Skylar132
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2021
- Messages
- 303
- Reaction score
- 101
- Location
- Northern Ireland
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Dash Cam
- Viofo A139 PRO 2CH
Note: this is my first time reviewing any dash cam so if there are any issues or misinformation feel free to correct me! And thank you to vantrue for this opportunity.
First Impressions:
I was aware that this was a mini dash cam but was surprised at just how small it was at only 1.54 inches. I do like the mount for the camera. It's a 3M tape mount rather than the usual suction cup that came with older vantrue cameras which is an improvement. Although I have two minor gripes, there is a slight vibration in the recorded video but this is to be expected with any dash cam that isn’t directly attached to the windscreen, also make sure you push the camera the full way into the mount to make a connection. The cable that comes with the camera is a USB-C car charger, although it does have an extra USB port which I like and would like to see from other manufacturers. There is also the bluetooth remote button which I honestly love and would love to see from more manufacturers.
Video Quality:
I do have to say I do really like the video quality coming from the E1, It has the options to record at:
2562x1944p 30fps
1440P 30fps HDR
1440P 30fps
1080p 30fps HDR
1080p 60fps
1080p 30fps
It's comparable to the video off my A119. You can pick out license plates in some scenarios but not others. I was really happy with night video quality with HDR turned on as it has a much better HDR than my A119 which would just sort of flicker (This was because it wasn’t a manufacturer added feature i presume) Although like all dash cams, its next to impossible to read license plates at night. But what is important is you can see what's going on even in areas without street lighting. Although I do think the colours from the E1 are slightly dull compared to my 522GW or A119.
Voice Control: This was one area I was rather eager to test out as I have never had any voice control other than wrestling to get Siri to work. I am honestly surprised how well the voice controls work even with my Northern Irish accent. You can turn the controls off if you don’t like them but I personally have found them to be convenient. With voice controls you can turn on/off wifi, turn on/off the microphone, start/stop recording, take a photo or lock the video. I personally use the wifi commands the most for when I need to change settings or view a video at the side of the road.
Wifi: On the topic of wifi, I was somewhat nervous to test it after seeing the reviews for the app on the app store but I was pleasantly surprised, everything went very smoothly, you can view recorded videos from the camera, see a live view, take a photo or change the settings. The settings are very good other than the fact I’ve had issues with the camera not displaying a number plate, I think this is only an issue with my unit because I haven’t heard any other complaints of this, it's not a massive issue anyway so I’m not fussed. Something I really liked was the options for the warnings, you can toggle on and off individual reminders and it has an “abrupt stop recording warning” where you are given an audible warning message, this is also the case with the format warning when your memory card needs formatted. I have mine all set to off other than the abrupt recording stop, format warning and the power up sound.
Parking Mode: This is an area I cannot really comment on right now, initially I was sent the E1 without the hardwiring kit so I just put it in the car as is. The next day a crash happened *directly* in front of my car while I went into the shop so I pulled the plug and bought the hardwiring kit and fitted it last night, will include parking mode performance in my update.
Final Thoughts: I honestly liked this camera so much that it’s now replaced my A119 and I have the E1 hardwired for the parking mode. I hope it continues to impress me. As of right now I can't recommend it on the terms of reliability as I only received this camera last week but I will have an update in a month's time. Thanks for reading my first review, if I missed anything I am sorry feel free to correct or add something in below.
Note: All samples are recorded at 1440p with HDR ON and polarizing filter attached
Daylight Video Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Okq15iEgdrmlWvBpwJGlhKBHoeQkErH1/view?usp=sharing
Nighttime video sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LnQDg9KXLx3TKGiGoJHN5x1SHw-eZ0DF/view?usp=sharing
Photos of Camera:
First Impressions:
I was aware that this was a mini dash cam but was surprised at just how small it was at only 1.54 inches. I do like the mount for the camera. It's a 3M tape mount rather than the usual suction cup that came with older vantrue cameras which is an improvement. Although I have two minor gripes, there is a slight vibration in the recorded video but this is to be expected with any dash cam that isn’t directly attached to the windscreen, also make sure you push the camera the full way into the mount to make a connection. The cable that comes with the camera is a USB-C car charger, although it does have an extra USB port which I like and would like to see from other manufacturers. There is also the bluetooth remote button which I honestly love and would love to see from more manufacturers.
Video Quality:
I do have to say I do really like the video quality coming from the E1, It has the options to record at:
2562x1944p 30fps
1440P 30fps HDR
1440P 30fps
1080p 30fps HDR
1080p 60fps
1080p 30fps
It's comparable to the video off my A119. You can pick out license plates in some scenarios but not others. I was really happy with night video quality with HDR turned on as it has a much better HDR than my A119 which would just sort of flicker (This was because it wasn’t a manufacturer added feature i presume) Although like all dash cams, its next to impossible to read license plates at night. But what is important is you can see what's going on even in areas without street lighting. Although I do think the colours from the E1 are slightly dull compared to my 522GW or A119.
Voice Control: This was one area I was rather eager to test out as I have never had any voice control other than wrestling to get Siri to work. I am honestly surprised how well the voice controls work even with my Northern Irish accent. You can turn the controls off if you don’t like them but I personally have found them to be convenient. With voice controls you can turn on/off wifi, turn on/off the microphone, start/stop recording, take a photo or lock the video. I personally use the wifi commands the most for when I need to change settings or view a video at the side of the road.
Wifi: On the topic of wifi, I was somewhat nervous to test it after seeing the reviews for the app on the app store but I was pleasantly surprised, everything went very smoothly, you can view recorded videos from the camera, see a live view, take a photo or change the settings. The settings are very good other than the fact I’ve had issues with the camera not displaying a number plate, I think this is only an issue with my unit because I haven’t heard any other complaints of this, it's not a massive issue anyway so I’m not fussed. Something I really liked was the options for the warnings, you can toggle on and off individual reminders and it has an “abrupt stop recording warning” where you are given an audible warning message, this is also the case with the format warning when your memory card needs formatted. I have mine all set to off other than the abrupt recording stop, format warning and the power up sound.
Parking Mode: This is an area I cannot really comment on right now, initially I was sent the E1 without the hardwiring kit so I just put it in the car as is. The next day a crash happened *directly* in front of my car while I went into the shop so I pulled the plug and bought the hardwiring kit and fitted it last night, will include parking mode performance in my update.
Final Thoughts: I honestly liked this camera so much that it’s now replaced my A119 and I have the E1 hardwired for the parking mode. I hope it continues to impress me. As of right now I can't recommend it on the terms of reliability as I only received this camera last week but I will have an update in a month's time. Thanks for reading my first review, if I missed anything I am sorry feel free to correct or add something in below.
Note: All samples are recorded at 1440p with HDR ON and polarizing filter attached
Daylight Video Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Okq15iEgdrmlWvBpwJGlhKBHoeQkErH1/view?usp=sharing
Nighttime video sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LnQDg9KXLx3TKGiGoJHN5x1SHw-eZ0DF/view?usp=sharing
Photos of Camera: