Having a dash cam in your vehicle can never be over emphasized. This is particularly evident if you need video evidence to exonerate you from a frivolous lawsuit. One of such products that will come in handy is the Vantop Dash Cam. Prior to this time, we have reviewed a couple of dash cam brands. However, there are still some features that make this particular brand stand out from the rest, and this is what you are about to find out.
Vantop dash cams come off the staples of Vantop, which is a Chinese company known for manufacturing mobile security devices. Their brands are of high quality, sturdy, durable, easy to install and quite affordable. Their stand out feature is the touchscreen technology it has. This make it easy for users to gain full control of the screen as they navigate around it.
This brand review was carried out on a number of specific details like video quality, storage, design and of course power. Vantop dash cams have begun to garner lots of positive reviews in online retail outlets. Most of their views are evident in the pros and cons section.
Table of Contents
VANTOP DASH CAM BRAND REVIEW
Design
Vantop products usually come in dual screen display. It is designed such that the rear-view mirror attachments doubles as a camera and a display. This is the first screen.
The second part is a camera that faces the rear of the vehicle but is connected back to the display inside the vehicle. Their front cameras measure up to 10 inches, and some of them are touchscreen.
They show the camera footage in real time. Most of their cameras have an IPS panel, which most users have confirmed to be better than the normal LCD displays some other brands use.
Vantop dash cams are equipped to handle viewing angle as much as 180 degrees. This ensures there are no dark spots and even if you have to look at the screen for a side angle, you will still get clear images.
The touchscreen function of Vantop dash cams allows easy control and navigation. Just by tapping or swiping the screen, you have full control.
The dash cam is designed to connect to mobile devices, especially if you want to view footage in widescreen. By way of protection, the front facing camera has padded brackets.
These brackets were not designed to mount the camera to your rear view mirror. They were actually put in place to prevent scratch. Installing the camera is quite easy with the four mounting straps it comes with.
As compared to products from Auo-Vox, where you will have to completely remove you rear view mirror and install it, Vantop has the edge.
The Auto-Vox arrangement is more hectic and installation is not easy since it will take over the entire mirror. As for the rear view camera, it is quite easy to mount.
It has a metal bracket attached to it that can be mounted on the number plate bracket of your car. The mount makes it easy to adjust the camera until desired angle is attained, so you can get clear view irrespective of the position.
The rear view of most Vantop dash cams are waterproof, so it can hold its own when there is heavy downpour or if it immersed briefly in flood.
Power and storage
Once you have installed the front camera on the rear view mirror of your vehicle and you have a clear view, the next thing to do is power it.
For a quick one, you can simply connect a Vantop dash cam to the cigarette lighter compartment of your vehicle. But for a more professional outlook, you can pass the cable through the windscreen mold.
If you are using the camera on a permanent basis, this might also be a better option. The rear view camera of Vantop dash cam is another kettle of fish, in that, it is not wireless, so you will need to route a wire directly to the front of your vehicle.
Upon purchase, you are entitled to a 23-foot cable. This should be more than enough for your cabling. However, you would also need to drill a tiny hole in the back of your car.
You can use a rubber gasket to seal this hole so that water does not go through it into the car. Some Vantop dash rear camera have two cables.
One that goes into the front display and another that connects into the reverse light cable of the car. This second cabling makes it possible for the camera to come alive when the car is put on reverse.
As for storage, Vantop dash cams have card slots that can house Micro SD cards from 32GB to 128GB. This is essential in storing recorded video.
They also support loop recording so that data is stored on a last-in-first out basis. So in the event of an accident, footage is quickly retrieved.
Video quality and accessories
High end Vantop dash cams record at a resolution of 1080 pixels for both the front and rear view camera. This is more than enough quality for any situation or weather condition.
Even at a certain distance, you would be able to see other vehicles and make a detailed feature of the people in the vehicle. Video is being recorded at about 30 frames per second.
This means that there would be no lag in motion picture. Well this is enough, but if you are the type who wants more clarity that’s good enough to read a number plate from over 100 yards away, then you can opt for a product that renders image in at least 2K colors.
One of such products users have spoken well of is the Akaso Mirror Dash Cam. It has almost the same features as the Vantop dash cams, the only striking difference is that the front camera records and renders in 2.5K.
Another stand out feature of Vantop product is it’s might vision. Most often, the video seen on screen will be rendered in full color. However, this depends largely on the light level at that particular time.
If the light level is low, image quality on Vantop dash cams render in greyscale. You will notice this more if the area in which you are backing up is dark. As for visibility, Vantop has one of the best.
The front camera has a 170-degree angle, while the rear view camera has a 160-degree angle. That’s a combined angle of 330 degrees. And that’s almost a full circle visibility.
Since the rear camera is connected to the reverse light of the car, backup guide lines automatically show on the screen when the car is reverse gear.
Vantop dash cams also have built-in G-sensors. It is interesting to know that video that is being recorded if impact or collision is noticed is automatically saved into the memory card. In fact, this clip will remain in the memory chip except you delete it yourself. So because of this, there’s always video evidence in event of an accident.
This phenomenon is also applicable when the vehicle is in parking mode. Vantop dash cams will also record for about 30 minutes if there is impact even when the vehicle is in parking mode.
But this will mean that the dash cam will need to stay on. So the best bet will be to buy an aftermarket hard wiring kit.
Pros
- Most users really commend their video quality.
- Vantop dash cams are quite easy to install and use.
- It can double as a security camera.
- Products support as much as 128GB of memory storage.
Cons
- Video clips cannot be stored in the cloud for easy retrieval.
- Since there is no wireless feature, wiring rear camera to front display is kind of tricky.
Conclusion
From the brand review above, it is evident that Vantop dash cams still have some grounds to cover to compete with the best brands, however, they consider customer reviews and tend to get better as time goes on.
