List Price: $779.97
Sale Price: $259.99
Today's Bonus: 67% Off
First let me state that CCTV is a side gig for me, but electronics on a component level is ongoing for 20+ years as a living. Qualifications to consider as you read the review that I will try and keep as short as possible. Although I tend to go overboard.
The package:
A box will arrive. Inside the box will be 8 boxes. Inside the 8 boxes will be 8 cameras, 8 power adapters, 8 instruction pamphlets, and 8 bags of mounting screws with generic plastic anchors. Typical deal here. While the cameras are packaged to absorb shock, there will be no padding between the 8 boxes and the inside of the large box so there is 'travel room' for transit shock. Nothing I would accuse of being poor, but nobody likes to open the box and see play room.
The contents:
Each box will contain the above mentioned. The cameras come in a foam sleeve. Upon removal you may notice some fingerprints on the glass. These are not white glove handled so be sure and clean them. Dry microfiber is suggested or use your t-shirt if you're mega cheap. Construction quality appears reasonable actually. I believe one of my cameras had a small scratch on it. While nobody is happy to see this, the metal is not corrosive so if exposed it's not going to rust. The pamphlet explains basic hookup and camera specifications. The power supplies are cheap 500ma 12v jobs that work fine, but I have no use for them. The screws are chromed and the anchors are those barrel style expanding plastic jobs they slice off at .0003 cents per 100. Worth noting is the security sticker in each box. While this is a nice touch, it's somewhat embarassing to display the web site for videosecu and then visit the website to find that it's down frequently. Free advertising is cool, but perhaps it's best to slice the bottom of the sticker off if you plan to display them.
The cameras:
Now the good stuff.
These do not claim an ip66 rating for water resistance. However they do claim to be 'outdoor' cameras. Please know the difference. An ip66 rating in short means excellent intrusion sealing. What these cameras have is the ability to keep running water seepage out if you mount them under an eve for example. They can be splashed just fine. However and despite having a rubber o-ring sealing the clam shell assembly of the bulb they are not able to prevent water penetration completely. Two entry points on the camera are 1) The rear cable inlet. 2) The front glass. The front glass has a lens isolation on it, more on this in a minute. But a cut is made in the glass to retain the piece and it is not 100% air sealed. The rear cable inlet, while snug is also not 100% air sealed. There is also no silica pack inside the assembly. Ten cents additional attention to these units would probably have earned them an ip66 rating. What you should understand about this is basic grade school science. Where there is a temperature differential, moisture is drawn to the warmer area. This is how clouds form and condensation ends up on windows. While the cameras do a good job of preventing absolute intrusion, a non hermetic seal allows water molecules to be drawn in through these areas the moment the on board electronics exceed the outside temperatures. Once it comes in, it's not exactly going to walk back out on it's own. It will lay on the electronics, wick into the DSP and lay waste to components over time. How much time is dependent on the environment they are in. There is also internal lens fog concern, but I had a rainy day here and have not observed this yet. Winter here will be the true test, but by then I may have sealed the cameras my self. A small tube of silicone and a bag of small silica gel packs from Staples along with these notes could help you prepare these units for absolute sealing. Also worth noting is the rear cable inlet being unsealed also allows for you to twist, and twist, and twist the cable until it breaks. Naturally you wouldn't do this for fun, but be aware it could happen.
Let's talk night vision and that lens guard mentioned above. Common with many night vision cameras that do not have this guard is a 'glow' introduced into the camera glass that the camera lens picks up. This is incredibly annoying and if you ever had/seen cheaper outdoor cameras you know exactly what this is. The lens guard is mounted in a hole in the front camera glass. It surrounds the CCD lens and guards it from the light intrusion until it clears the glass outside of the housing. This works to nix that glow. It works great on these cameras! Even in absolute darkness I do not have this glow effect. Very pleased with that, wish it was sealed better though. The night vision IR's shown are blue. I believe this is either a listing mistake or to make the cameras more cosmetically pleasing in the photos. These are clear issue IRs with a standard faint red glow when active. The light sensor responsible for turning them on/off is variable and works well. Some cameras do not have the variable regulation forcing the LED's to run full tilt and burn them out sooner. This system ensures the IR only runs when needed and at the intensity necessary to augment to display brightness. As for the 50ft rating I think a lot of people don't understand how this rating is tested. Place the camera in an absolute dark gymnasium. Walk 50ft from it and tell me if you can see your body. Please be reasonable when reviewing any camera for night visibility. Many people see these ratings and expect things to be lit up like Christmas tress at the rated distance. That is simply not how this game works. These cameras will work reasonably well to the eye at about 30ft and are quite bright at 20ft. This is more than enough for my personal needs, but everyone is different. The light beam dispersion is not perfect with the majority being centered in direct view, and ambient being about 40% at the widest viewable angle.
I think we should talk about the angle now. These are listed as 3.6mm fixed focal. The cameras I replaced them with were also 3.6mm focal. The view angle on these is significantly wider than the units I replaced. Image sensor size plays a part in this. The units I replaced have a smaller sensor so even when drummed through a 3.6mm lens the angle is reduced in comparison to a larger sensor run through the same lens. Do not let the focal length lend itself to your imagination of how 'wide' a camera will go persey. Yes 3.6mm is generally wider than 6mm, but not all focal lengths are created equal to one another when image sensor size comes into play. Remember that the focal length rating is just the rating of the lense, not the camera overall. These particular cameras offer view width comparable to most 2.8mm market cameras. I was actually quite shocked by the additional coverage area. Fish eye is there, but so moderate that you'll accept it i'm sure. There is a set screw inside the unit you can loosen to attempt to refocus the image, or even replace the lens with another focal length. I find them on Ebay fairly cheap as an alternative to replacing entire cameras. I checked the factory focus on one unit and it was well within 1% of perfect. I was happy about that as quality control starts to drift out of control on cheaper priced items.
Lastly, we're going to touch base on the IR cut filter and picture quality overall. I don't recall an IR cut filter even being advertised but the ad showed a sample picture I took at face value of the same camera on another ad, and that picture is clearly that of a camera with an IR cut filter so I was hoping it wasn't a fake. The cameras I replaced did not have an IR cut filter and you'll know this when you see the grass isn't always greener on the other side, in fact; It's blue. Once you go IR cut, you'll never go back. If you see people with blue hair and lawns that are blue you are enjoying the lack of an IR cut filter. Again, the ad doesn't state they contain one but I am assuring you they do. This is a big deal for cheaper cameras such as these. An IR cut filter that works properly usually jumps the retail price +20 bucks so I'd expect most cameras worth their salt to be priced 50-60+ range with an IR cut and this night vision capability. This is what made the value of this purchase for me in my opinion. If you are a seasoned CCTV installer you will shrug at the results. If you are replacing the cameras that came with your harbor freight system you're in for an absolute shock I promise you.
The quality of the cameras picture is difficult to express. I am not glowing about this to say the least. I believe this is attributed to the extreme focal length and on board processing combined. Colors are vivid and even at good distance clarity is there. However detail will 'smooth out' over distance on these and edges display an unusual artifact. It will not turn blurry but don't expect to read the words on a shirt from 10 feet away unless they are large. For general security this is acceptable to me. I can clearly see what people are wearing and doing on my property. If you need to count the hairs on a flys rear end however, it'll need to land on the camera lens. Envision that as you will but I don't think you'll be capturing license plate numbers from 50 feet away. I have seen this 'edge artifact' before and it appears as if they employ some sort of bicubic Interpolation in the DSP for these. You can find some good pictures of this effect with some clever Googling. This system along with the sellers general inability to properly explain the differences between 'outdoor' and 'ip66 rated' cost the cameras a star. I would like to see Fast ED Interpolation over bicubic but perhaps that's a cost consideration. Now you know.
Overall:
With a few small changes these could be formidable cameras in their price vs. feature range. Several mentioned here you can do yourself and enjoy the savings by sealing them up well. You can do nothing about the DSP behaviour. I think they are worth what was paid and are leaps and bounds above the 17 dollar cameras out there. If you have a cheap DVR system and have outgrown the 11 IR junk cameras that came with them, this is an option for sure. What I would like to see offered is a slightly cheaper bundle or even single unit offering that is less the included power adapter. I understand this feels like an added bonus, but most of us are using central camera power so we end up with a box of power adapters we have no use for. They shipped fast, feel relatively solid, and every one of them worked out of the box. I understand impressions, expectations, and defectives vary across the board. For me I am pleased with the cost to performance ratio and the next time I feel I have a job these cameras will suit, I will buy again.
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