Dash cameras are showing up in more cars than ever. Something that in the 90s was used mainly to catch lunatics on camera and air them on COPS has a more practical purpose for drivers today. The biggest draw for drivers to install dash cams is pretty simple: to capture anything that happens on the road in front of you, whether for insurance reasons, proof in an accident, or just general security. There are a lot of dash cams out there, and I mean a LOT.
As the trend has grown, so has the plethora of products floating around. That isn’t actually a benefit to anyone looking for a quality unit in many instances, because a load of these cameras are cheaply-made knockoffs that feel more like cereal box toys than actual videography devices. Vantrue comes to the table with some major league sluggers in a field of amateurs, intent on putting quality and functionality into their cameras. The newest dash camera models to get the Vantrue treatment are the N2 and X2, joining the ranks of their previous models, the R2 and N1 (pictured above).
Right off the bat, I noticed the weight of these cameras. Despite them being relatively compact, they feel like they are well-balanced and actual cameras. This is something important to note, because a large majority of the dash cam manufacturers out there have thrown together sub-par optics with outdated chips in a cheap plastic housing, making grand claims of exceptional quality and FOV with a handful of other features, only to fall flat when it comes to delivery.
Vantrue N2 specs
- 1080p @ 30fps front camera (170° FOV)
- 720p @ 30fps rear-facing camera (140° FOV)
- Dual front & rear recording (310° FOV combined)
- Ambarella A12 CPU
- 1.5” LCD screen
Features of interest
A fair amount of the dash cameras on the market have similar features when it comes to recording modes, so I will just briefly go over some of the Vantrue ones here and share a bit of my experience with them.
Emergency recording
Pressing the emergency button will automatically lock a 30 second video to memory if you are set on a loop recording, so it cannot be overwritten. This worked just fine, however one thing that would be pretty cool to see would be internal memory so that pressing the button would begin recording 30 seconds prior to the push, in case you aren’t recording on a loop.
The G-sensor recording is supposed to start recording based on the sensitivity level you set (low, medium, high) and again lock the video in to prevent losing the data. The ideal use is if you get in an accident you have automatic documentation of this. Now I had the setting adjusted to high sensitivity, and it was tripped by just driving over train tracks, so it works, but medium is probably the better setting choice.
Security mode
This mode enables the camera to capture video when you are not in your car, and essentially acts as a surveillance unit for your vehicle. There are two options for this recording, with one being motion detection and the other being time lapse. In motion detection mode the camera will turn on and begin recording when activity is detected, and stop when the movement ceases. The time lapse setting can be set to snap a photo every 1 or 5 seconds, which are then blended together in a “flipbook-style” clip that saves space and battery power. This is a pretty cool feature.
The only issue with the security mode on the camera is that it is only operable when the camera has power, and since the on-board battery is fairly small it is unlikely that you will have enough life to record for very long after powering down the vehicle. The manual suggests to use an external battery source, so if you really want to take advantage of this feature you would need to look into hooking up a power bank via USB.
FOV
A note about the field of view: when you have the rear-facing camera enabled, you can see the entire interior of the vehicle easily, however depending on the lighting conditions you may not be able to see beyond the windows too much. I found that in some instances I could see beyond the windows when there was less sunlight and the glare was not overly harsh, otherwise it would wash out in white. The front-facing FOV is great, and I could easily see all around the front portion of my vehicle and beyond.
Buy Vantrue N2 for $199 on Newegg
Internal camera: Who needs one?
Ridesharing since the launch of Uber and Lyft has absolutely blown up, and it is pretty common for people with regular day jobs to work as drivers on weekends or days off for some extra cash. These services are a great utility for all parties and generally safe, but if you have a stranger in your car it is best to err to the side of caution and have a little extra security- just in case.
While you can’t always see super clear details out the back window or things like the license plates of approaching vehicles, you can see movement from the back windows on a sedan and movement behind the car (like bikes passing, cars approaching, etc). On a less practical note, my fiancé and I used the camera to record some car karaoke sessions on a weekend trip to Yosemite, and for those that just can’t help but take selfies it is a good way to safely keep your attention on the road while feeding your fix.
The camera rotates 80° vertically, adjusting to the placement within the vehicle, ensuring you have coverage for essentially the entire cabin. I should note that in dark conditions the camera is not the champ its front-facing counterpart is, so if you want to record the interior of your car during a nighttime drive in dark settings an interior light is necessary to get clear footage.
Vantrue X2 specs
- 2560x1440p 2K recording
- Ambarella A12 CPU
- 7” LCD screen
- 170° FOV
- HDMI-out port
Looks
This model is a lot sleeker than the N2, and showier too. The majority of the physical depth of the camera is the lens, which makes sense since the whole purpose is to have a quality picture. The screen is large, and very clear. All the function buttons are located around the frame of the unit, further adding to the clean look of the camera.
While the large screen is great, I personally prefer to turn it off while I am driving. I find that having a screen showing video that I can clearly see distracts me from the road, even if it is out of the corner of my eye. Fortunately, Vantrue thought of this and added a time-out setting you can program for 1min, 3min, or 5min to avoid any distraction and safely focus on driving. One thing I actually would have liked to see would be touchscreen on this unit; since the screen is so large and the icons are all plenty large enough to navigate by finger I think it would be a feasible feature in future models.
The features that this model has are all very similar to the N2, however the quality of video on this is much better. Also, in a side-by-side comparison you can clearly see that the X2 takes the cake for actual FOV (front-facing), putting that big lens to work.
Buy Vantrue X2 for $189 on Newegg
Other thoughts
A few other points that I should note about these cameras is that they come with pretty detailed manuals (17 pages in English) and a warranty card. I have to say, that while the interface is simple it is refreshing to have support from the get-go and not be stuck with just a tiny sliver of paper with vague instructions and no company support- which is the norm for many dash cams out there.
Another thing I dig about these cameras is that the power plug from the cigarette lighter doesn’t connect directly to the camera. Yes, if you want to you can plug it in directly, however I appreciate that you have an option to avoid this. One of my complaints with other dash cams is the awkward positioning of the power input on the camera, which angles the cord in a funky way and makes it easier to obscure your view of the road. The power outlet is actually included on the suction cup mount on these models, which is really cool design to keep the low-profile and clean look.
All in all, Vantrue obviously put a great deal of thought into the functionality and practicality of these cameras, and I have to tip my hat to them for that. In a sea of over-promises and under-delivery, I think these set a new standard for what quality dash cameras should be.
Products featured
Pricing and availability subject to change. Updated 9/20/16
Vantrue N2 dual-lens 1080p dash camera – $199.99
Vantrue X2 2K 2.7” dash camera – $149.99
Vantrue R2 2K 2.7” dash camera – $99.99
Vantrue N1 1080p 1.5” dash camera – $99.99
