Vantrue E3 is a special dash cam: it combines the footage from 3 high quality cameras into one unified assembly in order to cover not only the area outside your vehicle, but also your car’s interior.
Vantrue are no strangers to 3-module dashcameras. This time they go a few steps further, with a model that has been rewarded about its good design and the AI smart features being integrated.
in this video we’ll cover everything interesting surrounding this new model, including the video recording quality, overall performance, feature set, GPS connectivity stability and everything else in order to discover which are the main positives and negatives and help you to get to know it better.
Our Verdict:
Pros
- 3-channel setup
- high temperature tolerance
- H.264 & H.265 recording
- high quality video
- Wi-Fi & smartphone app
Cons
- hardwire kit is optional
- no 4K resolution support
Pricing & Main Features
Vantrue E3 is in the same segment as many other flagship dash cameras: you can find similar models by Blackvue, Viofo, Thinkware and many others. What makes E3 stand out is the very tempting price tag of just above $300.
It arrives in a box with regular size, which is an advantage given the amount of 3 camera units that are packed inside. On top of everything is the ultimate cheat-sheet about the installation – shows a diagram of how everything is connected together. The components are divided into different boxes. The main unit is the largest one because it hosts the SoC and controls the operation. It also hosts the interior camera. It has a few buttons and ports; The front lens has adjustable angle.
The rear camera is a brand new model – so if you have the model from the predecessing generation (E2), it will unfortunately not work.
In terms of specifications, E3 is quite a capable dash cam: it can record up to 1944p for the main camera and supports Full HD resolution for the interior and the rear cameras. What is more exciting is that it relies on two chipsets in order to support all that – the high end NT96580 and the NT96671 – both by Novatek.
- 3 Channel Dash Cam for Full Coverage supported by Sony CMOS sensor
- 1944P WDR Front + 1080P WDR Inside + 1080P HDR Rear
- Image Sensor: IMX335 500M
- 2.45 scratch-proof display
- 24-Hour Parking Surveillance with Superior IR Night Vision
- Super Capacity Support 512GB MicroSD Card
- 55° High Flexibility of Rotatable Lens
- supercapacitor
- Well App Controlled supported by Built-in 5G Wi-Fi
- Remote Controller/Voice Command/Hotkeys for Emergency Lock & Voice Recording
- Built-in RTC maintains all the settings for 2 months of nonuse.
- Dedicated wireless remote controller
- 5G high-frequency Wi-Fi
Vantrue E3 buttons. It has a non-touch display.
Installation
Although it is marketed as a 3-channel camera, installation of Vantrue E3 is easier than expected! You should start by mounting the front camera find a good spot on the windshield so that it wouldn’t disturb you while driving. Then – connect the power to the cigarete adapter kit provided. If you prefer to take advantage of parking surveillance, look around for a hardwire kit. To install such you are going to need better understanding of car’s electric diagrams and fuse box.
The rear unit installation is quite easy, with the only challenge being the cable – make sure to find a good reliable path, and best way is to hide it behind the car’s interior elements. Note that the rear module is optional and Vantrue E3 can of course operate in “just” dual-channel mode.
The Setup
You shouldn’t experience any struggles with the setup either. The default values for video recording are good enough; There are some picture control settings as well as choices for different video resolution; If you stay with the defaults – 1440p is in my optinion the best setting for the front camera; Keep the pthers at 1080p; Depending on the scene the file size will vary – but most times files have a size of around 300MB for a 3-minute recording.
Video quality
Vantrue E3 is so far a real champion when it comes to good image quality. The high bitrate and the wide open aperture contribute to very detailed picture. Good exposure, white balance and sharpness. You will easily distinguish car plate numbers and other little objects on the road. The Sony starves backed front unit also shines in low light scenes. Among the advantages of not using 4K is the better performance at night.
In low light the interior sensor is particularly interesting – it is equipped with 4LEDs so even if it is complete darkness, Vantrue E3 still captures footage, which looks similar to the IR night mode of most video surveillance cameras.
Voice Controls & Smartphone App
Besides capturing high quality footage, the dash cam can also be extremely easy to operate with. Besides the buttons, there is support for voice commands. Vantrue E3 can currently recognize 4 different languages – English, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, which makes it among the very few dashcameras supporting voice commands in languages different to English and Chinese. You can also use the specially developed remote controller – in case voice ocmmands feel uncomfortable and the camera is not mounted within your reach while driving.
A well-designed smartphone app is available too. This shows Vantrue’s commitment to listen to its community: while the company’s early models had no Wi-Fi & smartphone app support, E3 is among the models that support such and since we have dual-band Wi-Fi, you can also very quickly transfer and download the recorded files. A significant role of the smartphone app is of course the ability to configure the dashcam without having to manually tune the menus.
Additional features
We’re not over sharing good news about E3: With a hard-wire kit you will count on 24’7 parking mode, and there are 4 different modes to choose from. And don’t you worry leaving the car parked on a hot sunny day – with E3 there is no battery in-built – the model relies on a high-end super capacitor, which has much greater heat tolerance as compared to most batteries. The buffered motion detection uses 5-second pre-recording, so whatever happens around your vehicle will be on tape… or to be precise – on the microSD card, which capacity by the way can be as much as 512GB.
Verdict:
Given the excellent video performance, easy installation and seamless operation it is easy to recommend Vantrue E3. Given its specs it rather belongs to the high-end mid-rangers and squeezes everything possible from technological prospective within its budget niche. There aren’t any serious constructive and software flaws, and it could be among the best value choices for your next car DVR.
