Dashcam: Tesla built-in vs Vantrue external

[TEG]

I got a Dashcam before Tesla started offering the built-in one, and decided to compare the video from both.

Here is a sample from the Tesla built-in dash cam:

And then the same drive using the Vantrue external dash cam:

I find that the Tesla "zoomed in" view (they use the distance camera for capture) cuts off a lot of useful scenery from the sides. The Vantrue camera is much more wide angle. On the other hand, if you want to see something going on way up ahead, the Tesla camera gives you more of a close-up on things in the distance.

I am going to do some more comparisons, like at night, and will post some more clips here.

Between the extreme zoom, and the flakiness of the Tesla DashCam (where it sometimes corrupts the flash drive), I plan to keep using the Vantrue when doing longer drives.

 

[ebmcs03]

Yup sadly I am still using my old suction cup dash cam because tesla cam is not reliable. It keeps crashing.

 

[DUBM3]

The Tesla dashcam keep running without corruption for a whole day after the V9 2018.42.2 update this morning. Keep my fingers crossed.

 

[MMBTUS]

I’ve gone more than a week without the dreaded grey x. Knock wood trim.

 

[TEG]

Here is some night time with the built-in Tesla Dashcam:

(Notice the guy at :50 making a really aggressive set of lane changes in front of me...)

Here is some night time with the Vantrue:

(Aggressive lane change guy at 1:10)

In this case (at night) I can see how the Tesla zoom view has some benefit:
It is capturing within the headlight beams, where part of the Vantrue sides are in darkness.

 

[Jedi2155]

Try to read license plates with the Vantrue at night....going to be quite difficult. @MXWing also agrees this is also the case with a blackvue as well.

 

[NeverFollow]

Try to read license plates with the Vantrue at night....going to be quite difficult.
@MXWing also agrees this is also the case with a blackvue as well.

Tesla Dashcam:

Vantrue Dashcam:

 

[NeverFollow]

Try to read license plates with the Vantrue at night....going to be quite difficult.
@MXWing also agrees this is also the case with a blackvue as well.

Blackvue 4K DR900S 2CH

 

[Jedi2155]

Blackvue 4K DR900S 2CH
View attachment 348036

MXWing showed me his recently installed DR900S and it was still quite difficult to read plates at night due to overblown reflections compared to the Tesla's HDR capabilities. That being said, both have their uses (wide angle view for BlackVue is a huge plus).

 

[Garlan Garner]

I believe its totally unfair to compare Tesla's dashcam with ANY other dashcam.

Reason?

All other Dashcams were created to be a Dashcam. That's their primary purpose.

Tesla's have cameras that they use for autopilot. That's their primary purpose.

What did Tesla do?

Tesla opened up their autopilot cameras' views to the public.



Some people use butter knives out of their drawers as screw drivers......but they aren't screw drivers.

 

[Vitold]

That brings up existential question asked ever since action cam was converted into dash cam: what is dash cam?

 

[TEG]

Blackvue 4K DR900S 2CH...

The one I got is somewhat of a Blackvue clone, but 1080p not 4K...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DV9DHVR
( 20% off with code 54QBKBQW )

 

[MXWing]

Blackvue 4K DR900S 2CH
View attachment 348036

@Jedi2155

The majority of plates I encounter are going to be gloss white. Was washed out and unreadable on the DR900S at night.

 

[NeverFollow]

MXWing showed me his recently installed DR900S and it was still quite difficult to read plates at night due to overblown reflections compared to the Tesla's HDR capabilities. That being said, both have their uses (wide angle view for BlackVue is a huge plus).

I have both the DR750 and the DR900 on two separate cars, I will review night content and make a comparison later on.

 

[Jedi2155]

@Jedi2155

The majority of plates I encounter are going to be gloss white. Was washed out and unreadable on the DR900S at night.

Think on the bright side, you have the wide angle to catch the issue and the Tesla cam to read the plate. Compared to any other car, you'd only have the dashcam. In reality though, plate reading is usually only useful during an accident. The real question is if the license image is still overblown when the suspect vehicle is right next to you.