Installed Thinkware F200 Pro Dash Cam (Front and Rear Recorder)

[DubC]

Installed a front and rear dash cam last night. Went with the Thinkware F200 Pro. Also got the OBD cable for constant power to enable the parking surveillance mode and for ease of install. Got a CPL filter for the camera too, but found out you can’t use it in combination with windshield tint or else you’ll get a rainbow effect in your videos. Overall it was a pretty easy install. Hardest part was just concealing the wires. For the rear camera, I totally forgot I pretty much don’t have a rear window to install it on because every time I decide to fold the soft top down I have to remove the rear window! Installing it on the underside of the crossbar was the only place that made sense for me while still keeping the camera centered. The spare and the third brake light take up most of the view, but at least the cargo area is in view I haven’t tested out the video quality through the plastic rear window yet, but I should be able to soon. I’ll post pics of that as well.

Hidden behind the rear view mirror. Can hardly see it from the driving position.

Angled view from outside.

View from the front.

Rear camera from inside.

Rear camera from outside.

View from the rear.

Sample shot from the front camera.

Sample shot from the rear camera.



Some video from my trip to the beach catching some people stopping and asking about the Bronco.



Sample rear camera footage through the soft top rear window.

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[campbebc]

Any complaints with the setup? $200 is a much easier pill to swallow than the $500+ setups out there

 

[mds5917]

How was it routing the cable from the OBDII port? I have the smaller Front-only Ford one from ThinkWare and am getting my bronco soon

 

[grayshadow]

Forgive such a silly question but I assume the view from the camera‘s show up on the Sync 4 LCD touchscreen?

 

[campbebc]

Forgive such a silly question but I assume the view from the camera‘s show up on the Sync 4 LCD touchscreen?

I would assume that they do not, there's no factory interface to allow an aftermarket camera system to display on the SYNC screen. It's for security/insurance purposes.

 

[AKBronc49]

I've had a Thinkware F50 in my F150 since 2016, so I planned on getting the same brand as I'm very happy with it. I was looking at getting the exact same setup.

 

[grayshadow]

I would assume that they do not, there's no factory interface to allow an aftermarket camera system to display on the SYNC screen. It's for security/insurance purposes.

That’s what I was curious about. So I guess the images are stored on the SD card or can be viewed online?

 

[DubC]

Any complaints with the setup? $200 is a much easier pill to swallow than the $500+ setups out there

I almost pulled the trigger on the U1000, but figured I'd start with this one since this is my first ever dash cam. Only complaint is when trying to connect my phone to the camera, my phone keeps wanting to connect to the Bronco instead, so I have to turn off "auto-join" for the Bronco network. Also, it takes a couple tries to connect my phone to the camera. It disconnects a couple times before I have a stable connection. Not sure if it's my phone or what. Not a big deal because the only time I need to connect my phone to the camera is when there's an incident I need to download.

 

[DubC]

How was it routing the cable from the OBDII port? I have the smaller Front-only Ford one from ThinkWare and am getting my bronco soon

It was pretty easy. Went from the camera up through the headboard, down the A-pillar to under the steering column. Zip-tied the extra wire under there as well.

Forgive such a silly question but I assume the view from the camera‘s show up on the Sync 4 LCD touchscreen?

Unfortunately, it does not.

That’s what I was curious about. So I guess the images are stored on the SD card or can be viewed online?

Yes, they are stored on the SD card. You can connect your phone to the camera through wifi and view on your phone. From there you can download them to your phone.

 

[604Bronco]

Thanks for the pictures and write-up. What OBD plug thingy did you buy? Do you have a link? I wonder if it'd work for my Blackvue.

 

[DubC]

Thanks for the pictures and write-up. What OBD plug thingy did you buy? Do you have a link? I wonder if it'd work for my Blackvue.

I got this one, but it says it's only compatible with Thinkware and IROAD.

OBD II Power Cable

 

[604Bronco]

I got this one, but it says it's only compatible with Thinkware and IROAD.

OBD II Power Cable

Damn it... I mean, it would likely work, but I also don't want to fry my dash camera (or vehicle).

Thanks - I'll poke around more on the internet and see if I can find one for Blackvue.

 

[Daktari]

thanks for sharing! I'm undecided yet on what to get, not sure I really want to bother with rear view, afraid my dog will just knock that little camera off or constantly change where it's focused. Definitely want one in the front. Didn't consider that phone connect to either cam or Bronco thing either, have to see if I want to go that way or get an other dash cam with it's own screen. Too many options!

View out the back looks good enough I'd say.

 

[skxf430]

Looks like a nice setup. I was thinking of going with the Ford Thinkware camera when my car gets here.

 

[DubC]

Looks like a nice setup. I was thinking of going with the Ford Thinkware camera when my car gets here.

Is there an advantage going with the Ford one? Looks like they’re just the F70 and F200 models, except they’re more expensive than if you were to buy them from Thinkware or Amazon.

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