THINKWARE Q1000 Review: The 2K Kit Compared for Australia

Short answer: this THINKWARE Q1000 review is written for Australian drivers weighing up a 2K front and rear kit. The Q1000 and the VIOFO A229 Plus both record 2K front and 2K rear, but the VIOFO uses the newer Sony STARVIS 2 sensor generation and holds the front camera at 60 frames per second. The Q1000 answers back with a wider front lens, a three year warranty and a hard wiring kit in the box. If you want more camera than either, the VIOFO A229 Pro takes the front to 4K.

So you get two clear options from us. The close match to the Q1000 is the VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH. The clear step up is the VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH. Here is how all three compare on paper.

Pricing: why there is no THINKWARE Q1000 price here

We can only speak to our own pricing, so those are the only prices in this article. THINKWARE does not publish Australian pricing on its own product pages, and we are not going to quote you someone else's shelf price and call it a fact.

Kit	Where we checked
VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH (the close match)	Our A229 Plus listing, ships from Melbourne
VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH (the step up)	Our A229 Pro listing, ships from Melbourne

When you go looking for a Q1000 price, remember what is in each box. THINKWARE lists the 2CH kit as including the hard wiring cable and a microSD card. The A229 Plus does not include either, so add a hardwire kit if you want parking mode, and add a card either way. Price the whole setup, not just the camera.

One more thing worth checking before you buy anything: where the stock came from. A camera bought outside the Australian supply chain can leave you chasing a warranty overseas. We have written up the difference between genuine Australian stock and grey imports so you know what you are looking at.

THINKWARE Q1000 vs VIOFO A229 Plus and A229 Pro on paper

Everything in this table is a manufacturer specification. None of it is a Dash Cam Guys test result.

Feature	THINKWARE Q1000 (2CH)	VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH (the close match)	VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH (the step up)	Source note
Front camera	2K QHD at 30 fps, or Full HD 1920 x 1080 at 60 fps	2K 2560 x 1440 at 60 fps	4K at 30 fps	Manufacturer specification. The A229 Plus holds 2K at 60 fps, the THINKWARE drops to 1080p for 60 fps, the A229 Pro trades frame rate for 4K resolution
Front sensor	Sony Exmor R STARVIS, 5.14 megapixel, 1/2.8 inch	Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675, 5 megapixel, 1/2.8 inch	Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678, 8 megapixel	Manufacturer specification. Different sensor generations
Rear camera	2K QHD at 30 fps	2K 2560 x 1440 at 30 fps, Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675	2K at 30 fps, Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675	Manufacturer specification
HDR	True HDR with Super Night Vision 3.0	HDR on front and rear channels	HDR on front and rear channels	Manufacturer specification
Field of view	Approximately 156 degrees	140 degrees front, 160 degrees rear	Not published	Manufacturer specification. The THINKWARE front lens is wider than the A229 Plus front lens
Maximum microSD	256GB	512GB	512GB	Manufacturer specification
Screen	None. App only	2.4 inch LCD	2.4 inch screen	Manufacturer specification
Parking modes	Motion detection, time lapse, energy saving and smart parking recording	Buffered auto event detection, time lapse and low bitrate	Not published	Manufacturer specification
Hardwire kit	Included in the 2CH kits	Sold separately, HK4 or HK6	Not published	Manufacturer specification
Wi-Fi and GPS	Dual band 2.4 and 5 GHz, built in GPS	Dual band 2.4 and 5 GHz, built in GPS	Built in dual band Wi-Fi. GPS not published	Manufacturer specification
Power	Supercapacitor	Supercapacitor, rated minus 20 to 65 degrees Celsius	Supercapacitor, rated minus 20 to 65 degrees Celsius	Manufacturer specification
Voluntary warranty	3 years on the camera, 12 months on a genuine THINKWARE card, through THINKWARE Australia	18 months	18 months	Manufacturer published warranty terms

Methodology note: every line above is a manufacturer specification, checked against the brand's own site or its own user guide rather than a retailer's spec sheet. Where VIOFO does not publish a figure for the A229 Pro, the cell reads "Not published" rather than a guess. The Dash Cam Guys has not tested a Q1000, an A229 Plus and an A229 Pro under matched conditions, on the same vehicle, with the same card and firmware, so there are no Dash Cam Guys measurements here and we have not scored any of them.

Does 60 frames per second at 2K actually matter?

It does at speed. Frame rate is how many still images the camera captures each second. At 30 frames per second a car crossing in front of you at 60 kilometres per hour moves a fair distance between frames, and a number plate can smear. At 60 frames per second there is half as much movement between frames, so a plate is more likely to land sharp in at least one of them.

The Q1000 offers 60 frames per second, but only if you drop the front camera to Full HD. The A229 Plus holds 2K resolution at 60 frames per second. You do not have to choose between resolution and smoothness. If resolution numbers are new to you, our page on dash cam video quality and resolution breaks it down without the jargon.

The sensor generation gap

THINKWARE lists the Q1000 on Sony's original Exmor R STARVIS platform. The A229 Plus uses STARVIS 2, which Sony designed with wider dynamic range for exactly the situation Australian drivers hit every afternoon, a bright sky over a shaded road. We have written up what STARVIS 2 changes and what it does not.

Worth saying plainly: a newer sensor generation is a design difference, not a guarantee of better footage in your car. We have not shot matched night footage from these cameras, so we are not going to tell you how much difference it makes on your street.

Where the THINKWARE Q1000 still wins

Three years of warranty. THINKWARE Australia publishes three years on the Q1000 camera against VIOFO's 18 months. Both are voluntary warranties that sit on top of your Australian Consumer Law rights, which apply either way.

A wider front lens. Approximately 156 degrees against 140 degrees on the A229 Plus. That is more of the kerb and adjacent lanes in frame, at the cost of some detail spread across the same sensor.

Nothing else to buy for parking mode. The Q1000 2CH kits ship with the hard wiring cable. With the VIOFO you add an HK4 or HK6 hardwire kit if you want parking mode, plus a card. Budget for both.

The close match: VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH

If the Q1000 is the shape of kit you want, this is the closest thing we stock. The VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH matches the Q1000's dual 2K setup, front and rear, but does it on the newer Sony STARVIS 2 sensors and holds 60 frames per second on the front camera instead of dropping to 1080p for it.

You also get a 2.4 inch screen for lining the camera up at install time, and support for a 512GB card instead of 256GB, which is double the footage before the camera starts overwriting the oldest clips. Loop recording is that overwriting: once the card is full, the camera records over the oldest file rather than stopping.

The step up: VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH

If you want genuine 4K up front, this is the one. The VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH takes the front camera to 4K on Sony's 8 megapixel STARVIS 2 IMX678 sensor, while keeping 2K on the rear. More pixels across the same width of road means a number plate two cars ahead has a better chance of being readable when you pause the footage.

The trade is frame rate. VIOFO publishes the Pro's 4K front mode at 30 frames per second, where the A229 Plus runs 2K at 60. So the Pro captures more detail per frame and the Plus captures more frames. Neither is wrong. If most of your driving is highway and motorway commuting where you want plates at distance, the extra resolution earns its keep. If you spend your time in stop start traffic and roundabouts where things cross the frame fast, the 60 frames per second on the Plus is the more useful half of that trade.

The rest of the Pro reads much like the Plus: HDR on both channels, a 2.4 inch screen, built in dual band Wi-Fi, a 512GB card ceiling, supercapacitor power rated from minus 20 to 65 degrees Celsius, and an 18 month warranty. If you want the longer version, here is our full VIOFO A229 Pro review.

What we could not verify

• THINKWARE's own published front resolution for the Q1000 differs between its Australian page and its user guide, so we have quoted 2K QHD without the pixel dimensions rather than pick one.
• VIOFO does not publish a field of view figure, a parking mode list or hardwire kit inclusion for the A229 Pro in the specification we work from, so those cells read "Not published".
• Long term reliability of any of these cameras in Australian heat is not something a specification sheet can answer. Our notes on dash cam heat and reliability cover what we do and do not know.

Pro Tip: all of these cameras are only as reliable as the card inside them. Buy a genuine high endurance microSD card sized for how long you want footage kept, and swap it out every 12 to 18 months. A worn card is the most common reason a dash cam has nothing to show after an incident.

The verdict on the THINKWARE Q1000

Buy the THINKWARE Q1000 if: the three year voluntary warranty is the deciding factor, you want the widest front lens of the three, and you would rather everything arrived in one box. If you would rather have 4K up front from the same brand, we have also looked at the 4K THINKWARE U3000 above it.

The close match: VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH. Same dual 2K idea as the Q1000, but on STARVIS 2 sensors with 2K at 60 frames per second up front, 512GB card support and a screen you can check at install time. This is the one most people cross shopping a Q1000 end up with.

The step up: VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH. 4K front on the 8 megapixel STARVIS 2 IMX678 with 2K rear, for when you want the most detail you can get on a number plate and you are happy at 30 frames per second to get it.

Still not sure? Start from our Australian dash cam buying guide, read the whole THINKWARE range compared, or have a look through the VIOFO range.

Want a hand deciding?

Send us your car and how you use it, and Michael or Harrison will tell you straight which one suits, or whether something else in the front and rear range fits better. No worries either way, we would rather you got the right camera than the dearest one. Just get in touch. If you would rather someone else do the install, you can find a professional dash cam installer in your state.

Article details

• Author: The Dash Cam Guys
• Facts checked: 6 August 2026
• Models covered: THINKWARE Q1000 2CH (Q1000D64), VIOFO A229 Plus 2CH and VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH
• Independent testing by The Dash Cam Guys: none for this comparison