Vantrue T3 or X4? (or Viofo A119v3?)

[2992]

hi, I am searching a good single chanel dash cam, with wide enough angle, good night mode, to be able to see car plates. I have found those 2 from Vantrue for the same price: T3 and X4.
Which one to chose? Pros/Cons?
Or should I go with Viofo A119v3? Or any other recommendation?...
Thanks!

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @2992

I'm not a 'fanboy' of Vantrue cams in general although some of them do OK for the most part. They were early in the game for 'radar' detection which does well in detection but not always in how it gets recorded. And Ambarella isn't the best choice for dashcam processors these days either. I know neither of these cams though so I can't recommend anything between them. Vantrue has good build quality and OK factory support- there are many worse choices than them.

The Viofo A119v3 is a solid product with very few issues. It is an older design but still gives good images day and night which are good enough for most people. It's worth your consideration. Best daytime plate capture today will be found in some of the newer 4K cams although most do not do as well as the A119v3 at night. This is inherent in the sensors due to pixel size and count. It is an improving situation and the best of these will do OK at night for most people. If almost all of your driving is daytime a 4K cam will probably be the best choice but the cost will of course be higher.

Phil

 

[2992]

Thank you @SawMaster ! I'm a reader since very long time, but now I've decided to make an account and ask that question, maybe some other questions as well.

I've had a pretty decent DOD about 10 years ago or so, and then a Vico Opia 2 since about several years. Now my Opia 2 has died (my fault). This one was pretty good overall, cannot complain much.
I am not looking especially for the parking feature, however, if there is an easy one (i.e. using OBD connection, not hardwire) available on the dash cam, that'll be eventually used - provided it'll not draw the battery to the point I cannot start the car anymore.
But I kind of care to have capacitor instead of battery, as battery in high/low temperature is not a good choice. I am too lazy to take the dash cam off every time when I park, so the cam will get to stay in the sun in the summers quite a lot.
Overall, I don't want to spend more than 200Eur on it (the cam + the card + eventually GPS) - translated to the prices you have in the US that'll probably be around what you can find on the market for ~150 USD.
I think having a wide angle is better, so, the wider, the better. I don't care much about the fish eye which is so obvious at 170-180 degrees lenses.
Personally, I also don't care much if it's 4K or 2K or 1080p, but I think 60FPS at any of these resolutions would be (much?) better than 30FPS, as it may capture the plates at high(er) speed easier, isn't? I might be wrong, so please do correct me if I'm wrong.
Wifi is probably nice to have, a screen also, GPS maybe, but it's not a must. I don't need a 2 channels dash cam, even if overall it's nice to have.
All I want is a dash cam which takes good/clear video of the plates in the day (~70% of the driving time) and at night if possbile (quite important when I drive in some specific areas). Worth to mention that most of time I drive in Germany, where the driving speed can get quite high sometimes
So I have found those two models from Vantrue, and I've been reading that the A119v3 is pretty good for the money.

well, seemingly my simple question turns to be a request for an advise, which dash cam should I get.

 

[Nigel]

So I have found those two models from Vantrue, and I've been reading that the A119v3 is pretty good for the money.

well, seemingly my simple question turns to be a request for an advise, which dash cam should I get.

There are not many people here with experience of those newer Vantrue cameras, their older cameras are OK but not special and they have a habit of producing firmware upgrades that break more than they fix!

There are plenty of people here who will recommend the A119 V3, and it appears in the Best Dash Cams of 2020 list you can find up on the menu.

The Viofo A119v3 is a solid product with very few issues. It is an older design

That is not not really true, it was one of the first to use that sensor, so is still one of the most up to date cameras, and a significant upgrade on previous A119s.

but I think 60FPS at any of these resolutions would be (much?) better than 30FPS, as it may capture the plates at high(er) speed easier, isn't? I might be wrong, so please do correct me if I'm wrong.

You don't need 60fps for good plates, it just makes the video a bit smoother to watch, so good for movie making, but really not necessary for evidence capture.

Wifi is probably nice to have,

No wifi on the A119, you need the A129 for that, the A129+ is essentially an A119 with wifi and the option of a second camera. Most people only use wifi for setup, but it can also be useful if you want access to your videos while on the road.

Best Dash Cams of 2020 - DashCamTalk

The best dash cams available to purchase in 2020.

dashcamtalk.com

 

[2992]

I've been reading the Best Dash Cams of 2020 for several times, therefore I've added A119 besides the Vantrue when asking for advise. I have a feeling that I'll eventually end up with this one after all, let's see

Anyways.. if 60FPS doesn't bring much in seeming the plates, then I'll not that that into consideration anymore, thanks for the tip!

Overall, as I am in the market for a dash cam, I thought I should be looking at the latest models, even if, to be honest, I don't care much about whether the designs is new or old, as long as the plates are visible and the night recording is good enough to see more than something very bright next to pitch dark.

I've found also Blackvue DR590X-1CH within the budget. I know it's almost double the price than A119, but what do you think, which one between these two would do a better job for what I have explained above that I needed for? Maybe I shall better compare the Blackvue DR590X-1CH against the A129Pro Ultra 4K - considering the price. But that would also not be fair, as that BlackVue doesn't have such high resolution... :/

 

[SawMaster]

Those who do not question well and fully usually get the wrong answers. It's refreshing to see someone who has thought things through well already

60FPS can sometimes be an advantage, but at night it isn't as good as 30FPS since it gives less time to capture light. Unless you switch from day to night every time best to do 30FPS.

The V3 does what you want from it. You'd save a bit to buy the GPS-equipped version from the start but I think the GPS mount can be purchased singly. You might also want to do the HWK too so you aren't having to go back and do it later. There is a selectable low-voltage cut-off on it which prevents you from running your battery down too low. This cam also handles heat well; in your climate you should not have any problems with that. With a good card you should still be within your budget to do all this

The V3 came about as a development of the V2. It was already a good cam but Viofo enlisted the input from firmware modders world-wide who pushed everything to the limits and beyond to find where the best video was in every possible condition Then with all that input, he took the best of it, adjusted it to achieve best reliability, and gave us the V3. It is quite simply the most highly developed dashcam on the market today with every aspect well-tested and known. For any given hardware, Viofo gets the best video quality from it beyond anyone else- it's the 'hallmark' of his cams. So do not be misled by specs as this cam usually does better than other cams having better specs. It is not outdated at all, only that there are newer cams which do better video but that will always happen over time. Vantrue focuses more on features than Viofo, and they do not pursue video quality as well. For me reliability and video quality is what matters most- I do not need or use most dashcam features.

In short I highly recommend the V3 as probably the best dashcam for most people wanting a single channel cam today. It is more than enough for most of us and quite a good value too. I do not own one but I would not hesitate to follow my own advice if I were looking to buy such a cam.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

The 2K resolution is a significant advantage for reading plates, it gives 2x the detail, so you can read plates at a greater distance (about 1.5x distance), and reading plates at greater distance means less motion blur in poor light. Current 4K sensors only give better detail in good light and most lose a little in darker conditions, so currently 2K like the A119 V3 or A129+ is recommended.

I'm not an expert on the DR590X, but I suspect that is rather out of date even if it is a new model of that camera, they seem to have been more interested in cloud communication in their latest round of updates than in image quality?

 

[SawMaster]

On the 590X it's too new to know well, but historically Blackvue has been more about features than video quality. They also do few FW updates. Like Vantrue not a bad cam but not what you seem to be wanting. Also the A129+ does as Nigel says- better for some things but somewhat lacking at night compared to the V3. Still the best vid quality you will find with that hardware so not a bad choice either.

Phil

 

[2992]

"Vantrue focuses more on features than Viofo, and they do not pursue video quality as well. For me reliability and video quality is what matters most- I do not need or use most dashcam features." - me too.
Then 30 FPS it is. I don't care much about the video being smooth, but I care about the plates and at night to see around more than the other car's lights and almost nothing else. Especially when it rains...
With my previous Vico Opia 2 I've bought the HWK, but never got it installed during those years I've used it. But GPS is nice to have for me, only for to have the speed shown in the video.
The way you, @SawMaster , are presenting the 119v3, I'm getting more and more convinced to get the A119v3. With a 128Gb Samsung EVO SDXC-UHS-I U3, plus a polarising filter (I had one on my Opia2 and it was totally worth it), I am still around 150Eur. If I can find a GPS mount compatible with the 119v3, I will still be several beers away from the 200Eur budget.

@Nigel , I also tend to believe that DR590X might be not what I need, as I don't care much about the cloud or fancy features. I guess I'll stick with 2K instead of 4K, due to night performance.

 

[kamkar]

Yes. Cameras that are smart, that are often paid for with image quality, and add to that just more things to give you grief.
I think it will be some years before i will consider smart cameras, and even then the smart in them are probably not the smart i would like personally.

BUT ! if next level smart = much faster wifi, then i might consider that as a option VS taking the memory card out and bring it to my computer,
but it also have to be smart, so only files i have not backed up before get downloaded, or maybe just event files as i now use the event button to save things i want to share.
BUT ! it must max out or close to the gbit speed i have on my internet,,,,,, though the ISP router can probably not do gigabit over wifi, at least on my phone i only get around 350 mbit while i sit on the toilet, and just shy of 400 mbit when i am in the living room where the router is.
Anyway if that become the case i will have to wire up a faster WIFI AP as my car are parked in the back yard far from my internet router.

 

[SawMaster]

The V3 is available with a GPS mount; in this cam the GPS is there and not a separate device on a wire. So you'd want to buy the GPS-equipped model from the start. Same for the A129 variants.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

 

[2992]

oh, so it's the same GPS mount as for A129? Then that's fine, as I have found that one already, but I was not sure whether it's compatible with 119, as it doesn't say anything about that - it only says "A129 GPS Modul für A129 / A129 IR / A129 Pro Dash Kamera" on amazon. I guess that's the one to get.

Well, the next level smart would be to only transfer the real event files, either when parked at home, or in background on the smartphone/cloud while driving (provided 5G coverage will be available, as 4G is still not good enough for that), but I used to get too many false positive event files on my previous dashcam (even with the G sensor on the lowest setting), and that'll top up the storage on my phone or NAS too fast, and that's not nice. Let's wait for the AI to arrive on these dash cams and hope that will be capable to make a difference between the real events and the false positive ones. But until then, we'll be running these not smart dash cams

I'll settle down for A119v3 then. Seemingly among all the other dash cams I've been looking at lately, this A119v3 checkboxes most of my needs for now, even if I see it's already about 1.5 years old or so. Anyways, CMOS sensors haven't changed much since then, so, it's all good.

Thank you guys! I do appreciate sharing your thoughts and advice.

 

[Nigel]

oh, so it's the same GPS mount as for A129?

No, different mount, definitely does not fit.

Normally the A119 is sold with a GPS mount.

 

[2992]

so, different mount... Thanks for the heads up (and for sharing the review video)! I'll keep searching for the correct one then.

 

[SawMaster]

Get the mount with the cam wherever you buy it. Wish I could recommend a local seller there but it can be bought direct from Viofo
Viofo Website -English

Phil

 

[2992]

thanks much Phil!
Their website, good point, obvious place to look at - which I have somehow missed to consider.
I've just looked over there, and I've quickly found it, at even better prices than amazon, plus all optionals can be ordered there directly (their viofo.nl website works for me, as seemingly they deliver in Germany as well).