image quality and it was a long way short of that. As always, if you want the smart features like cloud functionality and the radar sensor then this could be a good choice, and maybe even worth the price, but if it is going to cost me 2 years insurance payments then it is of questionable value if I'm buying it only to reduce my insurance payments! Purely for image quality there are better options unless they manage to improve it via firmware update.
 
I've seen some original video straight from the camera, it was OK, but if I had paid the list price for the camera then I would be wanting DSLR image quality and it was a long way short of that. As always, if you want the smart features like cloud functionality and the radar sensor then this could be a good choice, and maybe even worth the price, but if it is going to cost me 2 years insurance payments then it is of questionable value if I'm buying it only to reduce my insurance payments! Purely for image quality there are better options unless they manage to improve it via firmware update.
With that price tag they should be one of the top three cams out there. "OK" sounds like it is not enough.
No need for Cloud (right now) and driver assistance features (my car has this already). Main reason for me is quality and 4k, front and rear cam, a wide fov and "stealth". And it seems it fails to deliver quality.
 
Any1 knows if connections are compatible to Q800? No problem to do everything new but would make the task lot easier.
I also had Viofo in mind to try but quality wise i have a different feeling compared to thinkware.
Overall quite happy with Q800 but like to try new things and compare to make my own opinion about technical stuff.
 
the only interesting thing about the cloud feature is that it sends notifications in park mode

my main issue would be image (as to be honest i never saw huge difference between f750, f770 & Q800)
and if this one will also overheat in park mode (like the sh*tty q800)

For me the best buy right now is the "old" F770 which u can find at 250 eur for the dual...
 
the only interesting thing about the cloud feature is that it sends notifications in park mode

my main issue would be image (as to be honest i never saw huge difference between f750, f770 & Q800)
and if this one will also overheat in park mode (like the sh*tty q800)

For me the best buy right now is the "old" F770 which u can find at 250 eur for the dual...
Reading the user manual, they tell you to connect it to the cloud by connecting with your phone's internet sharing. So how does it send you notifications in park mode? You would have to leave your phone in the vehicle for it to be able to send the notifications, and then you would have no way of receiving them!

Of course you need a permanently on wifi hotspot in the car, but it is clearly not designed for that since the manual never mentions it, so your one "interesting thing about the cloud" is presumably not something that most people will benefit from.

The overheating issue seems to have been "solved" by using a low bitrate again, hence image quality being OK rather than fantastic 4K, which unfortunately means that it is unlikely to improve with firmware updates. There is only one 4K dashcam currently using 4K bitrates, and it is not from Thinkware.
 
you can connect to a mobile hotspot.
the manual mentions that the camera can send messages in parkmode and there's a setting for this in the app as well.
(i though it would also work with the Q800, but with that one it only works while driving, which useless to me )
 
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@BlackboxMyCar did a video on the cam
The short footage in their product video definitely looks better compared to the other i saw before. But it seems it is still not as sharp as DR900S and A129 Pro recordings.
 
But it seems it is still not as sharp as DR900S and A129 Pro recordings.
The sharpening it uses is very good, better than the Novatek based cameras like the A129 Pro, so given a simple scene with low speeds that doesn't need high bitrates then it can win on sharpness, at least in sunshine like on that video. However when it comes to plate readability the sharpness advantage is lost to the wider field of view. In darker conditions it doesn't seem to take full advantage of the Starvis sensor and fails to beat the A129 Pro. The DR900S also suffers from low bitrate, I would put that last of the three, and the A129 Pro first due to having a decent bitrate and overall nice images without the strong chromatic distortion that the Thinkware lens seems to produce even well away from the corners of the image (especially on the top left of that video).
 
1. Come with hardwire kit directly, no normal charger like F800.
2. Support 128GB card.

This is not true for the North American Market. The North American Market will have a 1 channel U1000 that includes the 12V power cable and the 2 channel U1000 will come with both the hardwiring cable and 12V power cable.
 
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Reading the user manual, they tell you to connect it to the cloud by connecting with your phone's internet sharing. So how does it send you notifications in park mode? You would have to leave your phone in the vehicle for it to be able to send the notifications, and then you would have no way of receiving them!

The U1000 is designed to work with a mobile hotspot device or your vehicle's hotspot while parked in order to send push notifications and videos while you are away from the vehicle.
 
The U1000 is designed to work with a mobile hotspot device or your vehicle's hotspot while parked in order to send push notifications and videos while you are away from the vehicle.
I'm not convinced, since it wasn't mentioned in the manual, and if you connect the wifi then apparently it can no longer manage 4K resolution...
 
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