Working in Fire/EMS seeing accidents is an all the time event for me. Hearing people say their half of the story and always hearing the conflicting situations is a struggle. Police on scene wondering which vehicle was at fault and causing more stress on drivers. This is something that I personally have been worried about in my own vehicle as well. Thankfully Vantrue has offered a high tech, simple solution that has revolutionized my mind when driving myself and my family around. Today we will be discussing the Vanrue Nexus 5 Dashcam.
Design
With so many products on the market today there always has to be some characteristics that sets one apart from the other. Vantrue did not hold back on this one. The Nexus 5 is designed to create simplicity in your vehicle and offer an easement of stress during your daily commute.
This device boasts a 3.9 inch display that gives you crystal clear insight on what your camera can see. This screen also gives you a full view of every feature you have enabled on this device. The actual device only measures in at 4.88 inches long and 2.7 inches tall which doesn’t obscure your driving view at all. It is small enough that you forget you even have it set up sometimes.
The front facing camera that watches the drive is built for 1944P/30FPS video recording giving you absolute clarity when reviewing any video down to the greatest detail. The front cabin, rear cabin and rear camera give you a solid 1080P/30FPS video recording offering an intense quality of view as well.
The Nexus 5 is designed to either be plugged into external power or to be hard wired into the vehicle. We opted to hardwire into our vehicle to take advantage of all the features that were offered. I will say the Nexus 5 is built with Super capacitors instead of a battery. This was done to provide a longer lifespan, better protection during the cold and hot months. This is extremely unique and something that I appreciate as a techie.
The body is a very sleek black that doesn’t reflect light or cause a glare while driving. The cable management is the only thing that some people might not enjoy as it does have to be powered. You can take your time and run the wires around the trim so its minimally visible which is what we did and now nothing catches or gets in the way.
Features
This tiny device is absolutely packed full of features that truly make it worth the investment and future. Let’s begin with the basics that you can see right up front and work our way down.
The Nexus 5 is built with a 4 channel system that differs from other set ups. This system gives you a full 158 degree view through the front windshield, a 160 degree view in the front and rear cabin of the vehicle and a 165 degree view of the rear windshield. This gives you an ultimately 360 view of everything happening inside and outside the vehicle. The rear cabin camera is fantastic to keep an eye on little ones in the rear facing car seats with a clear picture.
The Front camera boasts a Sony STARVIS 2 MX675 5M Ultra-low light sensor, capable of recording up to 1944P @30fps video resolution, capturing fine details. What this meant to me was an even cleaner picture quality through the windshield during the night time drives and low light situations. Watching back video from our night drives through the country with no street lights really demonstrated the quality of the video. We were able to see items in the surroundings, deer standing on the side of the road menacingly and license plates on cars in front of us.
The front cabin camera features 4 infrared lights that turn on automatically and provide a crystal clear black and white picture inside the vehicle. This is another feature that I feel is so beneficial in the event of an accident, or emergency. This will provide definitive evidence for any situation that may arise. This would be exceptionally beneficial for our Uber and Lyft drivers who are constantly at risk for crimes to occur.
With the camera hardwired in, you have the capability of 24/7 parking monitoring as well. This was super nice parking the car in random places during travel. If the camera detects the vehicle has been struck it will automatically record the event happening.
The cameras also have a motion detection system that will automatically record backwards 10 seconds and then for another 30 seconds. This is helpful for when people are walking by the vehicle or attempting to break in. The cameras will be able to detect motion and assist in deterring or identifying criminals.
Lastly, the Nexus 5 features a super intuitive app that allows you to control the cameras, settings, download video and everything you need. The Nexus 5 also has a speedometer and GPS tracker that is built in. This was extremely accurate when comparing to my own tracker for both. This really helped track common routes and planning trips better. You can also download all of this information from the app.
Overall
After driving with this for a couple months I can say that I have a better piece of mind knowing that everything is being tracked and documented. The cameras are so clear and concise in recording, the video is always so beautiful and easy to download with the app. The cameras were extremely easy to set up and run the wires through the car. This made it easier to hide the cables and make it seamless in the vehicle.
The features that are included in this camera system are packed full and offer something for everyone even if it is just recording the surroundings in case of emergency. This camera system can do so much more and so well. The Nexus 5 is a top of the line system that can save you thousands in the event it is needed, it can protect your vehicle from unknowns when it is parked and it can also catch those sweet family moments while on a long road trip. If you are in the market, head over to HERE and pick yours up now!
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