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.

www.mbreviews.com

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

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.

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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.

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I know that the black and white footage has been seen as the standard for decades and for good reason, since the IR LEDs do help paint a clear footage, but newer technologies have managed to bring some color to the night time videos.

It’s true that some cameras rely on a spotlight to achieve a colored night footage, but I saw that some cameras can deliver a clear colored view during the night without a spotlight – I saw it on Annke NC400 (the NightChroma tech). Besides the image quality, the storage options and the security of your data/stream are just as important. Ideally, the best night vision camera should be supported by both native and third-party NVRs and, as a bonus, I would like to see ONVIF and RTSP compatibility.

Local storage (microSDs) should also be a standard for home users and Cloud storage is nowadays a must – I have recently seen a camera, the Tenvis IoTeX Ucam, which could make use of the blockchain to remove any potential security vulnerability and I hope more manufacturers will follow suit.

Best PoE night vision camera	Best battery-operated night vision camera	The best 4K night vision camera
Annke NC400	Argus 3 Pro	Reolink RLC-811A
Read More	Read More	Read More

The software is another important aspect of any camera since you do want easy access to the live footage and some control over the view, including setting up schedules and the motion sensor sensitivity are more than necessary. PoE support is another useful feature, along with a rugged exterior to ensure that the camera can actually survive the outdoor conditions, especially during a harsh winter (not that we get that many of those nowadays). And a speaker + microphone combination can help at scaring off any potential trespassers.
Of course, there are other aspects to take into account as well (such as the zoom, human detection and so on), but these are the main features to help you choose the best outdoor night vision camera and, to make things even simpler, I have compiled a list of the best device available right now which you could take into consideration.

Best PoE night vision cameras

Most outdoors cameras do have support for both PoE and a regular power cord connection, but, since outside, a single Ethernet cable will clearly make installation a far easier process, then PoE is undoubtedly the superior option. I have tested quite a few PoE devices over the years and the best outdoor PoE cameras with great night vision were from Annke and Reolink. Annke is a brand that utilizes Hikvision hardware, but the device that I got to test and was thoroughly impressed by its night vision was the Annke NC400.

1. Annke NC400

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The reason why I chose the Annke NC400 is because of the NightChroma technology which is able to display an excellent night-time view of its surroundings (the view angle is 120 degrees horizontally). To achieve such a performance, the camera uses the F1.0 Super Aperture to allow more light into the sensor (seemingly a Sony STARVIS) and it’s doing some post processing almost in real-time (if you use the highest quality, you should see a delay of up to a second). This way, the light sources aren’t overblown (the previous Annke generation did have some issue in this regard), there is a lot more detail and little noise even at about 200 feet, where I pointed the camera. As you can see from the footage, everything is clearly visible and in color, and the great news is that the spotlight did not need to be enabled.

It will become active in case the sensor detects that the brightness level is very low (pitch black), otherwise, the camera will inconspicuously film anything that’s going on in front of the lens. The day time footage is also great and yes, the maximum allowed resolution is 1440p and there is support for the SuperHD feature which ensures a better image quality at a lower bitrate. From either the mobile application or the web-based interface, you do get the option to set a motion detection area. You can simply adjust the sensitivity or draw on the image for the section that will trigger the sensor. Since we’re talking about an outdoor camera, the case should be able to withstand the elements and indeed it does.

The Annke NC400 is IP67-rated, so it’s dustproof and will survive powerful jets of water directed towards the camera enclosure, so it should have no trouble surviving any type of storms (just make sure to put some lightning-proof equipment in place to not fry the camera). The temperature at which the Annke NC400 will remain operational is between -22 and 140 degrees F. In terms of storage, the camera has none, no microSD card slot and no Cloud storage available, free or paid subscription.
So, to store the footage, it will use your phone’s storage, but ideally, you should install a third party software such as BlueIris or simply go for an NVR or even a NAS (Synology makes some good hardware – you can check the fairly inexpensive DiskStation DS218+).

2. Reolink RLC-520A

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The Reolink RLC-520A is part of a new series of PoE cameras which comes with the smart motion detection technology. This tech has the role of detecting moving humans and vehicles, so that if you live in a crowded street, the motion detection sensor will be triggered less often by moving objects. And the beauty of it is that it does not require the communication with the manufacturer’s servers and instead, all the processing is done inside the camera itself. Indeed, the RLC-520A has better internal components than most cameras, but what about the night vision performance? Just like Annke NC400, the RLC-520A relies on the SuperHD resolution (2560x1920p) to ensure that the footage remains crisp and noiseless (as much as possible) both during the day and during the night.

Obviously, during the day, the footage at max quality (5MP) is great, a little bit on the contrasty side, but that does not take away from the clarity of the video. Pointing the camera at about 200 feet, the image remained detailed and although the sun was shinning from the left side, the sky does not get overblown.
During the night, the footage is going to be only black and white, but the 18Pcs IR LEDs do a good job at showing any person moving in front of the lens. After I tested the smart motion detection, I can say that it works fine during the night and it could accurately tell apart people from cars up to about 100 feet if there are some light sources in the frame. In case it’s pitch black, I do suggest to add some (at least minor) light source in the area of interest (there are some cheap battery-operated ones) because the RLC-520A does not have a spotlight.

The Reolink RLC-520A will be mounted outdoors, so it needs to survive the elements and it seems that it can handle itself quite well. Indeed, the camera is IP66-rated, which is a level below the NC400, but still enough to ensure that no dust will enter the enclosure and that the water from storms won’t cause issues. The temperature at which the device will remain operational ranges between 14 and 131 degrees F, so it should fare well on most areas of the world, but the truly harsh winters of Canada may prove a bit too much.

Storage-wise, the RLC-520A supports microSD cards (up to 256GB, so quite generous), it has Cloud storage support – there is a free option if you don’t mind the limitations (7-day history + 1GB of Cloud storage). You can always simply connect the camera to a Reolink NVR and there is support for some third-party NVRs (you need to check the compatibility list first), with BlueIris and with some NASes.

Best battery-operated night vision cameras

PoE is perhaps the best way to hook up a wired camera, but there are times when this is not an option, especially outdoors, so a purely battery-operated camera could provide the needed security for your home, office or warehouse. Netgear’s Arlo camera series has been often regarded as the best overall battery-operated outdoor camera, the Pro 4 sporting the 2K resolution (HDR), a 160 degrees viewing angle, color night vision, a long-lasting battery life and it makes use of the object detection to reduce the number of false triggers. But, since I have not tested any Arlo model, I will just believe the hype that surrounds this device. The problem is obviously going to be the price which is quite high, but the good news is that there are less expensive alternatives, such as the Reolink Argus 3 Pro. This is a camera that I have thoroughly tested quite recently and it has pretty much all the features of the Arlo Pro 4.

Argus 3 Pro

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The outdoor battery-operated security cameras are always tricky since they need to rely on an internal power source, so the user does need to regularly check that there is enough battery life left to keep the surveilled area secure. The Arlo and the Argus 3 Pro are compatible with solar panels which can be purchased from the manufacturer and they’re not that expensive. But you still get the option to simply detach the Argus 3 Pro from its magnetic bracket and recharge it – the magnets are strong, so the camera cannot be easily removed. The Argus 3 Pro also sports the 2K resolution (Super HD), just like the Pro 4 and lately, Netgear has pushed the supported resolution up to 4K, so the video quality should be great, right? In good conditions, yes, but be aware that the WiFi connection will make a difference, especially in regards to the live view.

The good news is that the Argus 3 Pro can connect to either the 2.4 or the 5GHz network (802.11n) and the average bitrate at max image quality was about 3,100kbps, which means that it’s not really a bandwidth hog.
That being said, during the day, the image quality was really good, again with a bit more contrast than on other cameras from the competition, but it will help make the footage look better, while not taking away from the detail amount or clarity. During the night, things were almost as good and you do have two modes available.

There’s the default black and white video and the color night vision. The black and white footage is helped by the six IR LEDs and the video is fine, showing a healthy amount of details and, even at almost 200 feet (the advertised limit is 100 feet), I could see any suspicious movement – don’t expect to read license plates at this distance though. If you enable the spotlight, the video quality does get far better due to the colors and I do like that even if it had some light sources pointing towards the lens, it did not really affect the quality of the footage. Be aware that the spotlight will eat up from the battery life, but Reolink has added a 6,500mAh battery that should suffice even for a more trafficked street.

Furthermore, the Argus 3 Pro does have the smart motion detection which should help keep the number of triggers to the necessary minimum. This feature will be able to tell apart moving humans from moving cars and the process is internal – it does not rely on a connection to outside servers. Considering that it’s an outdoors-suitable device, the Argus 3 Pro is IP65-rated, so it will keep dust off, as well as jets of water, so it should survive a storm – just add some lightning protection if it’s mounted on a pole in the open. The temperature at which it will be operational is between 14 and 131 degrees F. In terms of storage, the Argus 3 Pro has support for microSD cards (up to 128GB) and it can also store videos into the Cloud.

Imilab EC4

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Even if the battery-operated cameras need to maintain an efficient power management, the manufacturers have still managed to push the resolution to 2K (and above), while still offering a decent battery life on a single charge. That was the case with the Arlo and the Argus 3 Pro, and it’s also the case of the Imilab EC4. The camera is a bit smaller than the Argus 3 Pro and, as for the mounting process, the EC4 needs to be screwed into the stand so, as you may guess, you will need to undo these steps every time it’s necessary to recharge the camera.

In a similar manner to the Reolink Argus 3 Pro, it can be kept charged using a solar panel (a separate purchase, sure, but a worthy one). I did mention that this device is a bit particular and that’s because it has a hub that communicates with the camera, and it does support up to 5 Imilab cameras. This way, there is very little lag between the live view and the event itself (although the notifications have proven to be slightly delayed during the night).

The resolution of the EC4 is 1440p (Imilab calls it 2.5K) and during the day, the video is very clear and detailed (it’s possible to see the car plates even if the filmed area is about 170 feet away from the camera). Just like the Reolink cameras, the image has the contrast raised a little bit, which does make the footage look better – there is also a noticeable amount of lens distortion. As for the night vision, the Imilab EC4 has a colored mode and a black and white mode.

The colored night vision was impressive, so the number of details didn’t differ that much from during the day and there was very little noticeable noise. But, due to the higher contrast, the shadows were a bit darker which made for a really cool-looking image, but not really practical for a security camera. Which is why I prefer to rely on the black and white footage since it negated the possibility that a trespasser may hide in the shadows. Does it look just as good as the colored night vision? No, but it’s far more effective.

I forgot to mention that the colored night vision is achieved with the help of a spotlight (if there is not enough light in front of the lens). Keeping the spotlight on for too long will quickly eat up the battery life, even if it’s 5,200mAh (a bit lower than the 6,500mAh of the Argus 3 Pro). The EC4 also supports smart motion detection, so, in a similar manner to the Reolink cameras, it should be able to tell when a human is in front of the lens, right?

Apparently so but be aware that it’s not enabled by default, and you will need to purchase a Cloud subscription to be able to use this feature. As for the weather-proofing, the hub needs to always stay indoors, but the camera module is built to withstand the elements, up to a certain point. Indeed, the Imilab EC4 is IP66-rated which means that it’s dustproof and it has a decent protection against water ingress. So, a storm should not harm the camera, but a lightning might, so make sure to add protection against such event. Also, the Imilab EC4 will remain operational when the temperature ranges between -4 and 122 degrees F.

The best 4K night vision cameras

I am fairly sure that most people are fine with a 1080p security camera if its role is to film a porch or a small yard but, if we’re dealing with a larger parking lot or a warehouse, then more pixels and some zoom capabilities are necessary. I have tested a couple of 4K PoE cameras and both performed really well, the first is the RLC-811A from Reolink that had implemented a smooth 5x zoom and smart motion detection, while the second is the Annke C800 which supports H.265+ video format, has a noise canceling mike and it has a wider support for third-party software and NVRs.

1. Reolink RLC-811A

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Reolink has done a really good job with its new ‘A-series’ which comes with better internal hardware (faster image processing) and with the smart motion detection technology built within the camera’s body. The RLC-811A is currently one of the best cameras that the manufacturer has to offer, sporting an 8-megapixel sensor which can deliver a crisp video at a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160p and I know that more pixels don’t always translate in a better footage, but Reolink relies on the SuperHD feature to keep the image quality high, while not affecting that much the bitrate. Speaking of which, in my test, it would average at about 6,500Kbps, while the upper limit is set to 8,192Kbps. Any modern router should be able to handle such a low bandwidth requirement, so, if there’s any latency, it’s because of the camera itself and not the PoE connection.

The good news is that indeed, there is pretty much no lag even at maximum image quality neither during the day, nor during the night and what’s interesting is that even the zoom process is quite fast, having a noticeable latency a bit under a second.
The image quality during the day is excellent as always with Reolink cameras, with the footage slightly more contrasty, but with all the details left intact and you do have a large picture of the camera’s surroundings. During the night, the camera did a really good job at not overblowing the light sources even if they were pointed towards the lens and the image is very detailed even if the scenery is farther than the suggested 100 feet (it was pointing at cars that are 200 feet away). You can also add some color to the footage and we also got the 5x zoom option which works great.

Zooming in to the max, the image didn’t lose any of its details or crispiness, so the RLC-811A is great for surveilling larger areas. If it’s a heavy trafficked street worry not because the smart motion detection tech will do great at detecting people and ignoring any other moving object – just make sure that it’s not pitch black because the camera does not have a built-in spotlight. In terms of ruggedness, the Reolink RLC-811A is IP66-rated, so the case will be able to keep dust away, as well as the rain.

Furthermore, the camera will remain operational when the temperature ranges between 14 and 131 degrees F which should be enough for most countries in the world, minus the areas with very harsh winters. The RLC-811A will allow you to store videos locally using a microSD card (256GB, so it’s plentiful) or you can use the Cloud storage. Additionally, you can connect the camera to proprietary Reolink NVRs or some compatible third-parties, it should also work with BlueIris and some NASes.

2. Annke C800

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Annke is currently releasing a new series of cameras that come with the NightChroma technology (see the NC400), but the C800 is a 4K camera that’s still very much relevant if you’re not bothered by the lack of colored night vision. The Annke C800 makes use of the EXIR technology which is before the NightChroma, but still very much capable of delivering a crisp night time footage, but only if there are no light sources shinning directly towards the lens, otherwise, it will have an impact on the clarity of the video. During the day, the C800 performed really well, offering a very detailed video, even farther than 100 feet and yes, the 4K resolution does make a difference, allowing you to see more details on a larger screen.

Furthermore, the lens had no trouble handling the sun shinning towards the lens. It’s interesting to see that the footage has a bit more contrast, just like the Reolink RLC-811A. During the night, things are a bit different because as I said before, the two IR LEDs aren’t really enough to keep light sources from being overblown.
So, to get a good and reliable video, you need to keep the camera away from light poles – I had one pointing directly towards my house and the impact is noticeable. Just like the NC400, you do get the option to configure the way the camera will function using either the app or the web-based GUI and the latter is very comprehensive in terms of features (far above most other security cameras out there).

There is, of course, the seamless ONVIF and RTSP integration, so you get connect the C800 to third-party NVRs, third-party software and even NASes (just check the compatibility list) and the manufacturer has added a microSD card slot for local storage. The camera body is rugged enough to withstand most outdoor conditions and yes, it’s IP67-rated, blocking both dust and water ingress, regardless of how powerful the wind or the storms are in your region. Additionally, the device will remain operational when the temperature will range between -22 and 140 degrees F which is a bit better than how the Reolink cameras are built.

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

The newer model promises to offer an even better motion tracking, better voice control and, of course, a higher resolution – from 1080p to 2K. It’s not that indoors, a 1080p camera wasn’t enough, but I doubt anybody would complain about finer details and more pixels. The design and the looks of the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam are the same as on the base model (and I mean they’re identical), same as the Privacy mode which is a fancy way of saying that the camera moves the lens inside the enclosure, blocking the view.

It’s a simple, yet effective way to ensure some semblance of privacy (something akin to the sticker on the laptop camera). The panning and tilting motions are all there, as well as the support for the two-way communication. So, besides growing its portfolio of smart devices, did SwitchBot really need to release a 2K version of the Pan/Tilt Cam? It does allow it to compete a lot better with the other options on the market even if the price tag was raised a bit, so it does seem that it’s was a necessary device. Let’s put it to the test.

Camera Design and Build Quality

If you put the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam and the base model next to each other, you’re not going to be able to tell them apart since both cameras share the same look and size. It doesn’t have an overly flashy look, just a simple plastic case covered by a white matte finish, with the inner sphere that holds the lens section being black.

So yes, it’s a minimalist design which allows you to position the camera pretty much anywhere in the room. There are four small silicone feet to ensure that the device sits into place. The possibility to mount SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam on the ceiling or wall has also been ported from the base model, which means that there’s a bracket (provided in the package) that you can use along a couple of screws. And it does make sense to not leave the camera on the furniture considering that the boost to resolution can make it suitable for some small businesses as well (where mounting the camera is pretty much mandatory).

The security camera measures 4.13 x 2.95 inches (or 10.5 x 7.5 cm), so it’s very compact and, just like the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam, it’s divided into a base section and the upper part that can pan 360 degrees. On the narrow base, I was able to identify the charging port and I admit that I expected to see an upgrade to the USB-C standard.

But no, the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam is also stuck with the microUSB standard. It’s clear that SwitchBot recycled the same case and most of the inner components as well, but we’ll check it more in the teardown section. Next to the charging port, there’s a recessed Reset button and above it, on the upper section, there are some openings for the speaker. Since it’s an indoors-only camera, I didn’t expect any weatherproofing and indeed, there is no special protection against dust or water ingress.

Moving back to the spherical section which contains the lens, I could see the microphone and the status LED on the sides. And, when pushing down, it is possible to see the SwitchBot logo which confirms that the camera is in Privacy mode. It’s also possible to move it downwards, revealing the microSD card slot which supports up to 256GB. The LED will become solid green when the camera is online, it will stay solid red when it’s starting up and will flash red rapidly when the camera is ready to be configured.

If the LED flashes red and green slowly, then there is an error in the network, but a quick flashing LED alternating between red and green suggests that the camera is connected to the WiFi, but it has no access to the Internet. So yes, I hope you didn’t expect this camera to be offline.

Furthermore, there are eight IR LEDs surrounding the lens which is the same as on the base camera model. And they were enough for a proper night vision for both cameras. As for heat management, I noticed that the security cameras are usually warm to hot which makes sense considering that they need to constantly film something – the processor is processing. But the SoC in the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam is actually so efficient that the device only got a bit warm to the touch after a few hours of constant work.

SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam Teardown

If you look around the camera, you won’t find any visible screw that you can remove, but there is one underneath the label on the bottom of the device. I am not sure if it’s a tear-to-void-the-warranty thing, but it’s going to be clear that you have tampered with the label, so make sure that you’re willing to risk losing the warranty before moving forward.

After detaching the base, I realized that it follows the same concept as the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam base model – the panning motor is inserted into a plastic neck which is then kept tight with the aforementioned screw. I removed the next three screws to move forward and I could slide the white plastic section off, fully exposing the internal structure of the security camera. I could see the speaker and the tilt motor, as well as get a full view of the black sphere that encapsulates the lens.

I removed a couple of screws that were keeping the two parts of the sphere together and I could see a small PCB which had the Anyka AK3918EN080 SoC soldered on it. This SoC is usually found on 1080p cameras (Full HD raw data), but it does seem that SwitchBot managed to raise it to 2K.

The Installation

The installation process of the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam doesn’t differ from that of the base model, so connect the camera to a power source – you get both the cable and a power brick inside the package. And then install the SwitchBot app, create a new account or log into an existing one, followed by pressing the Plus icon. Make sure that the LED is quickly flashing red – if it’s not, then use the pin from the box to reset the camera.

Then, select the device from the list and select the proper WiFi network. The SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam only supports the 2.4GHz network (needs long distance and low throughput) and then you need to scan the QR code using the camera. After hearing a sound, press next and the device will ask you to select the room (it’s still not working) and that’s about it.

Upgrade the firmware if available and you can check the live footage from the app GUI. Unfortunately, you can’t use a global VPN (at the router level) when setting up this camera, not to check the footage, which is a shame, but it will simply not be able to communicate with the manufacturer servers. I don’t see it as a necessity, but SwitchBot does.

The Mobile Application

The user interface of the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt has been completely redesigned from the base model (so it looks less like the Reolink Argus 3 Pro app). The live footage is still covering the upper half, showing the live bitrate on the left side and the current image quality on the right (can be switched between SD and HD), along with the speaker and the possibility to view up to four concurrent SwitchBot cameras. I did see a small bug when switching back to a single camera view because the quality would switch to SD and stubbornly stay that way unless, I changed the screen (such as visiting the Settings).

Underneath the live view, you can Pause the footage, snip it, enable the microphone, start recording or view the video in full screen. The bottom half of the display is covered by Today’s Events which will show that Motion was detected plus a snippet of the video.

You can go to the All Events section to analyze each playback and it’s possible to filter them by Human and Motion Detection. Besides the Events, the bottom half of the display can also show other functions and info, while keeping the live view at the top (a nice touch). I could adjust the pan or tilt angle from the app using the Direction tab and, under Features, it was possible to enable the Privacy Mode and this is where I encountered the second bug because the app will say I could Turn on the Camera, but it won’t, it just moves the lens up and down until I exit and re-enter the app.

Besides the Privacy Mode, there’s the option to Sound the Alarm, turn on the Night Vision, disable or enable the Motion Detection, as well as the Motion Tracking. The last tab is Playback which is divided into three sections – microSD Card Videos, Cloud Videos and Recordings & Screenshots.

So far, it is a far better experience than with the previous SwitchBot camera, so kudos to the developers. There is also the Settings area (the cogwheel on the top right corner) where you can change the WiFi Settings, adjust the Motion Detection sensitivity (and turn on the Human Detection which is off, by default) and you can also set Preset points which will work alongside other sensors. For example, is a motion sensor detect movement, the camera will quickly move towards the preset point next to the area that triggered the alarm.

It’s also possible to subscribe to the Cloud storage, check the Local Storage (if you added a microSD card), set the Alert Notifications and there are some Basic Settings as well. You can disable the LED, change the Video Display options, set the Talk Mode (One-way or Two-way), the volume of the speaker and perform the Pan/Tilt Calibrations (if you think the automatic movements aren’t as accurate as you may like).
Note: SwitchBot does say that all the data that’s stored into the Cloud is AES-128 encrypted, but then again, it’s AWS we’re talking about which leaks info on a monthly basis. Hopefully, the data is encrypted before being sent to the Cloud and not afterwards (looking forward to the confirmation from SwitchBot).

The Image Quality and Connectivity

I had a little bit of trouble figuring out the lens megapixel count, but it does seem that the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam uses a 3-megapixel lens with an F/2.0 aperture (this was info written on the official website and later removed for whatever reason). In any case, the resolution was increased to 2K, but is it actually 1440p? No. I checked the videos properties and it revealed that the actual resolution is 2304 x 1296 pixels.

Still above 1080p, but not really 1440p (which some double as 2.5K). That being said, there is a difference between the 1080p footage and the 2K video captured with the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam, and to better emphasize the differences, I filmed the same room (kitchen). It’s a bit subtle, but there are slightly more details and the edges of the furniture were a bit more well defined. The colors were pretty much the same, so expect a slightly deeper black than expected (the contrast is bumped a little bit) and the whites were were also well reproduced.

It does seem that the brightness is the same as on the base model, which is fine since the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam already a surprisingly capable camera, so even if it’s not very bright outdoors, the footage should still look good. I do need to mention the distortions on the sides, but it’s nothing too dramatic. As for the night view, the SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam uses 8 IR LEDs and from what I saw over the years of hardware testing, the more IR LEDs, the better the footage tends to be.

As expected, the footage is clear with some noise in the darker portions (near the edges of the video) without a meaningful impact on the overall quality of the image. I didn’t see a significant difference in regards to the details, despite the bump in resolution, but again, the video is clear and nothing is hidden, so I can’t really complain (this is a security camera after all). What about the signal strength in regards to the router.

Like I mentioned before, it’s using the 2.4GHz radio band only, so it prioritizes distance over throughput which makes sense when you see the low bitrate. If you’re wondering how far it can go? Well, it depends on your router and the amount of interference in your house. I’d say between 40 to 70 feet should not have a negative impact on the performance of the camera.

Motion Tracking and Motion Detection

Probably the biggest improvement over the base model was adding the tilt movement to the motion tracking. So, while before, the camera would only pan around to track your movements, it now moves up and down as well. And the good news is that it’s surprisingly reactive and will follow the subject around as long as it remains in frame.

But there are some shortcomings as well. The movement is not fluid at all and the camera clearly processes the image and then sends the signal to the controller to move the motors accordingly. And this causes a very noticeable delay. It’s about 1-2 seconds after tapping the screen and even when simply relying on the motion tracking, you’ll see that it takes a second to move after you. Other than that (which can be improved with a slightly better hardware since the software is willing), the camera is doing relatively well.

The motion detection functions properly and you should adjust the sensitivity to low if it’s a small to normal room, otherwise, you’ll get notifications from the wind slightly moving the curtain. If the area of interest is larger, then do increase the sensitivity level accordingly.

The Conclusion

The SwitchBot 2K Pan/Tilt Cam is not a big leap forward from the base model, but it does offer some improvement in a few key departments. The footage is slightly clearer during the day, the app layout is definitely better and the motion tracking is the winner here because the camera will now properly follow people around. Is this enough to justify getting it over the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam, it’s pretty much up to you to decide, because both models manage to offer a lot of value for the money.

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

The SwitchBot Pan/Tilt camera seems to cover all the basics (borders between entry-level and essential) and it’s clear that the manufacturer took a conservative approach when they built it (pretty much obvious considering the price tag).

The design approach is minimalist which is expected for indoors cams and the 2-megapixel 1080p sensor can be enough if there’s a lot of light, but I am curious about its performance during the afternoon (or when it’s cloudy). You do get the option to pan and tilt the camera and there’s the option to see inverted footage in case you decide to mount the SwitchBot cam on the ceiling.

I did see that there was an emphasis on the privacy aspect, so I was curious whether it’s something similar to what we saw on the IoTeX Ucam, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s a Privacy Mode that you can enable when you’re at home as to not store footage of your private life anywhere. Be aware that the camera lacks an internal battery, so it does need to always be connected to a power source. These are most of the highlights, so let’s check out the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt cam a bit more in-depth.

Camera Design and Build Quality

It’s been a while since I tested an indoors-suitable camera (the Tenvis was the last one) and, while the same concept is behind the outdoors cams as well, there are some major differences between the two types of devices. There is far more plastic and, as expected, no weatherproofing at all. Why would you need it indoors?

Indeed, the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam is made of plastic and it’s covered by a white matte finish, with the exception of the lens area, which is black. The device doesn’t really occupy much space (it measures only 4.13 x 2.95 inches or 10.5 x 7.5 cm), so you can position it pretty much anywhere in the room, but you do need to make sure it’s near a power socket.

That’s because as I mentioned in the intro, it does not have any internal battery, so it needs a continuous connection to a power source. And inside the package, SwitchBot has added a USB cable and even a power brick (which is a rare, but welcomed addition), but what’s a bit disconcerting is that it’s a USB-A to microUSB cable.

Yes, the manufacturer went with the older standard which is very unfortunate and you can find the microUSB port on the rear of the camera, on the base. This base is very short (about 0.6in-tall) and it has four silicone feet to make sure that the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam sits into place.

There is also a central hole with a pattern on the bottom which allows the user to insert the mounting bracket. As I already mentioned, you do get the option to mount the camera on the ceiling and you can flip the view accordingly. It’s also worth noting that next to the microUSB port, there is a recessed Reset button to help you return the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam to its default settings, if needed (press and hold it for 5 seconds).

The upper portion of the camera rotates on the base (360 degrees) and if you check the rear side, you will see that there’s a speaker. There is also a microphone next to the lens which, along with the speaker, will allow for a two-way communication. And it can be useful if you’re away from home and need to communicate some instructions or to simply sing a lullaby to a baby.

The lens is embedded within the black circular section that’s partially hidden by the case and it moves up and down using an inner motor (the tilting can be done up to 115 degrees). After powering up the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam, you will see a small LED that flashes red and it means that the device is ready to be paired. When it’s connected to the WiFi, the LED will flash green (it will become solid green when the camera is online) and if it alternates between red and green slowly, then, it failed to connect to the Internet.

Flashing red and green quickly suggests an error in the network connection. Besides the front facing lens, there are eight IR LEDs to help the camera ‘see’ during the night. And since there are so many, I do look forward to seeing a good night time footage.

Before moving forward, I need to mention the microSD card slot which is hidden on one side of the spherical section of the camera – you need to push the camera, same as you would do with most Reolink cameras.
Note: In terms of heat management, the device does get a bit warm as you can see form the thermal camera (AGM Glory Pro).

What’s inside the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam (Teardown)

To open up the case, you need to remove a portion of the label that’s applied to the bottom of the camera and then take out the single screw – which means that yes, you need to say goodbye to the warranty. Afterwards, use a prying tool, to carefully detach the base.

It’s interesting to see that the pan motor is inserted into a plastic section, but I suppose it’s hard enough to ensure lots of rotations (most people won’t rotate their cameras thousands of time). To move forward, you need to disconnect the microUSB port board and then remove the three screws from the white plastic case. This way, you’ll be able to see better both the pan and the tilt motors.

Here’s where things get a bit more complicated because you need to remove the two screws from the spherical section and then carefully detach it in the middle. There are lots of connectors, but, if you want to see the main board, then you will need to remove the six screws holding the lens in place.

At this point, it should be easy to identify the RTS3906N main chip, the 8MB of serial flash from GigaDevice (GD25Q64ESIG), the Realtek RTL8188FTV 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi chip and an Unisonic Technology UTC OAT4 ULN2803G power transistor.

The Installation

After powering up the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam, wait until the LED starts flashing red and then you need to install the SwitchBot app. I already used it before when I tested the SwitchBot Curtains, but the idea is to create a new account (give permission to your location because why not..) and then to press the + button to start the pairing process.

After that, I saw a list of devices (which keeps on growing every time I test a new product) and I had to select the Pan/Tilt Cam. Then, the app will ask for the WiFi credentials (2.4GHz support-only). Afterwards, I had to point the camera at a QR code from the app and wait until the pairing process was concluded. The problem is that the pairing kept failing and I tried with both an iPhone and an Android device.

And then I realized that it’s the router that’s the problem – more exactly, my VPN. I do use a VPN and SwitchBot could not properly communicate home, so the installation process kept on failing. Even after turning the VPN off, it would still simply dislike the router now, so, after changing it to another model (too lazy to reset it), I could finally finish the process (oh yes, I forgot to mention that the app casually signed me off at some point as well).

The Mobile Application

The interface will show the live view footage in the middle, with the image quality on the top left corner (SD or HD) and the current bitrate on the left. Also here, I noticed the Speaker icon and the possibility to enlarge a certain portion of the live footage (digital zoom).

If you wish to view the video in full screen, then you need to tap on the first icon on the bottom left corner which will also show a joystick on the left. That’s for controlling the pan and the tilt motions that the camera can do remotely. I also need to mention the three icons that let you enable the microphone, capture a photo of the live view or start recording.

There is another icon (two arrows up) that, when tapped, it will rise up a few new quick action icons. First, there’s the Playback, where you can see all the videos that are recorded and there are two ways to store them, either on a microSD card (max 128GB) or on the Cloud. I did use a microSD card and I could find no videos even if I did get the notification that the camera detected motion.

I have the feeling that this section is dedicated only for the Cloud service which, since we already mentioned it, is about 7 USD a month (at the moment of writing).And I did not see any free (yet slightly more limited) subscription plan available.

In any case, the next section is called Gallery and here is where you can see all the videos that you recorded (as well as the captured photos) and then, there’s the Privacy Mode. It’s not just that the camera seems to turn itself off, no, it’s actually going backwards covering the lens completely, which is excellent. You can also turn on the Night Mode (enables the black and white view), enable the Motion Tracking and the Motion Detection.

The Motion Tracking has the role of moving the lens around to continue seeing what triggered the sensor. Further down, there is another set of icons, the first showing the Messages which contained photos taken when the motion detection was triggered. The next icon is the Direction and it’s just the Joystick to let you control the camera angle. Then, there’s the Site which I think is the location of the camera (not really a polished feature since I couldn’t set it in the initial installation process).

If you tap the three dots on the top right corner, you will be taken to the Settings section. Here, you can check some Basic Settings which include flipping the screen, disabling the Talk Mode and calibrating the Pan/Tilt motions. Or, you can adjust the Motion Detection settings (the Sensitivity and whether you want only people to trigger the sensor), the Volume level, buy a Cloud plan, check the Local Storage (microSD) and enable the Pan/Tilt Cam Cruise – motion tracking.

I really liked that there was the option to set Preset Points, so the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam will work along with other sensors. And, in case another device detects motion, the camera will quickly move towards a preset point. I should also mention the NFC that allows the possibility to quickly pair the SwitchBot Tag with the camera and there’s also the possibility to update the firmware.

The Image Quality and Connectivity

The SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam has a 2-megapixel lens with an F2.0 aperture and it can film at 1080p. And it performs well in pretty much all conditions. If there’s a lot of light, most cameras will be able to deliver a good image quality, but, while the outdoor cameras do have this luxury, the indoors ones do not.

That’s because very often, you don’t get that abundant light from the sun and, especially in the afternoon, the image can get very noisy. In the case of the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam, I saw that the image was relatively sharp, with a very good amount of detail and yes, there is some noise, but the overall quality remains good. Bear in mind that this footage was taken when the light didn’t shine as bright through the windows.

The black was deep, but it does seem to lose a bit of detail (it’s a tad contrasty), while the whites were a bit on the cool side. Checking the reds, I can definitely attest that the manufacturer has slightly ramped up the contrast which does make for a more exciting and vibrant footage, but not really that accurate. Then again, this isn’t a professional photography camera, so why not have a bit of fun? During the night, the eight IR LEDs seem to also do a good job.

Actually, the footage is almost crystal clear with far less noise than I expected. I have noticed that the more IR LEDs there are, the better the footage tends to be and it also seems to have a say on minimizing the impact of light sources shinning on the lens. As you can see in the video, the oven was on and the light did not affect the clarity of the footage.

So, I would consider a large number of LEDs an important factor when getting a new security camera. Now let’s talk about connectivity and how far the can you put the camera before impacting the image quality. Unfortunately the answer is dependent on your router, just as much as on the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam. That’s because it relies on the 2.4GHz signal, so, if it’s strong, with little interference, you can put the camera very far – I had no issues even at 75 feet away.

And that’s also because it uses very little from the bandwidth, which is excellent. But, be aware that the reaction time will have an increased latency and the notifications will arrive slower if the camera is too far.

Motion Tracking and Motion Detection

The Motion Tracking is a very nifty feature since its purpose is to follow around anything that moves. But how well does it work? First of all, only the pan motor will move the camera, so if the angle is too high, then it won’t follow around a pet or a child. I do hope that they improve the algorithm to include the tilting movement since it would make this feature amazing.

Secondly, the camera will not follow you if you’re too fast. And I am not talking about running, but walking around at a slightly faster pace will make the camera lose sight of you pretty quickly. But that’s only if you’re near the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam because if it’s slightly more backwards, then it can better track movement. So, the location is very important and positioning the camera on the ceiling or wall at the right angle can make a significant difference. The Motion Detection is good, but keep an eye on the sensitivity level.

That’s because it can be incredibly sensitive to even the smallest changes, like a far-away branch moving outside and bam, I got a notification! If you don’t have a very large room to cover, I would leave the Sensitivity to Low since it can ‘see’ movement at about 10 feet just fine.

The Conclusion

It’s clear that SwitchBot wants to expand its portfolio and properly enter the smart home security market. And the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt Cam is a good way to convince more people to give their ecosystem a shot. The footage quality is very good during the night and during the day, I liked the tracking motion and there is also support for local and Cloud storage. There are a few things that I would change, such as offering a free plan on their Cloud. Also, the app is not yet perfectly polished, but it’s getting there and I do look forward to the tilt movement for the motion tracking. Overall, it’s a good indoors camera, especially considering the price tag, so I would give the SwitchBot Pan/Tilt a chance.

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

There’s also a bump to the supported storage from 64GB to 128GB which can make a difference. The battery has been cut by 500mAh to 6,000mAh and the motorized tilt and pan movements are still available from the mobile app. So, in a sense, the Reolink Argus PT 2K doesn’t differ that much from the Argus Pro 3, even though the latter does have color night vision. But with the former, you do gain the option to move the camera around and I did like that both cameras support the option to rely on a small solar panel for charging up the battery. And it’s useful considering that neither have detachable batteries.

Furthermore, similarly to the RLC-842 that I tested recently, Reolink has added the support for the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on the Argus PT 2K, so you do get the option to adjust the camera’s behavior and position using one of the smart assistants. That being said, I am very curious to see how well the camera works in a home environment (especially since it’s a WiFi camera), so let’s put it to the test and see if it can indeed be a reliable security asset for your home.

Design and Build Quality

The security cameras that have Pan and Tilt motors are always a bit oddly designed and that’s because the manufacturer needs to include all these additional components while keeping the case as compact as possible. Even so, the camera most likely ends up big and heavy. Obviously, the Reolink Argus PT 2K is not a small camera, considering that it measures 4.4 x 3.8 x 3.8 inches (11.2 x 9.8 x 9.8cm) and it gets a little bit larger if we take into account the stand and the antenna. But it has managed to remain fairly balanced in terms of weight (16.5oz or 460g) and that’s because the device is made of plastic. And there are two sides for this decision.

First, the cost can be more affordable and secondly, if Reolink used the same metallic alloy as on the other outdoor cameras, the Reolink Argus PT would have become the equivalent of a bowling ball hanging from the ceiling or the wall. The good news is that despite being made of plastic, the camera does have some protection against the elements, but it’s less effective than on the RLC-842A, the RLC-811A or even the Argus 3 Pro. That’s because the enclosure is IP64-rated, so it is dust-proof and some water splashing towards the device should not harm it.

The protection against powerful water jets is not guaranteed, so it’s best to not put the camera completely in the open – and it’s not only about storms, lightning is the number one enemy of outdoors electronics. In terms of temperature, the Reolink Argus PT 2K should remain operational when it’s between 14° to 131° F (or -10 to 55° C), so it’s not going to work that well in areas with harsh winters (unfortunately, they’re starting to not be a thing anymore). The case of the camera is divided into three parts, there’s the bottom area which is the widest section and it’s where the manufacturer added the battery and the motor for panning the camera. Then, there’s a silver ring (also made of plastic) which marks the division with the upper area where there’s a support with the tilt motor and the sphere with the lens.

As usual, the sphere is black, while the rest of the case is covered by a white matte finish. And I have seen that Reolink has added a fairly large speaker (for a security camera) very near the lens – there is also a built-in microphone, so it’s very possible to have a two-way conversation with people that are near the camera (such as a courier). Around the lens, there’s a status LED (red means no WiFi connection, while blue means that the connection has been successful), a daylight sensor and a PIR sensor (six IR LEDs). If you move the sphere backwards a bit, you will see the microSD card slot (supports 128GB cards) and a a recessed Reset button.

I have noticed that there is a silicone cover with Power written on it and it’s there to cover the On/Off button (nice addition) and further down, there is another silicone cover with Open written on it. It covers a microUSB port which I admit took me a bit by surprise considering that most manufacturers moved away from this standard. I think the reason why it’s still there (besides cutting a bit in terms of cost) is because the solar panels have been mass-produced with a microUSB port, so yeah, Reolink essentially trapped itself for a few years – the Argus 3 Pro has this port as well. Inside the package, you will also get the antenna (it’s omni-directional), as well as the stand which is made of plastic and it can be attached at the top of the camera.

Internal Hardware

Since this isn’t the RLC-842, where you need to open the case to mount it, I assume that it’s very possible to lose the warranty if you want to take a sneak peek inside the Reolink Argus PT 2K. But, since such trivial things don’t bother me, I decided to check what’s inside the camera and the first thing that needed to be done was to remove the six screws from the base of the Argus PT (the section that will end up at the top). Then, I could remove the battery and I could see three other screws which, once removed, it allowed me to see the pan motor and how it works inside the case.

After removing the next set of screws, I finally reached the main components area and the first thing that I saw was the WiFi chipset (appears to be the same CC3200R1 ARM M4 MCU 802.11b/g/n chip as on the previous Argus PT). Going deeper, I detached the small PCB and the plastic that protected the spherical section of the camera. Afterwards, I removed the screws that kept the top part of the sphere attached and I could identify 32GB of flash memory from MXIC (MX25L25645G). I also assume they use the same Novatek NT98523MBG chip for the processing – I couldn’t identify it since they glued an aluminum heatsink on top of the chip.

The Installation

Unlike most other Reolink products that either get directly attached to the wall or ceiling or you need to use a bracket (then rotate the camera into place), the Reolink Argus PT 2K is a bit more particular. It’s not a difficult process or anything, it’s just that the support needs to be attached first, then you will notice that there is an Open button at the top. Disengage it and then rotate the small circular bracket out of its space. Yes, you can simply use this small bracket to attach the camera to a pole or tree (there is a strap in the package).

But, in my case, I just rotate the bracket into the camera and then I inserted it back into the support (rotate the bracket into place and release the button). And now it would also be a good time to add the antenna. The fact that it’s quite easy to detach the camera from its stand and then charge is a nice touch, but there is a solar panel available from Reolink that you can use to charge the camera continuously throughout the day. It’s the same solar panel that I seen when I tested the Reolink Argus 3 so you can read more about it there (in short, it’s compact and nicely built).

Note: If you do intend to use the solar panel, I suggest you first attach the solar panel and the camera stand, then connect the cable to the Reolink Argus PT 2K making sure to push the silicone cover over the port and then attach the camera to the stand (I also realized that there is an inner LED for charging).

The Mobile App

After turning on the camera, it will start making a sonar-like sound and that’s to let you know that it is searching for your phone, so it’s ready to be paired (it will also consume the battery). Download and install the Reolink app (Android OS and iOS) and then tap on the Plus sign. The app will want to access your camera to scan the QR code (which is located at the bottom of the Reolink Argus PT 2K) and then it will ask if the Wi-Fi is Configured. In my case it wasn’t (I was using the 5GHz network), so the app asked if it could know my location to identify the network by itself. I preferred to not give it my location, so I inserted the 2.4GHz credentials manually, after which I had to scan a QR code displayed on my phone using the camera.

There will be a bip and a voice confirmation that the connection has been successful. Then, I had to create a password, choose a name for the camera, select the location (outdoors or indoors) and I could access the GUI. If you have used any other Reolink camera, the layout is pretty much the same, so there’s the live view covering the top half of the window, while underneath, there are some quick action icons, as well as some main tabs at the bottom.

The quick action icons allow you to Play/Pause the footage, un/mute the microphone, capture a photo or record a video. There’s also the option to choose the image quality (Fluent or 4MP) and view the footage in full screen mode. Above the live view, there’s the live bitrate, as well as the button that will trigger the alarm (and I think it reaches about 75dB, so it not really that loud). The first tab at the bottom is called Talk and it will allow you to speak with a person near the Reolink Argus PT 2K; then, there’s the Clip option to digitally zoom on a certain area, as well as the PTZ to move the camera around. It’s more like a joystick, so you can move the camera in four directions (you can Pan 355 degrees and tilt up to 140 degrees).

The fourth tab allows you to visit the Playback and, as with the other Reolink cameras, it’s the way to check the videos captured by the camera filtered by certain time periods. If you tap on the cogwheel in the top right corner, you can access the Settings area, where you can see the Battery life, change the Network and the Display settings, as well as the notifications and email alerts (you can get a snapshot of what triggered the alarm). Furthermore, you can change the sound of the Siren (you can even schedule it), enable Time Lapse (it will eat up the battery) and adjust the PIR Motion Sensor settings (the Sensitivity).

I haven’t seen any settings related to the smart detection and that got me a bit concerned that it was missing, but going to the Push Notifications section, I was able to see that there was indeed vehicle and person detection. In short, the notification will tell you if the alarm was set by a person or by a car. Lastly, as I already mentioned, there is support for Amazon Alexa and Google Home Assistant, but I do look forward for support for the open-source Home Assistant as well.

The Image Quality of the Reolink Argus PT 2K

The Reolink Argus PT 2K uses a 4MP sensor, with the resolution of 2560 x 1440p which is excellent for a WiFi camera that relies on batteries and, as I got accustomed with the Reolink cameras, the footage is very good. Especially during the day since, as you can see from the video, even if it was a bit cloudy, all the details are there and I do appreciate that they toned down a bit the contrast.

This way, the colors are now more natural, although a boost in contrast is still there (to enhance the image a little bit). I also saw that the chromatic aberrations that slightly affected the RLC-842A are gone which confirms that it was the transparent dome that was causing them. I did pause the video several times to see if I could identify the plate number on the passing cars, but the movement made is somewhat improbable that I could get a clear view.

If the car is parked (not farther than 100 feet), it’s possible to see the plate number, so those that stalk and want to see your habits (to enter your property later) would have to be very far and unobtrusive to not be captured by the camera. What about the pan and tilt? As expected there is a difference in reaction when you’re on your WiFi network and when you’re relying on the 4G/LTE (or 5G, if it’s available).

And it’s not negligible because in my case, it could take 3 to 5 seconds until the camera would move – the footage was also late by a few seconds when on 4G. When the camera was on my local WiFi, the notifications were almost instantaneous, even if it was about 30 feet away from the router, but be aware that this may differ depending on the signal strength, so make sure to keep it strong (and there are multiple ways to have WiFi both indoors and outdoors using access points or wireless extenders). During the night, the camera films in black and white because it lacks a spotlight to deliver colored night vision (it’s possible without it though, as seen on the Annke NC400).

That being said, the black and white video looks good and, while I appreciate the deeper blacks (from an artistic point of view), I think that it’s better to under-saturate the shadows, so no one can hide in the darkness. It’s going to be at the expense of video quality and I am not sure that all users will understand the trade-off. In any case, it’s not a bad idea to keep a light source where it gets very dark during the night, even a faint one since it will help tremendously. Regarding the pan and tilt movements, the performance doesn’t differ in any way from what we saw during the day.

Smart Motion Detection

As I already mentioned in the Mobile App section, the smart motion detection may seem a bit more subtle on the Reolink Argus PT 2K, but it’s actually working as well as on the other Reolink cameras. It’s just that you don’t have any saying on how it behaves, gaining a bit of a black box status. In any case, the notifications are the ones that are going to make it clear that the camera has either detected a moving car or a person and, in if it can’t tell the shape, it will just say that it has detected movement.

I saw that the icons don’t appear in the recorded footage (the usual car or person icons), but they do appear when checking the live view from my phone. And it does seem that it works fine during the day and the night, just make sure to keep some light source in the area of interest, so the camera can pick up the movement.

The Conclusion

If you want a reliable pan and tilt camera that can be mounted outdoors, you can’t really go wrong with the Reolink Argus PT 2K. Sure, it wasn’t built for the harshest weather, but it will survive most conditions and there’s also the smart motion sensing which is not something you regularly find at this price point. There’s also the 2K resolution and good night vision, and in terms of storage, you get to choose between microSD card or Cloud access. Additionally, there’s the optional solar panel that is able to keep the camera running for a very long time, so, if you’re on a trip, you don’t have to worry that the camera’s battery will run out before you return.

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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