Amcrest 4K UltraHD PoE Outdoor Security Camera, IP Surveillance Camera, 3840x2160, 164ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (128GB), White (IP8M-T2499EW)

I have tried (and currently own) a few different types of security cameras including a DVR system, an SD recording cam, a floodlight cam and now this POE cam. Overall I am very impressed with the quality, software and build of this camera. Ensuring you have the relevant POE injector or hub, it is just a matter of connecting the camera to your network with the RJ45 Ethernet cable, scanning the QR code on the camera, and you're good to go. The Amcrest View Pro app has currently proved to be faultless, with connection to the camera slick and quick both whilst on the home WiFi, or out of the house on 4G (not something that can be said for other brands that I've tried.The 4K image of the camera needs to be set up by increasing the Bitrate (very easily done on the app), but the result is a very clear picture. This combined with a high frame rate gives a clear and smooth image. The rainy image of my drive shows this well. The night mode of the camera is also very impressive, lighting up my driveway very well, and seemingly with less glare than other systems. I'm not sure if this is down Amcrest opting for a separate IR floodlight next to the lens instead of around it like most IR cameras - but it seems to have had the desired effect.The third image I've attached shows my (other brand) IR camera mounted higher on my house, and gives some idea of how much IR light the Amcrest one is projecting. The image is at night, with all house and street lights off, yet it's still managing to reflect off neighbours' cars across the road - impressive!The camera itself seems well made, and being all metal gives a more professional feel (and look) than the usual plastic housed one. The cable is also well sealed into the back of the unit. Finally, the locking and adjustment screw and function is well designed, and allows for adjustment of the camera without much effort. Once locked it is solid and would not be able to be moved by hand if anyone felt so inclined.The best part of the camera in my opinion is the ability to accept and record to an SD card within the camera. This does however require the camera to be disassembled, and the circuit board unscrewed from the body - but overall is a very simple job still, and can be done in under 5 minutes. The camera will accept up to 128gb card, which is more than enough for ~4/5 days recording at max quality, frame and bit rate (as I've set it). If you were to lower this, a week or two would surely be achievable. By having this option you aren't forced to take out a cloud based subscription - but of course can still opt to if wanted. It's also good to know that the data will remain on the card ever if the WiFi drops out (something I've had issues with on previous cameras).Originally I didn't have a suitable "Power Over Ethernet" (POE) network in my home, so I trialled it with a cheap 12v mains plug that I had already, This could be used to run the camera permanently, but would mean running both ethernet and power to the camera which seems unnecessarily hard work. Instead, I bought a TP Link 4-port POE injector hub which was around £20. This works faultlessly, and allows for a simple camera installation. I have used CAT-7 ethernet cable to link the camera to my network as this was relatively cheap and futureproofs the camera for faster data speeds in the future. It also helps provide a lag-free stream.

I've setup this camera in my back garden/driveway to replace a cheaper chinese bullet camera. It's immediately obvious that this camera has a far wider viewing angle, and the picture quality is far better than the original one.I would say the night view is decent for close up things, but anything further than a few metres lacks definition and clarity. You can see an object, but you wouldn't make out facial features etc.The motion detection is distinctly average. The problem (as with most cameras), is that it's all based on monitoring visual/pixel changes. 90% of the alerts I get are actually rain, bushes moving, shadows of cars driving past, etc. I've played with the motion sensitivity, but ended up so low that it didn't pick up a person walking past.For the price range of this camera, it would be nice to have at least some of the following features to improve this:- PIR sensor- Person/face detection- Object tracking (available in some £20 cameras)Web UI is decent to use, although does have it's issues. FTP and NAS have very little instruction. I finally got FTP working after I realised the TEST button only works after you've SAVED your new details. You can't test them before you save them, which isn't intuitive.The App is fairly poor in all honesty, but slightly better than most budget cameras:- After setting up the 4 motion zones in the Web UI, I went into the motion settings on the App. I found here that only the one zone is editable. So, I closed this without saving - however, this actually removed all the 4 zone areas setup in the Web UI.. so I had to redo them.- The manual record button in the App has a typo - "Reconrdind..."- When using "Playback", and selecting the camera/timeframe, you get the loading spinner. If you rotate your phone to view landscape at this point, it never seems to finish loading. This function also generally seems to disconnect a lot, wheras live playback doesn't (suggesting network OK). When this happens you have to remove the camera from this screen and add it again - the refresh button doesn't seem to do anything.- When using "Playback", scrolling and dropping the marker on a time that doesn't have any recording seems to break the timeline completely. It would be better if this used the next recording from the time point you selected.In summary, it's a decent camera that feels well made, but has some features missing from the more well known manufacturers.

Camera well made with metal case and backplate, Getting the camera on to the backplate difficult as you have to make sure the camera is correctly located before tightening up the grubscrew. The micro card is also tricky to insert as the camera has to be opened and 3 very small screws removed prior to fitting it. The software is very detailed which is why I purchased the camera but it doesn't record to a PC only via FTP. The sound was very poor and difficult to hear anything clearly. The lens has a good wide angle. Overall for the price for me it has too many negatives Never actually tried the picture quality outside as given the other points mentioned decided to return before setting it up outside

I purchased the Amcrest 4K UltraHD PoE Outdoor Security Camera to begin upgrading my existing security setup. The image quality is fantastic, the hardware is strong and designed to withstand the elements, and the software offers an impressive range of features.I have this camera feeding a Zoneminder server, which works really well. Be aware though that this is a serious bit of kit and requires additional equipment to get up and running. At a minimum you need a power-over-ethernet (PoE) injector (or PoE-capable switch) and it requires a cabled connection to connect to your network. The smartphone app is pretty good and offers push notifications for motion detection, multiple camera feeds and a range of other features (although it is a little complex to get started with). This is my first foray into "proper" security camera equipment and it's got me hooked! It's a fantastic quality camera at a decent price.