– 4K resolution for the front camera – The footage looks great and it’s easy to make out details like license plate numbers compared to lower resolution 1080/HD cameras.

– Separate rear camera that is powered by the front camera – I wanted a rear camera both to capture what’s going behind me (in case somebody rear ends me, etc.) and also to provide even wider coverage while the car is parked. I didn’t want to have to run separate power cables for the rear camera. With this setup there is just a single USB cable that runs from the front camera to the rear camera to provide power and also receive the video signal from the rear camera.

– Parking mode that will start recording when motion is detected while parked – I like the security that parking mode provides in case you come back to your car and something uncool has happened while you were parked. Some cameras either don’t have this option or have it but will only record when the camera detects an actual impact to the car. The Viofo camera allows you to select from several trigger events including impact, motion detection, even constant recording at a lower frame rate (such as 1 frame per second constant recording). I have mine set on motion detection and it works great. Anytime any motion is detected within the frame the camera will start recording.

– Easy review and transfer of video on cell phone – The front camera does have a screen on it that is convenient for the initial setup of the camera to make sure you have the front and rear cameras positioned in a way that gives the view you want. You can also review the recorded video on the screen, but it’s a lot easier to simply connect your phone to the camera via wifi and review the clips on your phone screen. You can also easily save the clips to your phone so you don’t really ever need to remove the memory card from the camera. The app on the phone can also be used to change all the various configuration settings in a much easier interface than what you’ll find on the camera screen. As a bonus you can quickly turn the camera wifi on and off with a physical button on the camera. I simply leave the wifi off and only turn it on when I need it.

– Hardwiring kit that will cut off the camera power if needed to prevent car battery from getting too low – The hardwiring kit is NOT included, but you can pick it up on Amazon at a decent price. The kit includes a little interface box that allows you to select between 4 different voltage cutoff settings so you won’t come back to a dead battery from your camera recording in parking mode. 

– Design that allows mounting without obstructing the view out the windshield – Some of the other cameras I tried used more of a “landscape” orientation with a wide camera body and the lens on one side. When I put these cameras behind my rearview mirror they tended to stick out just enough that I could see them in my field of view while driving. The Viofo camera uses a “portrait” layout where the camera body is taller rather than wider. The lens is at the bottom of the body so you can stick the camera at almost the very top edge of your windshield. I have mine positioned so the camera mounting tape is actually attached to the black dot area at the top of the windshield with just the lens section protruding down into the clear glass area. The entire camera fits behind my rear view mirror and is completely out of view while I’m driving. This also gives the camera a factory look from outside the car and doesn’t look like some aftermarket item is just stuck on the windshield in the middle of the clear area. 
PRO TIP: Make sure that you mount the camera so it is within the swiping path of your windshield wipers, otherwise you won’t get anything on video if it’s raining.

In the box you get the front and rear cameras, a power cable with cigarette lighter/12 volt socket adapter (you won’t use this if you buy the hardwiring kit), the cable to connect the two cameras together, a mini USB to USB-A cable you can use to connect the camera to your computer (you likely won’t use this either), some stick on clips you can use to route the wiring, a small pry tool that might come in handy when routing the cables in your car, some extra mounting tape pads, and a microSD card adapter for your computer.

Things you’ll need that aren’t included:

– MicroSD card – You’ll need this to use the camera. A high endurance one is recommended since those cards are designed to be constantly overwritten as happens with dash cams.

– Viofo hardwiring kit – You don’t absolutely need this, but without it you won’t be able to use parking mode and your installation will likely look like amateur hour. I consider this a necessity.

– Add a circuit / fuse taps – You’ll need two of these to go along with the hardwiring kit. Just get the kind that use whatever fuse type your car uses. You’ll connect one to a constant power source in the fuse box and the other to a switched power source in the fuse box.

Overall highly recommended setup. Does everything more expensive setups do and actually does some things better.

Do a dry run – try leaving the cord out and using the camera while driving prior to doing the final install (In case you don’t like it)
Plan the route of your cord, this helps with detours and having to take the wire down just to restart again.
If you have a lot of excess wire left over, coil it in several paces rather than at the end or beginning – otherwise the wire bunches up, pops out, or pushes against what ever you place it behind, I had roughly 18 inches excess, so I coiled 6 inches at the end, middle and beginning, this way if I wanted to move or have to get around it later, I didn’t have to deal with a big mess/re-running the whole cord.
Do test runs and compare your video – make sure your camera is pointed to optimally catch the whole rear view, at first I had almost all pointing to the passenger side, then not enough on the passenger side.

A few things I found out after setting it up:

There’s a picture in picture on the dash-cam screen when you plug this camera in, it pretty makes it impossible to look at the screen when driving (distracting). I found hiding the dash cam behind my rear view mirror helps and turning on the screen saver.
Now you’ll have up to four video files of the same time – depending on your settings there will be two videos one of the forward facing cam and one of the rear view, not the actual picture in picture as stated above.

The camera captures video well even with window tenting, this changes at night depending on the ambient light/street lights, etc.

It works well for what I want, I haven’t had to use it as far as a car accident, but it brings me piece of mind. The manual states that the sd card should be formatted routinely (dash cam internal feature)

I hope this helps

My sister has a cheap $100 Chinese dash cam and it works more consistently than this cheap product. First time the memory card stopped working. Thinkware sent me a new one and the whole process took 2 weeks.

This time the camera stopped turning on randomly. I emailed customer support and they told me to update the firmware. I don’t see how updating the firmware is going to affect the camera turning on. Isn’t that a power issue? Either way it tried that and it still won’t turn on.

I even got a new battery installed in my car and it’s connected to the car battery, so I know that can’t be the issue. Either way, I’m frustrated and disappointed in the company and the first + last product I will purchase for them.

Your settings will differ depending on your vehicle usage, but I highly advise and recommend you to set this camera’s recording resolution in ultrawide (2560×1080.) This resolution (at least in my car) allows the camera to completely see everything in front of it, and line up more with what the driver is able to see behind the wheel. In ultrawide recordings the camera is able to see my entire front hood, but in regular 1080P (16:9 recording) the front “corners” of the hood are cut off. Please set your camera in ultrawide recording!

If you live in a hot area like me (Houston, Texas. and it’s humid as hell here) your stock adhesive will melt off during the summer! Personally I installed this during the summer and it only took a week for the adhesive to melt off! There is nothing you can do to prevent this, once your stock adhesive melts go buy some of the strongest version of “Gorilla Tape” you can, and make sure it’s double sided! Once you stick on that gorilla tape it’s not going to move or come off!

During the hot and humid Houston summers (especially after replacing the stock adhesive with gorilla tape) this camera is absolutely incredible. Not once has the camera acted up, over heated or given me any issues (other than the stock adhesive melting.) With the lens filter thing, this camera is able to see perfectly fine during any time of the day or night. Everything is recorded perfectly crystal clear and this entire dash cam unit is tiny as hell. One time I had a dude road raging at me and followed me to work and not once did he notice the dash camera recording the entire situation. Even when he walked right up to my windshield and was standing over my vehicle did he notice the dash camera! The unit is literally able to hide behind your rear view mirror and no one will notice that a dash camera has been installed on the front of your vehicle.

I won’t lie I was terrified, but imagine that! Nobody notices this dash camera! All my friends, family and even myself have to really look hard for a few seconds to recognize “Oh that’s a camera.”

Please buy this dash camera and the extra misc. items to make this the best dash camera ever! You probably spent thousands on your vehicle, what’s a couple of hundred bucks (at the most) to have 24/7 recording footage of your vehicle.

The daytime and nighttime footage are of good quality. You have three recording options, 4K, 2K, and 1080P. The dual recording option is unavailable with 4K recordings and only works with 2K and 1080P recordings. The rear camera records at 1080P in both modes.

You have multiple ways to view your video and photos. You can hook the camera to your computer via a USB/mini cable. You can eject the SD card and view it on your computer. You can also install the Kingslim application on your phone, press and hold the far left button on the dash cam to enter into the wireless mode, find the wireless connection on your phone, and enter the password. In the application, you can change settings(including starting and stopping records), view, and download videos and photos straight to your phone.

This dash cam seems to be a good product, and they have good customer service support to back up their product. They responded quickly and took care of all my issues and concerns.