Reviewing and Testing the Vantrue N4 Pro S

DT MI said:
Here's an older, but complete, post on the subject of 'rainbows'.

Dashmellow

Thread 'Strange Rainbows in Your Dash Cam Videos?'

Strange Rainbows in Your Videos?
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With a steady stream of posts to the forum from members trying to understand why they are suddenly seeing unusual rainbows appearing in their dash cam footage I decided to create a sticky where we can learn about and discuss the problem and where visitors searching for some answers can find them.

Quick Start Spoiler: Ultimately, the problem of unusual, internally generated rainbows appearing in your dash cam videos will require removing the CPL from your camera if you want to eliminate...
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@DT MI

100% True. A Black matte dash mat can eliminate glare on windows WITH and WITHOUT tint. I didn't know the physics behind it (per the source @Dashmellow post who explained everything), but was aware of using a mat to accomplish these results. I just never decided to buy one as I didn't like the aesthetics.

Even windows without tint suffer from glare, but the CPL reduces it without the unsightly rainbow effect. I bet the matte black mat would work equally well here, too.

The Rainbow is mostly sky level and everything eye level is generally quite viewable. I should have addressed this a long time ago, but didn't know Viofo actually came out with a CPL for their A139 Pro.

Flip side, is the rear window would need a matte black mat, too. Rear window has far more reflection than front. Further the camera sits from window, the worse the reflections. They may or may not make them for the rear window, I've never investigated.

Basically, you'd need that on dashboard and then sitting in your rear window to eliminate glare.... Very effective but not pretty.

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3 Camera comparison. Here is a few minutes on the motorway at around 9.15pm BST.

Top section is the 70Mai T800, middle section the titular Vantrue N4 Pro S (set to +1 EV) and lower section the older Viofo A229 Pro.


Paul.
 
Paul Iddon said:
3 Camera comparison. Here is a few minutes on the motorway at around 9.15pm BST.

Top section is the 70Mai T800, middle section the titular Vantrue N4 Pro S (set to +1 EV) and lower section the older Viofo A229 Pro.


Paul.
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are you sure its +1 EV for Vantrue, not -1 EV?
 
It was too dark at 0.
 
oh wow, so Vantrue is at +1 EV and still darker then 70mai and Viofo at 0 EV?
 
Yep.
 
can you make a test with all this three dashcams but little more accurate - like make a car stop in front of some other cars/road signs (parking lot?) and make exactly same stop frame at the same moment...
 
If I get the chance, I'll try.
 
great. With one is your winner? I'm considering Vantrue N4 Pro S or 70mai T800 - with is overall better?
 
So far, the T800 has edge in front.

Opinions vary of course..
 
I think n4ROS is much better than T800
 
So here's how much a difference the CPL Filter Makes in visibility. Brief clip, but with tinted windows the shadows obscure detail. Per the above, you have two choices, which include using a CPL or placing a black matte mat to prevent glare.

Here's what you get using the CPL with Tint (Viofo CPL-300) with VHB. Major improvement:


No CPL with Tint

 
Paul Iddon said:
3 Camera comparison.
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It's always interesting to see a comparison across multiple brands! It's not as simple as "I like this on better because it is brighter" or "this one is a more realistic image" or "this one captures more detail in XYZ situation" (I wish it was 😉). There seems to be very different image processing philosophies at play for each brand and I've found it difficult to identify a clear champion in all situations. The programmer in me keeps wishing for more options (like: EV= +1.0 at night, but more like EV=0.0 during the day, but only on the front or rear camera), but I also understand this gets WAAAY too complex in a hurry to manage all of those settings.

jsmith said:
Here's what you get using the CPL with Tint (Viofo CPL-300) with VHB. Major improvement:
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Wow - that's a pretty stark contrast with and without the polarizer! Definitely better with the polarizer in place!

Bero said:
can you make a test with all this three dashcams but little more accurate - like make a car stop in front of some other cars/road signs (parking lot?) and make exactly same stop frame at the same moment...
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This is, of course, most telling. I made a few of there comparisons back in post #42, but it took me probably 4-5 hours to drive around and make the videos, waiting for just the right moment, then do a frame-by-frame line up from each camera, zooming in, making screen captures, and keeping everything from getting mixed up while you do screen caps and labeling the resulting images.
 
EricSan said:
It's always interesting to see a comparison across multiple brands! It's not as simple as "I like this on better because it is brighter" or "this one is a more realistic image" or "this one captures more detail in XYZ situation" (I wish it was 😉). There seems to be very different image processing philosophies at play for each brand and I've found it difficult to identify a clear champion in all situations. The programmer in me keeps wishing for more options (like: EV= +1.0 at night, but more like EV=0.0 during the day, but only on the front or rear camera), but I also understand this gets WAAAY too complex in a hurry to manage all of those settings.


Wow - that's a pretty stark contrast with and without the polarizer! Definitely better with the polarizer in place!


This is, of course, most telling. I made a few of there comparisons back in post #42, but it took me probably 4-5 hours to drive around and make the videos, waiting for just the right moment, then do a frame-by-frame line up from each camera, zooming in, making screen captures, and keeping everything from getting mixed up while you do screen caps and labeling the resulting images.
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I will be doing a test with S1Pro Max with CPL-300 from Viofo vs N4S without CPL.

I am going to focus on N4S and S1 Pro Max for bug checking but wanted to also check video quality with CPL. The vehicle with the N4S and S1Pro Max do not have Tint. However, the S1 ProMax due to design has very very bad glare. I want to see how much CPL improves glare.
 
The 4G LTE cannot be used with the rear camera but Vantrue hasn’t disclosed that flaw clearly anywhere. Can anyone shed some light on this feature? Thank you.
 
shovonmshahriar said:
The 4G LTE cannot be used with the rear camera but Vantrue hasn’t disclosed that flaw clearly anywhere. Can anyone shed some light on this feature? Thank you.
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Hi and welcome to DashCamTalk! Can you provide some context to how you are using the camera (install, power supply, channel configuration, etc)? N one else has reported this type of a flaw, so I'm curious about what is going on.
 
EricSan said:
Hi and welcome to DashCamTalk! Can you provide some context to how you are using the camera (install, power supply, channel configuration, etc)? N one else has reported this type of a flaw, so I'm curious about what is going on.
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The 4G LTE module connects in the USB-C data port in the dash cam itself where the rear camera supposed to be connected. So if you connect the 4G LTE module to the dash cam where are you suppose to plug in the rear camera?
 
Ah, gotcha - I don't have the LTE, so I wasn't thinking about where it plugs in🤣. Silly me...
 
shovonmshahriar said:
The 4G LTE module connects in the USB-C data port in the dash cam itself where the rear camera supposed to be connected. So if you connect the 4G LTE module to the dash cam where are you suppose to plug in the rear camera?
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The Power goes to the LTE Modem. LTE Modem plugs into the Mounting Module containing the GPS unit. You do not plug in the Modem directly to the camera.
 
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