This is a pretty good value for the money (at $28) but does have a couple minor issues which reading this review will hopefully make less of a problem... On the positive side, the camera sensitivity is quite good and provides a very viewable image in most every lighting condition - even those really tough high-contrast daytime situations with lots of bright and shady areas. The IR LEDs provide surprisingly good lighting range out to at least 20 feet and beyond in nice dark conditions. The IR mode is the "IR Cut" type which switches between color and B&W IR modes at a preset low-light threshold. This provides proper daytime color compared to the weird daytime colors of non-switching cameras which simply "mix" IR and visible light. The 3.6mm lens provides a wide recto-linear (non-fisheye) field of view which covers a lot of area. The image quality seems nice and crisp in daylight but a little grainy/fuzzy in really low light as one would expect. The all metal housing is quite tough and can be mounted with the all wiring and screws secluded to help prevent tampering/vandalism.
On the downside, this camera does NOT come with a 12v power supply, but the good news is that it has BNC video and RCA type power connectors which are pretty-much the standard nowadays. The camera itself is in a metal "ball", which is compression-mounted in the housing, and is VERY hard to move when the housing is tightened-down. The housing is composed of three metal parts which are threaded together at the base. The manual does not cover mounting or aiming the camera at all and so one just has to figure this out or read it in a review such as this.
The base can be dis-assembled by twisting the mounting base and threaded ring in opposite directions until it threads apart. The housing must be completely dis-assembled in order to mount the camera using the 4 screw holes in the base ring. Once you have it apart it will make sense. After the base is mounted, the wiring can be threaded through the mounting surface, and the camera and housing can be re-assembled. You can aim the camera just before tightening the housing the rest of the way.
Some notes about the IR mode... The camera's internal relay makes an audible "click" when switching between day/IR modes, and in some cases it will switch back and forth several times when it's right on the threshold. This is especially true when artificial lights are also present in the camera's view. A short jitter in the video is normal when the camera switches modes. Also, avoid placing the camera where any objects or surfaces are near the front of the camera, as the IR LED light tends to reflect back onto the lens, producing a light gray, ring-shaped fog over your night image which greatly reduces the night vision quality. If you must mount the camera in tight spaces with eves or other structures near the front of the camera, you can use flat black spray paint on those surfaces to reduce the IR backscatter and improve your night image quality. Hope this helps!
Frequently purchased items with fast delivery
Page 1 of 1 Start over
- Marquis 4MP PoE IP Turret Dome Camera with Audio, IP Security Camera Outdoor Rated, Waterproof IP66, 108° Wide Angle 2.8mm Lens NDAA Compliant (Color Night)Amazon's ChoiceFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jun 23
- Hikvision/Uniview Compatible 4MP PoE IP Turret Dome Camera with Audio, IP Security Camera Outdoor Rated, Waterproof IP66, 108° Wide Angle 2.8mm Lens (Color Night) NDAA CompliantFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jun 23Only 16 left in stock - order soon.
- Anpviz Analog CCTV Camera HD 1080P 4-in-1 (TVI/AHD/CVI/960H CVBS) Security Dome Camera, 2.8-12mm Varifocal Lens Video Surveillance, Weatherproof Metal Housing 36 IR-LEDs Day& Night Outdoor(Grey)FREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jun 23
- Lorex1080p HD CVI Analog Wired Indoor/Outdoor Metal Dome Security Camera - IR Night Vision & IP67 WeatherproofSave 20%FREE Shipping by Amazon
- CUMCITIN Analog CCTV Camera HD 1080P 4-in-1 (TVI/AHD/CVI/960H Analog) Security Dome Camera Outdoor Metal Housing, 24 IR-LEDs True Day & Night Monitoring 3.6mm Lens (Grey)FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jun 23
- Analog CCTV Camera HD 1080P 4-in-1 (TVI/AHD/CVI/CVBS) Security Dome Camera Outdoor, 2.8mm-12mm Manual Focus/Zoom Varifocal Lens, Weatherproof Metal Housing 36 IR-LEDs Day & Night Monitoring (White)FREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jun 23
Good camera, well built
The camera appears to be well built, and I'm happy with it so far except for one minor quirk (read more below). I'm new to analog security cameras (I mostly play with Wifi cameras) so I don't what to expect from a 800TVL camera, but I can tell the image is better than 700TVL camera I got from another source. Night vision quality is good. Day time is mostly very good except for sunny spots in the picture where I get the rainbow effects (see upload images). At first I thought it could be my long cable, but the rainbow effect is changing at every second so it must be in the camera electronics. Overall I think this is a good security camera only, not for any other purpose (bird/aquarium watching etc...) where picture quality is a must.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2015
The camera appears to be well built, and I'm happy with it so far except for one minor quirk (read more below). I'm new to analog security cameras (I mostly play with Wifi cameras) so I don't what to expect from a 800TVL camera, but I can tell the image is better than 700TVL camera I got from another source. Night vision quality is good. Day time is mostly very good except for sunny spots in the picture where I get the rainbow effects (see upload images). At first I thought it could be my long cable, but the rainbow effect is changing at every second so it must be in the camera electronics. Overall I think this is a good security camera only, not for any other purpose (bird/aquarium watching etc...) where picture quality is a must.
Images in this review
