Vantrue N4 Pro Testing/Review - RCG

[Dex_]

Totally agree. N4Pro surprisingly good cam for me, except rear cam without starvis2 sensor and good sensor holder without temperature focus issues.
Still use it and hope that Vantrue make a note about my request about small fixes in firmware. (like arrange stamp text more adequate). But long time no changes in FW

 

[rcg530]

Today, I gathered some footage from the N4 Pro 3ch and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3ch. The dash cameras were in normal recording mode the entire time since I did not park (did not turn off the car's engine) during the entire trip. The outside temp was around 85F/30C and the AC was on during the entire drive with the auto temp setting set to 73F/23C.

When I arrived home, I used a TOPDON TC004 thermal camera to gather thermal pics of the N4 Pro.

When I was testing the Vantrue N5 dash camera, I found the end of the front camera with the cover/button which covers the memory card gets very hot. I found that to be true with the N4 Pro as well. With the cover installed, the temp of the center button at the edge of the button is 152.1F/66.7C. When you remove the cover to expose the side of the N4 Pro where the memory card resides, the temp rises to 194.8F/90.4C. Toasty...

 

[rcg530]

I have a video with daytime HDR On / HDR Off video samples from the VANTrue N4 Pro 3-channel and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3-channel dash cameras. I hope to capture some nighttime footage soon. It gets dark at 9:30 PM which results in very little cars on the road in my local area. Not the best for nighttime driving and plate capture tests.

 

[Derekmillion]

This is perfect, I've been scouring YT trying to find a good comparison between these two cams.
I wasn't sure which one I wanted to go with, but the Viofo is the winner for me. To my eye, the Viofo front cam is sharper and little more detailed.
The rear cams aren't even a question as 2K vs 1080p, to be honest I wouldn't even mind 1080p, but the heat issue and blurry image is a no go.
@rcg530 Thanks for this comparison!

 

[Dex_]

The rear cams aren't even a question as 2K vs 1080p, to be honest I wouldn't even mind 1080p, but the heat issue and blurry image is a no go.

1080 can`t beat 2K and Starvis2 vs Starvis further increases this gap.
Hope that Vantrue release N4Pro successor soon with 2K Starvis2 for rear cam.
I`m stop sending emails to @Jeff_Vantrue cause no one of my suggestions about improvements in GPS module nor cam unit (like polish stamp on video) was not used in FW updates. But I still love to use my N4Pro and write about it in our Russian community.

 

[rcg530]

A video with nighttime video samples from the N4 Pro 3Ch and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3CH.

 

[Vortex Radar]

I have a video with daytime HDR On / HDR Off video samples from the VANTrue N4 Pro 3-channel and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3-channel dash cameras. I hope to capture some nighttime footage soon. It gets dark at 9:30 PM which results in very little cars on the road in my local area. Not the best for nighttime driving and plate capture tests.

Great video! Bummer about the heat defocusing issues with the VanTrue. The Viofo does look like it has the edge in terms of detail, clarity, and compression as well.

Your nighttime comment cracked me up. It’s the same issue I’ve been having with testing nighttime footage this time of year.

A video with nighttime video samples from the N4 Pro 3Ch and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3CH.

Also an excellent video. Again I’m preferring the look of the image out of the Viofo, plus its HDR seems to be more effective in terms of both license plate and sign capture.

 

[rcg530]

Here's my review video of the N4 Pro 3-channel dash camera.

The image quality of the front camera is decent with HDR enabled during the daytime. It's nighttime HDR plate capture skills are a bit challenged (U.S. plates). My two biggest drawbacks for the N4 Pro are the number of dropped/duplicated frames that occur in the front and cabin video files and that the collision detection parking mode is too slow to respond to an impact event (13 seconds in "Power Saving Mode" and 5 to 6 seconds in "Quick Start Mode").

 

[haiou_f]

I have a video with daytime HDR On / HDR Off video samples from the VANTrue N4 Pro 3-channel and a VIOFO A229 Pro 3-channel dash cameras. I hope to capture some nighttime footage soon. It gets dark at 9:30 PM which results in very little cars on the road in my local area. Not the best for nighttime driving and plate capture tests.

Thank you for your detailed review, it has been very helpful to us。

 

[haiou_f]

I gathered my focus check footage for the N4 Pro 3-channel dash camera. I ran one test with HDR on for all three cameras and a second test with HDR off for all three cameras. The "HDR" feature setting is noted in the video status line.

Front HDR On vs HDR Off

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The front camera looks like it's in focus across the entire field of view.

Rear HDR On vs HDR Off

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The rear camera looks a bit out of focus (to me). I realize it's a lower resolution 1080p camera, but it still looks too blurry to me (especially with HDR on).

Center (Interior) HDR On vs HDR Off

View attachment 72713View attachment 72710

You can see the replica license plate's content a bit better with HDR on. The focus quality looks a but blurry, but I'll have to see what the video content from inside of the car looks like. The distance between the center (interior) camera and the license plate was 1.2 M/3.94 ft.

From the photos taken by the rear camera, I really envy your living environment

 

[mentadent]

From the photos taken by the rear camera, I really envy your living environment

Why?