Dashcam

A recent trip to Georgia via a very scenic route required too many stops to take pictures, begging the question to move a dash cam to the top of my to-get-items list. Upon my return the research began. Pricing was obviously an issue, followed by functionality. I decided to give Thinkware Dash Cam F-50 a try, it seemed a perfect fit for the first time try. It is very small and fits right behind the rear view mirror, hardly visible from the front. There is enough cable provided to connect it easily to the cigarette lighter outlet. This is the basic model which requires that you take out the microSD card to view the videos. More advanced and more expensive devices have a Bluetooth link to the phone, which in my case defeats the purpose completely since I have to use the phone to look at the video.

Thinware F-50 dash cam

The dash cam records video in one minute increments to avoid the potential corruption of large files created by continuous video recording. After the initial  testing with the provided 8 GB card, I decided to expand the memory to 128 GB to assure a full days worth of recording. Initially I just plugged it into the cigarette lighter with another gizmo a cigarette lighter double port USB adapter that enables you to transform you cigarette light into a two port USB charger (highly recommended). Perhaps I will connect it permanently to take advantagevideo surveillance feature for parked cars

Dash cam mounted

Of course I was skeptical of the high definition video advertised for the dash cam, but was pleasantly surprised that it actually did have high definition. Granted that you have a clean windshield of course, otherwise you have a high definition video with smudges in the foreground.There is one oddity which is the date time management. You can plug the microSD card into the computer and manage the storage as well as the setup. Although I used the system timing to set the clock with the software, the dash cam recorded videos showed a different date and time. The setup was for UTC -5 but the recording was still at UTC time and 5 days behind. Perhaps with a permanent connection it will be on continuously and maintain the date and time - no big deal at the moment. The 128 GB card works beautifully and does record a full days worth of driving.
Here is where the fun for me comes in. I always wanted to record a video driving through a hectic city with calm guitar music or such in the background. I went a bit further and added a frame to my first video plus background music and credits. OK, I promise to get a life right after those messages from my non existing sponsors.

Since all the videos are in one minute increments it allows for easy editing. Here is the start of a collection of what the dash cam sees.