Analysis Paralysis during research for a new cam

[arcane73]

I am in the market for a dash cam for my car. I am leaning towards the Thinkware U3k pro 2ch with a battery pack since parking mode is my primary concern. I leave the car parked for up to 12 hours a day in what shade I can find from the Phoenix, AZ sun and my daily drive time to and from the bus stop is generally 10 minutes total. I realize that given my situation, I will likely need to remove and recharge the battery at home every few days. What battery pack would you recommend for this? I am assuming that the Thinkware iVolt Xtra is the likely choice but wanted to reach out for additional info on the camera and battery before spending close to, or over, $1k on this setup.

If there is a better camera/battery combo based on my situation, I am open to hearing your thoughts. I've caught myself waffling on what to buy for various reasons and realized that I'm likely overthinking the entire ordeal.

 

[Accomplished_Arm_447]

I think you have already made the best choice for your needs, the only issue is that 10 minutes is nowhere near enough time to charge any battery with enough for 12 of recording. The battery packs are not hard to remove and reinstall, you just need to have a 12v source at home

 

[jsmith]

I think you have already made the best choice for your needs, the only issue is that 10 minutes is nowhere near enough time to charge any battery with enough for 12 of recording. The battery packs are not hard to remove and reinstall, you just need to have a 12v source at home

What are you goals? Do you require parking mode? How Long? Do you want a top of the line camera or something basic? Vantrue is rather resilient to heat. Viofo A329T has a hybrid parking mode, although I'm not sure how heat resilient that is honestly. Battery parking, you'll need like a cell link neo or similar. Each is around $350 USD. Using fuse box depends on battery and driving on the amount of time camera will record.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Yeah if you're open to using the low power parking recording modes, you can get away with shorter drives like that. The Vueroid S1 4K and Blackvue Elite series are phenomenal at low power draw. The Thinkware U3000 Pro is nice to add some radar capabilities to help record hopefully before an impact. Viofo has a low power mode, but it draws more power than the others. Vantrue even moreso.

Usually dashcams fare better in a low power parking mode because they're mostly off (except for the G-sensor) so they stay cooler than traditional parking modes that have the image sensor running continuously, so that'll be another win for you too.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Welcome to the club @arcane73
For hot weather parking mode I would compare Thinkware U3000 Pro with @VUEROiD S1-4K
I think @SafeDriveSolutions made a video about this, let me go find it.
I found it!

Here’s another good video from @Vortex Radar about Low Power parking mode.
Low Power parking mode means less heat generated by the dash cam.
Less heat generated by the dash cam means good hot weather resistance.

Since your morning drive to the bus stop is only 5 minutes, you’ll need to charge the dash cam battery pack every night when you return from work, and remember to put it back before you leave the next morning.
This sounds like a hassle.
If you park in a garage, and you can simply plug in the charger to the battery pack without removing it that might be doable.

If only we had solar powered dash cams, or solar powered dash cam battery packs you could have “unlimited power” to operate the dash cam in parking mode while it’s at the bus stop all day, (morning to night).
Oh wait.
BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 5 Dash Cam Battery Pack - Test & Review

 

[Chuck McCoy]

After reading Vortex Radar's post, I keep forgetting BlackVue now has 1mA low power parking mode.
So I'd like to add that to the comparison list;
1.) Thinkware U3000 Pro
2.) Vueroid S1-4K
3.) BlackVue Elite series

 

[arcane73]

I appreciate all of the input. You guys have spent far more time doing all of the legwork on these than I can imagine.

I've narrowed down my choices...by adding another option. For various reasons, I've latched on to either the Thinkware or Blackvue offerings.

My daily situation is this: I park under an overpass (to protect the car from the blistering Arizona sun) at a local Park and Ride. I park the car around 5:30 am and return to it between 11 and 12 hours later. One end of the parking lot is currently a construction site and an entrance to a biking trail. This leads to a lot of movement through there. My previous car has been bumped lightly once (no idea who or what did it) and I walked up after work another time to a cyclist with his foot on my fender tying his cleated shoe. He apologized for the scratches only because I stood there glaring at him and asked where -his- vehicle was so i could return the favor.

I would imagine that the Thinkware radar could get quite the workout with so much activity in the area. That could either be very helpful or turn out to be overly frustrating over time with lots of movement in the vicinity. The Blackvue is back on my list with the low voltage mode, although I'm curious as to how that would work out here. I would hopefully get fewer false-positives but still know that my car is covered in the event of another incident.

In either case, I like the idea of an easily recharged battery pack. I do park in an enclosed garage at home and it would not be an issue to put the battery on charge as needed in the evenings.

 

[lufa6977]

My advice is to look at the boards for each dashcam you have in mind, and find out for yourself what the challenges are for each one. Here are a few links from SafeDriveSolutions to help explain a few things to you. There are pros and cons to each brand. You may value power saving more than image quality. Dashcams like the S1-4K can go all day on its power schemes, record parking impacts, and not kill your battery. I will tell you I am not a fan of Blackvue or Thinkware. I like Viofo and Vueroid. If I wanted a dashcam to beat the heat challenges of Arizona, I would go with the Vueroid S1-4K due to its power saving and heat schemes.

You should spend about an hour at SafeDriveSolutions YT page and view his material.

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[lufa6977]

@arcane73

There are only two professionals whose videos I will recommend: SafeDriveSolutions and RetroCarGuy530. Both are stellar with the accurate and unbiased information they provide. Both are members here at DCT.

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[Vortex Radar]

So the Vueroid's high temp protections are nice, but those are really intended for if you're running in normal (full power) parking recording modes and so it drops back to low power parking mode instead of shutting off all together like some other models. If you're going to be using the low power mode by default, that's less of a benefit. I don't know how well all the different dashcams compare in terms of thermal overload in low power parking modes.

It is true that Thinkware's radar will wake the dashcam up more often than the other cams, but that's the trade-off with getting the ability to record motion and before a potential impact occurs. You can run the Thinkware without the radar, but I think that kinda defeats the purpose when other dashcams have better video quality and lower power draw in their low power radar-less parking modes.

 

[jsmith]

@Vortex Radar @lufa6977 Does lower power parking mode default to impact detection on Viofo A329 S/T after hitting a certain voltage? I've never been a huge fan of impact detection. If someone tried to break into your car, keys your car, vandalizes the vehicle, etc in a manner that won't trigger impact, you're screwed. It's not to say this will happen, but it's a possibility.

I'd say using a low FPS would be better than impact detection, but that's me. I'm not sure how much voltage a 1, 5, or 15 FPS on vantrue uses or whatever settings are available on Viofo. Op is is Arizona which is hotter than hell. So that's another consideration, too.

 

[arcane73]

Op is is Arizona which is hotter than hell.

Yep. We hit 118*F (48*C) last summer. That's why I park in the shade when I can and heat protection is high on my list of considerations. It's also why I don't ride my bike the couple of miles to the bus stop.

 

[Vortex Radar]

@Vortex Radar @lufa6977 Does lower power parking mode default to impact detection on Viofo A329 S/T after hitting a certain voltage?

Low power parking mode ONLY has impact detection. Once you drop below a certain voltage, it shuts off the dashcam. That's the same as the Vueroid and Blackvue.

Viofo has a hybrid mode that can start with a regular buffered motion/impact detection and then switch to low power impact only detection at a certain point, but that will draw way more power initially than starting with low power parking recording out of the gate.

I've never been a huge fan of impact detection. If someone tried to break into your car, keys your car, vandalizes the vehicle, etc in a manner that won't trigger impact, you're screwed. It's not to say this will happen, but it's a possibility.

Well obviously. Everything has trade-offs. It also won't any motion of someone keying your car, but not triggering a sufficiently strong impact. I find some models like Blackvue and Vueroid have better sensitivity than the Viofo and so you're more likely to miss something with a Viofo.

You can also flip that argument around and say that if you park for long periods of time and drive for short periods of times, low power parking recording is necessary to give you a better shot of hopefully capturing something as opposed to having the camera die quickly and guarantee that you won't capture anything. It also helps you in extremely hot areas since the dashcam runs way cooler with the sensor deactivated while parking.

Everything has trade-offs and so you have to decide what makes sense based on where and how you drive.

I'd say using a low FPS would be better than impact detection, but that's me. I'm not sure how much voltage a 1, 5, or 15 FPS on vantrue uses or whatever settings are available on Viofo. Op is is Arizona which is hotter than hell. So that's another consideration, too.

Timelapse mode does traditionally draw a little less power than regular video recording modes, but the results are negligible. I'm sure @rcg530 has some great charts he could share the differences in power draw between all the different modes, but here's a quick chart I've got archived showing the differences between traditional parking modes and low power parking modes.

 

[jsmith]

Low power parking mode ONLY has impact detection. Once you drop below a certain voltage, it shuts off the dashcam. That's the same as the Vueroid and Blackvue.

Viofo has a hybrid mode that can start with a regular buffered motion/impact detection and then switch to low power impact only detection at a certain point, but that will draw way more power initially than starting with low power parking recording out of the gate.

Well obviously. Everything has trade-offs. It also won't any motion of someone keying your car, but not triggering a sufficiently strong impact. I find some models like Blackvue and Vueroid have better sensitivity than the Viofo and so you're more likely to miss something with a Viofo.

You can also flip that argument around and say that if you park for long periods of time and drive for short periods of times, low power parking recording is necessary to give you a better shot of hopefully capturing something as opposed to having the camera die quickly and guarantee that you won't capture anything. It also helps you in extremely hot areas since the dashcam runs way cooler with the sensor deactivated while parking.

Everything has trade-offs and so you have to decide what makes sense based on where and how you drive.

Timelapse mode does traditionally draw a little less power than regular video recording modes, but the results are negligible. I'm sure @rcg530 has some great charts he could share the differences in power draw between all the different modes, but here's a quick chart I've got archived showing the differences between traditional parking modes and low power parking modes.

View attachment 91213

@Vortex Radar

Isn't low power impact mode similar to a "sleep mode" where camera is literally off and must wake up in order to record should impact be detected? What is boot time to record? Does low power impact offer any buffered parking mode? My guess there would be no?

 

[Vortex Radar]

@Vortex Radar

Isn't low power impact mode similar to a "sleep mode" where camera is literally off and must wake up in order to record should impact be detected? What is boot time to record? Does low power impact offer any buffered parking mode? My guess there would be no?

Right, it's in a sleep mode where most everything is powered off except the G-sensor. When an impact is detected, it wakes up to begin recording, then powers back down. Because of this, there is no buffered capability. Thinkware's radar allows it to wake the dashcam up while it low power mode to record motion and sometimes before an impact is detected. It draws more power than non-radar mode, but still far less than traditional parking recording mode.

Wake up times vary between models.

Here's a video so you can see the wakeup times for yourself.

 

[jsmith]

Right, it's in a sleep mode where most everything is powered off except the G-sensor. When an impact is detected, it wakes up to begin recording, then powers back down. Because of this, there is no buffered capability. Thinkware's radar allows it to wake the dashcam up while it low power mode to record motion and sometimes before an impact is detected. It draws more power than non-radar mode, but still far less than traditional parking recording mode.

Wake up times vary between models.

View attachment 91214
Here's a video so you can see the wakeup times for yourself.

Wouldn't Low Power Impact Detection be a significant drawback given the lack of buffered parking mode? Sans thinkware with the radar detection that can record motion, but may not necessarily capture an impact, you'd be lacking an actual recording of the event itself. Yes, if a car backed into you and the plates were captured, it would be helpful to identify the car. But you're reliant on that car having damage to prove it hit your car when turning proof over to police or insurance. There's nothing to say the driver sticks around and doesn't pull off (happens more than you think).

With time lapse, buffered parking mode, or low bitrate, you're going to capture the actual event to show that person hit / damaged your car.

I had a lady hit my car and take off. It was only because of the above, I got the entire event on camera, and could prove to insurance without a doubt she did it. She tried to lie and say my car was never hit by her while parked.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Wouldn't Low Power Impact Detection be a significant drawback given the lack of buffered parking mode? Sans thinkware with the radar detection that can record motion, but may not necessarily capture an impact, you'd be lacking an actual recording of the event itself. Yes, if a car backed into you and the plates were captured, it would be helpful to identify the car. But you're reliant on that car having damage to prove it hit your car when turning proof over to police or insurance. There's nothing to say the driver sticks around and doesn't pull off (happens more than you think).

With time lapse, buffered parking mode, or low bitrate, you're going to capture the actual event to show that person hit / damaged your car.

I had a lady hit my car and take off. It was only because of the above, I got the entire event on camera, and could prove to insurance without a doubt she did it. She tried to lie and say my car was never hit by her while parked.

I already answered this in post 13.

Buffered parking mode is ideal, sure, but how great is it if the dashcam can only record for 30 min or whatever and/or overheats in extreme temperatures? Know the pros and cons of each parking mode and use the one that best meets your requirements.

 

[jsmith]

I already answered this in post 13.

Buffered parking mode is ideal, sure, but how great is it if the dashcam can only record for 30 min or whatever and/or overheats in extreme temperatures? Know the pros and cons of each parking mode and use the one that best meets your requirements.

Let me clarify, what is benefit of low power impact detection other than long record times, if the events themselves are not captured? LPID triggers (due to wakeup of camera from sleep mode) after the fact. So for insurance purposes, you don't have the incident on camera. You got "SOME PROOF" but people lie, deny, and drive away. Happened to me. Not to say this will always occur, but if the person is honest to stop and leave a note, the dashcam likely isn't going to be the proof you need in that situation.

I would say Viofo Hybrid Mode on A329 S/T is likely the most ideal solution if it can be heat tolerant. Regular buffered motion/impact detection and then switch to low power impact only detection at a certain point. You'll record for as long as possible in buffered parking mode before switching over to LPID.

I guess @rcg530 can chime in here on some figures for time lapse power usage comparative to buffered parking mode and other options.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Let me clarify, what is benefit of low power impact detection other than long record times, if the events themselves are not captured?

It's about figuring out which mode is most likely (not guaranteed) to record the incidents you need based on your driving style.

Low power parking mode with a good g-sensor and fast wake-up times gives you a good solution to record impacts for extended periods of time. Guaranteed? No. But better than a high power parking mode that only lets you record for a short amount of time before the dashcam fully shuts off altogether.

In short, LPID is more likely to give you something than traditional parking recording modes in the OP's situation. I've said this multiple times already and hopefully it makes sense.

LPID triggers (due to wakeup of camera from sleep mode) after the fact. So for insurance purposes, you don't have the incident on camera. You got "SOME PROOF" but people lie, deny, and drive away. Happened to me. Not to say this will always occur, but if the person is honest to stop and leave a note, the dashcam likely isn't going to be the proof you need in that situation.

Having non-buffered video of a car pressed up against your front bumper, sit there for a bit, and then drive away is way better than having nothing because your dashcam could only record for a short period of time and/or overheated in the sun.

I would say Viofo Hybrid Mode on A329 S/T is likely the most ideal solution if it can be heat tolerant. Regular buffered motion/impact detection and then switch to low power impact only detection at a certain point. You'll record for as long as possible in buffered parking mode before switching over to LPID.

IIRC, when Viofos overheat in normal parking mode, they shut off altogether. When Vueroids shut off, they switch to low power parking mode to cool off, then back to normal parking recording once they are sufficiently cool. It's called their Durashift feature.

Thinkware offers this too with their smart parking mode.

Viofo does have a hybrid mode to switch parking modes, sure, but it relies on either a timer or voltage level. There is no option to switch it based on temperature, or to go back to regular parking mode once it switches to low power mode.

I guess @rcg530 can chime in here on some figures for time lapse power usage comparative to buffered parking mode and other options.

Alternatively you can just go to his testing threads and look at where he's already posted that exact information.

Post in thread 'VIOFO A329S - Testing/Review - RCG'

Jun 5, 2025

During my testing of the A329S 3-Channel prototype dash camera, I performed a series of parking mode power consumption tests. Recently, I asked VIOFO is there was any parking mode that would have a significant change in its power consumption based on the firmware version or the production hardwire. VIOFO stated there should be no notable differences in the parking mode power consumption with the production firmware / hardware.

The power consumption data was gathered using a Fluke 117 multimeter measuring the amp draw with 12.6 volts being provided to the input power wires of a VIOFO HK4...

• rcg530

• 

A329S 3CH, IR LEDs off:
Auto Event Detection (regular buffered motion / impact detection): 5.73 W
Timelapse: 5.46 W
Low Power Impact Detection: 0.43 W

So like I said, timelapse recording mode is technically a little more efficient, but the results are pretty negligible and thus wouldn't solve the OP's problem. Low power parking mode is an order of magnitude better.

 

[jsmith]

It's about figuring out which mode is most likely (not guaranteed) to record the incidents you need based on your driving style.

Low power parking mode with a good g-sensor and fast wake-up times gives you a good solution to record impacts for extended periods of time. Guaranteed? No. But better than a high power parking mode that only lets you record for a short amount of time before the dashcam fully shuts off altogether.

In short, LPID is more likely to give you something than traditional parking recording modes in the OP's situation. I've said this multiple times already and hopefully it makes sense.

Having non-buffered video of a car pressed up against your front bumper, sit there for a bit, and then drive away is way better than having nothing because your dashcam could only record for a short period of time and/or overheated in the sun.

IIRC, when Viofos overheat in normal parking mode, they shut off altogether. When Vueroids shut off, they switch to low power parking mode to cool off, then back to normal parking recording once they are sufficiently cool. It's called their Durashift feature.

View attachment 91215

Viofo does have a hybrid mode to switch parking modes, sure, but it relies on either a timer or voltage level. There is no option to switch it based on temperature, or to go back to regular parking mode once it switches to low power mode.


Alternatively you can just go to his testing threads and look at where he's already posted that exact information.

Post in thread 'VIOFO A329S - Testing/Review - RCG'

Jun 5, 2025

During my testing of the A329S 3-Channel prototype dash camera, I performed a series of parking mode power consumption tests. Recently, I asked VIOFO is there was any parking mode that would have a significant change in its power consumption based on the firmware version or the production hardwire. VIOFO stated there should be no notable differences in the parking mode power consumption with the production firmware / hardware.

The power consumption data was gathered using a Fluke 117 multimeter measuring the amp draw with 12.6 volts being provided to the input power wires of a VIOFO HK4...

• rcg530

• 

A329S 3CH, IR LEDs off:
Auto Event Detection (regular buffered motion / impact detection): 5.73 W
Timelapse: 5.46 W
Low Power Impact Detection: 0.43 W

So like I said, timelapse recording mode is technically a little more efficient, but the results are pretty negligible and thus wouldn't solve the OP's problem. Low power parking mode is an order of magnitude better.

Well depending on if the overheating issue is still present on the A329S/T (Anyone tested in hot weather???) this MAY be an option but tentative until tested.

Sounds like Vueroid has the best approach with a temperature monitoring system in place. If they could implement a Hybrid system combination, this would the most ideal solution. As in OP's case, switching from Normal to LPID wouldn't give him the extended recording times needed.