Reviewing and Testing the new Vantrue E1 Pro Dashcam

[EricSan]

I recently received a very kind invitation from @Jeff_Vantrue to review their brand new (not yet released) E1 Pro Dashcam. A big "Thank you!" to Jeff and the team for sending me this camera to review. It arrived in the mail a few days later. In my shipping box was a factory sealed E1 Pro single-channel dash camera and a 64GB micro SD card with a standard SD card reader adapter (available separately).

My other Vantrue dashcam reviews can be found here: E360, E1 Pro, N4S, S1 Pro Max, N4 Pro S, N5S
Vantrue Power (non-dashcam) Product Reviews: T800 Compressed Air Duster, TS2 Thermal Camera for iOS/Android

Features:​

• 4K High Definition Video Quality
• SONY STARVIS 2 IMX678 CMOS Sensor
• Exclusive PlatePix™ Technology
• Compatible with LTE Module
• 15s Pre-Recording Buffered Motion Detection
• 5GHz High-Frequency WiFi & Free App
• Smart Voice Control
• 24/7 Parking Mode
• Built In Dual-Sys. GPS Logger
• Mileage Statistics

Available Resolutions:
3840x2160P 30FPS
2560x1440P 30FPS
1920x1080P 30FPS
1280x720P 30FPS

Camera Angle:
158 degree angle view

E1 Pro Manual and Firmware Download page:

Vantrue E1 Pro | Product Manuals, Firmware Upgrades, and FAQs

Explore comprehensive product manuals, firmware upgrades, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) for Vantrue E1 Pro dash cam. Access detailed instructions, troubleshooting tips, and the latest firmware updates to enhance your experience. Find answers to common queries and optimize your use of...

www.vantrue.com

Support for 32GB-1TB micro SD cards (available separately). The printed manual that was included with the camera that I received indicates the upper limit is 512GB, but Wendy from Vantrue confirmed the upper limit is indeed 1TB.

As with the E360 Ace that I previously reviewed, the packaging materials are excellent and will clearly protect the camera if the shipping box is subject to trauma along its journey to your home.

Opening the box reveals a nice custom made foam rubber insert to cushion and protect the camera. There is also an inner box that contains some wiring harnesses and the GPS mount.

Here is everything that is inside the main box: a card showing the camera hookup with QR codes on the back for the app download, a nicely detailed user's manual (which are becoming increasingly rare these days), two yellow warning stickers, an orange "share" pamphlet that describes how to upload your video for a contest to win other goodies, the E1 Pro camera, a lens cleaning cloth, and two clear magnetic windshield mounts.

Missing from my box was the Adhesive Cable Clip (Part F.) that was listed on Page 2 of the manual.

The product box contains a single inner box of cables as shown below. This includes the magnetic GPS mount for the dash cam with 3M Very High Bond already installed, a spare 3m VHB adhesive (very much appreciated!), a 1m USB-A to USB-C power cable, a 3.5m power cable that plugs into the car's 12v utility outlet, and a 120mm orange plastic trim tool. As before, the VHB has a nice pull-tab to facilitate easy mounting. Anyone who has played with this VHB stuff in the past can attest what a pain it is to expose the actual adhesive so you can stick it to things.

Below is an image of everything that arrives in the E1 Pro box:

 

[EricSan]

The E1 Pro camera itself is a cute little thing. Never really thought I'd use the word "cute" in a product review, but it seems appropriate. It's nearly a perfect cube. Here are images of each side of the camera.

Protecting the screen during transit is an applique that describes the functionality of each of the buttons (power button on the side, three more buttons on the bottom of the camera) for both a short and long press.

On the left side of the camera (below), you'll find the orange power button, the SD card slot (the Vantrue team was kind enough to include a 64GB card in my shipping box), and the speaker.

The right side of the camera (below) features a USB-C port that is for connection to either the LTE module for real-time access to the camera via your smart phone, or for connection to your computer to view/transfer video files, as well as a recessed button to reset the unit. I really enjoy seeing a reset feature - I've not yet needed to use it for anything, but it's nice to know that it is available in the event something goes wrong with the software.

The top of the camera (below) shows the magnetic mount to the GPS unit that also serves as the windshield mount for the camera. This is a much smaller mount with fewer electrical contacts than the E360 3ch camera, but it's also a smaller and more simple camera. You can also see a series of air vents to allow some cooling as the camera operates.

Below is an image of the bottom of the camera. You can see a hole for the microphone (used for both recording and for voice commands), and three buttons. The first button starts/stops the recording (short press) or turns the LCD screen on/off (long press). The middle button turns the microphone on/off (short press), and turns parking mode on/off (long press). The right most button activates the camera's menu structure (short press) and turns the WiFi on/off (long press). There are also two rows of air vents for cooling the electronics inside the camera. My initial measurement shows the camera operates at approximately 25-30c over ambient temperature, approximately the same as the E360 and Viofo 139 Pro cameras.

Below is an image of the E1 Pro's screen with the applique removed. Not much to see here, just the brand logo and model of the camera flanking the LCD screen. In the lower right hand corner of the rear of the camera is a small, rectangular, green LED (highlighted with a yellow arrow) that illuminates steadily to show that the camera is powered on. It blinks while the camera is recording. The LED is not very obtrusive or distracting at all, even at night.

The entire front of the camera is consumed with the camera's one and only lens (below). It consumes the entire front of the camera.

 

[EricSan]

The GPS/windshield mount is very tiny compared to the one that accompanies the larger E360 camera. Below is an image of the right hand side of the mount, as oriented when it is adhered to the front windshield. The USB-C port is oriented to minimize the extent to which the USB cable sticks out when everything is installed. The end of the included power adapted (described in the post below) has a right angle bend so the installed cable is already headed up to your headliner above the windshield so it's easy to tuck away with a clean appearance for the final install.

Below you can see the set of contacts that tie it to the camera itself. The receptacle is grooved so these two pieces slide together. The little rectangle below the gold plated contacts is a magnet to help insure that things stay together once the camera is mounted.

The swivel mount has a much greater range of adjustment, so mounting it in just about any vehicle should be easy. Below is an image of the camera with the mount attached and pushed as far down is it will go. It doesn't quite allow a true 90 degree vertical mount, but it comes close at about 78 degrees. If your front windshield is truly vertical, you'll end up with more road than sky in your resulting video recordings. This is not a bad situation at all as having less area of bright sky in your video will provide better overall brightness and contrast in your recordings.

Below is the same view, but with the GPS/mount tilted up as far as it will go. This is a VERY impressive range of adjustment, clearly over 90 degrees! This much range of movement would even allow you to mount the camera to the bottom side of your sun roof and STILL having a good view out the front window 😉

The mounting swivel point is also rather tight and firm, requiring quite a bit of force to move it. It certainly won't wiggle around on you or sag once mounted to your window!

The images below show the range of adjustment for the windshield mounts for the E360 and the E1 Pro. As you can see, there is quite a bit of difference in the available range of angles for mounting. Kudos to Vantrue for allowing a greater flexibility with the newer E1. This image shows both cameras with the mount adjusted down as far as it will go.

And next is the same comparison, but with the windshield mount adjusted up as far as possible for each camera.

The increased adjustment range should make the E1 more suitable to a wider range of vehicle installs.

 

[EricSan]

Here are a few side-by-side comparisons of the E360 (on the left) and the new E1 Pro (on the right). This is a MUCH smaller overall camera, which greatly increases the number of places where it can be mounted. Below you see the front of each camera that peers out through the windshield. The E1 Pro will easily accept a circular polarizing filter (available separately). I'll have to pick one up from Amazon to make some comparison videos with and without the filter in place.

The image below shows the cabin-facing part of the camera that contains the screen. At first, I thought both cameras shared the same screen, but measuring them reveals a small difference in their size (barely 2mm). The LCD screen in the E360 measures approximately 29mm by 29mm, whereas the LCD in the E1 Pro is closer to 27mm by 27mm. Whereas the E360 uses a touch screen for navigating the menu system, the E1 Pro screen is not a touch screen, you need to use the buttons on the bottom of the camera to navigate the menu system. I really don't have much of a preference for one over the other, they are each effective and easy to use, plus the settings of each camera are equally easy to adjust using the app.

As you can see, the E1 Pro is easily half the size of the E360.

 

[EricSan]

The Utility Port Adapter power supply USB-C cable measures about 11.5 feet (3.5m), which should be plenty to reach from your dash or center console around the dashboard, up the A-pillar and across to the center of the windshield. The Utility Outlet power supply cable is terminated with a 90-degree USB-C connector which I appreciate much more than had the connector been straight. Orienting the cable and the power receptacle on the window-mount GPS unit will keep the finished wiring closer to the windshield and easier to tuck into the headliner without leaving large loops of wire sticking out. Awesome attention to detail!

I imagine this is exactly the very same corded Utility Port power supply that ships with the E360 camera (and likely their other cameras as well). It provides 5.20v from the USB-C connector and 5.25v from the orange USB-A port (both measured with no load attached), suggesting that two separate voltage regulators are inside. The markings on the barrel of the plug indicate that the USB-A port and the wire connector are each rated at 5v and 2.4A. Markings on the Utility Plug wire indicate 22ga wire is used to attach the USB-C plug at the end.

Another nice touch here is the addition of a green power on indicator below the USB-A port on the Utility Plug power adapter so you know that it's getting power! Gotta love the attention to detail that is evident here! A feature like this may not seem like that big of a deal right away, but if you are in the middle of troubleshooting an installation that is not working properly, you'll quickly appreciate the power on indicator!

Of course, if you find yourself in a situation where the nice green LED power indicator on the utility plug adapter is not lighting up when you plug it in, be sure to check the fuse that is hidden inside the tip of the barrel:

 

[EricSan]

Did I mention that I LOVE the small size of this camera?!? It is small enough that it can be mounted just about anywhere on your windshield and not get in the way of your sun visor or obstruct your view as you're driving.

Here it is, mounted below the Intellisafe module of my Volvo S60. This is directly in the center of my windshield and the camera is small enough that I can only see the lower 1/3 or so of the camera peeping out behind my rear view mirror. Alternatively, it is small enough to place on the driver's side of the Intellisafe module, right up at the very top of the windshield and still not interfere with the movement/placement of my sun visor. BIG thumbs up for this tiny little camera! 👍

I still haven't made up my mind about one final (and relatively small) detail of the final installation. @TonyM and I exchanged a few messages about this and I'm still a bit torn. The specific issue is the color of the 3M VHB material. The provided adhesive is grey, which is much more obvious from the outside of the car than a black adhesive pad.

Below is a side-by-side comparison of my Viofo camera mounted with black 3M VHB and the Vantrue camera, mounted with grey VHB. The grey certainly calls more attention to itself than does the black and this is the crux of the issue: should the overall dashcam installation be more obvious or less obvious from the outside?

My first reaction is that I like the darker adhesive as it doesn't call as much attention to itself. However, after discussing this with Tony, he feels that there is advantage to having the camera call a bit more attention to itself - an obvious camera in the car might result in somewhat better behavior for other drivers should your car get hit in a parking lot. This might coax greater accountability out of the other driver if they realize they've been filmed leaving the scene of an accident...

I'm curious to hear what others think of this (relavitely minor) detail... If you have any reactions, please leave a response below.

 

[EricSan]

Power consumption of this single channel camera is listed in the user's manual as a mere 3.5w, likely even less in parking mode with either reduced resolution or reduced frame rate. Early measurements confirm this power consumption figure. I need to do more extensive power measurements, but with this tiny amount of power draw, I expect my LTO parking battery will easily provide north of 80 hours of record time on a full charge.

 

[EricSan]

Hey @Jeff_Vantrue, does this polarizer for the E1 and E1 Lite fit the new E1 Pro camera as well?

 

[Karagandinez]

Below is an image of everything that arrives in the E1 Pro box:

The best package was the E1.
It included a CPL filter and remote control.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

does this polarizer for the E1 and E1 Lite fit the new E1 Pro camera as well?

yes, it does

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

The best package was the E1.
It included a CPL filter and remote control.

The officially released E1 Pro will also include a CPL filter in the package.

 

[TonyM]

Below is a side-by-side comparison of my Viofo camera mounted with black 3M VHB and the Vantrue camera, mounted with grey VHB. The grey certainly calls more attention to itself than does the black and this is the crux of the issue: should the overall dashcam installation be more obvious or less obvious from the outside?

My first reaction is that I like the darker adhesive as it doesn't call as much attention to itself. However, after discussing this with Tony, he feels that there is advantage to having the camera call a bit more attention to itself - an obvious camera in the car might result in somewhat better behavior for other drivers should your car get hit in a parking lot.

My preference is for black VHB and a discreet installation.

When reviewing video from a recent minor collision involving my parked car, it appears that the other driver noticed a dashcam on my windscreen. Whether the grey VHB made it more obvious I can't be sure.

 

[kamkar]

Very nice looking little system, on the look of it all i can find to point my personal finger at is the big circle around the lens, i feel it would attract eyes that might otherwise not see.

Rock on Vantrue

 

[EricSan]

I am wondering what the rationale is for the large outer ring around the lens, too. It provides a distinctive look that seems integral to the Vantrue brand identity, but seems to be larger than necessary.

 

[EricSan]

I am in the process of making a number of videos to post, but I just came across a rather striking contrast that is worth highlighting. These images are made at night with the Vantrue E1 Pro with both HDR and PlatePix settings enabled. For comparison, I made the same images with my Viofo A139 Pro with HDR enabled and a circular polarizer in place.

To be clear, these are not still JPGs made by the cameras dedicated functions. Rather these are screen grabs that were created by pausing the video and making a screen capture. I feel this is a useful way to make a comparison because it highlights the overall exposure level and amount of detail observable in the video feed. I used the Vantrue video app for all images below. I played the video at slow speed, zoomed in as far as the app would allow, and stopped the playback when the image seemed most clear from each camera.

The results are quite stark, with a clear advantage to the Vantrue E1 Pro over the Viofo A139 Pro.

Vantrue E1 Pro: stopped at a traffic light and zoomed in to the center of the frame (1260 x 720 resolution, 287KB filesize):

Viofo A139 Pro: stopped at a traffic light and zoomed in to the center of the frame (1260 x 720 resolution, 275KB filesize):

As you can see in the two images above, the new Vanture E1 Pro is much more clear, exhibits less grain, has fewer/smaller halos around lights, and features better overall readability of street signs for the very same resolution. Looking closely at the right-most set of street lights (below the right most traffic light and just above the white road signs) you can see the tree branches behind the lights in the Vantrue image much more clearly than you can in the same image made with the Viofo camera. It is also easier to see a white construction horse adjacent to the left-most street light in the Vantrue image. Both cameras have the exposure set to EV=0.0

Here is the next pair of images for comparison. These are also screen grabs from the MP4 files, but this time, the car was moving at about 15 mph.


Vantrue E1 Pro: car is moving, zoomed in as far as the Vantrue app would allow, center of frame (1260 x 720 resolution, 253KB filesize):

Viofo A139 Pro: car is moving, zoomed in as far as the Vantrue app would allow, center of frame (1260 x 720 resolution, 253KB filesize):

Again, you can see a pretty clear difference in these freeze frames: the Viofo exhibits more grain, more halos around the lights, and blurrier text on the street signs.

Below is one more comparison between the two cameras. The car was moving (approx 15 mph) and this backlit sign was at the edge of the video frame (instead of at the center of the frame like the images above), zoomed in as far as possible with the Vantrue video viewer.

Vantrue E1 Pro: car is moving (about 15 mph), zoomed in as far as the Vantrue app would allow, edge of frame (800 x 480 resolution, 143KB filesize):

Viofo A139 Pro: car is moving (about 15mph), zoomed in as far as the Vantrue app would allow, edge of frame (700 x 450 resolution, 137KB filesize):

Looking at the text on the sign, the Vantrue E1 Pro exhibits greater overall contrast and less visible grain for easier reading.

This is a pretty interesting set of results between two cameras mounted side by side and featuring the same resolution: 3480x2160. While you might be inclined to say that using screengrabs from the video files is less than ideal, this is likely to be EXACTLY how I would be examining a video recording had an accident happened and I was unable to get to the camera to make a JPG using the button.

I'll post some full videos shortly, but with this limited comparison, the E1 Pro is a pretty impressive camera! Images grabbed from the E1 Pro MP4 videos exhibit better contrast, more clarity, easier readibility, fewer halos, less grain, and better shadow detail than the images from the Viofo A139 Pro.

I like it's small size which makes it easy to mount up at the very top of the windshield while still keeping it out of the way of my sun visor. This mounting location provides a more clear view from the driver's perspective.

 

[EricSan]

Sorry for the slow pace of updates here. I have a few updates about the E1 Pro camera. I've been running it for a few weeks and am getting ready to post a few videos shortly.

The first observation that I have relates to filesizes and the amount of drive video that will fit on a memory card. Using the camera's highest resolution (3840x2160 at 30fps) the camera creates files that are consistently 708,608KB in size for 3 mins of recording time. This works out to about 236MB for each minute of drive time. For a 64MB card, this provides approximately 3.5hrs of drive time before the camera starts overwriting existing files. For people who are hardcore commuters, it definitely makes sense to opt for larger cards that will reduce the frequency with which each physical memory address on the card is written to. This will increase the longevity of the card as each card has a relatively finite amount of times that data can be written to the same location. Given this data, I'd expect a 512GB card to hold about 28 hours of drive-time recordings at the camera's highest resolution. The maximum usable card size is 1TB, which should hold close to 50 hours of drive time plus another 80+ hours of parking mode footage. For more "normal" drive times to work, a 1GB card should last better than a full month before files start getting overwritten. The MediaInfo app reports a video data rate of about 32mbs for 3840x2160 30fps resolution.

I have a few bumps in the road on the way to work, so I can confirm that impact detection files do indeed end up in the "Event" folder so they don't get over written. I've needed to back down the sensitivity level on the Z-axis from 3 to 2 to prevent these files from being flagged for preservation. All in all, this feature works exactly as I'd expect it to. 👍

For parking mode, the camera is recording in 1920x1080 resolution with 15fps which results in 3min files that are each 75,776KB in size (about 9.3 times smaller files than drive mode). This means that the same 64GB card will be able to hold about 32 hours of parking mode recording. If you have a short (~10min) drive to work and spend 8 hours a day at the office, a 64GB card will likely last just about 4 days or so with parking mode enabled. MediaInfo reports a data rate of about 4900kbs for 1920x1080 resolution at 15pfs.

One peculiarity that I noticed is the size of the JPG files that the E1 Pro makes. While the camera is recording in 3820x2160 30fps mode, JPG files feature only 1920x1080 resolution. I need to double check the camera settings to see if this is adjustable or not. Given the difference in resolution, I would think making JPG files has limited utility at the scene of an accident due to the reduced resolution.
EDIT: it appears that the recent firmware update fixed this and now images feature 3820x2160 resolution. Awesome!

A second thing I'm noticing is that the E1 Pro camera seems to be making "jumpy" videos. Every few seconds, there is a small but noticeable jump in the video playback (I've verified this using different playback programs, including the Vantrue player). I used the free version of CapCut software to examine the video files frame by frame. What I'm seeing on a somewhat random basis (sometimes as often as every 3-5 seconds) is two consecutive frames that are exactly identical to one another. There are indeed 30 frames for every second, but when there is a visible jump in the video stream, a frame by frame analysis reveals between 1 and 4 instances of identical consecutive frames within the 30 frame sequence for each second of record time.

I have not yet performed a firmware update on the E1 Pro (I just used it straight from the box), so I'll have to do this and see if duplicate frame/jumping video issue remains or goes away.

 

[sorka]

A quick comparison with and without the CPL filter that came with my review E1 Pro. Pretty dramatic difference and a bit more necessary compared to a camera that can be mounted with the lens against the windshield.

 

[EricSan]

That's a nice reduction in window reflection! Thanks for posting that comparison!

 

[EricSan]

In addition to the excellent image quality of the E1Pro camera, it turns out that it's also VERY power efficient!

Power consumption measurements in LBR parking mode (with the screen off) reveal slight power fluctuations ranging from a low of 2.65w to a high of 2.83w. Watching the meter over time shows that the average power consumption hangs out closer to about 2.70w. This power consumption includes the Vantrue provided 12v to 5v hardwire kit and the E1 Pro camera together. For those of you who will use the E1Pro with a parking battery, it should last quite a long time with a paltry 2.7w of power draw!

With my DIY 276Wh LTO parking battery, this works out to more than 80 hours! Pretty awesome!

 

[Augustus]

In addition to the excellent image quality of the E1Pro camera, it turns out that it's also VERY power efficient!

Power consumption measurements in LBR parking mode (with the screen off) reveal slight power fluctuations ranging from a low of 2.65w to a high of 2.83w. Watching the meter over time shows that the average power consumption hangs out closer to about 2.70w. This power consumption includes the Vantrue provided 12v to 5v hardwire kit and the E1 Pro camera together. For those of you who will use the E1Pro with a parking battery, it should last quite a long time with a paltry 2.7w of power draw!

With my DIY 276Wh LTO parking battery, this works out to more than 80 hours! Pretty awesome!

Not to rain on your parade, but dashcams I've tested that are two channel draw 5.x watts, so I'm wondering because it's one channel it's got figures that low

Irrespectively, for a parking battery that's fantastic runtime! I'm loving the image quality myself out of the E1 Pro!