Vantrue E360 Review

[Hack_man]

I received an E360 from Vantrue to test!

First impressions:

I really like the touchscreen! It's much simpler and more intuitive to navigate thru the menus than by using multiple buttons which have different functions depending on mode. The only button is on the left side of the camera (top in my photo) for video locking. It flashes while recording.
The speech recognition is very accurate and sensitive.
I miss the LED's that give status for Wifi, GPS and mostly Audio, but the smaller camera form factor is nice.
I like the way I can easily remove the entire camera with the GPS Module as a single assembly from the plastic mount.
So far the iPhone app has worked well. The live screen takes a little while to show up after connecting.
The front camera rotates in a ball socket so has excellent range of adjustment

For size comparison, here are the two cameras:

I was curious to see how the different resolution settings looked so I collected some footage and compared to the Viofo.
Currently I am operating the Vantrue w/ 2 CH front and interior and the Viofo is 2 CH Front and Rear.

I'll be posting my results when I sort thru the footage.

5.2K Panoramic 30 FPS
Fish eye 30 FPS
fisheye + fisheye 30 FPS
1944P+1944P 30FPS

 

[Hack_man]

My setup is an E360 2 CH w/ Front and Interior camera's at various resolution settings (5.2K Panoramic, Dual Fisheye, Fisheye + Fisheye, 1944P + 1944P).

My truck is parked exactly 30 feet (9.14 Meters) in front of the camera. I also showed the same footage with the A229 PRO.

The E360 was not located in an ideal spot, it was mounted further right than Vantrue recommends due to the A229 Pro.

It was a bit overcast and HDR was OFF.

I am including all of the files generated to better explain how the E360 produces files based on resolution settings.

Vantrue explained to me that the "effective" resolution of the E360 is half that of a traditional camera due to the broader view. They said this trade-off is inherent to panoramic cameras.

5.2K Panoramic (one file generated)

Dual Fisheye (one file generated)

Fisheye+Fisheye front (file #1, two files generated)

Fisheye+Fisheye interior (file # 2, two files generated)

1944P+1944P front (file # 1, two files generated)

1944P+1944P interior (file #2, two files generated)

A229 PRO front 4K

A229 PRO front Low Bit Rate Parking Mode

 

[Hack_man]

I'm showing a video with a resolution setting of 1944P+1944P 30FPS (Front Camera, not the panoramic view) front camera only.

I noticed with the Fisheye lens that even with a 50/50 skyline setting, I can see more of the interior of the car than with a traditional non panoramic camera.

 

[kamkar]

Smol town USA,,,, my favorite USA

 

[TonyM]

I noticed with the Fisheye lens that even with a 50/50 skyline setting, I can see more of the interior of the car than with a traditional non panoramic camera.

The front 180 degree view (or is it 210?) is definitely wider than a normal dashcam. We can see both side mirrors of your car.

 

[Julian23]

The front 180 degree view (or is it 210?) is definitely wider than a normal dashcam. We can see both side mirrors of your car.

According to the manual it's 210°.

 

[Nigel]

According to the manual it's 210°.

I think you have the camera mounted further back in the car than the side mirrors, so if there was 180° visible, we would see all of the side mirrors, but we can't, so we must be seeing less than 180°, definitely not 210°...

 

[Hack_man]

I think you have the camera mounted further back in the car than the side mirrors, so if there was 180° visible, we would see all of the side mirrors, but we can't, so we must be seeing less than 180°, definitely not 210°...

Th camera was mounted about 6.5" away from the windshield so yes pretty far back and about even with the rear of the side mirrors.

 

[EmailPJC]

My setup is an E360 2 CH w/ Front and Interior camera's at various resolution settings (5.2K Panoramic, Dual Fisheye, Fisheye + Fisheye, 1944P + 1944P).

My truck is parked exactly 30 feet (9.14 Meters) in front of the camera. I also showed the same footage with the A229 PRO.

The E360 was not located in an ideal spot, it was mounted further right than Vantrue recommends due to the A229 Pro.

It was a bit overcast and HDR was OFF.

I am including all of the files generated to better explain how the E360 produces files based on resolution settings.

Vantrue explained to me that the "effective" resolution of the E360 is half that of a traditional camera due to the broader view. They said this trade-off is inherent to panor............

Some doubts?

Contrary to what happens with the A229 PRO, it seems that at 9 meters distance you can't read the license plate in the photos captured with the E360. Is it like that in reality or is it that the photos uploaded from the E360 have a low resolution, does it happen the same in the video?

Which camera configuration allows to record more details such as a license plate from a distance?

_-----------------

Unas dudas?

Al contrariode lo que ocurre con la A229 PRO, Parece que a los 9 metros de distancia no se puede leer la matricula en las fotos capturadas con la E360. ¿Es así en la realidad o es que las fotos subidas de la E360 tienen una resolución baja?, ¿ocurre lo mismo en el vídeo?

¿Qué configuración de cámara permite grabar más detalles como por ejemplo una matrícula a distancia?

 

[Nigel]

Some doubts?

Contrary to what happens with the A229 PRO, it seems that at 9 meters distance you can't read the license plate in the photos captured with the E360. Is it like that in reality or is it that the photos uploaded from the E360 have a low resolution, does it happen the same in the video?

This is a 5K camera, covering 360° horizontally, the A229 Pro is a 4K camera covering 102° horizontally,
E360: 5000/360=14 pixels per degree
A229 Pro: 4000/102 = 39 pixels per degree
39/14 = 2.8 x the horizontal resolution, license plates are two dimensional, so 2.8² = 7.84 x the pixels per license plate.

Calculations are approximate, since the E360 doesn't actually record all its pixels, there is some overlap between front and rear lenses, and I don't know the exact figures, also the A229 doesn't have exactly 4000 pixels width, but that is accurate enough to answer your question:

Which camera configuration allows to record more details such as a license plate from a distance?

The A229 Pro front camera should record about 8x more detail for every license plate, it can see 2.8 x further.

The A229 Pro doesn't have 8x the bitrate, so the E360 images might actually look very nice quality at first sight, but they still only have 1/8th the license plate detail. The A229 Pro does normally have enough bitrate.

These are different cameras, the A229 Pro does not do 360°, the E360 does not do high detail.
If you really want to read plates, get the A229 Telephoto, if you want all round visibility, get the E360, if you want both, get both cameras, but remember that your E360 probably will not see a 360° view, there will be things like seat headrests and A-pillars in the way.

 

[Hack_man]

Some doubts?

Contrary to what happens with the A229 PRO, it seems that at 9 meters distance you can't read the license plate in the photos captured with the E360. Is it like that in reality or is it that the photos uploaded from the E360 have a low resolution, does it happen the same in the video?

Which camera configuration allows to record more details such as a license plate from a distance?

_-----------------

Unas dudas?

Al contrariode lo que ocurre con la A229 PRO, Parece que a los 9 metros de distancia no se puede leer la matricula en las fotos capturadas con la E360. ¿Es así en la realidad o es que las fotos subidas de la E360 tienen una resolución baja?, ¿ocurre lo mismo en el vídeo?

¿Qué configuración de cámara permite grabar más detalles como por ejemplo una matrícula a distancia?

I think Nigel explained it very well. They are two different camera types with the E360 being panoramic and the A229 Pro traditional with different resolutions for the images they produce.

Yes the screenshot from the video using the E360 is very similar to how the actual video looks. I cannot read the license plate in the video with the E360 at a distance of 9 Meters.
I may do another test at 20 feet (6 M) and upload the full video now that I learned how to upload YouTube stuff thanks to an earlier Panzer post.
Panzer's posts are occasionally very helpful 🙂

 

[Karagandinez]

but remember that your E360 probably will not see a 360° view, there will be things like seat headrests and A-pillars in the way.

To ensure that nothing gets in the way, the E360 must be installed on the roof of the car. 😉

 

[TonyM]

To ensure that nothing gets in the way, the E360 must be installed on the roof of the car. 😉

Unfortunately that is not practical in the European winter 🌧️

And you don't capture all the exciting things happening in the car 😯

 

[kamkar]

You can do like me testing systems with interior camera, and remove the mirror.
It do work even for a guy with a back that do not like flexing to look back over shoulder when reversing - turning and changing lane as you must do.

Last MOT of mine, the mechanic checking car B4 freaked by missing mirror, though i am pretty sure it is not mandated by law, just pretty common / standard these days.
But if you only live by mirror as a Dane, well chance are you will collect a Danish cyclist at some point CUZ no laws for them / or rather no laws they seem to care for.
And no matter what if you touch cyclist with car,,,,, at least you have to retake the driving exam, theory and practical parts.

 

[Hack_man]

I moved the camera 10 feet closer to the license plate so its now at 20 feet (6M).
Comparison is again with the VIOFO A229 PRO.
I was hoping the license plate would be a little clearer but the E360 definitely has a wider horizontal view as expected.

E360 1944P

A229 PRO 4K

 

[EricSan]

Interesting comparison images at 20 feet! @Nigel did a great job explaining the different pixel resolutions. I suppose that's going to be a pretty standard difference between more traditional "narrow view" cameras and 360 degree cameras.

 

[Hack_man]

I was trying to figure out why my Four Wheel Drive Chevy wasn't working in 4WD so figured I'd put it on blocks and video the drivetrain with the E360 using the Handheld mount.
For obvious safety reasons I didn't want to get out to the running truck to inspect the driveline.

Kind of cool you can see both front and rear drive shafts spinning at the same time.
Now I just have to figure out why it wasn't working when I was plowing 🤔