I tried this thermal camera to make my nighttime driving safer — and it's a game changer

[admin]

I've been testing out the Thermal Master NV300 Max to see how well it can make nighttime driving safer and easier for me.

I tried this thermal camera to make my nighttime driving safer — and it's a game changer : Read more

 

[xrayangiodoc]

I wish you had shown us how the device was actually installed How would it work for cars with aluminum sheet metal?

 

[USAFRet]

So....we're supposed to drive at night looking at the screen, instead of looking out the window?

 

[3ngage]

I have a 2024 Audi S7 with a thermal camera. They call it nightvision. I live in the northeast and it is a game changer. The screen is built ino the dash beween speedometer and odometer. It is not distracting. I was nighttime driving in snow and rain. It saw a deer on the highway and alerted me with an audible and visual alert. I didnt see the deer at that point! Amazing and it should be standard some day

 

[phat_cat]

Park the car in the city and that cam be be gone when you get back. They need to provide a more secure mounting option like behind the grill, or figure out how to make it work through glass

 

[Homer11]

What happens after a really hot Summer day, and the Sun just goes down. Is the camera totally overloaded? It can't sense temps much cooler than it's ambient. The interior of the car can get 160 degrees. That wouldn't go well with a thermal camera. Everything would show up white hot.

 

[Adam Owens]

I bought this camera on Kickstarter. To summarize: it wasn't worth it. Deer are not highlighted, and in cold or dark or foggy conditions the IR does a poor job displaying anything more than a few feet in front of the car. The field of view is extremely narrow. The speedometer randomly changes from mph to kph. I have raised these and other concerns to the manufacturer but have not received a single reply. This is a great idea but in practice it does not function nearly as well as I wish it would. 1/5, would not recommend to a friend. Perhaps a software update will solve some of the issues.

 

[glenwoodgorilla]

Heads up, John...

You repeated the following paragraph:

Regardless, I think we should have more cars incorporate thermal cameras because of the increased safety they offer. I often think of all the deer just waiting on the sides of local roads at night waiting to cross. Thermal cameras such as this would be able to discern them faster than I could, so I’d like to see them somehow integrated into more cars.

 

[john_velasco]

I have a 2024 Audi S7 with a thermal camera. They call it nightvision. I live in the northeast and it is a game changer. The screen is built ino the dash beween speedometer and odometer. It is not distracting. I was nighttime driving in snow and rain. It saw a deer on the highway and alerted me with an audible and visual alert. I didnt see the deer at that point! Amazing and it should be standard some day

Good to know that they do exist in cars, but would love to see more.

 

[john_velasco]

Park the car in the city and that cam be be gone when you get back. They need to provide a more secure mounting option like behind the grill, or figure out how to make it work through glass

This is one of my concerns too. It looks janky on my car and wish it were more discreet.