My goal of owning a dashcam was never in doubt. While my insurer offers no rate discounts for installing one of these devices, the value it has for insurance purposes in undeniable.First, it’s important as a silent witness. I’ve seen enough YouTube crash videos to realize there are many stupid drivers out there, most of whom will lie about their responsibility when their inattention and poor driving skills have resulted in an accident. Since your insurance company is unlikely to accept the testimony of your passengers, an impartial video is essential.Second, it can expose thieves who specialize in fraudulent insurance claims. Take, for example, the swindler who deliberately backs into your car and later claims you rear-ended him. Your insurer is as likely to believe him/her as it is to believe you. When you have a dashcam video, you can quickly show who is the real culprit.Convinced I needed one these cameras, my past research led me to the VanTrue line, and I became convinced the firm’s products had the features and quality I desired.I recently installed a VanTrue E3, which has borne out all the claims people have made about these fine products.Here’s the good and the not-so-good about the VanTrue E3:WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT1. EASY INSTALLATION. In general, the average person should be able to install this dashcam without any serious problems – provided they follow the instructions in the exact order they are given in the manual.Installing the cameras front and rear took about 15 minutes, concealing the wiring behind the interior trim about 20 minutes. Admittedly, this is not my first dashcam installation. (Mounting and wiring concealment instructions are outlined in the User Manual, along with excellent illustrations.)Because I intend to purchase a new vehicle, I chose to power my dashcam by way of the cigarette lighter/power socket. This has worked out fine, despite the fact that the black power cord must hang down in front of my car’s GPS screen.The alternative method – hard-wiring the E3 to your vehicle’s electrical system – was therefore not an option for me at this time. The advantages of that method I will not cover here. However, they are considerable, and I will certainly go that route when I choose my next car.Although the rear camera is mounted to the glass using an adhesive, the front camera utilizes a different method. A clear piece of transparent plastic film about twice the size of a business card comes in the kit. It is affixed to the inside of your windshield (after the glass has been minutely cleaned). The glue pad on the camera mount is then attached to that film. The benefit of this method evidently is that later removal means no glue residue will remain.Moving the camera, according to the manual, requires only that you lift the film. The durability of this method of mounting, however, remains to be seen.2. PRACTICAL SIZE. Although I drive a full-size sedan, I did not want to clutter my viewing area with a front camera the size of a Kleenex box. The footprint of the E3, however, is just right – large enough to give you a useful screen and accessible controls, but small enough that it is not a distraction. NOTE: The proper aiming of the cabin-view lens dictates that you cannot hide the unit behind your rear-view mirror.The rear camera is about half the size of a business card and therefore is not noticeable when you use your mirror – unless you are looking for the green pinpoint light that tells you it is operating.3. EXCELLENT QUALITY OF RECORDINGS (SAMPLES BELOW). While 1080p resolution seems to be the default in dashcams today, VanTrue’s crucial front camera boosts the video quality to an impressive 1944p. (The rear and cabin lenses come in at 1080p.)The camera records three separate videos, one for the front view, one for the rear view and one for the cabin view. If you feel you resemble a troglodyte, nobody need ever see that video but you.Viewing some of the recorded videos proved them to be clear and bright, with plate numbers of adjacent vehicles entirely visible. The built-in GPS not only provides details about the date and your precise location in terms of latitude and longitude, it automatically records the correct time, which eliminates a headache when it’s necessary to program the twice-yearly changes for daylight saving.Downloading the videos manually, which is the method I chose, was straightforward for me once I got past some initial glitches (see below). You may elect to use the VanTrue app for this purpose, which you can download to your smartphone.4. GOOD STORAGE CAPABILITIES. Wide range of storage capacities. The unsupplied SD card capacity can range from 32-512gb, says VanTrue. For my installation I opted for the top end of the range, choosing a Samsung SDXC with storage of 512gb and it works fine. VanTrue sells its own brand of SD cards.5. EASY TO OPERATE. Using your smartphone, says VanTrue, makes it possible for you to change the camera’s settings, view the captured videos, and perform most functions. You may choose to execute these tasks using the buttons on the bottom of the front-mounted camera, though they are tiny and difficult to access.The VanTrue E3 package includes a remote control that is also about half the size of a business card, which you can mount on your dash. Although I have not yet used mine, this battery-equipped device is said to permit you to use voice commands to perform the above functions, as well as a few other useful tasks.I’m not likely to use these features, however. I just want the dashcam to activate when I start the car and run without any intervention from me. And this is what the E3 does best.The importance of reformatting your SD card twice-monthly cannot be over-emphasized. Repeatedly recording on top of old data will soon ruin that costly storage medium. VanTrue does not leave reformatting to chance. Every time I start my car, the screen asks me whether or not I wish to reformat now. Push one button and that’s what happens. If you ignore those on-screen options the camera will revert to recording normally.SMALL QUIBBLE #1: USE OF JARGONAlthough this irritant is not large enough to warrant my giving the VanTrue E3 less than full marks, the English-language version of the User Manual is unclear in many places. This is a new model of dashcam, however, which means this is probably the manual’s first draft; errors and confusing passages will no doubt be corrected in future versions.When the rewrite happens, my advice as a professional journalist is for VanTrue’s technical writers to first revisit the section dealing with the plastic film that is placed between your windshield and the front the camera. (VanTrue and many of its competitors call this item an “electrostatic sticker,” which is a bit like calling ice cubes water with corners.)Unfortunately, the instructions are less than clear. In addition, nowhere is the reader told why this plastic film is necessary. (I found a YouTube video that explained the how and the why of these “stickers.”)The average American reads at the 7th- to 8th-grade level, according to The Literacy Project, a fact that many writers of user manuals seem to forget. In general, VanTrue’s writers need to toss out the technical jargon and simplify much of the language.A misleading term like “electrostatic sticker” is a good example. Those words should perhaps be used once, but after that “clear plastic film” would give the reader a much better understanding of what’s required – provided VanTrue’s writers also tell us why it’s required.SMALL QUIBBLE #2: VIDEO PLAYBACK PROBLEMSI have a fast, new computer (Windows 10) and an up-to-date monitor; I have never had difficulty playing MP4 video files. It requires nothing more than placing the cursor over the file and double-clicking.With the MP4 files created by the VanTrue E3, that operation did not go smoothly for me. During the video playback, I was able to hear the sound inside the car but no picture appeared – which is, after all, the entire purpose of a dashcam.Microsoft says this problem is not uncommon and offers several complicated methods for solving it, none of which worked for me.Out of frustration I contacted VanTrue, which quickly emailed the URL for a downloadable program (https://www.vantrue.net/app/en.html).Beyond solving the playback problem, this software was a true bonus. Not only was I able to see and hear what the dashcam recorded, the program enabled me to pause, rewind and take a snapshot of what was on the screen. The details of longitude/latitude also were visible, as well as the time and date.What delighted me most, though, was the appearance of a Google map showing the exact route I followed when that particular video was taken. Good on you, VanTrue!THE FINAL WORDClearly, the VanTrue E3 is a durable dashcam of high quality, manufactured by a company for which automobile security in general and dashcams in particular appear to be a specialization rather than a sideline.My research told me this was a good company to deal with. So far, I have had no reason to regret my decision.