Vantrue E3 Unboxing and Testing

[Julian23]

I got the opportunity to get my hands on the new Vantrue E3 to test and review.
This is my first experience with Vantrue dashcams.

Unboxing:

My first impressions are pretty good. Like an IKEA package, everything fit surprisingly well in the small package. The only thing I couldn't find was a manual. This could be because it’s a review unit. I just downloaded the E2 manual since the E3 manual is not available yet.
The provided power supply has one free USB port for charging other devices with 5V/2.4A. A nice little detail to not lose the 12V socket completely.
The cable for the rear camera is on the thicker side. A thin coax cable like some Viofo dashcams have, would be better to hide.
A nice addition is the included remote. I will see how much it will be used since the dashcam also has voice commands.




The Cameras:

The main camera seems well-built. It's using a capacitor. The display has a good resolution and more important a good viewing angle. A good resolution is useless if I can't see the display when it's mounted near my rearview mirror. The rounded edges on the display make it look and feel nice.
The mount is stable where the dashcam attaches. However, there is slight play in the hinge of the mount itself. I will check if this causes any noticeable problems.
Next to the display is the interior camera. It's surrounded by 4 IR LEDs. The interior camera has an active IR cut filter. When turning on the IR LEDs you can hear the filter switch.
As with the E1 and E2, the buttons are on the bottom and one on the left. Right above the bottom buttons is a green recording LED that can be switched off.
What I haven't seen in other reviews is the movable front lens. It can be tilted left/ right and up/down to make small adjustments.
The rear camera shares the same boxy design as the front camera and could be a little bit smaller in my opinion. Near the USB-C port on the backside is a small green LED to show that it is connected and working. This LED doesn't turn off when turning off the recording LED in the main camera.




Settings:

The user interface is very easy to use and intuitive. Everything is where you expect it to be. The only small complaint I have is when you save a video. After pressing the button, it shows a photo symbol instead of a video. Maybe this can be replaced in the future with new firmware.
The voice commands work surprisingly well for all sorts of functions. Sadly, they aren't available in german currently.
Another positive surprise is the app. Just like the menu on the camera, it's very easy to use and change settings. The WiFi can be switched between 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz.
The cameras can record in any configuration wanted:
Front only, Front + Rear, Front + Interior, Front + Interior + Rear
This is how I expect a 3 channel camera to be.
Resolutions can be up to 1944p+1080p+1080p at 30fps. Videos are recorded in the H264 codec.
HDR is enabled by default.


I will provide driving photos and videos within the next few days.
If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

Unboxing:

My first impressions are pretty good. Like an IKEA package, everything fit surprisingly well in the small package. The only thing I couldn't find was a manual. This could be because it’s a review unit. I just downloaded the E2 manual since the E3 manual is not available yet.

So for the E3 manual, it's not officially online but it's almost close to be perfect and I'll send it to you by mail. Hope it helps you well~

 

[Julian23]

After testing the camera for a few days, I have now gotten some videos in various conditions.

First of all, I want to mention the mounting bracket. It is very easy to remove and insert the camera into the mount. The camera is held pretty well and doesn't move much at all. However, with bad roads or bass-heavy music (depending on how much punch your sound system got) the camera moves ever so slightly when reviewing the footage. The movement didn't cause any noises in my recorded videos however.

The voice commands work pretty well in the car but I prefer the remote. It's much easier and faster to just click the button without having to wait if the camera recognized your command. For features like turning on or off the screen or enabling WiFi, it is very convenient and much easier than having to click through the menu with the camera mounted on the windscreen.

The green LED on the rear camera is noticeable in the rearview mirror but it's not too bright to annoy the driver. It would be nice to have the option to disable it if some people prefer it that way.

Now regarding the recorded videos.
I noticed that the audio volume is relatively quiet compared to other dashcams. The audio also seems a little bit muffled. On bad roads or with bass-heavy music the microphone drops the volume very low. Maybe this could be improved with firmware updates in the future.
The video footage from the front camera is good and sharp. Plates of oncoming cars can be identified even if the combined approach speed of both cars is 160kmh or more. If driving in a forest during the daytime, the picture does get blocky. A little bump with the bitrate would be appreciated.
The rear camera is decent during the day and still provides a good bright image at night.
The front camera can record details pretty well at night. The video is bright and able to capture plates depending on the lighting conditions. Even on a dark road with only the headlights illuminating, the camera can capture a pretty good image. Colors are recorded accurately.
The in the main camera integrated interior camera is able to capture the inside day or night without any struggle.

I will link a video to some footage below. It contains front and rear videos.
Due to the short days and bad weather the past days I wasn't able to capture a video in optimal conditions yet.
Since I am from Germany and we have pretty strict privacy laws, I sadly had to blur the plates of other vehicles. The sound had been removed in the last videos because of a phone call.

Conclusion:

What is good:
- very easy to use the menu
- remote included
- good front camera quality day or night
- good app
- very nice packaging

What can be improved:
- mount can be more sturdy to reduce movement
- microphone cuts volume way down with low frequency sounds
- audio is quiet compared to other dashcams
- bitrate could be higher

To wrap things up, I can say that the Vantrue E3 is a good 3 channel camera that is very easy to use but still has some flaws that could be improved. The video quality is comparable to other cameras in its class.