I am familiar with the Night Chroma tech from when it came out and, while the F/1.0 aperture, the active alignment tech and the 100 feet supplemental light remained unchanged, there are a few improvements that are worth mentioning. First, we get a bigger BSI sensor (1/1.8 vs 1/2.7) and the most significant upgrade has been at the algorithm level, so the ANNKE NCPT500 should be better at detecting movement and be faster at sending you alarm notifications.

I have tested other ANNKE cameras and the detection processing is done locally, although we will see if the notifications need to pass through their servers, as it happens with Reolink cameras. Of course, one of the most important features is the ability to remotely pan and tilt the camera, and ANNKE has made sure that it is possible to do so at a very wide angle (340 degrees horizontally). There is also available the two-way communication option and the camera can be powered via PoE or regular adapter, but it cannot communicate using WiFi. So, let’s power up the ANNKE NCPT500 and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

Outdoor-suitable cameras are usually much larger than the regular IP cams and they’re also a bit more strangely designed. More so than the regular bullet-type camera. The ANNKE NCPT500 does measure 6.4 x 4.7 x 9.2 inches (23.4 x 16.2 x 12.0cm) so it’s going to be very much noticeable regardless of the place you mount it.

And I have seen that there is a built-in support which allows both wall and ceiling mounting, but looking at its shape, I tend to believe that ANNKE wanted this camera to be installed on a ceiling. The stand is L-shaped and, if you mount it on the wall, a piece of plastic will hang above it (not really the most aesthetic-pleasing approach). Furthermore, the camera is IP66-rated which makes it pretty much completely dust-proof and it will also survive sprays of water directed towards the enclosure.

Rain should not harm the ANNKE NCPT500, but it’s still better to keep it covered as much as possible (why ceiling mounting is better in this case). The NCPT500 will remain operational as long as the temperature ranges between -22° to 122°F (-30° to 50°C), so it’s suitable for most parts of the Earth, for now. The camera is entirely made of plastic, the top part which holds the panoramic movement motor being covered by a white matte finish, while the bottom section (with the lens) is matte black.

We can see the speaker above the ANNKE logo immediately above the lens area and there is also a microphone next to the camera lens, while underneath it, there are two LED supplement lights. The concept is the same as on the ANNKE NC400 and the newer Reolink CX410: if there are enough light sources, then the color night vision will work just fine, otherwise, to cover a very dark area, these two LEDs will shine a soft light to help the camera “see” better.

I have already mentioned that the pan movement is 340 degrees (almost full circle), but the tilting movement is a bit more limited, going between -5° to 105°. Still plenty enough to see up and down, so there are very few unreachable blind spots. If you move the lens section down, you will be able to see that there is a piece of plastic held by a couple of screws and inside it, there’s a lot going on. First, there’s the microSD card slot which supports an addition of up to 256GB of storage memory.

Then, we can see the Reset button and lastly, there’s what I assume to be a Console connector that most likely can be used for programming and maintenance. Lastly, I need to mention the cable that’s attached to the camera through the stand and which gets divided into the Ethernet PoE cable (10/100Mbps, so it’s Fast Ethernet) and the 12V Power adapter connector (which is protected by a silicone cover). Also, know that there is no Power cable in the package.

ANNKE NCPT500 Teardown

The ANNKE NCPT500 is very easy to open since all you need to do is remove the four screws at the top (using the Allen key provided in the package) and, after disconnecting the small cable (for the power), I could identify the H16111CE high PoE+ (700mA) chip on the small board. Moving forward, we can see the Pan motor and the silicone seal which prevents water from entering the enclosure.

I could not go further than that this way since I would have had to detach the speaker and other parts that I just did not feel comfortable to do so. Instead, I removed the four screws from the spherical part (with the lens) and this way, I got access to the two PCBs. I could identify the 16MB of flash storage (GigaDevice 25Q128ESIG) and that’s about as far as I went. Now let’s talk about the thermal management – I have attached a photo to show just how hot the ANNKE NCPT500 can get.

Installation and App

The hardware installation of the ANNKE NCPT500 camera is pretty straight-forward, all you need to do is insert the four screws from within the bracket, but it’s worth mentioning that there is a waterproof gasket which will prevent any short from happening due to water ingress (I would still use a small plastic box to keep this cable connection safe). After that, download and install the ANNKE Vision app, and then, after having to accept the Terms, as well as the Privacy Policy (the data that goes through the app will be collected, as well as some info from the device, so make sure to read the terms before accepting them), you can create an account.

It needed an email and after logging in, I was asked whether I wanted to give it access to the precise location (it does not need it). Next, it asked whether I allowed it to show notifications which are necessary if you want to know when the camera detects movement. After that, I made sure that the camera was connected to the router and the app immediately saw it and asked if I wanted to activate it.

Next, I could enter the password, while the user name remained hardcoded (admin), but what was interesting was that I was asked whether I wanted to Add the Device to Annke Vision Server or if I wanted to Add the Device to View in LAN. Of course, I chose the latter (it’s nice to have multiple options and not be forced to go through the manufacturer’s servers).

Lastly, I gained access to the app and we can see the live view covering the top part of the screen, while below, there’s a suite of options, although about half of them are grayed out. You can change the image quality (Clear, Fluent and Custom), choose the Noise reduction level, start recording or capture a photo, as well as trigger the audible alarm. Tapping on the three dots on the top right will give you access to the Settings and, initially, I thought that these are the available options, but no, tap on the three dots on the bottom right to summon the Remote Configuration / Remote Controller, and choose the first one.

Here, the most important sections are the Recording Schedule to set when the camera will record, and the Normal Event which will let you enable the Motion Detection and the Video Tampering Alarm. It does feel a bit of a maze, but this is how the app was built. The good news is that the web-based interface has a better layout and more options.

The Web-based interface

The ANNKE cameras usually offer more options when using the web-based interface, more so than the app, so, using the local network, I accessed the local GUI. I had to check what the IP address of the ANNKE NCPT500 was (from the router’s interface) and then I just entered the password that was previously set (the user remains admin). You may need to install a plugin (check the upper right corner) and then the Live View window should show the footage.

On the right side, you should see the PTZ arrows which will allow the movements of the camera and next to it, there’s the General settings to adjust the image (brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness). Additionally, you can change the OSD and the Video/Audio settings. The next main section is the Playback where you can filter by date and by hour, and scroll through the hour to see stored videos. Under Picture, you can download any videos and the there’s the Configuration window where you can adjust pretty much any aspect you may want.

The main area of interest remain the Events (Basic Events) where you can change three suite of settings: Motion Detection, Video Tampering and Exception. It’s possible to draw the area of detection and you should be able to see the detection happening in real-time, which is excellent. Lastly, you should visit the Storage area to configure the way the videos will be stored (based on the trigger) and choose which storage devices will be used.

Using an NVR

The experience of using a third-party NVR was very similar to when I tested the ANNKE FCD600. I also used the Reolink RLN8-410 v2 NVR since I don’t have an ANNKE NVR available and, while the process was simple, the end result has been a bit weird. What you need to do is first go to the ANNKE NCPT500 interface and from the Network > Advanced Settings > Integration Protocol and Enable Open Network Video Interface. I also added a new user for simplicity sake.

Then, I connected the camera to the Reolink NVR and I added a new camera with the correct options: the IP, the port, the user name, password and don’t forget to select ONVIF since it won’t detect it as IP. For whatever reason, it didn’t work, but what did end up working was connecting the camera directly to the router (also possible to use a PoE switch in between). This way, the live footage appeared from the NVR.

But, since it has to go through multiple ‘hops’, there is a very noticeable delay. So, I think that most of you will prefer just relying on Blue Iris and yes, the process is somewhat similar since, after allowing the software to detect the camera, I entered the credentials and I got access to the camera live footage – the delay is not as bad, but it’s still there. At the end of day, there is a clear bias towards ANNKE NVRs, so the third-party experience is not as good.

The Image Quality

The ANNKE NCPT500 uses a 5-megapixel sensor with 1/1.8″ progressive scan CMOS and the resolution is 3K (3072 x 1728 pixels) which should be more than enough for home surveillance. And, to see the image quality during the day, this time I managed to get a cloudy day (no more of that bright streets) and, as you can see form the footage, everything in the camera’s vicinity is visible and clear.

It’s very much possible to see people from hundreds of feet away, but just their silhouettes and, while I have managed to see the plate number with other cameras, I could not get a clear view of the plate number of the parked car you see in the video. The colors seem to be more accurate than on the slightly over-saturated Reolink cameras and the focus is on point when I moved the camera around (it’s fast!). I also noticed that near the left and right side of the video, the image does curve enough to be noticeable, but it doesn’t seem to take away anything in terms of clarity.

Furthermore, viewing angle is approximately 106 degrees horizontally and about 57 vertically. But we can see far more than that moving the camera around. Now let’s talk a bit about how fast the motors are. Since the ANNKE FCD600 relies on a cabled connection, it’s somewhat free from WiFi-related issues and every time I gave a command from either the app or the web-based interface, the camera would immediately start to move.

I say somewhat because you’re still at the mercy of the WiFi network to which your phone or your computer is connected. As you can see from the video, the motors are powerful enough to quickly move the camera and the footage fairly quickly becomes clear after the change in position. Moving on to the night vision footage, you will notice that I have not included a black and white video and that’s because the ANNKE NCPT500 seems to only record colored night-time videos.

Additionally, the warm light is always turned on or at least I did not find a way to turn it off from either app or the web interface. In any case, I saw that some of the light sources are slightly overblown which may have been alleviated by a more powerful light source, so I suggest you position the camera in an area where there is little or no external light since that’s where you will get the best image quality. It’s worth mentioning that the shadows weren’t too dark, so people can’t hide there and pretty much all was visible as during the day, although a bit less detailed.

The Smart Motion Detection

The ANNKE NCPT500 does have smart motion detection and it’s a capable system, but I do have the same complaints that I had when I tested the ANNKE FCD600. And it’s not about the functionality or the performance, it’s about the configuration. ANNKE insists on burying these features deep into the app and they’re not even enabled by default. If you read the previous sections, you know that most of them can be found under the Event (or Basic Event) but you do need to go several layers deep to access these features. That being said, the motion detection works really well and I mean it.

It is surprisingly accurate and it can detect movement from very far away. In my tests, during the day, the camera ‘saw’ a person from about a quarter of a mile away, which is impressive. I could also see the way the algorithms work and I added a video so you can see as well. When I moved the camera, almost everything will trigger the alarm, as expected and it seems to persist for a good few minutes before the ANNKE NCPT500 decided that a certain area is no longer worthy of interest.

I was unable to find a way to switch between human, vehicle or pet detection, but the general detection system seems to work really well. What about the notifications? Reolink decided to pass the notifications through their servers which has added a very much noticeable delay. Depending on the type of control (remotely or LAN), you can get an instant notification or with a very slight delay (better than on Reolink camera), depending on your WiFi connection.

The Conclusion

The ANNKE NCPT500 was designed to be suitable for very dark environments, where the soft light LEDs will ensure that everything is visible. Furthermore, the NCPT500 is also the only camera from the series to support pan and tilt movements, both working smoothly and fast. All that at a surprisingly budget-friendly cost. The main weakness remains the software which is still complicated for casual users, but I did enjoy the huge amount of options that are available. That being said, if you need a pan/tilt night vision camera, the ANNKE NCPT500 will not disappoint.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

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This is actually one of the highlighted features of the IMILAB C22 and it’s important because the support for WiFi 6 on most client devices, let alone WiFi cameras, has not really been see as a priority. But, considering that we’re already moving past the WiFi 6E and on the newer WiFi 7 standard, it’s good to see that smart home devices will be able to make use of some of the more advanced features.

To be more specific, if the IMILAB C22 supports OFDMA, it could make a difference in a very crowded WiFi environment. Besides this exotic feature and the increased resolution, the camera prides itself with low-light color night vision and 360 degree auto cruise.

Additionally, the manufacturer has included some algorithms for human detection and motion tracking, as well as an interesting smart sound detection system which I haven’t yet seen on other cameras. Obviously, the question is whether the processing is done locally, so let’s put the IMILAB EC22 to the test and find out.

Design and Build Quality

Design-wise, the IMILAB C22 is almost identical to the C21, both featuring a full-plastic body divided into a cylindrical base and a spherical top. It’s the same type of look that most indoor cameras go for since I suppose it’s the most ergonomic approach. The IMILAB C22 measures 4.2 x 3.0 x 3.0 inches (or 10.8 x 7.6 x 7.6cm) and pretty much the entire plastic case is covered by a white matte finish.

Usually, the manufacturers prefer to make the inner sphere (which is operated by a tilt motor) glossy black, but IMILAB preferred to add a small black circle around the lens, as well as a ceramic ring which I guess increases the aesthetic value of the camera. The base is thick enough for the device to remain stable when the motors are moving and there are four silicone feet to keep it in place when the cable is connected to the microUSB port. This is the second newly released indoor camera that comes with a microUSB port after the ANNKE Crater Pro and I have no idea what is going on here.

Have we gone back in time? I did check whether it’s cheaper to go with microUSB and yes, USB-C is more expensive due to the increased difficulty to add it to the board. But at the same time, USB-C is the new universal standard and even if the device ends up costing a few dollars more, it should still be implemented. Just like on the Crater Pro, I also noticed a slight wobble between the base and the spherical top, but that’s to be expected considering the price tag of the camera.

Moving forward, I checked around the case for any cut-outs and I found a pattern on the rear side of the upper piece which allows the speaker to vibrate through. And, as expected, we also get a microphone underneath the lens, allowing the user to have proper conversations with anyone that sits in front of the camera. I also saw some holes at the bottom of the device that are partially hidden by the bracket and it goes to show that the IMILAB EC22 is indeed an indoor-only camera.

Its operating temperature ranges between 14 and 104 degrees F (-10 and 40 degrees C), so it could be positioned in a patio, but I would be careful to not let water reach the enclosure of the C22. As on other indoor cameras, you need to point the lens upwards in order to gain access to the microSD card slot and the recessed Reset button. IMILAB says that the ceiling for the microSD card is 64GB, but apparently it will work with cards up to 256GB – it’s just the official statement due to extra costs (?).

IMILAB C22 Teardown

I assumed that there would be four screws underneath the silicone feet, but it appears that in order to open up the IMILAB C22 all I needed was a prying tool. I used it to detach the base section and my assumption was correct that it was mostly hollow. There’s only the pan motor and some minor circuits for the microUSB port. I wanted to also see what’s inside the spherical section, so I detached the top part and then I carefully took out the cables.

But a strange thing happened. While removing one of the cable connectors, the entire piece detached from the PCB. Sigh, let’s take the soldering gun and fix it or reinforce it, whatever you want to call it. Since I got to this point, let’s see if I can identify some of the main components.

I could identify the Star SSC377 (AC30519A 2310F) single-core Cortex A7 with 64MB of DDR2 which is the same as on the IMILAB C21 and I could also see the cFeon 0X128A IC. The bad news is that my soldering skills are terrible, so I ended up having to use a secondary unit to continue the review.

The Installation

You could immediately connect the IMILAB C22 to a power source, but bear in mind that the ‘Waiting for connection’ line will be played continuously, so it’s better to first install the app. I assumed that it’s the IMILAB Home app, but after trying to scan the QR code, I noticed that it required the Xiaomi Home app (this was a prompt from the IMILAB app). I already had an account from when I tested the Dreame robot vacuum cleaner, but I still got asked to accept the Terms & Services, as well as the Privacy Policy.

The latter does reveal that there will be some data collection: location info, mobile phone identifiers, the rooms where the device is located, info about other smart devices in the network and more. This info can be shared with their third-party partners, so it’s pretty much the standard practice (not that I am a fan of it). After that, I was asked to accept Notifications, which makes sense with a security camera, and then the app wanted to track my activity across other apps, which I politely declined.

Afterwards, the app wanted access to Bluetooth (which I allowed), to the Location (which I declined) and to the Home data (again, denied). It will ask again several times, but I declined every time until I got to the User Experience Program to which I said no. After that, I could finally tap on the plus sign and power up the IMILAB C22. I decided to rely on the QR code and, since I declined everything, I had to enter the WiFi credentials manually – not that big of a deal. The manufacturer says that the IMILAB C22 supports WiFi 6 and it is true that the camera does support 802.11ax, but it does connect to 2.4GHz, while the 5GHz networks are not supported.

I have tested quite a few WiFi 6 routers and, as long as the client device supports it, there is an obvious improvement in throughput. Lastly, I had to choose the room, the name and whether I wanted cards on the homepage, and all was set.

The Mobile Application

The app’s user interface is simple and intuitive. About a quarter of the screen is occupied by the live stream, but you do have the option to push it to full-screen. There are four icons immediately underneath the live view screen (or on the right side, if the view is in fullscreen), the first allowing you to talk to any person in front of the camera – as I mentioned before, there is a speaker for two-way communication. Next, there’s the capture photo and record video button, followed by the Pan/Tilt control.

Tapping on this last icon will summon the PT control on the bottom half of the page, but you can always just swipe on the screen to move the lens section around. The maximum angle is actually 360 degrees when panning the device (I checked it and it’s true) and as for the tilt movement, the angle is approximately 100 degrees.

If you tap on the screen, we can see a new set of icons appearing for a short period, the most important being the Image Quality which can push the resolution to 3K (2,880 x 1,620 pixels). The lower half of the screen offers three main tabs, the first will take you to the Surveillance area which allows you to enable notifications and you can also check for events detected on specific days. The second section is the Playback where you will be asked on whether the videos should be stored on the Cloud (subscription, of course) or on an SD card.

The maximum that the IMILAB C22 officially supports is 64GB, but it seems that the actual support goes up to 256GB (some certification thing). The last tab will let you access the Storage management, where you can see the stored video files (Cloud, SD card and local). There is also a Settings section and under the Camera settings, you can create a schedule for when the IMILAB C22 will be enabled, turn on WDR, as well as enable the Full color night vision (with low light). Additionally, I saw that here you can enable the Human tracking which will ensure that when the camera detects a person, it will attempt to follow them around.

Next, there’s the Home Surveillance settings where, besides setting up the notifications behavior, it will also let you set the sensitivity. The curious thing is that it includes sound detection, so it’s not limited only to movement. Afterwards, you can set up a specific area which will trigger the notifications and it’s also possible to create automation scenes to ensure that the IMILAB C22 will play nicely with other smart devices.

The Image Quality

The IMILAB C22 uses a 5-megapixel lens with an aperture of F/2.0 and, as I mentioned before, the resolution goes up to 3,326 x 1,620 pixels. Pretty much all other indoor-suitable cameras have been tested in the kitchen, so, for the consistency sake, I decided to record a video of the same room using the IMILAB C22. I have tested other inexpensive cameras, such as the ANNKE Crater Pro and the SwitchBot 2K, and, while the footage was relatively clear, there was still a very much noticeable amount of noise; the colors were also slightly undersaturated.

The extra bump in the resolution of the IMILAB C22 does help a bit considering that the image is clearer and more detailed. But there is also a noticeable amount of grain, especially with farther-away objects. Then again, some will argue that it’s not really necessary for indoor security cameras to be crystal clear when the point is detection and the rooms are usually small enough to clearly see what’s going on from any angle. This does not mean that I won’t appreciate a clear footage, it’s just that it’s not yet doable at this price point. Returning to the footage, we can see that there are no distortions at the edges and, while there is a slight amount of undersaturation here as well, it’s less severe than on the other two cameras I mentioned before.

What about the night vision? Well, in black and white, it’s fine. I could see all the details in the room even if there was pretty much no light, so the IR LEDs do a very good job. But I was curious about the low-light colored night vision, so I turned on the lights in a near room, but the IMILAB C22 didn’t really care and remained in black and white mode. I turned on additional lights and you can see in the video how the room gets brighter, but the colored night vision did not seem to want to work.

Bear in mind that the setting was enabled, so I assume it needs even more light which at that point, is more light afternoon vision. Lastly, let’s talk about the signal strength and if the WiFi 6 truly matters. The camera was not near the router, but the image quality did not suffer even if it was set to maximum quality. At the same time, I didn’t have any issues with other cameras that were using the 2.4GHz radio plus the bitrate on the IMILAB C22 is not that high, so I suppose it would have worked fine even without the support for WiFi 6, right? It depends.

If you have a solid WiFi network in your home with a normal amount of interference then WiFi 6 will not bring any benefit. But, in really crowded areas where there are lots of APs and lots of client devices all overlapping over each other then yes, a WiFi 6 camera will be a better choice as long as the wireless AP or router supports this standard as well.

Motion Tracking and Motion Detection

The IMILAB C22 does offer what it calls Human tracking which can be enabled from underneath the Camera settings, but you don’t really get much control over its functions. I could set up the sensitivity and the area or interest which I suppose, it could be enough for most people. But how well does it work?

I captured a quick video to get a general idea and, as you can see, it does have a very particular behavior. The camera quickly detects that something is moving in front of it, but it is moving left and right continuously until it locks on the subjects. Even after that, it easily loses focus on the person and tries to find it again. Also, I am fairly sure it does not check for the face, since it pretty much ignored the head and tried to follow the body without raising the lens high enough. I admit that I have seen better implementations (especially on the SwitchBot 2K), so IMILAB needs to polish their algorithms a bit more. Now let’s talk about the notifications.

I walked in front of the camera and the phone reacted after about two seconds, so while fast, I suspected that the processing is not done locally, but on the manufacturer’s server. Pretty much in a similar manner to the Reolink cameras. It will be dependent on the WiFi quality, of course, but my router was about 20 feet away on a different floor and like I said, the notifications were fast. Then again, when I disconnected from my local WiFi, the notifications arrived about 4-5 seconds later, so yeah, there will be a noticeable delay.

The Conclusion

The IMILAB C22 is proof that the budget-friendly indoor cameras are getting better. We get higher resolution and it seems that the human detection algorithms are now becoming a standard. The night vision is excellent and we do have support for WiFi 6. I know that it’s not necessary in a lot of scenarios, but it is there for particular situations (areas with lots of WiFi APs and clients). The local storage is more than enough, but you can always go with the Cloud storage and the notifications are quick as long as you’re in the range of the router. So, overall, the IMILAB C22 is definitely worth checking out and most likely one of the best options in its price range.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

Indeed, the resolution and the refresh rate were higher, but is that enough to warrant a better experience? Obviously, one of the most important aspects is the sensor accuracy and, from the provided specs, it doesn’t seem to differ that much from the FLIR C5. At the same time, I won’t deny that the 25Hz will ensure a better viewing experience than the ~9Hz of the FLIR thermal camera, same as the extra pixels that will help paint a more accurate image.

What I always liked about the FLIR cameras and I have not seen on the more inexpensive modules that I tested was the overlay mode that they called MSX® technology. The good news is that the HIKMICRO Pocket2 does have a similar technology which manages to blend the images just as well.

Furthermore, the HIKMICRO Pocket2 can connect to the Viewer app in case you want to transfer data directly to your phone, but you always have the option to transfer data directly via the USB-C port. Considering the price tag of the device, the HIKMICRO Pocket2 does seem to punch above its weight, so let’s put it to the test and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

The Pocket series was developed as an alternative to the gun-style thermal cameras which often require a case to be carried around. As the name suggests, the HIKMICRO Pocket2 can indeed be carried in a pocket considering that it measures 5.45 x 3.35 x 0.93 inches (138.5 x 85.2 x 23.6cm), same as the first Pocket camera. It’s a bit wider than my phone, but slightly shorter and even so, it easily slipped into the pocket of my jeans.

The case is entirely made of plastic, but it does have a soft finish all around and I have noticed that the manufacturer has included a silicone pad on the rear panel where your hand will meet the device. The HIKMICRO Pocket2 has its own display, so it doesn’t require the connection to a smartphone and you may wonder why the screen is not centered? It does tie in with the silicone section because HIKMICRO decided to leave some space for your hand to rest and they also ensured easy access to the menu (the display is touch-screen). This is great news for right-handed people and not so much for those that are left-handed. The frame of the thermal camera is fairly thin and that’s the place where you’ll find the buttons and the USB-C port.

At the bottom, the HIKMICRO Pocket2 has a mounting hole for tripods or, if you prefer, you can add a handle to transform the pocket-type thermal camera into a gun-style device. The near corner has a strap support that allows you to add a lanyard. On the left side of the HIKMICRO Pocket2, there’s a USB-C port for charging (this thermal camera is one of the few to provide a USB-A to USB-C cable along a brick) and next to it, I noticed a small LED indicator.

Green means fully charged, while solid red means that the device is charging, in case of an anomaly, the LED will flash red. Yes, there are no indicators for the actual battery percentage, but you can see it on the display. What I found interesting was that above and below the USB-C port, there are some openings for the speaker and the microphone. Why would a thermal camera need them? HIKMICRO says that it’s for audio alerts when there is very high temperature detected by the sensor (if visual is not enough) and the microphone adds sound to the recorded footage.

So, they’re not really mandatory features, but still nice to have. At the top, there is a Power button which needs to be pressed and held to turn on and off the device. And next to it there is a larger Capture button (with a pattern for easier recognition) which will take photos on a single, quick press and, if you want to start recording, just press and hold it. There is a third function, the return to live view interface if you press it in menu mode.

Lastly, you’re going to see the lenses on the rear side and yes, there are two in the slightly elevated portion, one being the thermal lens, the other the optical lens – these two are needed for that cool fusing effect. There is a third element near the lens area which is the flash light.

How rugged is the HIKMICRO Pocket2

I did mention a slightly elevated lens area which is common on smartphones but which can prove to be a weak point in case the device is dropped. The good news is that the HIKMICRO Pocket2 added a raised lip surrounding the lens, so even in case of mechanical shocks, there should be no damage. Furthermore, the entire body of the thermal camera seems to be solid enough to handle a few tumbles to the ground. What about the display, you will ask. It is embedded slightly within the plastic case, so there’s again a protective area surrounding it. Lastly, let’s address the speaker, microphone and USB-C holes.

Will they allow dust and water to enter the enclosure? The HIKMICRO Pocket2 is IP54-rated which means that there is protection against dust ingress (not a perfect sealing) and that the device will not be harmed by water splashes from any direction. So, you’re not going to be able to submerge the thermal camera under water, but it should survive light rain and a dustier environment.

The Display

The HIKMICRO Pocket2 has a 3.5″ LCD display built into the case, so you don’t have to connect the device to a smartphone, the thermal camera is pretty much self sufficient. Some may argue that a third-party display (meaning smartphone) could be better due to the superior color representation and, in case of fusing, you do get a better camera. Additionally, there is no need to worry about the battery since a module such as the Xinfrared T2S+ or the Topdon TC001 will rely on the smartphone’s battery to remain functional.

That being said, as long as the developers do a good job at balancing the battery life and the image quality of the display in a self-sufficient thermal camera, then all the advantages of a module are pretty much irrelevant. The display of the HIKMICRO Pocket2 is big enough to offer a clear view of what’s being filmed and the resolution is 640×480 pixels which may not be that much on paper, but I had not trouble identifying every detail in the picture.

When used without the thermal camera, the normal optical lens doesn’t produce great images, but it doesn’t need to because its role is solely for the blending and fusing modes which work really well as we will see in a minute. By default, the display will show the center, max and min temperature values and you will also notice a small MENU icon on the bottom right to change the color palette, the Measurement, the Image Mode, as well as to play with the Level & Span.

On the right side of the thermal image, there should be three icons which won’t stay long if you’re not touching the screen, but will quickly appear if you slide your finger over the surface of the screen. The first is the Home button followed by the Albums (you can see captured videos and photos) and lastly, there’s the Local Settings.

The Local Settings

First, there’s the Measurement Settings, where you can manually set the Temperature Range, the Emissivity, the Humidity, the Distance and more. Then, there’s the Connections for setting up the WiFi connection, Bluetooth and enable the USB cast screen, in case you want to see the footage on a bigger screen. Another interesting section is the Capture Settings, where I saw that the default image resolution was set to 2MP, but it could be pushed to 8MP – there’s also the possibility to enable Macro mode.

Lastly, I saw that there were some Device Settings available which allow the user to set up the Screen Brightness (I would have liked it to be automatic), change the unit (C, F and K available for temperature), as well as enable/disable the Auto-Rotation – the data will rotate in portrait mode, but not upside down.

The HIKMICRO Pocket2 in action: Quality, clarity and accuracy

I have tested a few thermal cameras over the last year and the specs of the HIKMICRO Pocket2 are very similar to those of the Xinfrared T2S+, Topdon TC001 and the smartphone AGM Glory Pro (that has a thermal camera built-in). The IR resolution is 256×192 pixels and the refresh rate is 25Hz, leaving behind the similarly-priced FLIR cameras. The specs never tell the full story, so let’s see the HIKMICRO Pocket2 thermal camera in action.

I have made a quick comparison video between the Xinfrared T2S+, Topdon TC001 and the HIKMICRO Pocket2, and, while the Topdon TC001 performed very similarly to the Pocket2, the latter has a bit more detail. That’s without relying on the blending or fuse mode which takes things to a whole other level. Even in its default form, it did show more detail at about 50 feet and let’s not forget that we’re not dealing with a long-distance monocular (like the Teslong). When closer to the subject, it’s a bit more detail-rich, but not by a lot when compared to the other two module-type thermal cameras.

One thing that bothered me with the other thermal cameras was the stuttering caused by the auto-calibration. And that’s also a thing that happens on the HIKMICRO Pocket2. When I changed the scenery, the screen would freeze for a couple of seconds for the calibration to occur. It doesn’t happen as often as on the AGM Glory Pro, but it’s definitely more noticeable than on the Teslong monocular. Next, I wanted to move through the different available modes while checking out the inner circuitry of a laptop.

As you can see, the default thermal camera mode is nothing special, so I enabled what was called Macro in the Settings, but I am not entirely sure it did that much, at least to my naked eye. Things did change after enabling the Blending mode which pretty much shows the actual video with very faint temperature shades around. But you need to keep an eye on the temperature for this mode, while I think that the fusion mode is much better overall. That’s because you get the thermal image mode plus some outlines for the objects in front of the lens.

This way, you get a better idea about the temperature, the way it’s diffused around the object and so on. This is something I loved on the FLIR cameras and I definitely prefer to use with the HIKMICRO Pocket2 thermal camera as well. I know that the PiP mode is available, but I am not a fan of having a small window somewhere on the screen, when the fusion mode is available (I mean, come on.). Since it’s summer here, everything is hot and heated, so to get an idea about its cold temperature accuracy, I decided to capture a photo of my freezer (with some vegetables in it).

I kept my hand in front of the lens and checked the temperature shown by the HIKMICRO Pocket2. The freezer is set to -2.2 degrees F (-19 C) and the camera showed an average of -7.2 F (-22 C). The projected accuracy is +/-3.6°F, so there is a certain deviation, but then again, the freezer itself won’t deliver a uniform temperature inside the containers.

The Mobile Application

HIKMICRO has made available a mobile application that you can pair with the thermal camera and, while overall, it’s a nice addition, there are a few quirks. Before anything else, it’s necessary to enable WLAN on the thermal camera (from the menu) and connect to a wireless network – 2.4GHz or 5GHz. Then, after installing the Vision app, tap on + and you will be asked to give it permission to detect devices in the network. After saying yes, it will see the HIKMICRO Pocket2 and then you will be asked to access the conditions, as well as the privacy policy.

The data collection is pretty standard (just like with most apps, it’s intrusive) and what caught my eye was the location data and some hardware identification data. Additionally, the collected data can be shared with third parties which is again, unfortunately a standard that needs to go away. After that, I was greeted by the homepage and I saw that I could upgrade the firmware. It did take a while to finish and after that, I did check what changes have been made to the HIKMICRO Pocket2 interface.

I saw a wider color palette and that the Blending mode now had percentages, giving more control on how you see the footage. I also saw that the footage from the optical lens and the one from the thermal lens was a bit more in sync. Overall, a welcomed upgrade, but I also immediately experienced a bug. At some point, the color palette went gray and stayed like that until I restarted the phone – didn’t happen again, for now. Let’s talk about the options.

First, there’s the Live View and it’s exactly what it says, a live view of the screen, but it offers very limited control. For example, I mirrored the screen while the menu was opened and I could not close it from the app – it is possible to change the color palette and some other visual adjustments. Next, there’s the On-Device Files where gain access to the gallery and lastly, there are some settings available. I suppose I should also mention that, while you can’t add a microSD card, the inner storage is 16GB – it’s not that big, but you do get the option to move the files to the PC quite easily.

The Battery Life

The manufacturer says that the HIKMICRO Pocket2 will remain operational for about 4 hours on a single charge and it’s pretty much in line with what I saw while testing the camera. This means that you should get plenty of time to inspect a house in its entirety.

The Conclusion

I think that the pocket-sized series has been a success and the HIKMICRO Pocket2 can be considered a very strong competitor to the FLIR line, especially considering the price tag of the device. We get a built-in display, a rugged case that is protected against water and dust ingress, and the image quality is enhanced by the various available modes. The most important one is the Fusion mode which very closely resembles the FLIR MSX tech, followed by the Blending mode which got better due to the latest firmware upgrade. The 25Hz do make a difference and the battery life is also fairly long, so, if you’re in the market for a self-sufficient pocket-friendly thermal camera, then the HIKMICRO Pocket2 is a very good choice.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

Seeing that the TESLONG TTS260 sports the same resolution, I am fairly certain that it can go past 200yd, especially since we’re dealing with a dedicated professional device. And it’s also fairly compact when compared to other thermal monoculars that target the same audience. I couldn’t help wondering how was Teslong able to keep the price tag lower than most of its main competitors and the answer is that it’s a very no-frills device which left out some features.

I am mainly talking about the missing option to record a video, but it won’t really be a deal breaker for the people that will use the TESLONG TTS260 to detect and track wild animals. I also saw that the actual temperature is not displayed when checking the viewfinder and again, the TESLONG TTS260 is not really aimed at the construction or industrial field, it’s clearly built for outdoor exploration. That being said, let’s put the TESLONG TTS260 monocular camera to the test and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

The TESLONG TTS260 is a stand-alone monocular, so it’s not just a module that requires the connection to a smartphone, it has its own built-in display. Kind of, but you’ll see in a minute what I mean by that. The device is fairly compact and it does seem built to withstand outdoor conditions. Indeed, the TESLONG TTS260 measures 6.9 x 2.7 x 2.4 inches (17.6 x 6.9 x 6.0cm) and the case is made of plastic with a soft leather-like pattern at the bottom, while at the top, surrounding the buttons, the manufacturer decided to use a rubbery texture.

The color palette is black and green, so it’s pretty much close to the camouflage style which I guess fits the thermal monocular really well considering that it was built for outdoor use. But how well does it handle rain and dust? The TESLONG TTS260 is IP67-rated which means that it is completely dust-proof and it should also handle rain and sweat. Even if you drop it in a puddle of water, it shouldn’t damage the device if it’s removed quickly. I have looked around the case and I noticed that there are a couple of protective covers made of silicone.

The one on the left side has the role of sealing the ports area from the elements and, after being removed, it will expose the USB-C charging port, an LED, the microSD slot (with a 16GB card already installed) and a mini HDMI port. Bear in mind that the USB-C port supports 5V and this is important because it refused to charge when I connected it using a higher-rated cable (attached to a 100W charging brick). The LED will light up red when the device is charging and will become green as soon as the battery reaches 100%.

The mini HDMI port is a curious addition but I suppose it makes sense considering that the built-in display can only be seen through the viewfinder and an alternative means of checking the footage is always welcomed. The other silicone cover is on the front to protect the lens and next to it, there’s a laser. I guess I should also mention that the surface that gets in contact with your face to see the viewfinder is made of soft silicone.

At the top, there are four large buttons and the only one that has an actual tactile feedback is the larger Power button that you need to press and hold to turn on or off the device. To see if the device is powered on, check the TESLONG logo – the LED underneath it should shine through. The other three buttons can be used to capture a photo, for zooming in and for changing the color palette. And, as I mentioned before, the travel distance for these buttons is pretty much non-existent.

Since there is no automatic focus (the laser could have been used for this purpose), you need to use the knob to manually adjust it. The last two areas of interest are the mounting hole at the bottom to attach the TESLONG TTS260 to a tripod and the lanyard which allows you to carry the thermal monocular with ease.

The TESLONG TTS260 in action: Quality, clarity and accuracy

The TESLONG TTS260 relies on an infrared detector with the resolution of 256×192 pixels and which has a refresh rate of 50Hz, well above what some entry-level thermal cameras in the US are limited to (7-8Hz). And, in order to check the footage that the monocular can produce, you need to check the built-in LCOS display which has a resolution of 720×540 pixels. I did have a mini HDMI cable around, so I connected the TESLONG TTS260 to a Dell U2515H (1440p resolution) and you can see for yourself a short video of how the thermal monocular ‘sees’ its surroundings.

This is a very short-range video, but it’s enough to see at least a couple of important things. First, I did notice a very slight stutter when the camera had to recalibrate itself and it’s very normal behavior that I have seen on all other thermal cameras that I tested so far. The good news is that it happened only once in the five minutes I moved the TESLONG TTS260 around in the office – way better than the aforementioned cameras. The second important aspect is the lack of degree values. I did mention it in the intro as a shortcoming, although people that track animals won’t really mind it.

But, I do need to mention that in case there are two or more objects that are hotter than their environment, you wouldn’t know which one has a higher temperature. This could be fixed by simply adding the exact temperature – just like other thermal cameras, a simple highest, target and lowest temperature should do the trick. Since the whole point behind the TESLONG TTS260 is its long-range abilities, I decided to capture a few photos to see just how far the thermal monocular can show a person.

The first spot was at about 110 yards (100 meters) and I could see cars very clearly at that point, but it was a very sunny day and I could not tell apart people from the rest of the environment, even if I changed the color palette.

So, I decided to wait it out until it was dark and the effects of the insane heatwave would wear off a bit – this does show that the TESLONG TTS260 will work great in forests, but it may struggle in urban areas during the summer. At about 9 PM, I could clearly see people moving as far as 110 yards using the default color palette and then I moved to the 220 yards point (or approximately 200 meters).

Even the orange/red color palette allowed me to see that people were moving in the distance, but I found the other colors to be better at allowing me to distinguish between the environment and the moving people. The good news is that they weren’t just spots and I could tell a faint shape, so it is very much possible to see even farther, although it will become less clear. That being said, overall, the TESLONG TTS260 can ‘see’ very far and it will work really well in the wilderness and in low-light conditions.

Note: It is advisable to not point the thermal monocular at the sun nor should you point a laser at the lens since it can cause irremediable damage to it.

What about the laser?

There is a front-facing laser and to enable it you need to press the Power button while the TESLONG TTS260 is turned on. It seems to be fairly potent and it does reach farther than expected since it was visible at the 220 yards point where I previously tested the performance of the monocular camera. I am not entirely sure about its applications since you can’t see the laser from the viewfinder, but I suppose it’s an extra feature to have at hand in case you need it.

The Battery Life

From what I could gather using the available info online, it seems that the TESLONG TTS260 is equipped with a 4,800mAh battery and, considering that there is no support for quick charging technologies, it’s going to take a while until it goes from 0 to 100%.

I started charging the thermal monocular when the battery was 5% and it took about 4 hours for it to reach 100%. The manufacturer says that the battery should last for about 10 hours on a single charge and during my tests, it was way longer than that. I got very close to 20 hours, so it’s pretty much double the advertised amount.

The Conclusion

The idea behind the TESLONG TTS260 is to have a compact thermal monocular that will allow the user to accurately detect animals and people from very far. And I think it managed to achieve this goal easily. My tests has shown that it’s possible to see people from at least 220 yards away and the rugged build of the device ensures that it will survive pretty much any type of outdoor conditions. Sure, there are some shortcomings, such as the missing option to record videos or the lack of temperature values, but as I mentioned several times in this article, if it’s used for tracking and detection, then the TESLONG TTS260 is pretty much the best option in its price bracket.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

And yes, the ANNKE Crater Pro does use a better lens with a higher resolution (1440p), there is now support for not only 2.4GHz, but also for 5GHz (needed at a higher bitrate) and the developers also included motion tracking. Obviously, most of the features of its predecessor are still here, so human detection algorithms are included, as well as the option to add 128GB of local storage (via microSD cards).

The panning and tilting actions are present and ANNKE decided to make some slight changes to the design of the camera. It’s just a change in look, the motors work pretty much in the same manner.
What’s interesting is that ANNKE claims instant notifications which suggests that the detection and the alarms are processed locally, without the need to go over the manufacturer’s servers.

There is also support for Alexa (voice control) which may be seen as a welcomed bonus, although I am a bit wary about the privacy implications of using such a system. That being said, let’s put the ANNKE Crater Pro to the test and see if it’s worth adding as an extra security layer to your home.

Camera Design and Build Quality

ANNKE Crater Pro has a similar design to most other indoor cameras which means that there’s a base and a top that can be panned automatically using a dedicated motor. And the top side contains a sphere that tilts so the user can adjust the view both horizontally and vertically. The guiding canal allows for a tilting angle of up to 60 degrees, while the horizontal movement goes almost all the way around, reaching 350 degrees.

The case is covered by a white matte finish, while the inner sphere is glossy black and the rectangular base is a bit taller than on other cameras. But the ANNKE Crater Pro is still fairly compact, measuring 4.3 x 2.7 x 2.7 inches (11.0 x 7.0 x 7.0cm) and, while the base is slightly narrower than the spherical top, it still seems to be heavy enough to keep the camera stable. There are also four silicone feet to keep the ANNKE Crater Pro into position even when connecting the charging cable. And this takes us to the main gripe I have with the camera.

For very weird reasons, ANNKE decided to add a microUSB charging port and a compatible cable+charger into the package, and I understood that the transition to a newer USB standard period was long and painful for some manufacturers. But we’re done, USB-C is now the standard and frankly, we should never see another device with a microUSB port ever again.

Another minor complaint would be that there is a light wobble between the top and the base of the device. On the left side of the camera, ANNKE has added a punctured pattern to allow the speaker to push sounds through and, when paired with the microphone that sits on the black sphere, it allows the user to hold conversations with anyone near the camera. It can be a child, a pet or even a confused trespasser. So, can the ANNKE Crater Pro be positioned outdoors? I kept on mentioning that the camera is suitable for indoors conditions, but is there a chance to sneak it onto a porch and still be somewhat protected from the elements?

Well, it does not have built-in protection against dust or water ingress, but then again, the camera does remain operational when the temperature ranges between 14°F and 122°F (-10°C – 50°C). I have mentioned in the intro that the ANNKE Crater Pro does offer the option to insert a microSD card that goes up to 128GB, so I suppose we do get a fairly decent amount of local storage available. This slot can be found on the black sphere – you will have to manually point the lens up in order to access the microSD slot.

Next to it, there’s the Reset button (if you need to restore the factory default settings) and I suppose I should also mention the single IR LED. In my experience this can mean that the night vision may be a bit lacking, but let’s just see it in the testing section.

ANNKE Crater Pro Teardown

I did check the FCC ID website to see if the manufacturer has provided some internal photos, but it seems that none were provided. For this reason, I had to open up the ANNKE Crater Pro myself but I didn’t really get that far. I could detach the bottom panel quite easily by removing the four screws hidden underneath the silicone pads and then I could see the panning motor and the speaker.

I removed the motor, but there didn’t seem to be an easy way to move forward – I don’t mean it’s impossible, it’s just that I think they included some glue and things can get messy. So yeah, it’s possible to break it by trying to detach the top part. For this reason, I think that it isn’t really repair-friendly.

The Installation

The hardware installation is simple and straight-forward – connect the provided cable along with the brick (yes, there’s one in the package as well) to the camera to power it up. Then, wait a few seconds until the ANNKE Crater Pro starts making weird noises – it’s something like ‘steph’ in a sonar manner. Seriously, a simple flashing LED is enough, we don’t need these voice prompts. Now it’s time to install the MyANNKE app and create a new account (requires an email). Then, the Permissions starting popping up – it wants access to the Storage and the Media (which make sense), but nothing about location or privacy.

I did install the app on an Android device, so I also installed it on iOS to see if there was any difference. It asked for additional permission for seeing and accessing other devices in the network and I could check the Privacy section which shows that there is some data collection happening. This includes some log data and Cookies info which can then be used for ‘behavioral remarketing’. Moving forward, I had to populate the Device List, so I tapped on the Plus sign and I had to allow the app to use Bluetooth to detect and connect to the ANNKE Crater Pro.

Then it also asked to access the camera to scan the QR code from the camera label. After that, I could choose between three methods of pairing, one using the sound, the other using a QR code and the last via Ethernet cable. The last one is obviously not supported since there is no such port on the ANNKE Crater Pro, so, since it was the recommended one, I went with the sound method. And there it was, the needed permission to access the location which I politely declined.

The great news is that I was given the option to enter the WiFi credentials manually which is not something other manufacturers offer as an alternative and what happened next was very unexpected. Apparently, I had to keep the phone close to the microphone on the camera and then a sound would play which would contain the data for the pairing. This had to be the coolest way I have ever seen a devices pair to an app. The last steps are to set up a password for the access to the camera and to check for an available firmware update.

The Mobile Application

The top half of the screen is covered by the live footage captured by the ANNKE Crater Pro and you can adjust the image quality to the full 4-megapixel, to Standard, Smooth or Auto. It’s also possible to switch between Night and Day time view and enable the microphone. A bit lower, ANNKE has added four icons which allow you to capture a photo, record a video, enable the microphone for two-way conversation or trigger the alarm.

The bottom half of the window will show the videos and photos stored on the SD card or on the Cloud servers. I thought that NVRs weren’t an option, but scrolling through the Settings, I realized that the ANNKE Crater Pro actually has ONVIF support, although in experimental (beta) form at the moment.

This means that it should work with a system like Blue Iris, right? Yes and not quite yet. After enabling the ONVIF feature, Blue Iris was able to detect it and I could also enter the username and password. So, in a sense, the connection has been successful, but even so, I got the ‘no signal’ message, which means that most likely, the ANNKE Crater Pro works only with ANNKE NVRs.

Some other interesting settings that are worth mentioning are the option to change the frame rate of the footage (50 or 60Hz), to enable Amazon Alexa, Flip the screen, Share the device and more.
What about the Pan/Tilt movements? To remotely adjust the camera angle, it’s necessary to simply swipe on the live footage window. Depending on the WiFi connection, the action can be registered quickly, leaving a delay of about a second before the camera moves.

The Image Quality

The ANNKE Crater Pro relies on a 4-megapixel lens that has a 1/3″ progressive scan CMOS, a viewing angle of 70 degrees and the resolution can go up to 2,560 x 1,440p. To check how well the camera is able to reproduce a good image quality, I decided to put the camera in the kitchen, where the light intensity wasn’t very high. Since we’re dealing with an indoor camera, the less-than-ideal lightning conditions are to be expected, but the ANNKE Crater Pro behaved relatively well.

My monitor is 1440p, so I checked the video that’s uploaded on YouTube in full screen. I can tell that there is a very noticeable amount of noise, especially the farther I would go from the camera (the colors are also a bit undersaturated). The footage is obviously not crystal clear, but then again we are dealing with a surveillance camera, so the idea is to focus mainly on identification and motion detection. Returning to the footage, we can see that there is some slight distortion at the edges, but it’s barely visible unless you actively search for it. Now let’s talk about the night vision.

In the video that I attached, there was very little light reaching the lens, with the exception of the temperature LED from the AC, so the performance is more than decent. We can see lots of details and the focus happens quickly even when moving the camera around at a faster pace. Yes, there is some noise, but if you need this camera to check a certain room in your home, it should be able to ‘see’ every corner almost as clear as during the day. Let’s talk a bit about signal strength.

Considering that the ANNKE Crater Pro can connect to the 5GHz, it definitely is better than the 2.4GHz radio, right? Well, yes, but the camera is still limited to the 802.11n standard, so it does not make use of the 802.11ac. This means that despite the resolution bump, the bitrate is still not that high (the videos seem to be very compressed). The good news is that when the camera was positioned 30 feet away from the router, on a different floor and with two thick walls dividing them, I still got a very quick reaction from the ANNKE Crater Pro when swiping on the screen.

Motion Tracking and Motion Detection

ANNKE does not offer a dedicated section for the motion detection and tracking, and instead, to enable any of these features, it’s necessary to go to the myANNKE app > Settings > Notifications.

Here, it is possible to enable the Motion Detection and then there’s a suite of options to fine tune the entire process. You can set the sensitivity which should be high if the area of interest is far away (more than 20 feet) and to low if it’s near the lens. There is also the option to enable the Human Detection and/or the Screen Changes. The latter is obvious, so let’s talk a bit more about the former. It’s very reactive and does detect a person that enters the area.

Additionally, I noticed that even if I would cross my hand in front of the camera, it could still tell that it was a human – this happens with objects as well, with the exception of ampler movements, such as those from curtains. How quick was the notification? I didn’t see any delay, so the moment the camera detects any changes, it will almost immediately send a notification towards your phone. Obviously, it is mandatory to have a reliable WiFi connection for everything to work flawlessly, but it goes to show that the processing is done at the device level, lowering the latency significantly (to see what happens when you don’t do things in this manner, check the Reolink cameras and their 4-5 seconds delay).

The Motion tracking can also be enabled from under the Notifications and you don’t really get additional settings, just the switch-on button. How well does it work? It depends on how close the subject is to the camera and how fast the movement is. About 5 feet in front of the lens, the ANNKE Crater Pro will try and keep up with the movement, but you’re most likely be faster than the motors can react. You can see it in the video. But, if the person is about 10-15 feet in front of the camera, then the tracking is actually quite persistent and, as you can see from the attached video, the motors would react quickly and keep the lens on the moving subject.

The Conclusion

I am excited to see so many bigger brands trying their hands at delivering budget-friendly indoor cameras. And, while the first ANNKE Crater had the role of capturing our attention, the Crater Pro is definitely a better, more mature device. The resolution is higher, there is now motion tracking and, hopefully in the future, the ONVIF will become a full fledged feature, allowing the camera to work with third-party NVRs. I am not really a fan on the microUSB port, but other than that, the ANNKE Crater Pro is a fairly capable inexpensive indoor-suitable camera.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

I have been using a RLC-811A which is a phenomenal camera, but it did occasionally shine a bright light in the face of the people that were minding their business on the sidewalk. So having the option for a more discrete surveillance of my front porch is definitely welcomed.

The ColorX technology relies on a wider-aperture lens and some advanced algorithms to produce clear colored images even when there is very little light, but in case of pitch black, it is possible to rely on a very soft white light which seems to be a complete replacement to the IR lights. Indeed, the Reolink CX410 has no IR LEDs which means no more spider webs. Besides the ColorX technology, the Reolink CX410 also offers the full suite of smart motion detection and it can tell apart not only humans and vehicles, but also pets.

The detection continues to happen locally, so it’s is very fast, but the notification system is at the Cloud level (I’ve seen how quick it can be when it’s local on the IMILAB EC3 Lite). The two-way communication remains an integrated part of the CX410 and, as always, the built quality exceeds most other devices in the same price range. That being said, let’s put the Reolink CX410 to the test and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

The Reolink CX410 has a similar look to the other bullet-type cameras from the same brand, such as the Reolink RLC-510A, but there are a few subtle, but relevant differences. The most important is that the sun roof is missing, Reolink preferring to recess the lens a bit more, leaving about 0.6in all around which hopefully will help with the sun glare. The case is also sightly more compact, measuring 7.3 x 2.6 inches (18.7 x 6.7 cm), but don’t worry because the white matte finish will make it stand out and be visible enough to persuade potential trespassers to mind their own business.

I do like that Reolink relies on metal for most of their PoE camera and yes, the Reolink CX410 is entirely made of a metal alloy, even the stand and the fixing bracket. I know that it’s just a perception thing, but heavier electronic devices do ‘trick us’ into thinking they’re well made, so the Reolink CX410 does feel like it’s a premium device. But is it rugged enough to survive outdoor conditions? As with the other Reolink cameras that are meant to be mounted outdoors, there is a seal that prevents water and dust from entering the enclosure and the device is indeed IP66 rated.

This means that water sprays should not harm the device. Additionally, the Reolink CX410 will remain operational as long as the temperature ranges between 14 and 122 degrees F (or -10 and 50 C). It’s not really built for harsh winters, but then again we get fewer and fewer of those, unfortunately. I noticed that Reolink has a metallic cover with some holes for the speaker and there are a couple of screws holding it into place. It is very important TO NOT OPEN IT.

There are some wires that are glued to the speaker that’s attached to this cover and, once removed it will tear the wires and most likely damage the water resistance of the camera as well. A similar type of cover can be found on the rear side, but this you need to open (by removing the two screws) in order to access the microSD card slot.

And yes, the Reolink CX410 does support 256GB microSD cards which should be plenty if you decide to rely on this type of local storage (NVR is also an alternative). The front of the camera is black, which is common for this type of devices, but it’s not a glossy piece of plastic, it seems to be glass that’s covering the lens and the spotlights.

The stand can be adjusted manually (if you need a pan/tilt camera, check out the Reolink Argus PT 2K) and the cable is thick sprouting several smaller and thinner cables. There’s the 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet PoE connector, the cable with the Reset button and the Power adapter. The interesting thing is that Reolink has added covers for every connector, so I no longer have to protect them using plastic boxes screwed to the wall.

Reolink CX410 Teardown

As other Reolink cameras, it’s relatively easy to open up the device and in the case of the Reolink CX410, all you need to do is remove the four screws at the rear side and then carefully detach the two main parts.

Obviously, there are cables and connectors keeping the two together, so tread carefully. I could see that there are two PCBs and I didn’t go deeper to check the lens, but I did check out the components on the first and more easily accessible board. I could identify the Novatek NT98566 IP camera PCB board module and the 64MB of NAND flash storage from Winbond (W25N512GVEIG).

As for thermal management, things are a bit crammed, but there is also some space to allow the heat to dissipate – the metal is a very good conductor which is why the case is usually a bit warmer than on the plastic cameras.

Installation and App

I have used the Reolink app for a long time since I have other cameras installed around the office, but do know that like every other mobile app, there is some data collection (quite a lot actually – you can read it here). Also, know that while the motion detection is local, as long as you need any type of remote monitoring or control, the data will pass through their servers. This includes notifications as well.

That being said, it’s not complicated to add a new camera and to pair the Reolink CX410, it’s necessary to power it up and connect it to the router / NVR. You either do it directly using a PoE connection (may need to use a PoE switch) or use your own power cable because Reolink does not provide one in the package. The installation process involved scanning the QR code from the label glued to the camera, choosing the name and setting up a password for the default user name (it’s stuck at admin).

Then we get access to the dedicated app GUI where you can see the live footage covering the top half of the screen with some quick action buttons available above and beneath it. Using them, you can quickly trigger the alarm, manually enable or disable the spotlights (there are four LEDs), you can also change the image quality (since it’s connected via cable, I decided to push it to the max), capture a photo, record a video and more.

At the bottom, we see the Talk button that enables two way communication (besides the aforementioned speaker, there is a microphone as well), the Clip button which focuses on a specific part part of the image and zooms into it. And then there’s the Playback section which will show all the videos that were filmed based on the type of motion detection – you can set it to always film and then partition the videos based on whether there was a vehicle, a person or a pet crossing in front of the camera. And it’s the same system regardless of the type of local storage that you choose, microSD or NVR (HDD/SSD).

Reolink also offers some degree of control on how the camera functions, so, if you tap on the Cogwheel icon, then it will summon the Settings window. Here, you can adjust the Display, Audio and Light parameters, but what interested me the most was the Detection Alarm section. Just like other Reolink cameras, it offers the option to create Detection Zones, set the Sensitivity for each of the Person, Vehicle and Pet. And then there’s the Object Size where you can set how close or far away the Person, Vehicle or Pet needs to be to trigger the alarm.

Using an NVR

I have the Reolink RLN8-410 v2 which I use for some of my cameras and the pairing process follows the same rules. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to add the Reolink CX410 directly from the app or the web-based interface, no, it’s necessary to hook up a monitor and a mouse to the NVR and do it from there. All I had to do was connect an Ethernet cable, insert the password that I already set up on the app and that’s about it. Now it should appear both in the app (under the NVR) and on the web-based utility.

The built-in detection system remains untouched, so the Playback section is categorized, but the utility does offer a somewhat limited amount of options in this regard. It’s just the sensitivity and the motion detection area, but like I said before, you still get the full control using the app. Will the Reolink CX410 connect to BlueIris? It should since the camera does support ONVIF and, after testing it myself, it works wonderfully well.

The pairing process is even simpler than using the Reolink NVR since all I had to do was to make sure that the camera was in the local network (connected to the router) and that the username and the password were the correct ones. After that, Blue Iris detected it very quickly and it automatically took the info that it needed. A couple of seconds later, I could see the live footage directly from Blue Iris.

The Image Quality

The Reolink CX410 has a 4-megapixel lens with an F/1.0 aperture and a 1/1.8″ CMOS sensor. The maximum resolution that it can reach is 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and I have attached a video to get a better idea about what to expect during the day and during the night. The image quality during the day is good and we get lots of detail, especially at the highest resolution setting. The slightly oversaturated tones are visible here and it’s something that’s characteristic to the Reolink cameras – it doesn’t really take away from the image quality, quite the contrary.

I pointed the camera at some cars that were parked about 70 feet away and I had to blur the license plates since they were visible. At the same time, I could not identify the plates of any passing cars, so the vehicle needs to be stationary or moving very slowly. Also, looking at the edges of the video, I could see that there were barely any distortions. The image does seem a bit bright during the day and I think that’s because the sun is more intense here during the summer – I have used other Reolink cameras and this behavior only happens between June and August.

Moving forward, I was very curious to see the performance of the ColorX technology and it does not disappoint. Yes, the street is properly illuminated during the night, but just have a look at the details on the leaves. It’s almost as detailed as during the day. The light sources getting overblown seems to be common with cameras that do support some form of color night vision that doesn’t rely on spotlights or IR LEDs. I have seen it on the ANNKE NC400 and I can see it on the Reolink CX410. It’s not severe, but it does lose some details if there is too much light. There are two ways to mitigate this potential issue. One is by positioning the camera in an area where it’s darker, the other is to enable the LEDs.

As you can see from the video, immediately after the warm light is enabled, the street becomes less bright and more clear. I even had to blur the plate number on a car 70 feet away from the camera and that was during the night. As I already mentioned, there are no IR LEDs at all, so no black and white footage is available, but from what I could see, the shadows aren’t too dark, so it is possible to see anyone that may hide there (one of the advantages of the IR night vision). This also means that there will be no more spider webs since while we don’t see the light from the IR LEDs, the insects and some animals do.

The Smart Motion Detection

As I mentioned in the Installation and App section, you can adjust some of the parameters that revolve around the smart motion detection.

But even in its default form, it works quite well. And while it may not seem like much if you got accustomed to the way Reolink displays what it detects on the live view, it’s actually a feature that I missed on other cameras. In the video that I attached in the previous section, I decided to capture the screen of the phone, so you can see for yourself the way the Reolink CX410 detects moving vehicles, people and even pets – there is an icon for each appearing on the top right corner. These icons will not be visible in the stored videos, but they’ll still be put in the right category in the Playback section. Now let’s talk about the accuracy.

The vehicle detection is top notch and it never failed, as well as the human detection. Even if the person was on a bike, it would still be properly detected. The pet detection is a bit spotty at times and due to the smaller frame, I had a bit of trouble getting accurate readings at more than 50 feet away. If it was closer, the camera could detects cats and dogs a lot better. The notifications remain a bit slow and that’s because Reolink insists on pushing them from their server and not locally – hopefully this may be changed in the future.

The Conclusion

The Reolink CX410 is the first camera to showcase what the ColorX technology can accomplish and I think that the developers have pulled it off. The color night vision is detailed and works very well in darker areas. In case there are lots of light sources, then the LEDs can help mitigate the overexposure and it will also work really well if it’s pitch black. The smart motion detection remains one of the best in its industry (it’s also done locally) and the camera works well with both Reolink-owned and third-party NVRs. So, overall, the Reolink CX410 seems like a good security camera and worth checking out if you need something more discreet.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

New from IMILAB because it does follow the classic formula of wired cameras, so we’re dealing with a bullet-type camera with two small fins on the sides (antennas) and the only way you can connect to your router is by WiFi. Yes, there is no support for PoE which is a bit unfortunate and that also seems to be the case for the EC3 as well as the EC3 Pro.

One of the highlights of the EC3 series is the built-in AI detection algorithms for people which IMILAB claims are very fast, way faster than the Cloud-based detection. And I believe that local processing is superior to Cloud communication, but does the IMILAB EC3 Lite come with this technology? It seems that it indeed does and the resolution is also the same as on the Imilab EC3 Pro (2,304 x 1,296 pixels), so what exactly is the difference between these two models?

I am not really sure because besides the design difference perhaps what could set these two models aside could be the night vision range. The IMILAB EC3 Lite does have both IR LEDs and a floodlight in case of complete darkness, so maybe the sensor doesn’t reach as far as the Pro. In any case, both cameras are IP66-rated so despite being made of plastic, they should survive outdoor conditions and, since I have the EC3 Lite available for test, let’s see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

I am usually accustomed with heavy outdoor cameras that are made of various types of metallic alloy, so I admit it was a bit surprising just how lightweight the IMILAB EC3 Lite felt in my hands. The manufacturer mentioned a net weight of 334 grams (11.8oz), but I wasn’t convinced that this is the actual weight of the camera, so I checked it myself and it was only 200g (7oz). As you may have anticipated, the IMILAB EC3 Lite is pretty much entirely made of plastic with the exception of the neck that connects the stand to the main body.

And the device follows the usual ‘color’ palette, meaning that the case is covered by a white matte finish, while the front, where the lens resides is glossy black. I suppose I should mention that the IMILAB EC3 Lite measures 6.5 x 3.6 x 3.4 inches (16.5 x 9.3 x 8.6 cm), so, while fairly compact, it should be very much noticeable by any passerby. And that’s what we want because the mere presence of the camera needs to be a deterrent for any potential intruder.

There are two small antennas that can be adjusted to point upwards (I did an article on whether the position of the antennas actually matters) and I noticed that at the bottom, the IMILAB EC3 Lite had a screwed in cover for the microSD card and the Reset button.
Also at the bottom of the IMILAB EC3 Lite, there’s the speaker which, when paired with the microphone in the front, it will allow you to speak with any person that sits in front of the camera (or make weird noises to scare off people). This speaker required that the plastic case had some cuts, so will that have an impact on the water resistance?

I checked and the water or the dust should not be able to go past the speaker, so the IP66-rating should still stand. And yes, the camera is built to withstand outdoor conditions, including water sprays and it will remain operational when the temperature ranges between -22 to 140 (-30 and 60 degrees C). So, it covers most common winters and summers in the world. The microSD card slot supports cards up to 64GB and that’s a bit of a problem for two reasons.

One is the obvious limitation for the local microSD storage – most other brands support up to 512GB, although the most common is the support for 256GB. But the second problem requires extra attention. There is a single cable that gets out of the camera and it’s not PoE, just the regular power cable. You guessed it, you can’t add the IMILAB EC3 Lite to an NVR and the local storage is just 64GB, so for any serious long-term use of the camera, you may have to go with the Cloud storage subscription plans.

The stand is made of plastic and it allows for wide angle adjustments, but yes, everything needs to be done manually since the camera lacks any motors for automatic positioning.

IMILAB EC3 Lite Teardown

IMILAB made available the internal parts of the camera on the FCC ID website, so I didn’t have to bother opening it up myself. I will still mention that if you want to open it yourself, take out the front glossy part out, remove the screws and you should be able to reach the PCB.

Well, I still need to mention that the glossy black part is glued to the internal side of the camera and that I have not seen any silicone seal to prevent water ingress. I don’t mean to say that the glue won’t prevent it because it most likely will, for a time, but when the temperatures go past 104 F degrees, that glue may start being less effective, so despite that IP66 rating, I would avoid mounting the IMILAB EC3 Lite in the open, completely exposed to the elements.

There is also no water protection for the Power cable connector either. That being said, based on the photos that the manufacturer has posted, I could identify the single-core Cortex A7 processor (Star SSC323 AC21423B2233F-IMI2 ARM), 64MB of DDR2 RAM and the SSW1018 WiFi chip from Singmaster.

Installation and App

The IMILAB EC3 Lite relies on the same application as the battery-powered EC4, so if you want to check the live view and use any other features, you do need to install the IMILAB Home app. To gain access to the interface, the app will ask you to Agree with their Privacy Policy and there is some data collection going on. Let’s get a general idea about what’s collected: the mobile phone identifiers, device-related info (includes installation location, device ID), some info during the smart device connection (WiFi network info, including the password, the IP and signal strength, Bluetooth MAC address and more) and there’s also some video/image data collection.

The live view data is kept on the phone, but as expected, anything sent to the Cloud remains there. It includes videos, photos, notifications and other type of important info. After that, I had to create an account and the app required precise location which I politely declined to give – there was also the User Experience Program for more data collection, which I also declined.

Then I could finally add the camera and it seems that the initial pairing is done via Bluetooth? Anyway, I still had to manually select the camera from the list and scan the QR code from the label attached to the cord of the IMILAB EC3 Lite. The next step got stopped abruptly because I HAD to give it access to the network – I can enter the WiFi credentials on my own, but no, such an action was not allowed. So I gave it access to the network and had to enter the WiFi data manually anyway, excellent programming.

Afterwards, I connected the camera and please don’t power it up beforehand because the voice prompt saying ‘Waiting fro connection’ will compulsively repeat that phrase every few seconds. Spare yourself the headache – why not just add a flashing led? Anyway, I finally got through and before gaining access to the app GUI, I was presented with a pitch about the Cloud storage privileges and I noticed the ‘Smart Detection’ being one of them.

So does the IMILAB EC3 Lite only support the smart detection at the Cloud level? Something didn’t sound right, so I had to check it out. Well, the app definitely has the human/object movement detection ready and available, so it’s not a privilege given only to the Cloud storage users. The app GUI will show the usual live view covering the top half of the window and you do get the option to switch between 480p and the 2K image quality. A bit below you can start the alarm (both visual and audio alarm), capture and photo, start recording or go to the Cloud.

Further down, we can see the push to talk button. Some Settings are also available and, under the Camera settings, we can set a Sleep schedule, enable WDR and set the type of Night vision that you prefer. It can be only black and white, only colored (using the white light) or both which implies that the spotlight will turn on depending on whether the camera detects people. The other important section is the Home monitoring where you do need to enable the Events to be able to see the smart motion detection in action – we’ll talk about it in a separate section.

The Image Quality

The IMILAB EC3 Lite uses a 3-megapixel camera lens with an F/2.0 aperture and the max resolution can go up to 2,304 x 1,296 pixels (which I suppose is more justifiably called 2K than the 1440p). And the image quality during the day is really good, with no distortions at the corners. I have added a video and as you can see, I could read the license plates from parked cars even if they were at about 70 feet (I blurred it, but it’s very much visible otherwise).

There is a very good amount of detail and everything should remain clear as long as you don’t need to zoom into the footage. I did stretch it to 1440p and yes, a lot of the detail is gone, but for the intended purpose, it’s more than fine (there are 4K cameras that can zoom very far, but, as expected, the price tag is several times more than that of the IMILAB EC3 Lite). I am fairly sure that the colors are lightly over saturated, although a bit lower than on the Reolink cameras.

So, during the day it performed well, but what about during the night? Before talking about the image quality, know that IMILAB has implemented some algorithms that will enable the IR LEDs for the black and white footage only if a certain brightness level is met. Otherwise, it will film in color (without spotlight). And I did not find a way to force it to behave in a certain manner.

With that in mind, as you can see from the video, the light poles are bright enough to cause the street to look almost as bright as day. And it seems that the light sources are noticeably overblown. Things do get better as soon as the spotlights are enabled, but I couldn’t get it to trigger unless the camera was pointing at a darker area. The same is true for the IR night vision mode – I had to point it at a tree and away from the light poles.

The Smart Motion Detection

I have seen two main types of smart motion detection successfully implemented within security cameras. One is the hands-off approach of Reolink which will show an icon on the live view when it detects movement, whether from an object, car, human or pet. The other is the ANNKE (or Hikvision) approach which requires some serious in-depth configuration to work well.

The IMILAB EC3 Lite offers a system similar to that of Reolink, but it’s a bit more subtle in its implementation. There are two main types of detection, one for moving objects, the other for humans. And both work well but only in the immediate proximity of the camera. The videos that I previously recorded pointed towards a street and even if the cars would pass, no notification would come that there was movement detected. It is possible to set areas and borders which once crossed will trigger the movement sensor, but the smart events seem to only go a few feet in front of the camera.

What’s interesting is that I waved my hand in front of the lens and it detected it as human which was pretty neat. As you can see from the app, there is a Playback button which will group the videos by the detection type and I saw that in case it did ‘see’ human movement it would only capture a photo and not register a short video.

This is the case when using the local storage and perhaps IMILAB may do it differently on the Cloud. About the notifications, I positioned the camera about 40 feet away from the router (and on a different floor + some walls in between them) and the message on the phone appeared almost immediately. This is one of the strong points of the IMILAB EC3 Lite since on other camera, it usually takes at least a couple of seconds more.

The Conclusion

It’s nice to see some of the advanced features making their way on the more inexpensive security cameras on the market and what’s more interesting is that the IMILAB EC3 Lite has these algorithms working at the device level. So you’re not forced to upload anything on the Cloud and the notifications from movement detection are way faster than if they had to go through the manufacturer’s server (something that Reolink should implement as well). I would have liked to see PoE support and be able to add the camera to an NVR, especially since the local storage is limited to a measly 64GB, so hopefully IMILAB will add it on their future cameras.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

And that’s without any distortions at the corners, a common effect on the single lens wide angle cameras. It seems that the Annke FCD600 is the only dual-lens model outside the NightChroma series so far, which is a bit of a shame (I’ve seen it in action on the NC400 and it was amazing), but we still get color night vision due to the dual LED lights. The camera also uses BSI sensors to enhance the night view, so it should surpass its competitors in the same price range (we’ll put it to the test to confirm it).

I also saw that the FCD600 has human and vehicle detection, a feature which I have seen working really well on the Reolink cameras, so I am curious if ANNKE is just as good at detecting people and moving objects. Also, just like Reolink cameras, the detection seems to be done locally, at the device level, not on the server. Due to it being under Hikvision umbrella, the ANNKE FCD600 does have a few elements that I suppose could seem complicated, such as the optional wiring methods or the software itself, but far from being considered deal breakers. That being said, let’s put the Annke FCD600 to the test and see how it performs.

Design and Build Quality

ANNKE has been experimenting quite a bit with the design of its dual-lens cameras and, when put next to the regular camera, the ANNKE FCD600 does have a peculiar design. It kind of looks like the Reolink Duo, although it is a tiny bit taller due to the additional LED spotlights.

The FCD600 measures 5.4 x 4.7 x 4.0 inches (13.8 x 12.0 x 10.1cm) without taking the support arm into account, so it does have a fairly big case, not that it matters that much since security cameras are meant to be seen. The case is entirely made of plastic and I did noticed some minor misalignments where the plastic parts come in contact with each other. The camera is covered by a white matte finish which is common for both indoors and outdoor security cameras, while the front part, where the manufacturer has positioned the lens is covered by a slight glossy black finish. Again, a common color palette choice.

The ANNKE FCD600 is IP66-rated, so there are no ventilation holes anywhere around the case and the developers had to rely on the efficiency of the chipset and on the plastic case itself to dissipate the heat. I did use a thermal camera to better understand how hot the device can get and, as you can see from the photos, the heat management is done properly.

Although there are no ventilation holes, there is a speaker located at the bottom of the FCD600 and it’s a fairly loud one, reaching up to 95dB. Paired with the front-facing microphone (from in between the lenses), you can have a two-way conversation with a courier or just scare off a trespasser (and then listen to their faint distant cries).

Also on the bottom, you will be able to see that there is a plastic cover that’s held by a couple of screws (with the label Setting) and, after removing it, I could see the Reset button (press and hold it to return the Annke FCD600 to its factory settings), the microSD card slot and what seems to be a Console port (perhaps for diagnostic purposes). The microSD is not necessarily a standard on the FCD600 because there is a model available without it and two models with 128GB storage, while the better equipped version offers 256GB of storage.

Now let’s talk a bit about the stand. It’s metallic and it can be attached either above or below the device since there are dedicated holes on both sides (same as the Reolink Duo). The area where it gets in contact with the camera is padded to avoid any scratches and I really liked that the manufacturer has added a hole for the cable to pass through, allowing to keep things a bit more tidy. Then again, the bouquet of cables doesn’t really help that much.

The thick cables that exits the Annke FCD600 does divide into five separate cables, the main one being PoE, followed by the regular Power cable (DC 12V). The other three cables are a DC 12V Power interface, an Audio in/out interface and lastly, there’s an Alarm connector, so the camera can communicate with a separate alarm system and trigger the horn.

ANNKE FCD600 Teardown

ANNKE does not have any warranty void seal (as should be the standard in any industry), so all you have to do is to detach the black plastic piece from the front. There are two holes on the sides where you can insert the head of a screwdriver, so the piece just pops off. And then, you will have to remove the four screws after which it’s possible to detach the front portion of the camera completely.

Take note of the red silicone seal – this needs to go back exactly as it was before in order for the camera to maintain water and dust resistance. That being said, I could see the layered PCBs and I could identify the HK-2020-A16 TGYY7100 2213-AJ Bluetooth 5.0 chipset, the GigaDevice AP2147 5F1G05UEYIG which seems to be the flash memory, but could find much about it on the web.

Then, there’s the two RAM chips: 512MB of RAM from Nanya (NT5CB256M16ER-FL) and an additional 512MB of RAM also from Nanya (NT5CB256M16ER-FL). I also saw that there is enough space for a good thermal management inside the case since about a third is used just for the cable to pass through.

Installation and App

The ANNKE FCD600 is a fixed camera, so don’t expect any remote position adjustments. All you can do is mount the stand on the wall, attach the camera and position it at the suitable angle. Overall, it’s a fairly simple process and the manufacturer has provided everything that you would need in the package (including a drill guide sticker). Obviously before anything else, you will have to decide how the camera will be powered up and to be honest I always prefer PoE over other options because this way, I can only use a single cable for both data transfer and power.

And I don’t necessarily mean to use a PoE adapter or Ethernet switch, since there are PoE NVRs available as well. Just make sure that they’re compatible with the Annke FCD600 – check for RTSP and ONVIF support, since the camera does support both protocols.

After powering up the unit, I saw that the LEDs will briefly flash and I could now access its web-based interface or rely on the app for live view and extra control. I think a lot of people will prefer the latter, so we’ll start with that. The mobile app is called Annke Vision and it’s available on both iOS and Android. The app will ask for your location (select no), then permission to send you notifications (which makes sense) and there’s also a Privacy Policy which includes a curious type of collected info: “video content files that may content personal visual identity information”, so yeah, be aware that the video feed will go through their servers and perhaps it may be better to just use the local network or an NVR.

There are ways to check the live feed remotely without using the app (create a tunnel to your router – Asus makes it very simple). The app will also ask if you want to create an account and you can skip it. Then, you can add the camera. I wanted to use the QR code mode, but that wasn’t an option, so I just let it detect the Annke FCD600 in the network (it was connected to my router). Then, the app asked to activate the camera and I could add a password (it was written in Chinese, but I think I got it right).

The app will also ask if you want to view in live feed in LAN or on the server, something that I greatly appreciated. Then, you can finally see the live footage and there are also a bunch of options underneath with about half being grayed out. You can switch between SD and HD image quality, digitally zoom onto a specific portion, select the noise reduction level, capture a photo, record a video, enable the two-way communication and there is also the possibility to enable the Alarm Output 01.

To see Notifications, you will have to create an account (can’t skip it this time) and while you can use a phone number, it’s also possible to just rely on an email address. There are a few other settings which are not quickly available, but are incredibly important. You can access them by returning to main window, clicking on the configuration icon which will lead to the Device Information and then press the three dots to go to the Remote Configuration.

Here, you can set up Schedules, enable anti-tampering under Normal Event and most importantly, under Smart Event, you can enable Intrusion, Line Crossing, Region Entrance and Exiting Detection – all are turned off by default. Now let’s see how the web-based interface functions.

The Web-based interface

The way to access the web GUI is to enter the IP address that was given by the router into the URL. Then, there should be two main sections, one is Live View and the other is Configuration. And yes, you do get much more freedom to control even the smallest aspects of the Annke FCD600, and I suppose, there is a bit more structure than on the app. The Live View will cover most of the screen, while on the right, you can control the image quality and the resolution (from under the General section) – the PTZ is not available on this camera. It’s also possible to change the aspect ratio and the stream type using the small icons from the bottom left of the live footage.

The Configuration section is divided into multiple areas, the first being the System and here, I saw that there is the possibility to choose the optimal distance for the Image Stitching, the option to set the RS-232 serial connection parameters, some Security options and there’s also User Management. The next section is the Network and especially under Advanced Settings, it’s going to be intimidating: there’s SNMP, QoS, Integration Protocol, the Alarm Server and a lot more options to allow you to set up how the Annke SDC600 connects and interacts with other devices in the network.

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Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

Yes, there are brighter flashlights even from Wuben, but all the other models are larger, some twice the size of the X0. It’s interesting to see the advancements that have been made in the LED industry. Another cool thing about this small flashlight is that it’s made of metal (seems to be brass) and you can magnetically attach the device to metallic surfaces. Furthermore, Wuben says that the X0 is IP68-rated which means that water won’t damage the flashlight.

But, after testing the X3, I became a bit skeptical of these claims, especially since on the Wuben X0, we do get an exposed USB-C port. Well, there is a cover that’s magnetically held into place, but water still can get at the charging port – we’ll see how efficient everything is in a minute.
So yes, you can recharge the inner battery and what’s very interesting and a rarity on electronic devices nowadays is that you can replace the battery at any time. The last highlighted feature is the Tritium slots which I suppose does offer some degree of customization if you’re into that sort of thing. That being said, let’s put the Wuben X0 to the test and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

I was very impressed by how small the Wuben X3 was, but the Wuben X0 is even smaller, measuring only 2.24 x 1.1 x 0.96 inches (5.7 x 2.8 x 2.4cm) so it’s more compact than a lighter and you should have no trouble carrying it around in your pocket. Or you can just attach it to any piece of clothing (or bag) with the help of the rear-placed clip. And I am pretty sure that with the exception of the lens, everything is made of metal (some retail stores swear that it’s brass). Does that make it heavier?

It’s not lightweight, but at 2.89 ounces (82g), it’s definitely going to ‘feel’ that it’s premium built. There are various colors combinations available and I got the black and blue version (it’s a matte finish that covers the case) which I think looks nice. The metallic case is rectangular and there are lots of angles and shapes all around, including the aforementioned Tritium slots, but I didn’t see any openings or ventilation holes. There is one though at the top which magnetically attaches to the main body of the Wuben X0.

Underneath it, there is a USB-C port and I did like that they didn’t go with a narrow tunnel, forcing the user to get very specific USB-C cables (you can use whichever you like). This detachable piece is also the button that turns on the flashlight, and I did like the simplicity of this concept a lot (this is the team that also developed the USB-C lanyard seen on the X3, which I though was very cool).

The idea behind the button is pretty much the same as on the X3: press it once to turn on the light at its lowest intensity, then long press it to switch to any brightness level you wish (there are four available). There are two extra strobe light modes, one with the brightness set to max and the other low simulating the SOS pattern. This can be very useful if you ever get lost in the wilderness. I do admit I miss “>the small screen on the X3, but I suppose the simpler system behind the Wuben X0 also works well enough.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that there is an LED at the top next to the button which will turn blue when the light is turned on, regardless of the mode. If you look at the bottom of the flashlight, there is a sort of lid which can be rotated anti-clockwise, thus revealing the inner battery. It’s not easy to open at all and I had to rely on a tool that opens watches to rotate the cover. The inner battery is proprietary from Wuben, but I am sure any battery the same size that’s rechargeable will work just as well.

I already mentioned it, but I will say it again, the bottom piece (the cover) is magnetic and it’s the piece which will help attach the Wuben X0 to metallic surfaces. And it’s a strong magnet, so it works extremely well for repairs in narrow spaces where it’s difficult to use a large flashlight.

How rugged is the Wuben X0?

It does seem like it can take a beating. The case is metallic and there is a slightly elevated ring surrounding the lens which offers extra protection against mechanical shocks. I am not into upgrading flashlights, but I am sure you can rotate the ring, allowing you to remove the glass, so you do get the possibility to change the LED. There is also the IP68-rating aspect which means that the Wuben X0 should be dust proof and water should not be able to damage the device.

I didn’t find any openings, with the exception of the USB-C port – if it’s water protected, then yes, the device should survive harsher conditions. Due to its size, I am sure it will be a favorite for plumbers, a work type were water and dust are common.

The Wuben X0 flashlight in action

The Wuben X3 uses an Osram P9 LED which seems to be properly centered and it’s capable of producing a neutral light, perhaps a bit towards the cooler side. The hotspot of the flashlight is very clear and it seems to be slightly squared, while the spill can be divided into two sections, the clearer and more defined inner ring and the outer ring. I should mention that the light seems more focused throughout all the rings and doesn’t just fade off as you can see on other flashlights.

I saw that the model can also come with the Samsung LH351D LED, the same as the Wuben X3. That being said, the Wuben X0 can reach up to 1,100 ANSI lumen which isn’t half bad for an EDC flashlight and there are various modes with a lower light intensity available. The lowest light intensity mode (called Moon), is one lumen and then you can cycle through the 15, 50 and 250 lumens (tap and hold the button). I used the same app as I did when I tested the X3, so no actual fancy measurement tool, just an iPhone.

This way, the app measured approximately 34K Lux in the Turbo mode (max brightness), while the Moon mode (1 Lumen), it showed 87 Lux – kind of similar to the Wuben X3. Then, moving through the modes in between, the app showed 1,2K Lux, 3.7K Lux and 20K Lux (so I have a bit of doubts about the accuracy of the app especially at higher Lumen). I decided to also add a few photos of the Wuben X0 flashlight in action.

And, as you can see, the device is more than capable of lighting up the area, allowing you to clearly see what’s going on in front of you. I also took a few shots of the beam on the wall to get an idea about how the beam is projected at different brightness intensities. I know that the X3 had a flashing red light, but the Wuben X0 decided to just keep it at the SOS signal – high and low brightness.

The Battery Life

While there is no display to let you know about the exact remaining battery life, the LED indicator at the top of the case will vaguely show you the amount. I say vaguely because the blue light will stay on for about 5 seconds if the battery is equal or above 90%, it will stay on for less than 5 seconds if the battery is between 90 and 40% and it will get red for 5 seconds if the battery level is between 40 and 15%. You will be able to keep the flashlight in Turbo mode for about a minute and, if you’re fine with a less bright light (the High mode), then the runtime can get better, reaching up to 3 hours.

Does it get hot?

The reason why I knew that the Wuben X0 uses an Osram P9 LED was because unlike the X3, the flashlight did not quickly get hot to the touch. It doesn’t get hot at all actually even after prolonged use. I have attached a thermal photo to get a better idea of what to expect.

The photo was captured after about half an hour on the High mode setting (after close to a minute on Turbo mode) – it barely raised it a few degrees above the room temperature (it’s summer here). So you don’t have to worry about burning your hands when using the Wuben X0.

The Conclusion

Just like the X3, the Wuben X0 is a very unique EDC flashlight. It’s incredibly compact, but capable of producing a bright light. And the build quality is excellent, the button is easy to press, but perhaps the battery indicator is a bit vague, although just a minor inconvenience. The battery can be replaced at some point, so the Wuben X0 doesn’t really become e-waste, so yes, for its price tag, it’s most likely the best flashlight that you can get right now.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com

Just like the previous Wuben X flashlights, the X3 sports a small case, but fairly powerful dual lights (the advancements in the LED technology made this possible) and some of the unique features would be the rotating head and the possibility to use wireless charging. It’s not really going to take that long to recharge the Wuben X3, but I am sure most of you will prefer to just rely on the charging case.

Yes, there’s a portable charging box where you can just insert the flashlight and have it take the role of keeping the battery at max charge, plus we do get a light diffuser built in for special applications (like taking a photo of an object).

The X3 is an EDC flashlight, so it will work great for occasional outdoor activities, such as camping and you can either use the metallic clip to attach it to your bag or, if you use the charging case, you can use the provided lanyard. This lanyard is a unique element from Wuben because you can detach it, thus exposing two USB-C connectors – yes, the lanyard is actually a USB-C cable for charging up the flashlight and it can also act as a measurement tape (mine came in cm). If all this hasn’t yet convinced you, let’s have a closer look at the Wuben X3 and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

The Wuben X3 Flashlight

The flashlight module is very small, measuring only 2.77 x 1.37 x 0.74 inches (7.0 x 3.5 x 1.9cm) and it’s also very lightweight (4oz with the case), so it’s very easy to carry around.

I mean, it’s not bigger or heavier than a lighter and, to ensure that you’re not going to lose it, the manufacturer has added a metallic clip to the case, so you can attach the Wuben W3 to the straps of your bag or to your belt. The device itself is mostly made of semi-transparent plastic, so you can get a clear view on the wireless charging coil. I have seen mentions from third-party publications that the Wuben X3 may be water resistant and have an IP65 rating. But, even if the user manual confirms it, I do have some concerns.

I checked all around the enclosure and there are parts where both water and dust could enter. Perhaps it’s my prototype unit and the final version will indeed have suitable water and dust protection, but the Wuben X3 that I am testing doesn’t seem to be properly sealed.

The case of the flashlight is not all plastic because the head is made of metal and, as I mentioned in the intro, you can rotate it 90 degrees, so it’s possible to point the light beam forward or on the side. And yes, there are two LED lights covered by a glass panel which is protected by a raised lip. The head of the Wuben X3 also has a small display and a button, the former showing the battery, the brightness intensity level and the Lumen. The latter will allow you to switch between the available lighting modes.

When you enable the LED lights, you should be able to see that there are some LEDs embedded into the case, shinning through the semi-transparent plastic. The inner LEDs shine blue. The last area of interest is at the bottom, where there are two magnetic terminals so, similarly to the X0, you can attach the Wuben X3 to some metallic surfaces. And yes, the magnets are very strong, so no chance that the flashlight will accidentally detach.

Note: The Wuben X3 unit that I got also came with a large case and some straps with Velcro, and I am not sure if they’ll make it into the final version of the product, but they’re fairly useful accessories.

The Charging Case

The charging case feels just as robust as the flashlight unit, even if it is entirely made of (soft) plastic and, as expected, it is quite a bit larger than the flashlight. It measures 3.36 x 1.77 x 1.53 inches (8.5 x 4.5 x 3.9cm) and the case is covered by a black matte finish with the exception of the transparent diffuser piece. This part acts as a lid for the Wuben X3 flashlight to keep it in place.

The hinges are metallic, but the locking mechanism is not and I worry that constant use will wear it down. I noticed that there are four small feet at the bottom of the charging case, but they’re not made of silicone and don’t really do much at keep the unit into place. On the front, there’s the wireless charging area and underneath it, I saw two LEDs with a silicone cover in the middle. The left LED will show that the wireless charging coil is enabled, while the other LED shows the battery level. Removing the silicone cover reveals the power button and the USB-C port.

As you may have noticed, there is no USB port on the Wuben X3 unit, so the charging case is pretty much a mandatory ‘accessory’ to the device. Then again, I did see that the flashlight can be recharged wirelessly, but is it possible to use any charger or is it proprietary to Wuben?

Wireless Charging?

Even if the Wuben X3 flashlight does not have a USB-C port, you can charge it with third party wireless chargers. I took out a Vebach 20W wireless charger and it even attached magnetically to the Wuben X3. A few minutes later I had the flashlight to 100% battery once again (by the way, the X3 has an inner 1,000mAh battery, while the case has a 3,000mAh built-in battery). What puzzled me was the wireless charging area on the charging case.

I couldn’t figure out if it can be used to charge the flashlight or it can be used for charging the case – neither options worked, so I got to the conclusion that it’s just an icon. Then again, the user manual does insist that it’s a wireless charger, so I suppose it just didn’t work for me. Or maybe it works inwards, charging up the flashlight from inside, you guess is as good as mine.

The Wuben X3 flashlight in action

The Wuben X3 uses the Samsung LH351D LED emitter which is very slightly on the green side, but still seemingly a public favorite and I can see why. Despite not being perfectly neutral, the light still appears to be clean and with a balanced flow. The Wuben X3 has four main brightness levels and you can roam between the first three (1 Lumen, 50 Lumen and 150 Lumen) by long pressing the Power button. If you want to access the Turbo mode, then double press the Power button, while the flashlight is turned off.

This way, the full 700 lumen will light up the room and the manufacturer says that the battery should handle the load for more than a minute. What exactly does that mean? I tested how long it took for the battery to be depleted and it reached 0% after about 45 minutes. The 150 Lumen mode should last for about 2 hours and a half, the 50 Lumen mode up to 10 hours and the lowest brightness, the 1 Lumen, at least a couple of weeks, which is quite the feat.

I did use a tool to check out the light intensity, nothing professional mind you, just an iOS app and it showed an average of 84 Lux at the first brightness level. At level 2 (50 Lumen), the tool measured 1071 Lux, while at level 3, it showed 3035 Lux. When in Turbo mode, the tool measured an average of 11,186 Lux. I have also attached a few photos to showcase what you can expect from the Wuben X3 during the night. As you can see, it’s plenty powerful and should help see in the dark even at the lower brightness levels.

Also, I noticed that the body of the flashlight is phosphorescent, so it’s easy to locate it in the dark. The Wuben X3 also has a SOS function built in which will flash the white light in the S.O.S pattern (press the button three times to enable this mode) – if you’re lost, it’s far easier to be seen by passerbys.

Furthermore, the LEDs are able to produce red light and to enable this mode, hold the Power button for a few seconds while the flashlight is turned off. The default mode will quickly flash the light at 20 lumen, but, if you press and hold, it will move to either 1 lumen or 70 lumen (the light will become steady red).

Does it get hot?

The metallic head does get hot to the touch and not in the ‘a bit warmer’ sense, no, it’s in the ‘will burn your finger’ hot sense. I have added a thermal photo of the Wuben X3 and, as you can see, the plastic case can be handled, but you should not touch the metallic head.

The Conclusion

It’s hard to beat the compelling package of features that enhance various parts of the Wuben X3 flashlight. There’s the magnetic pins, the rotating head, the red light and the SOS function. The charging case and the wireless charging support are also very welcomed additions without forcing the user in the Wuben ecosystem and that USB-C lanyard is very clever design. I know that there are brighter flashlights than the 700 lumen offered by the Wuben X3, but not really in this price range and you don’t get the same set of features.

Mark B

Mark is a graduate in Computer Science, having gathered valuable experience over the years working in IT as a programmer. Mark is also the main tech writer for MBReviews.com, covering not only his passion, the networking devices, but also other cool electronic gadgets that you may find useful for your every day life.

www.mbreviews.com