Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Small profile
- Phone connectivity and tremendous succesful app
- Good day captures (with filter)
- Voice distant
Cons
- Grainy evening captures
- Optional filter degrades evening captures additional
Our Verdict
We love the E1’s diminutive measurement, wonderful show, GPS and voice distant. But greatest day captures require an optionally available filter, which you could take away for acceptable evening captures—a change most customers gained’t like or keep in mind.
Price When Reviewed
$150
Best Prices Today: Vantrue Element 1 sprint cam
$149.99
One of the explanations we charge Garmin’s diminutive sprint cams so extremely is their minimal interference along with your imaginative and prescient. Welcome $150 Vantrue Element 1, we such as you for a similar causes. We additionally just like the voice management and app.
Alas, day seize high quality actually solely passes muster with an optionally available $20 polarizing filter which we needed to take away at evening to get workable low gentle captures. A course of that acquired bothersome rapidly–once we remembered to do it.
This evaluate is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for extra evaluations and shopping for recommendation.
Design and options
The Element 1 is well one of many smallest sprint cams we’ve examined. As indicated, it rivals the Gamin collection in that regard, except for that firm’s tremendous tiny Dash Cam Mini 2. If the E1 isn’t probably the most diminutive, it’s nonetheless sufficiently small to hid behind the mirror and presents the LCD show (1.54-inch) that the Mini 2 lacks.
The precise measurements are 1.6-inches vast/tall, and 1.75-inches deep to which you’ll be able to add roughly 0.25-inches for the optionally available filter. On high of the digital camera is the slide-in adapter that marries to the semi-permanent adhesive mount. On the precise is the Type-C energy port and microphone, whereas on the left are the facility button and micro SD card slot.
The microphone is each for capturing audio and voice instructions. The E1 understands a number of of the latter together with: “Take Photo”, “Start Video”, “Stop audio”, and so forth.
The backside of the unit is dwelling to a few multifunction buttons that navigate menus, change video modes, and so forth. There’s ample air flow by way of slots on the underside, high, and left aspect of the unit.
Capturing video is a Sony IMX335 sensor with a most 2592 x 1944P decision (default is 1440p) and Vanture has opted for a large 160 diploma subject of view. GPS can be on board and together with an app, voice management, and a Bluetooth save/seize distant (hotkey in Vantrue-speak) the E1 is an almost full home when it comes to fashionable options.
The unit leverages a brilliant capacitor fairly than a battery, so it would solely save the final video if it loses energy. But it would additionally ship much more on/off cycles than a battery.
While the E1 has an SD card slot and you may learn knowledge off playing cards with a reader, you can too join the E1 to your laptop and skim them instantly. A fairly extra handy manner in my e-book. Nice contact.
Connecting to the app is finished by way of Wi-Fi and stated app lets you offload, manage, and even edit movies. Once offloaded, you possibly can play them again with GPS mapping. As the E1 connects to your telephone by way of Wi-Fi, you possibly can’t have the web whereas it’s linked. GPS mapping playback (Google/Baidu) requires Internet. Yup, you could change networks for that options.
Note, you might have to restart the app after altering networks for the GPS journey map to indicate.
You after all even have entry to all of the settings and may even management the sprint cam. Phone phun!
Installation and setup
The semi-permanent mount for the Element 1 is horizontally static, i.e., it solely articulates up and down. This makes it very secure as soon as it’s put in, however you should be cautious aligning it earlier than you press it onto the windshield. For assistance on that, see How to install a dash cam to study from my myriad errors.
Setting up the Element 1 was very straightforward, as soon as I had set the correct time zone that’s. I used to be a bit shocked this was vital given GPS is on board. However, as soon as I’d scrolled all the way down to Pacific time, all the things else, such because the date format and MPH have been mechanically chosen. I’m assuming this was primarily based on the time zone. Whatever the case, it was fast and easy. It even proactively provided to format the SD card, which wanted it.
Beyond that, I did have to tweak the g-sensor sensitivity a bit for my Miata with it’s fairly stiff racing suspension. But it’s higher to be overly delicate, than not delicate sufficient. That latter may end in incident movies not being saved. (Un-saved movies can be overwritten ultimately.)
Capture high quality
While the Element 1 isn’t one of the best sprint cam I’ve examined when it comes to day seize high quality, it’s above common–albeit solely with the optionally available $20, 40mm polarizing filter. Details are first rate in darkish areas however misplaced in brighter areas with out the optionally available filter which just about cures the latter situation.
The distinction is salient sufficient that I truly think about the Element 1 a $170 (digital camera plus filter) sprint cam.
The above day seize utilizing the filter proven is sort of good. Again, the one under with out the filter noticeably blows out within the brighter areas, making it troublesome to discern particulars There is an publicity adjustment that may dial out a few of this, however we check with the defaults. Also, dialing down the publicity adversely impacts the already weak evening captures.
On the opposite hand, if our exams are to be believed, you completely don’t want the filter on at evening. With it on, evening captures went from the 2 barely grainy however colourful and workable captures proven subsequent, to uninteresting coloured with significantly worse element as you’ll see within the third picture. Basically, the E1 isn’t a high evening digital camera, regardless of daring claims on the Web website.
If you look carefully on the picture under, you’ll see considered one of San Francisco’s fantastically optimistic pedestrians striding out in entrance of shifting site visitors, totally anticipating everybody to cease for them. The majority of the time the drivers do, however “They had the right of way!” is a horrible heading for a tombstone. This is early night with out the filter. With even a modicum of sunshine obtainable, the E1 does a satisfactory job of capturing the motion.
However, the darker evening seize (sans filter) under with the San Francisco marine layer additional muddying situations exhibits how captures deteriorate as gentle abates.
Below you possibly can see the adverse impact the filter has on evening captures. This is barely two minutes after the above seize was taken in the identical gentle situations. The solely distinction is the filter has been screwed on.
Note that every one captures are 1440p, not the 1944p the digital camera is definitely able to. We took a few of these, however there was actually no enchancment price the additional cupboard space. I also needs to level out that I’m judging in accordance the present customary of video.
Filter on/filter off
The Element 1 has so much going for it when it comes to ease of use, type issue, in addition to its telephone app. But nightly elimination of the recommended-for-daytime-use polarizing filter or continually adjusting the publicity isn’t one thing most customers will need, or all the time keep in mind to do. Eliminate that conundrum Vantrue, earn one other half star. As it stands, purchase just for day use.