Vantrue N4 Pro S 4K 3-Channel Dash Cam

The N4 Pro S is the rideshare pick on our best dash cams list because it is the only camera there that films the cabin, and it does so with a Sony STARVIS 2 sensor and infrared LEDs rather than the leftover sensor most three-channel cameras use inside. Dashboard Camera Reviews confirms the sensor list: IMX678 front, IMX662 cabin, IMX675 rear. If a passenger dispute, an insurance claim or a false complaint to a platform is a real risk in your work, the cabin channel is the reason to buy this over a two-channel camera.

It also suits pickup and van owners: the IP67 rear camera can mount outside a truck bed or on a van door instead of behind glass.

The front camera. Dashboard Camera Reviews rated it very good in daylight and very good at night, and found plates legible at speed without pausing the video. That puts it level with the VIOFO A229 Pro's front, which is the benchmark in this class. Vantrue's own contribution is a processing mode it calls PlatePix, which it says is tuned for plate contrast in mixed light; the independent scores suggest that whatever it does, the front channel delivers.

Coverage. The three lenses cover 155, 160 and 160 degrees. The rear camera's IP67 rating is unusual; most rear cameras are meant for the inside of the rear window only. The main unit measures 4.84 x 1.73 in with a 3.19 in IPS screen, the largest on our list and the easiest to aim and check without a phone.

Parking modes. There are four. Buffered motion detection stores 10 seconds before and 30 seconds after movement in a zone you draw on the frame, which cuts the false triggers from passing traffic. Collision detection records after an impact only. Low-bitrate mode records continuously at 1080p or 720p and 15 fps, and time-lapse takes 1 to 15 frames per second. You choose which channels record while parked, so you can leave the cabin camera off. All of them require a hardwire kit; Dashboard Camera Reviews found setup straightforward with the pry tool Vantrue includes for routing cables.

Storage and privacy. The card slot accepts up to 1 TB, which Dashboard Camera Reviews puts at more than 37 hours of three-channel H.265 footage. A privacy mode limits how long files are kept and deletes them on power-off, a feature aimed at drivers who carry passengers. Dual-band GPS uses GPS and BeiDou signals.

The rear at night. This is the honest problem. Dashboard Camera Reviews rated the rear channel very good by day and poor at night, with no plates readable. That is a worse night score than the same reviewer gave the VIOFO A229 Pro's rear, which uses the same IMX675 sensor, so tuning and lens choices are doing the damage here rather than the chip. If the car behind you at night is your main worry, buy a two-channel VIOFO.

The cabin at night. Four infrared LEDs sound like plenty; Dashboard Camera Reviews found them insufficient for a clear cabin view after dark and scored the interior channel fair at night against very good by day. Read that as a record of what happened in the cabin rather than a sharp image of it, and if night work is most of your work, weigh it before buying.

Mounting and cloud. The adhesive mount can let go in high heat, which Dashboard Camera Reviews flagged and which is why Vantrue ships a suction cup as well. Cloud connectivity, live view and remote alerts all need Vantrue's LTE module, sold separately, and a data plan. The same review's overall video score of 3.2 out of 5 is a fair summary: one excellent channel and two that fall away at night.

The VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH is the two-channel camera to buy instead if you do not need the cabin view. Its rear camera scored fair rather than poor at night in Dashboard Camera Reviews' testing, it ships with a polarizing filter, and it is cheaper. VIOFO also sells a 3CH A229 Pro with a 1080p infrared cabin camera, though on an older STARVIS sensor rather than STARVIS 2.

The VIOFO A329S 2CH is the alternative for high-mileage drivers who care more about storage and parking draw than the cabin: it takes an SSD up to 4 TB and idles at about 20 mA in its low-power impact mode. The Vantrue's counter is a 1 TB card, four parking modes with zones, the bigger screen and the IP67 rear.

Against the 2023 N4 Pro, the N4 Pro S moves STARVIS 2 from the front only to all three channels, lifts the rear from 1080p to 1440p, doubles the card ceiling to 1 TB and adds the waterproof rear, dual-band GPS and optional cloud. Owners of the older unit who mostly drive in daylight can keep it.

Buy the N4 Pro S if your car is your workplace and you need front, cabin and rear on record from one unit, with a front camera that reads plates at night and a parking mode that can watch the driveway without filming the street. Skip it if you have no passengers to protect yourself from; a two-channel camera gives you better rear footage at night for less.