Solar-powered 4K dash cam packed with features

Most dash cams require invasive hardwiring into your fuse box to monitor your vehicle while it’s parked. The Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro uses solar power and a battery to eliminate this intrusive hassle without skimping on other premium features.

7/10

Resolution

4K (front camera), 1080p (rear camera)

Connectivity

USB-C, WiFi

App Compatibility

Baseus (Androids, iOS)

Night Vision

Yes (front camera)

The Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro dash cam system features a 4K front camera and an HD rear camera. Thanks to a solar panel and battery, it’s able to monitor your parked vehicle without hardwiring. 

Pros & Cons

• Good 4K video quality day or night for front dash cam
• Solar power means no need to hardwire for parking monitoring
• Easy app-based control
• Includes microSD card

• Rear dash cam requires difficult cable routing
• Rear dash cam quality is comparatively low
• Only includes USB-A or DC power adapter for front dash cam

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Price and availability

The Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro is available from Amazon and the Baseus website for $180, although it’s usually discounted for much less.

In the box is the front 4K dash cam, USB-A DC 5V/2.4A car charger, 11.9-foot USB-C to USB-A cable, rear HD camera with 9.10-foot USB-C cable, 3M adhesive pad, static cling film, pry (trim) tool, 32GB microSD card, and paperwork.

Design and features: A kitchen sink approach

Credit: Bill Loguidice / How-To Geek

When you unbox the VD1 Pro, the first thing you notice is the density of the front 4K dash cam. It’s a compact rectangle that measures 3.01 inches tall and 2.01 inches wide. It’s not the sleekest design, but it feels durable. The rear HD camera is a much lighter and simpler design, complete with a hardwired USB-C cable. It only measures 1.1 inches tall and 2.11 inches wide.

Credit: Bill Loguidice / How-To Geek

The front 4K dash cam features an adjustable 30-degree pivot with an integrated solar panel and a USB-C DC 5V in. On the left of the dash cam body is an OK button, a combination next and audio recording button, and a combination menu and front-rear camera switch button. On the right of the unit are USB-C rear cam signal transmission and microSD card slots. On the rear is a tiny 1.5-inch LCD screen with a square aspect ratio that’s suitable for viewing the menu and basic monitoring. At the bottom are Wi-Fi and power buttons.

The front camera features a Sony IMX335 sensor with Starvis Night Vision technology that shoots up to 3,840 x 2,160 4K HDR video with a 140-degree field of view. The rear camera, which can be manually rotated a full 360 degrees to capture footage out the back window or from the interior of the vehicle, shoots at 1,920 x 1,080 HD.

The included 32GB microSD card allows up to 4 hours of looped video recording for both the front and rear cameras, where the oldest footage is automatically overwritten. You can go as high as 256GB if you want, up to 33 hours of looped video recording.

Unlike other dash cams, the VD1 Pro is not compatible with any type of hardwiring kit for parking monitoring, which is OK because those kits require tapping into the vehicle’s fuse box or other invasive procedures like wire crimping. Instead, the front camera features a 380 mAh battery that’s fed by the solar panel. It allows for a maximum of 14 days of standby monitoring based on an average of 20 collision detections and a total of 40 triggered recordings of 30 seconds each from both cameras. It makes parking monitoring practical for those of us who would never entertain the idea of modifying our vehicles in the way that other dash cams require.

To detect events, the VD1 Pro features a triple-axis, six-phase acceleration sensor (G-Sensor) that automatically locks critical impact footage to prevent overwriting. The G-Sensor has three sensitivity levels, including low, which logs major hits like highway rear-ends, medium, which catches minor impacts like scrapes during lane changes, and high, which records light bumps like those from a passerby riding a bicycle.

Built-in 5GHz WiFi 6 (with a 2.4GHz fallback) allows live view and playback, video downloads, customizable settings, and firmware upgrades using the Baseus app for Android or iOS 15.0 or later devices. The VD1 Pro can also be voice-controlled for hands-free operation while driving.

Installation, app, and recording quality: Front-loaded

Credit: Bill Loguidice / How-To Geek

Despite the solar panel and battery, you still need to power the dash cam from your running car. The initial install steps are to clean the windshield area below your rearview mirror, apply the static cling film, peel off the 3M backing on the front camera, and then attach it to the static cling film. You then insert the microSD card and run the USB-C to USB-A cable from the front camera to a USB-A port in your car or to the included USB-A DC 5V/2.4A car charger. At least in theory.

In my case, my car only has USB-C ports up front and no DC power port. I used my own USB-A to USB-C adapter to plug the included USB-C to USB-A cable into the USB-C power port on my car. I then used the included trim tool to mostly hide the cable behind the car’s molding. Despite having to provide my own adapter, it ended up being a pretty easy and clean install, just requiring some extra time and patience to run the cable properly behind the molding and other areas of the car.

Unfortunately, installing the rear camera was a no-go for me, and I suspect an issue for most. There’s no real channel to run the cable from the rear camera to the front camera, and it would be impractical to have that long wire go along the floor of my vehicle, particularly with an active family. Since you typically have to remove panels and use a specialty wire fish tool, this is the type of installation for a specialist. It’s something I’ll consider in the future, but it’s an extra expense I don’t want to deal with at this time.

With the front camera powered on and the rear camera optionally connected, you then use the Baseus app to fine-tune the settings. After creating an account and connecting to the VD1 Pro’s private Wi-Fi network, you’re able to apply firmware updates, set your proper location for the GPS, activate Parking Mode functionality, see a live view from either camera, access any saved footage or photos, turn on voice control, and more. It’s a straightforward app that works well, although it’s important to keep in mind that when you access the camera, you’re doing so over Wi-Fi, so it disables things like wireless CarPlay should your vehicle have that type of functionality.

In terms of recording quality, the 4K sensor of the front camera does a good job of capturing high-quality details during the day. Despite marketing claims to the contrary, captures at night, while arguably best-in-class in terms of detail, still suffer from light blooms and inconsistent black levels, so there are no technical miracles here. Still, if an incident happens at night, there should almost certainly be enough detail for compelling documentation of what happened.

Here’s an example of the front camera in action during the early morning after some sleet and rain:

Here’s an example of the front camera in action during a cold, clear evening:

The rear camera is not as sophisticated, with a lower resolution and minimal night vision quality, so expect something far less usable from that and more in line with older dash cams. In fact, if you really need a premium rear camera solution, you’re better off going for a different device, although that would require hardwiring and professional installation. Still, it’s the front camera that tends to matter most, and in that regard, the VD1 Pro delivers. The rear camera can be thought of as an optional bonus that’s able to work in conjunction with the front camera.

Should you buy the Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro?

Although the Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro doesn’t live up to the promise of a truly wireless dash cam, it nevertheless solves a real problem. Instead of requiring invasive hardwiring, its combination of solar power and battery allows it to monitor your parked car with minimal hassle.

While the 4K day and night image quality of the front camera is excellent overall, the rear camera, from its installation hassle to its general quality, is a bit of a let-down. Nevertheless, even putting the rear camera aside, the value of the front camera and overall feature set is high, particularly when discounted.

7/10

Resolution

4K (front camera), 1080p (rear camera)

Connectivity

USB-C, WiFi

App Compatibility

Baseus (Androids, iOS)

Night Vision

Yes (front camera)

The Baseus Prime Trip VD1 Pro dash cam system features a 4K front camera and an HD rear camera. Thanks to a solar panel and battery, it’s able to monitor your parked vehicle without hardwiring.