Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) IP PoE AI Camera, FOV 129°, 49ft Color Nightvision, Security Outdoor Bullet Camera, Human & Vehicle Detection, Active Deterrent, 4K @15fps, IP8M-2796EB-AI (Black)

Simply the best, including the night vision feature.

Functionality: I can make all of the necessary configurations with any browser. Currently using Chrome. Saving is very important as I make any changes. Overall experience: • I am not a fan of bullet cameras but decided to give this one a shot (am in love with the spotlight, more later) • Connected to my network quickly and joined my BlueIris server. • Very surprised at the size of this camera. It was actually a bit bigger than I expected and is very, very solid metal. • This camera is positioned in a spot on our farm overlooking our ducks because there was a couple of features of this camera I wanted to test out in this area. • It is very clear that it is waterproof as undoing the screws from the dome piece I could hear the air being released. It was also very simple to add the SD card. Image: • The 129-degree field of view makes for an excellent image and is much wider than you would expect as well as most other cameras. The image is crystal clear and the coverage is amazing. • While not a stated feature, for some reason I feel that this camera has a bit higher viewpoint if that makes sense. I can see more top to bottom. That may be due to placement or the wider angle but either way, it has been a perfect fit for this location. Night Vision: • The night vision kicks on and looks great when needed. • I will forever always try to purchase and recommend cameras that have the spotlight feature. Ever since it was updated to being able to be ‘always on’ during motion, I have just raved about it. Having that additional light powered by POE is incredible to me. While it’s not a floodlight, it is just enough during the night when I am walking out there to light up my path. • Really appreciate the night color Technology. Makes the night time images much easier to see Audio: • While I am not using audio to trigger recording, it is very nice to be able to listen in on the ducks as they go about their day. • It is crystal clear and cutting adjusting for the wind noise was easy to accomplish with the provided settings. Playback: • It’s great to be able to select by file type when looking at recordings. This makes it much quicker to go through the videos of the day. AI: • This is where I wanted to do some additional testing. This camera is pointed at our ducks on the farm and I wanted to test it’s motion, human detection as well as trip-line (IVS). • I was able to easily block out where the ducks are located in the detection area very quickly. Then using IVS, set trip lines coming from both directions to pick up any animals or humans. I also set the detection to humans. • Notifications and video seemed to be captured every time it was feeding time (human) and anytime the trip-line was tripped (dogs running by) which was fantastic to see. I have been able to see these events specifically as well as know if any racoons show up in the area again. There have defiantly been some false positives but I would much rather that then not capturing something. Overall, this is a great bullet camera with an incredibly wide-angle view. I have found a permeant spot with this camera overlooking my ducks and can view their entire pen as well as anything approaching with it. While I wish the hood was a bit more movable, it is not necessary due to the camera facing more north. The camera and image though are top quality from Amcrest as usual and with the included spotlight, this is easily in one of my top 3 cameras from Amcrest.

The Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) IP PoE AI Camera IP8M-2796EB-AI (Black) is a great option for outdoor monitoring, as its sturdy case and high definition video coupled with smart software packs a solid combo for any business or private residence Pros: The 4k video quality is very well defined, when magnified it doesn’t pixelate. Face detection has come a long way, the IP8M-2796EB-AI does a good job at tracking faces, yet there are limitations (see below) The POE option works very well for powering the camera and transferring AV info. POE can be furnished by POE capable switch or one of the Amcrest NVRs (I am using the Amcrest NV4108E-A2 4K 8CH POE NVR and it works great!) Motion detection works very well with the IP8M-2796EB-AI and can save on storage when used to record only if motion is detected The super-wide 129° viewing angle is a major benefit over other cameras (I currently own 3 other turret Amcrest cameras). The built in light is useful, as it can deter intruders Night-vision is good, better than some other cameras, yet not as good as the best color night-vision cameras. Still good for the price point. The H.265 compression works well with the microSD card and also the SSD installed in the NVR. The adjustment of the camera is easier than turret cameras. Cons / Areas of improvement: Video — the 15 fps at 4k may be sufficient for most circumstances, but limiting when dealing with fast moving subjects. Face detection can be difficult when the camera is installed high up and a direct angle on the person’s face cannot be obtained. The microSD card is not easily accessible, therefore enabling some protection from potential thieves, but also difficult to access by the owner. Cloud $ subscription can add up over the course of time, thus SD card access for local recording or NVR option are necessities (upfront cost vs. subscription cost). Recommendations: Include a camera speaker for two-way communications (the microphone option on the software requires additional speaker to be installed in order for it to be functional). Amcrest Cloud does not see the cameras once powered by the Amcrest NV4108E-A2 4K 8CH POE NVR and has no option for adding a NVR device. Please fix this. Amcrest Software needs to be more user friendly and intuitive. As is, it appears to be more friendly to programmers. Conclusion: The Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) IP PoE AI Camera IP8M-2796EB-AI (Black) is a great option for an outdoor camera, it appears sturdy enough to withstand the harshness of weather, it installs relatively quickly and securely, with enough motion range and a wide angle that forgo the need for pan/tilt. The quality of the image is very good and the AI options for face detection, motion detection and setting up to four zones for movement/sensitivity come in very handy. I recommend the IP8M-2796EB-AI (Black) camera.

This Amcrest bullet security camera, model IP8M-2796EW-AI, has been an overall positive experience to set up and use. I am using it to replace an older model camera with lower resolution, and have attached the new one to the rear of my property on the garage. The packaging for the camera was top notch. It was packed securely in foam padding, and included a mounting template, screws and anchors, and the necessities to ensure a water-tight connection to the ethernet port if necessary. Some brief documentation was also in the box, although I found myself consulting the more thorough online documentation while learning the nuances of the device. As has been my experience previously with other Amcrest cameras, set-up was simple. I attached the camera to a PoE switch to provide power and to perform initial configuration before mounting it. It obtained an IP address from my DHCP server, and after logging in to the familiar web interface and changing the default password, I set a static address for the device. For this type of gear, I prefer to group the cameras within the same consecutive static IP space - it just makes them easier for me to manage, but isn't a necessity for operation. After completing the initial configuration, I mounted the camera in its new home on the outdoor wall of the garage and aimed it in the direction that I want to observe. The camera housing is quality, and it feels quite durable, so I wasn't fearful of breaking it while mounting. Once mounting was complete, I attached the permanent PoE ethernet cable and began to configure the details of the device. I utilize my fleet of Amcrest cameras with Synology's Surveillance Station, and I was pleased to see that this camera model is present in the Synology, so I did not have to configure it as a generic Amcrest device. The camera's AI features are really good at detecting both humans and cars. The alley at the rear of my property is infrequently traveled by cars, but people do walk through it during the day. In the Synology, I configured it to record only on detection of these advanced events, and it's doing a great job. The camera's image sensor is EXCELLENT, at 8MP. The detail captured by this sensor is really good quality. Should something nefarious occur at the back of my home, I am confident that this camera will capture anything needed to identify those involved. The nighttime image quality is also exceptionally great. I have also scheduled the camera, within its web interface, to only flash the white light during specific overnight nighttime hours - hours during which I want someone to know it's there, in case they have bad intentions. While performing configurations and in an attempt to get everything set up just right, I consulted with Amcrest's detailed PDF documentation for the product. They cover the bases, detailing answers to any of the questions I had along the way. There's also the option to reach out to support, and even a few support forums for deeper discussion, but I didn't require that level of help with this device. In all, Amcrest has delivered another device that doesn't disappoint. I feel comfortable knowing that this watchful eye is present to keep watch over things on my property.

Installation: - The nice thing about PoE cameras is that they are essentially plug and play. If your PoE is setup correctly, then you can plug it in and be on your way. It took me a few days to get my PoE switch in the mail and so a few extra days before I could actually try the Amcrest camera. - When I first connected the camera, I downloaded the Amcrest Config Tool and searched for my camera. It found it immediately, and I tried to login with default credentials... and it didn't work! - I called customer service and spoke with Jasmine who led me through the process of doing a factory reset on the camera, which reset the credentials. Then I was able to login to the camera. - Unfortunately, the URLs in the user manual were no longer active (e.g. amcrest.com/blueiris) or I did not have permissions to access them (e.g. amcrest.com/aisetup) however, I was able to figure it out pretty easily Mounting: - I did not receive any mounting instructions or a drilling template with this camera, but the screws and anchors were present. I decided against using those and instead I cut out some metal sheeting that would fit over my soffits and I bolted the camera down to them. This was very effective. The placement of the holes gave me several different options for mounting the camera. Camera Access: - Being a PoE camera, I was interested in accessing it via the web browser, or accessing it via BlueIris. Both were so simple to do - The web interface is easy to use - it provides the Main Stream as well as two Sub Streams. Each stream is configurable. This allows me to be able to look at the 4k resolution video, record at a lower resolution, and then switch to recording at the higher resolution when an event occurs. If you set it up right, you get a good amount of data saved while saving a lot of storage space. - I really really appreciate being able to modify Network settings, configuration, etc. from the web browser. And it works great - Being able to set schedules from the web interface for recording is very useful. It even has a provision for Holidays - and it can send your data to SD Card, to FTP or to a NAS! And it works great Camera Rotation: - This is my biggest annoyance with the camera - it can only rotate in one direction after mounting - not 360 degrees. I actually mounted it wrong the first time not realizing this and had to unmount, rotate and mount again. It also severely limited where the camera could look after it was mounted. If I wanted it to look in a slightly different direction on one axis, I would need to unmount, drill new holes and remount. Get it right the first time! Camera Resolution/Visuals - The camera has two adjustable profiles for Day and Night which is awesome! - The camera is advertised as 4k, and the settings say 4k on them. I do not have any 4k monitors to test this on, but the picture is crystal clear on my 2k monitors. - I am impressed with the Night Vision... I can actually see color and it's as if I'm looking at the camera in the evening Audio - I have not had the need for Audio yet in the placement of this camera, however it is close by my HVAC Unit so I was able to see how sensitive the Audio is. - I hear a lot of wind sounds throughout the day when I have the camera open, so if possible to have some wind screening that might be a good improvement Motion Detection - The Motion detection works very well. It seems to be a little inconsistent with bugs though - sometimes when bugs fly in front of the camera it triggers motion detection and other times it doesn't. Blue Iris Integration - I could not figure out how to control the light from BlueIris software (to turn it on and off) but I was able to control it from the web interface of the camera to turn on with motion detection - Blue Iris integration was very easy - I simply gave it the IP of the camera and it was ready. Overall - All in all, I am very impressed with this product. I evaluated it for a couple of weeks now, and I am happy to include it as part of my home integration, smart home and security system. - I would give it an 8/10 with the following notes for improvement: -- Better rotation capabilities (even if it needs a screwdriver) after it is mounted -- Update microphones to include wind screening (minor) -- Include a drilling guide if not already included