Vantrue Nexus 5 (N5) Specs
– Four-channel dash cam
– Max. resolutions: 1944p + 1080p + 1080p + 1080p
– Price: Amazon US / CA / UK – eBay US / AU – more countries & vendors (ad)
– GPS
– Wi-Fi (2.4 or 5 GHz)
– 3.19″ Screen
– Video format: MP4
– Novatek NT98529 processor
– Time and date stamp on video
– Type C USB port
– Lock file button
– CPL filter (optional)
– Supports up to 512GB MicroSD cards (25 hours of 4CH video)
– Parking modes: Low bit rate, time-lapse, buffered
– Loop recording, auto on/off, G-Sensor, motion detection
– Customizable motion detection zones
– Operating temperature: from -20°C to 65°C (-4°F to 149°F)
– Apps for Android / iOS
– Internal capacitor instead of battery
– Internal microphone and speaker
– Adhesive mount
– Voice control
– Wireless remote button (optional)
Front Camera:
– Max. resolution: 2592×1944 @ 30fps, recommened: 2560×1440 @ 30fps
– Size: 124mm x 69mm x 50mm / 4.88″ x 2.7″ x 1.97″
– Wide Dynamic Range (WDR)
– Bit rate: 14 Mbps
– Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 sensor (5MP)
– Angle of view: 158° diagonal
Front Cabin Camera:
– Max. resolution: 1920×1080 @ 30fps
– WDR
– Bit rate: 10 Mbps
– GalaxyCore GC2093 CMOS sensor
– Angle of view: 160° diagonal
– 4 infrared (IR) LEDs
Rear Camera:
– Max. resolution: 1920×1080 @ 30fps
– Size: 85mm x 38mm x 38mm / 3.34″ x 1.5″ x 1.5″
– High Dynamic Range (HDR)
– Bit rate: 10 Mbps
– GalaxyCore GC2093 CMOS sensor
– Angle of view: 165° diagonal
Rear Cabin Camera:
– Max. resolution: 1920×1080 @ 30fps
– HDR
– Bit rate: 10 Mbps
– GalaxyCore GC2093 CMOS sensor
– Angle of view: 160° diagonal
– 4 IR LEDs
Vantrue Nexus 5 Review
The Vantrue Nexus 5, or N5 in short, is the world’s first four-channel (4CH) dash cam. Like a regular front and rear dash cam, it consists of two camera units. What’s revolutionary about the N5 is that both camera units come with two lenses: One facing out the window, and the other facing the passenger cabin.
The interior lenses are equipped with 4 infrared LEDs each, so they can record the interior of the car even when it’s dark.
This picture shows a detailed view of the Nexus 5:
On the left-hand side, you have the front unit, and on the right-hand side, the rear unit.
The forward facing lenses are shown on top, and the rear facing ones at the bottom.
So the image in the lower left corner is the rear-facing side of the front unit, with a 3.19″ screen and the interior lens. And so on.
Say Goodbye To Blind Spots
You may already be familiar with 3-channel dash cams that record the passenger cabin from the front only. Those cameras are great for taxi and ride share drivers, and help to keep track of passengers’ behavior on the road.
With a 4 channel dash cam, you get the same, plus you also have a rear interior camera that films the passenger cabin from behind. You also get an extra angle looking out of the side windows.
This gives you essentially a 360 degree view of the car’s surroundings, at any time. No more blind spots where your camera didn’t record!
Video Quality
The front camera of the Vantrue N5 has a maximum resolution of 2592×1944 pixels (1944p). That’s a 4:3 format, which basically looks like an old-fashioned TV recording. Not ideal for use as a dash cam.
We recommend running the front camera at 2560×1440 (1440p), which is a 16:9 format. So it is much wider and gives you a better angle of view.
As for the video quality of the Nexus 5’s four channels, here’s an overview:
| Camera | Day Video | Night Video |
|---|---|---|
| Front | Good (3/5) | Good (3/5) |
| Front Cabin | Very Good (4/5) | Good (3/5) |
| Rear Cabin | Good (3/5) | Good (3/5) |
| Rear | Fair (2/5) | Mediocre (1/5) |
On average, the Nexus 5 records decent video. The rear camera’s performance disappointing though, especially at night. Reading license plates is hit-and-miss in most situations, even with the forward facing camera.
Parking Mode
The Vantrue N5 supports three parking modes:
- Buffered parking mode: Saves recordings from 10 seconds before, to 30 seconds after an event is detected
- Low bit rate: Records continuously at 720p resolution, 15 frames per second
- Time-lapse: Records continuously at 1 frame per second, without audio
720p results in poor video quality, and you probably won’t be able to decipher any license plates at that resolution. Therefore, we recommend to use either buffered or time-lapse parking mode.
A cool feature that most other dash cams don’t support: The Nexus 5 lets you create custom motion detection zones, for both the front and the rear cameras. So if there are trees moving in the wind, you could exclude them so they don’t trigger the dash cam’s motion detection.
As far as I’m aware, only BlackVue dash cams allow you to do this apart from the N5.
Other Features
The Nexus 5 has GPS built in and supports Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5GHz). There are free apps for Android and iOS smart phones.
The camera understands voice commands for a variety of functions, the most important ones being:
- Take photo
- Lock video
- Mute microphone
- Toggle Wi-Fi
- Toggle screen
- Show front/rear camera
Languages supported are English, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese.
User Manual
The user manual of the Nexus 5 has 46 pages. You can check out a copy here.
Conclusion
Vantrue is a reliable brand with a lot of experience in the dash cam market. And it’s certainly great to have 360 degree coverage of what’s going on inside and outside of your car.
That said, at a price tag of $400 (at the time of writing), we feel that the Vantrue N5’s overall video quality could be better.
Pros
- 360 degree protection, inside and outside of car
- Reliable
- 3 different parking modes
Cons
- Expensive
- Disappointing rear camera video
Vantrue N5 Video Samples
For full original video quality, make sure to watch on full screen and select maximum video resolution (use the cog icon in lower right corner). You may have to rewind the video after changing the resolution.
Here are some video samples of the Vantrue N5:
Daytime video is good on average.
At night, you need to get lucky to catch license plates, even with the front camera.
The biggest advantage of having two interior cameras is that you get a full view through the side windows. (Apart from filming your passengers of course, but a 3-channel dash cam is usually sufficient for that.)
Compare Prices And Buy Online Today
The Vantrue N5 is available for sale from the following vendors:
Amazon US / CA / UK / DE / FR / ES / IT
Links to vendors are affiliate links. If you find this site useful, please consider buying through our links. There's no extra cost for you, and it helps to keep the site ad-free and up to date with top quality reviews.
