Review on Vantrue E1 Mini Dash Cam With Voice Control, WiFi, And GPS - 2.5K 1944P, 1.54" LCD Screen, Night Vision, 24-Hour Parking Mode, Super Capacitor, Wireless Controller - Supports Up To 512GB by Rudolph Mceachern

If you're looking for a dash cam with good video quality, a screen to review footage, and standard features like GPS and collision sensing included, The E1 will fit the bill. There are some nice innovations included as well, some of which I will talk about, others I haven't found much use for.First, the size: This camera is nice and compact, so it won't get in your way. It's surprising how much tech they were able to cram into such a small body.Second, the mount: The camera is very easy to remove from its mount, while being more secure than the usual suction cup.I also own the Vantrue N2 Pro, and one of the things I mentioned in that review was that I would opt for the 3M adhesive mount over the suction cup, which fails frequently enough that I find my camera dangling from its cable every few weeks.The E1 comes with such a mount, and this was clever, a static cling film so it is easily removable from your windscreen. (Pro tip: Place the film so that you will mount the camera in the center of the film. Otherwise, the weight of the camera will pull the film off the window.)One slight disadvantage of this mount is that once it's set, it's set. That's where your camera goes, and unless you want to replace the adhesive and cling, you're stuck. Fortunately, the camera is easily removable from its base, so you can take it with you to download footage to your computer, or slip it into your pocket or whatever.One thing I wish they had thought of is that you can't adjust the camera's direction in the left-right axis, only up-down. The angle of view is wide enough that it shouldn't matter too much, but keep that in mind when you install your camera.Third, features: The E1 has many features that the N2 does not, including a wireless remote. With it, you can quickly take photos or lock footage so it doesn't get overwritten later. It's about the size of a postage stamp, and comes with a double-sided tape backing, so you can mount it anywhere in your car. There's a perfect spot for it in my Tacoma's cabin, where it blends in with other buttons.This is more important than it might seem, as after a crash, or when you're excited about seeing something exciting on the road, you might not remember what buttons do what on the camera. But the simple remote only has two buttons, one for photos and one for locking footage. That's much easier and handy than remembering how your camera works, and can save you a lot of headaches.The camera connects to your phone with an app via wifi, which takes a couple steps. It would be nicer if the process took fewer steps, or just happened automatically, but I suppose Bluetooth might be limited in bandwidth.You can easily download clips and photos to your phone. Video does take a bit of time to transfer, as the files can be rather large. A single 3 minute clip took a minute or so to transfer to my iPhone 13.You can opt to sync all footage at once, but you'd better have some time on your hands.You can also see a live view of what the camera sees.Fourth, the video quality: It is about what you would expect from a higher-end dash cam. I tested with 2560x1440 resolution and the footage looks great.Its wide angle makes superfine details a bit blurry, so license plates are often illegible except when conditions are just right. During daytime, stopped at a light, it's easy to read the plates of the cars in front and to the side of you. When cars are whizzing by in the opposite lane or when it's dark out and your headlights wash out the license plate, not so much.I've seen a Youtube video where someone got around this by mounting a zoom camera right next to his wide angle camera. I wish there were some way they can get AI to read license plates and record it along with the footage, but I don't know that that is a feature on any dash cam on the market.If the camera has a nightvision mode, I've never seen it, because my headlights are on when it's dark. I can tell you that the footage is clear exposure is excellent, and other than glare and reflections, the footage I've gotten driving at night is excellent. You will have no trouble telling the make and model and color of cars in the footage.The audio quality in the footage is surprisingly good. Even when I have the radio blasting, I could clearly hear my wife complaining to me about my driving in the footage.What else? I haven't found any use for the voice command feature. The manual is rather cryptic about what you can ask the camera to do, or what the command words are.I like that the unit includes GPS. The camera can sync its time zone with your phone, so you don't have to manually set it during setup or for Daylight Saving Time.There's no second camera for recording inside the cabin, so Uber and Lyft drivers will need a second camera to go along with the E1, or should opt instead for something like the N2.Honestly, I don't have anything I can think of to complain about this camera, except not being able to swivel left and right, as mentioned, and that is a minor issue. Unless you need something with a back-facing camera, this would be a very good purchase.