I never thought I could own a dashcam this cool. In 2020, a dashcam is essential. People scam each other all the time for insurance money by doing things like brake checks and running red-lights is incredibly common now. So, the vantop dashcam review may just be the inexpensive dashcam that saves you thousands from a lying road-rager in a few months.
A touch-screen dashcam was definitely revolutionary compared to my now ancient VIOFO A119 V2 that requires me to put the SD card in a computer to see anything. Great quality, a low price, and a way to protect yourself from getting insurance scammed? No wonder I wrote this vantop dashcam review, it is something you NEED to buy in 2020.
Yes, It’s True. You’ll Need a Dashcam More Than You Think. Just Check My YouTube.
In fact, I’ve uploaded numerous videos of near accidents from my dashcam. Thank god I’ve been able to avoid these accidents.
Buying these dashcams is always something tricky. Nobody wants to drop $100 on a useless product. Luckily, you’ve got something good in store for you.
Now, I am never biased in any review. Especially not this vantop dashcam review.
I have a dashcam in my mustang already, so I figured I’ll give it to my mom. My mom spun three circles before flying into a ditch a few months ago, so I figured she would love one of these now. (sorry for telling everyone, ma!)
Your Dashcam Can Save You From Crazy Exes – Vantop Dashcam Review
Unfortunately, this vantop dashcam review got delayed a little bit. This is because well, as I was trying to record some videos with it, my crazy ex-girlfriend came on the hunt for me.
Imagine that, me eating broccoli in the seat of my car getting death threats hurled at me after almost being run off the road.
I uploaded the videos to YouTube proving that she did attempt the harassment and this helped me significantly.
Sometimes when the police are provided with no proof, it’s hard to help. Because if there is no proof, it can easily be dismissed in court. Luckily, this dashcam will save you.
Look, I’ve been no-contact with this girl for 2 months. But, she doesn’t like the fact I have a new girlfriend.
This dashcam saved me from getting possibly arrested that night based on what her boyfriend said to the police.
Furthermore, it is instrumental in helping me get an order for protection and eventually a restraining order.
This dashcam is more than for just insurance, whenever you’re out, it is saving you.
Features of The VanTop Dashcam Review
The VanTop Dashcam H609 comes with a ton of incredible features. In this day and age, many dashcams come with very little features other than standard recording.
And I think that’s something that needs to be changed. I am glad Vantop brought it upon themselves to change the dashcam game.
Dashcams aren’t just for ‘recording’ in front of you. Dashcams are almost just as important as your car itself, if not more important. Having tons of features is critical, especially in car accidents.
In this VanTop dashcam review will be covering all of the amazing features!
VanTop Dashcam Review – G Sensor, Saving Video When Your Car Gets Hit
The G sensor has to be one of my favorite features of any dashcam.
In fact, I wouldn’t recommend buying a dashcam without it.
The G Sensor basically determines when your car gets hit, saving the video permanently so it does not get overwritten.
This is actually a required feature for any good dashcam. The truth is, most of us will park our cars outside of work for 8-10 hours and not check on them all day.
Then we come back late at night and see that there is a HUGE dent or even a bumper missing. The last thing you want is that part of the video to have been overwritten.
When the G-Sensor detects the car was hit, it saves around the last 30 seconds or so. This allows you to see which car did it, which cars are driving by, etc.
This can not only save the pain of trying to explain to your insurance what happened but save you from paying for it.
One of my friends Connor (who is Chaz’s brother if you read my About Me page) went to a party late at night around two months ago.
The next day, his mom started screaming at him asking what car he hit. He left the party at midnight and didn’t notice that his car got side-swiped while he was at the party.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do. He didn’t have proof someone else hit him, and his insurance was just going to be a pain in the behind.
He did some great tape work and buffing out work, but overall, if he had the dashcam, it may have been a different story.
Having a G-Sensor is critical. And if Connor had one, he would’ve had everything repaired for free.
Touch Screen – Vantop Dashcam Review
I can not tell you how excited I was to use the touch screen. This might be the most exciting part of the Vantop dashcam review, and for good reason.
It is such a pain in the behind to try and navigate anywhere on my current dashcam. You have to stop recording, guess which buttons are up/down/left/right, go through tons of lists, it’s just sooo annoying.
This touch screen brought relief and sanity back to me. Everything is so easy to access and navigate.
Finding files, going through options, is all easy on the touch screen. It really just is such an ease-of-use thing that I am glad they added.
You’re also able to adjust the video camera from the touch screen too. If you want the camera to point more up or down, it’s all possible from the touch screen.
And lastly, switching behind the front/rear cameras is a breeze. While this sounds bad at first, think about parking. Having the ability to switch between front/rear cameras when you’re trying to squeeze into a tight spot is incredibly helpful.
And the dashcam’s night mode makes it easier to see things when you’re driving or parking. So no matter the time of day– wait? What’s the night mode you may ask?
Night Mode – Vantop Dashcam Review
If you’ve ever tried to record something in the dark, you’ll know it’s about near impossible.
Luckily, this dashcam has you covered. I would be very suspicious of any dashcam that doesn’t have a night mode. Because after all, night driving is incredibly common and where some of the deadlier accidents happen.
Essentially, it’s going to sharpen images and change the contrast and colors around a little bit.
This makes it so on the dashcam recording it is easier to see license plate numbers and more. The last thing you want is someone to brake check you and get away because you can’t see their license plate!
Front + Rear Cameras
So who’s going to tell me why my dashcam I bought a year ago was $70 and has one camera. Meanwhile, this vantop dashcam review has front and rear cameras, for like $10 more? This is literally INCREDIBLE value.
Why didn’t I hear of this company earlier? I thought I only needed a front dashcam, but I’ve had more people tailgate me than I know what to do with.
And that’s the worse part- I don’t even go slow and they tailgate me. In fact, I was tailgated by this all-black Ford Explorer a few months ago and they had red and blue lights and everything! I had to pay $300 for that speeding ticket.
But seriously, having a rear camera is super vital. If you get rear-ended or swiped in a parking lot, it can be a literal lifesaver.
Plus, if any accidents happen behind you, you can be an eyewitness to make sure somebody else doesn’t get screwed over.
Reverse Camera
Look, no matter how good of a driver you are, it’s hard to reverse into spots sometimes.
And not to mention if you’re in the city, people just almost pretend to not see your car reversing.
Before you know it you’ll have some guy screaming that you hit him or his car. And you’re not even sure if you actually hit him, because chances are you probably didn’t hear it over your music.
I found that when driving with the reverse camera, it was far better than the rear view mirror.
This is because it basically eliminated my blind spot. Using my left/right mirrors and the reverse camera basically made a full 180 degrees of vision beind my car.
Especially in the SUV, blind spots can be super tricky. Now merging became a dream.
Installation is a Piece of Cake
Installing the Vantop dashcam was incredibly easy.
I was honestly expecting this to be the hardest part of the vantop dashcam review, but it was really simple.
Installing the actual ‘mount’ onto the rear view mirror is actually incredibly easy!
The mount comes with two bendy rubber brackets that easily clip the unit onto the rear-view mirror. So you don’t have to screw anything down or rely on adhesive!
From there, the main unit is plugged in via the car’s main power outlet. That is what keeps the unit on and charged.
The rear-view camera gets screwed in via a simple installation kit in the back.
Personally, however, in my vantop dashcam review for the H609, I used simple double-sided adhesive pads. You can get these for like $3 at a local hardware store.
You simply just take the long wire and plug it into the top of the dashcam.
Lastly, you just fit in a MicroSD card and you’re all ready to go!
Cable Management
For most people, setting up a dashcam can be messy. In my YouTube video, we show a little bit of the cable management tactics we use.
Truthfully, I’ve never been someone that is great at cable management. I can do it fairly well, but when it comes to cars, nope.
Luckily, Carsten is an absolute monster when it comes to getting those cables hidden in cars.
So here’s what he did:
Basically all of the plastic panels in your car, can be moved slightly to fit the cable under. This doesn’t break the cable or damage your car or anything. You don’t need a screwdriver either for this.
Just pull on the plastic a tiny bit, slip the cable under, and those cables will be gone from view.
Video Quality
The video quality is really good! While I argue that my other dashcam has overall better resolution and quality, it was far more expensive than the budget friendly vantop H609.
The vantop dashcam review video I uploaded shows what footage from the camera looks like.
It isn’t crystal clear, but it is really good! It is 100% able to show license plates up close and you can see basically everything.
This is all you need to send to your insurance company and save you thousands.
Sending this video in of someone backing into you at a stoplight and saying you rear-ended them makes this dashcam priceless.
Furthermore, if you need to make a police report, this dashcam camera is more than high enough quality to decipher key details.
Pros of The Vantop Dashcam Review
Let’s discuss some of the best things of the H609 Vantop Dashcam!
- Two cameras.
- Having the front and rear camera included is incredible as it gives you the full view of an accident. Plus, it gives you more proof to a law enforcement official if you find someone driving drunk or aggressive.
- Budget-Friendly
- At only $80 this dashcam is incredibly budget-friendly. My dashcam cost me $80 and it only has one camera. At $80, you get a touch-screen and two cameras!
- Easy Set-Up
- In my opinion, most dashcam companies make their stuff way too complicated. The Viofo dashcam I purchased has an excuse for a manual. Vantop not only makes it easy to install, but simple to understand.
- Tons of customization options.
- Many dashcams don’t let you change a lot. The Vantop dashcam gives you a TON of options to choose from. Making things like video resolution, color scheming, brightness, contrast, and more all very simple to change! The touch-screen makes this a DREAM.
- Reliable Brand
- Vantop is a company with thousands of positive reviews just on their latest dashcam. Combined they have nearly 10,000 positive reviews on Amazon!
- Feeling of Safety
- Sometimes just having the dashcam on and running is enough. Ask anybody who has a dashcam, few will drive without one!
Cons of The Vantop Dashcam Review
While overall the Vantop dashcam is great, there are some cons I would like to discuss.
- Mounted on The Rear-View Mirror
- While some people like the rear-view mirror mount design, I personally don’t. I think that it’s better for the dashcam to be mounted separately, but again this is a personal preference. Some people like the better view on the rear of the car and some don’t.
Questions and Answers
What SD card Do You Use in The Vantop H609 Dashcam?
The SD card you use for the vantop H609 dashcam is a microSD card. There are some things on Amazon saying it is an SD card, it is not. It is a microSD card.
How Do You Save Videos To Not Be Overwritten?
So when you get into a bad accident or need a video saved, you ideally don’t want to lose that video.
On the Vantop Dashcam, simply press the ‘lock’ button on the right of the red record button in the center. It will then save that clip! You can adjust the time in the settings.
Vantop H609 Manual
The Vantop H609 comes with a manual in the box.
Unfortunately as the Vantop H609 is a newer product, there is no online manual yet. However, you can use the Vantop H610 manual as perfect guidance, as they are virtually the same product with the H609 having a smaller screen.
How To Avoid The Rear-View Mirror Mount
So, I gave this dashcam to my mom, and got it all setup in her car.
She is an older woman, and isn’t used to technology like I am. I grew up with screens, so for me the new dashcam was perfectly natural.
For her, not so much. She prefers the old school rear-view mirror.
Luckily, you’re still able to use this dashcam with great effectiveness.
Simply buy a cheap dashcam mount online. I found a few that work for this dashcam!
Depending on where you want to put it, the things you want to buy may be slightly different.
I’d start off with this kit, the iSaddle mounting kit. And if you’re looking for other ways to mount it, this iSportgo kit can help too.
Windshield Mounted Suction Cup
In my quest to figure out an alternative way to mount this, I figured it out! This really is the most comprehensive vantop dashcam review you’ll ever read huh.
So the dashcam will be on your dashboard at the end being held together by the suction cups. It’s a super interesting way to do it!
Conclusion
The VanTop H609 Dashcam is an excellent budget-friendly, user-friendly, and great dashcam to purchase! For the low price of $80, you can get a dual-camera setup, touchscreen, backup assistance, g-sensor, and more. This dashcam really has it all, and at a great price.
