AmcrestPack of 2, UltraHD 4K (8MP) Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera, 3840x2160, 98ft NightVision, 125° FOV, IP67, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (2PACK-IP8M-T2599EW-AI-V3)

Why did you pick this product vs others?:These Amcrest 4K outdoor cameras are pretty awesome! The picture quality is sharp and clear, with a nice wide 125° field of view. The night vision works really well, even up to 98 feet, so I can see everything clearly in the dark. I like that they’re weatherproof with an IP67 rating, so they hold up well outside in rain or sun. The PoE setup makes installation easy, and the microSD recording (up to 256GB) is a great feature for local storage without needing extra equipment. Overall, a solid bundle for outdoor security — good value and reliable performance.

I have been involved in the security business for over twenty years on a commercial level and started when everything was analog, using coax cables to each camera and such. So, this gives you some background for my review.These are not commercial level cameras like Axis, Bosch, Honeywell and so on BUT for the price (especially when they go on sale) they are worth it.I have seen them used in commercial environments where cost was a huge factor ($100 compared to $1000 each and up.) but where HD, WDR and H.265 video compression is required these fit perfectly!I own several of these now and use them on my rental properties. I have a few in my primary residence and will replace my older ones with these POE cameras as they die.They have the same (if not better quality) than their competitors on the market like Dahua, etc. Everyone needs special features based upon their needs, so this statement isn't to start a comment war. :)The IR doesn't really go to 98ft but if you need to see that far, then buy an IR extender/panel. ANY camera needing that type of distance for nighttime vision you will need an IR extender/panel.The microphone works great but it's not two ways. I use it to pick up speech if someone is at an entrance and just standing there.The wide-angle lens with the WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) really makes it better for viewing. Think Axis low end camera quality without spending $700+ per camera.It streams one of the latest video codecs (make sure your NVR or storage device supports it) which has great compression and saves a ton of storage space.It comes with a SD card slot which is very helpful. If someone breaks in, most of the time they will look for your NVR or computer to grab that to remove evidence. Having a SD card gives you a backup at the camera level if they take your recording device or cut your Internet or Fiber before breaking in. Always go with the worst case Scenario!A few additional things to remember as well.FPS (Frames per second) and motion activation. If you are new to this, you might think that you need to have the camera recording full resolution and 24/7. That is never needed unless you are at a military base, airport, or other super high security facility.I highly recommend 7 frames per second for general use if you need 24/7 video capturing. Now there is a twist to this. You can capture 7FPS but when the camera senses motion it can trigger to capture at 30/60 FPS. This will give you 24/7 and full capturing of whatever comes into the camera view.I recommend interior cameras to be set at capture upon motion at full resolution and full FPS. There is no need to waste storage space on stairwells, hallways, nighttime only cameras or anything that you do not need to view/capture unless there is movement. You will save a ton of storage space.Always have the cameras (or NVR) grab screenshots and send them to you or a cloud storage device. Again, this will notify you and allow you to have a copy offsite if something happens onsite. Burglary, fire, etc.Use a storage calculator! I cannot tell you how many times I have seen where the storage space does not meet the client's needs. Then the storage device does not expand, and they must start over again. Figure out how many days you want to keep the recordings. Now remember, most new systems will send a copy to your Email or Cloud server when capturing events, so you do not always need the typical thirty days. you can get away with 7-10 days before it overwrites the information. This gives you plenty of time to make sure you have a backup, etc. Now commercial and government installations have legal requirements for storage and public records requirements so make sure you build the storage based upon your needs.ALWAYS ground each camera and ethernet cable to save the rest of your inline equipment. I say for all installations, not just for these cameras. Any surge or lightning strike will fry the device BUT properly ground will add a layer of protection for greatly reducing the factor of destroying everything connected to the switch and more. You can find dedicated inline devices for this.Remember though, the device needs power over ethernet (POE) so make sure you buy one of their power injectors or make sure your switch that you are plugging it into supports POE.For the price, features, water resistance, etc. I recommend this camera!

We have used Amcrest cameras at our businesses for years now. They offer an affordable solution to monitor your properties when you are not able to be there. Especially when you have more than one to monitor. We have 3 businesses and our home all running on Amcrest and one that we sold last year also ran them. The picture is great, install is not complicated, as long as you can read, you should be able to set them up rather easily. The software and the app are great! We can easily monitor all properties simultaneously! Tech support tries to help, but I do suggest reading some of the articles and watch the videos available if you have issues come up! The only issue I have had with them is when the firmware updated on the NVR but not the cameras, there was a compatibility issue and getting Amcrest Techs to offer a solution to roll back to the previous firmware is a bit of a challenge. So I highly recommend that if you do update the firmware, do it to both the NVR and the cameras! Also, back up prior to doing the updates. Other than that, I love them! Will continue to purchase them as needed!

TLDR- Great camera with better image quality than my other security cameras. iPhone App needs work but usableCameraNight - Night view is better than my other cameras in a similar price range. I am able to more clearly make out objects around my driveway.Day - Daytime color accuracy is better than my other cameras as well. Colors are less saturated out of the box using auto settings. There are quite a few manual sliders you can change to get the image just the way you like itViewable area - This camera has a much larger area of view than my other cameras. It was one of the first things that made me say WOW. I could see way more of my yard.Clarity - using license plates as I test I was not able to identify any further than 60ft away during the day in good light conditions, which is about the same as my other brand narrow view 5mp camera.H.265 - compression worked well and was easy and straightforward to set. You do have to manually set this in setting and is not set by default.SD card slot - is a very nice feature to keep from having to have a NVR or VMS. You are able to watch any triggered footage from your Amcrest app on your phone. It is also handy as backup footage should your other system go down or get stolen.POE - I love that this camera is POE. I prefer the ease of just plugging my cameras into my POE capable switch and not messing with other cables or connectors.2 Apps - Amcrest Cloud and Amcrest view proBoth easy to use but in my opinion need some workNo way to get IP address of camera in either appYou can set IP to static but you cannot choose the IP you would like to set it to without using a web browser and going to the assigned IP which you have to use other means to findUnable to format/setup SD card via phone app. Must use management from web browserUnable to update firmware via app must manage from web browserUnable to upgrade/buy cloud storage through app. Must use web browserNot able to get cloud storage recordings of footage above 4mp even on my 8mp cameraBlue IrisEasy to add to my blue iris VMS and worked well. Blue Iris accepted H.265 compression from this camera well with no issues. You can even set Blue Iris to receive triggers from the camera motion trigger events to help save my server CPU/GPU cycles having to watch for motion.