LateralNW
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Vantrue E1 Pro Review — Compact Powerhouse
with Smart Features and Practical Design
Vantrue supplied this unit for my review — thank you.
The Vantrue E1 Pro is a feature-rich, compact dash cam offering true 4K resolution and thoughtful design detailsthat make it a compelling choice for drivers who want premium video recording without the bulk. This unit
impressed in several key areas while leaving room for improvement in others.
📹 4K Resolution at its Core
At its core, the E1 Pro delivers 4K (3840×2160) resolution powered by a Sony image sensor.Daylight footage is sharp and colour-balanced, with reliable exposure control even in high-contrast scenes.
Thanks to the Vantrue PixePlate technology, night-time clarity gets a boost — but with caveats.
While PixePlate appears to slightly darken the image, the trade-off is better licence plate capture.
It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t always catch every plate, but it’s a step in the right direction for night performance.
During night-time driving on mountain roads, the footage took on a green tinge, which
may be related to how the camera processes low-light scenes in certain conditions.
It doesn’t ruin the video but is worth noting for those who frequently drive at night in remote or rural areas.
In night driving tests, under the firmware version used during this review, there was a slight “urging” or
micro-jitter in some clips — barely noticeable but worth mentioning. This could very well be ironed out in future firmware updates.
💾 Micro SD support to 512GB
The unit supports microSD cards up to 512 GB, but the supplied Vantrue 128 GB U3 V30 A2 microSD card performed reliably.With fast write speeds and endurance suitable for continuous loop recording, this card is clearly chosen to avoid the
common pitfalls users face when pairing dash cams with lower-grade storage.
📏 Compact design
Measuring just 72 mm wide and 51 mm tall, the E1 Pro is one of the most compact dash cams in its class.It blends discreetly into the windscreen area, avoiding driver distraction. Its high-quality 1.54-inch IPS screen (non-touch)
offers crisp, vibrant feedback for framing, reviewing footage, and navigating settings.
🧲 Updated Magnetic Connector
The mount uses Vantrue’s updated 4-pin magnetic system, which ensures a secure connection with easy removal.Adjusting the camera to suit different windscreen angles is straightforward, and the screw-in CPL filter plays a critical role here.
🔲 CPL Filter easy to adjust
The included large circular polarising filter (CPL) stands out. It’s not only useful for reducing glare and reflectionsoff dashboards and windscreens but also beautifully designed. You can adjust it with one hand, even while the
camera is mounted, making it one of the most practical CPL implementations on the market.
🎛️ Navigating the E1 Pro
Navigating the E1 Pro is done via a set of physical push buttons below the screen. There’s no touchscreen, but the UI isintuitive, and the screen's sharpness helps in reading menus easily. Voice control is another standout — the
E1 Pro supports commands like:
- “Turn on screen”
- “Lock video”
- “Take photo”
- “Turn on/off audio”
After the initial setup voice recognition didn't work which required the use of the app to
set the Activate voice recognition to ON. (Was a problem is earlier models but intermittent so they added this option.)
⚡ Power Adapter
Vantrue includes a cigarette lighter power adapter with an additional USB-A port rated at 5 V / 2.4 A,which is great for charging a phone or GPS simultaneously. The attached USB-C power cable is a generous 3.5 m long,
offering enough length for tidy, concealed routing around most vehicle cabins.
🌐 Over The Air Updates so Easy
The Vantrue app allows basic settings adjustments and live view streaming. However, setting HDR modetiming via the app proved awkward, and the HDR toggle didn’t always respond — likely a minor bug
that can be fixed with an app update.
Where Vantrue shines is with over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates. They were seamless and fast — genuinely one of the best OTA
update experiences in dash cams today. Unfortunately, updates reset some settings, notably
language and GPS region (e.g., London, Sydney, New York). However, time and date stamps remain intact,
and GPS re-locks quickly once the correct region is set again.
🕓 GPS on Screen Speed
The E1 Pro displays the vehicle’s speed in the bottom-right corner of the screenwhen GPS is active. It’s a helpful feature, but the font size could be slightly larger to benefit drivers with limited
vision, especially in bright sunlight or quick glances.
✅ My Thoughts
The Vantrue E1 Pro is a well-rounded, thoughtfully engineered dash cam. Its strong video quality, compact form,
well-designed CPL filter with its easy adjustment, and OTA update capability make it a solid option for those seeking a
dependable 4K dash cam. While the app could benefit from minor usability improvements and night footage has a
few quirks, the overall package is well-executed.
Special thanks again to Vantrue for supplying the E1 Pro and 128GB high-endurance microSD card for this review.
