Should you buy a cheap security camera? I tested 6 budget friendly wired cameras.

I bought and tested Amazon's top 6 inexpensive security cameras under $50 to figure out which one of them is the best. Some of these cheap security cameras were MUCH better than others.
Top Picks:
Reolink RLC-510A:
(AmazonUS) amzn.to/3qdBy0s
(AmazonCA) amzn.to/4a4sqAf
Amcrest 5MP-T1179EW:
(AmazonUS) amzn.to/3KGRfHc
(AmazonUK) amzn.to/49LlTL2
VEEZOOM N151BS:
(AmazonUS) amzn.to/3KLAU3K
(AmazonCA) amzn.to/438X4pW
Other cameras tested:
Annke C500: amzn.to/3RurAUR
ANPVIZ IPC-D350W-S: amzn.to/3RurAUR
SV3C 2MP: amzn.to/3qbf3JP
*As an Amazon Affiliate I earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you*
Visit my website: www.TheSmartHo...
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Support my channel directly:
Patreon: / thehookup
Music by www.BenSound.com
Support my channel:
Patreon: / thehookup
Music by www.BenSound.com

[@ahmadsaeid]

Florida man filmed running frantically in front of his house with a card that says "test: text". More on the story, in this report:

[@gohamm34652]

Neighbors not surprised as this is Florida.

[@E4S65]

I love how intimidating your camera test rigs look. Imagine a burglar checking out the place and seeing this on the house 0:39

[@DLJaspah]

I picked up 5 of the Amcrest 5MP turrets a little over a year ago and they've held up well, even during a cold and snowy winter. I've only ever used them with Blue Iris as my NVR and always thought the picture quality, both in daylight and at night, was fairly decent. I'm pretty happy with them so far.

[@BrandonDoyleMN]

It's like at the eye doctor.. here's 1, here's 2.. great video, you're a master of your craft

[@TheHookUp]

Great analogy, that’s exactly what it feels like sometimes. Also the “uh, I guess that’s better?” feeling.

[@DigitalCircus777]

Another great video and exactly what many of us need for our home security requirements. Thanks and keep up the great work! 😀

[@CraigMullins1]

Can't wait for the NVR roundup! One thing might be worth mentioning fro all reviews - What cameras do motion detection on camera, on nvr only, or only in the cloud. Some of us farm peeps have low upload capacity and AI won't work if it's done in the cloud. It actually makes the cameras stop recording with some brands; like blink/ring without the pro alarm for ring or the newer blink cameras and add on unit.

[@TheHookUp]

All the cameras in this video are doing detection on camera, no cloud involved.

[@dushiyuebantan]

Homaxi camera support cloud,include Google drive and dropbox.

[@dp70737]

I just tried to put a G5-Pro on blue iris... turns out Unifi has discontinued the "standalone" mode and now requires you to run rstp thru a protect application to use it (moved the image adjustment out of the direct ip web interface as well) I cant belive they didnt that. never thought i would need to check if a poe camera could be used by itself!! might make a good video because i cant be the only one that didnt know. forums even suggested some G4 models sold after a certain date would be effected (i assume a firmware down grade might fix that assumming they leave the old firm ware up) oh yea no firmware available for manual update on the G5 either. Makes me want to ditch unifi for all my clients @@TheHookUp

[@APSuk2]

Really appreciate these CCTV reviews, no other channel compares so many and tests them in a way they actually show you their strengths and weaknesses. All this with a straight to the point no BS presentation that is easy to understand, very much appreciate the time and effort you put in to these videos. One question I do have is the clips showing the Reolink PC client are of very old build, was this some old footage you had from previous reviews or are you running an old build for a reason? My entire system is Reolink including the NVR and I have had the worse time with the PC client, I have sent over 800 messages to Reolink over to course of 8 months trying to get them to resolve a bug where the client will just crash randomly. We tried everything and they can replicate the issue but in the end they gave up and just wanted to give me a partial refund to close the support case. This now leaves me looking at getting a PC, PoE switch and going the Blue Iris route. I find their AI algorithm very hit and miss, it can be rock solid for a week and then all of a sudden I will start getting false positives for vehicles or persons on a camera. Most false positives occur at dusk or night which I guess could be down to the poor video quality night performance screwing with the AI algorithm. After trying every possible setting combination they still occur from time to time and their will be tens of them all clumped together.

[@TheHookUp]

Not purposefully using an old client, just happens to be the last time I downloaded it I guess. There is no perfect AI algorithm yet, and every one I've tried will produce some false detections. Deepstack struggles with infrared images and even Frigate (OpenCV) occasionally thinks that my mailbox is a person. The biggest increase in Reolink person detection accuracy that I accomplished was making sure to correctly set up the minimum and maximum object size for a human, and doing so decreased false motion alerts by 90%. What are the steps to replicate your client crash?

[@APSuk2]

@@TheHookUp Thanks for the info on the AI algorithms, I guess until I try another system I won't really know how good or bad the Reolink algorithm really is. I have played with the minimum object size quite a lot over my 8 cameras during the past 8 months as I was getting cats and spiders being detected as persons. I also have to cover all the plants in my front garden with a detection zone as they also get detected as persons. It is very sensitive though as due to how perspective works if you set the area too large a person further away from the camera will not be detected due to their perceived size. Also because with the Reolink system there is no way of knowing what caused the activation unless it is really obvious due to the lack of an overlay that shows you what caused the activation trying to setup detection zones to block the cause is really hit and miss. If you submit footage Reolink they will tell you what caused the detection but that takes at least a week for them to get back to you, they really need to include a system in the software so you can do this yourself. To replicate the PC client crashing issue download a version of 8.5.2 or above and start playing back footage. To increase the likelihood of a crash start manually skipping between detections or timer recordings and it will crash, switching between cameras is also a good way to get the client to crash. Another bug is the marker on the timeline jumping to the top of the hour when switching between cameras or manually moving the marker along the timeline. I have to memorise the time of the footage I am watching as the client will either crash or the marker will jump and I have to start over and find where I was again. I have all my cameras recording 24/7 with sound and all are 8MP.

[@zzafarr]

It is interesting how toe to toe we are going and are aligned in our interests :) HomeAssistant, Cameras, Blue Iris, Vacuums, Automation, Solar, Cars (Tesla :)), etc ...AND the way you deliver the content ! I can honestly say that you did already save me some time in the research and becoming a "go-to" and "follow-to" :)

[@AuthenTech]

"or maybe nowhere at all." 😂

[@quaternion-pi]

Excellent review. I hope you would consider POE cams and setup considerations for license plate recognition (LPR). Certainly not a low budget topic. Thanks for your comprehensive, thoughtful videos. I follow many of your recommendations using Blue Iris with 20+ POE cams.

[@BrianLough]

Thanks for the video Rob! We're considering some cameras at the moment and this is probably the kind of price range we might start with!

[@greatunz67]

I wonder what his neighbours are thinking when they seem him running up and down the street at night holding a sign lmao!

[@demonvalentine1]

Thank you, your recommended best will be perfect for my back yard, whereas the amcrest would probably work best for my street facing yard.

[@chelseab5467]

Thank you those tests were really helpful!

[@311DaveR]

Thanks, I’m an Arlo user and want to upgrade. I think I’m going for your budget solution and will use them in parallel. I’m on the free Arlo subscription from day one, and just want a little bit better protection. Thank you very much!!

[@unperrier5998]

FYI h264 and h265 are not profiles. They're different codecs. Profiles are within a codec and named by either their name, e.g. "main" or "high" for example or by their value, e.g. 4.0 or 4.1 (respectively)

[@bechirbejaoui3687]

Great Work Mate, very useful information, many thanks

[@NathanBorup]

Amcrest also has an integration with home assistant for audio and motion detection (you can even customize the zone for the motion detection)

[@TheHookUp]

Reolink and Amcrest both have solid home assistant integrations.

[@Cevandri]

It would be interesting to see comments about hows front yard with all those cameras from neighbors and passersby. Maybe make a side video to ask? (When they see 10+ Cameras in one spot)

[@JoeyDee86]

Are you able to give Frigate a try? I’m extremely interested in it due to the AI options and it appears to be much leaner than BlueIris

[@TheHookUp]

It will be included in the NVR video (there was even a little sneak peak of it in this video).

[@JoeyDee86]

@@TheHookUp oh you got me, I didn’t watch yet, was saving it for later :D

[@txdoodlebug]

It is pretty obvious you are the guru on the cameras. For the guy who doesn't want to spend hours going down that rabbit hole which camera should one buy with a say a $200 per camera budget. Camera feeds a Synology NAS running surveillance station. Currently have some 3 year old reolinks. I want to add a few more cameras and if they are sufficiently better than the current ones slowly replace them all.

[@KeyBored101]

Great info as always

[@UltimateTechHub]

Great video. I love Reolink cameras. I have 6 PoE Reolink cameras outside my house.

[@greenstaraz]

Audio, Image, Synology support are very important to me

[@diego5642]

Am gonna buy through your links. I got this real valuable information for free, its the least i can do.

[@jh61]

Amcrest has desktop software called Amcrest Surveillance Pro, But it boots hailing a "Smart PSS" font during startup. SO yeah, another masked version of Dahua's Smart PSS, I'm running it to see how it displays my doorbell and my NVR stream just as a test.

[@light-master]

Can someone explain to me the purpose of having a camera that looks great during the daytime, but horrible at night? Wouldn't you expect the most important time to record to be at night when it's more likely to have someone break in?

[@TheHookUp]

Retail stores, warehouses, patios with lights, etc.

[@TheHookUp]

Also, completely anecdotally, I've only had to pull footage from my cameras to give to the police 3 times, all during daylight hours (1 trespassing, 1 hit and run, 1 vandalism).

[@thegoondockswarcouncil9543]

Break-ins aren’t the only use cases. We have a camera in the backyard to keep an eye on the kids while they are playing. Also, if break-ins are your main use case, my understanding is that daytime break-in’s are becoming more and more the norm, as some the criminals would rather you aren’t home and you are more likely to be home during the night than during work hours. Really, it could happen anytime, so good day/night would be ideal. I’m just saying night is not the only one that matters.

[@user-xu2pi6vx7o]

Ample street lighting, PIR floodlights, ambient light from things like billboards, etc.

[@TomCee53]

Your link for the ANNKE goes to the Anpviz. It happens.😊 Excellent review.

[@everydayguy3737]

Love the work you do with security and safety thank you for this

[@muubie]

Hi Rob, I currently have a Wyze cam v2 at my front door so I can view visitors and package deliveries. It's really an indoor camera but I bought a case and just mounted it outside maybe 3 years ago. It's really served it's purpose well and hasn't really given me any issues. Still, I was considering getting a Eufy C24 to replace it as I don't really like that I only get 12 seconds of recording with the Wyze. I know most of your reviews are of higher quality outdoor cams but is there something you recommend over the Eufy C24 in the up to $100 price range? TIA

[@guyaldrich5878]

I have 3 Tapo 325wb's wifi camera's running on blue iris,they will blow away all of those you have here !

[@Bremend]

We need a video on all of these cheap "lightbulb" and non-lightbulb ptz cameras that keep getting advertised. I have no doubt they are crap but I'm very curious how crappy they are.

[@krislukm]

Omg OMG. Great content dude

[@astronautclub9261]

Great video on these low budget cameras....

[@311DaveR]

Thanks!

[@mikeav7083]

What is the best DISCRETE security camera for apartment entrances ? that records the footage when the motion sensors triggers recoding.

[@1STGeneral]

Are there any screw in to a light fixture security cameras worth purchasing ? I'm not looking for anything spectacular just able to turn and adjust from an android device. Thank you

[@Whereisthelambsauce330]

thank you for providing such great info :)

[@publicmail2]

Great comparison, like to see under $50 or so, wifi PTZ and ethernet.

[@TheHookUp]

I've tested a few $50 PTZ cameras, they were BAD... pretty much just toys.

[@macemoneta]

@@TheHookUp The Amcrest 4MP is available for under $50 and is great.

[@TheHookUp]

4mp Amcrest ptz for under $50? My 4mp Amcrest ptz was $500!

[@macemoneta]

@@TheHookUp Different Amcrest 4MP? IP4M-1041W is normally $60, frequently available for $50.

[@TheHookUp]

@@macemoneta Oh, that's an indoor only non-PoE camera, not really the same use case as the things in this video.

[@igoragostinho5802]

Hi, I especially like the aesthetics of these 2 cameras: Reolink RLC-843A ACZ800 ANNKE ...but there are no videos about them that help me understand if they are really worth the investment. I'm undecided on the choice to make to put it in my home. Do you think you can help me understand this?

[@GillySqueeze]

love your videos

[@ericoakley3159]

Excellent review. Do any of these brands offer fall detection camera or a LiDAR sensor for indoor use in private areas like bathrooms? Or an add-on to Blue Iris for cameras and support for Hikvison DS-TDSB00-EKT Fall Detection Radar?

[@thomasward8498]

Best ones the annke

[@Airbag888]

After the latest update the Reolink 810As I got around the house are closer to 1 key frame/s but not quite irrespective of the time of day/night.. they overshoot/undershoot all the time meanwhile the 2 hikvision I got (cheaper, 3mpx) are rock solid aka less artifacts on BI

[@TheHookUp]

Did you check the Fixed Framerate "On, Fluency First" option?

[@Airbag888]

@@TheHookUp I did, I'll try again on a more powerful computer to see if the mini PC I was using was too underpowered but yeah other cameras stuck to the 1.0 key frame interval without issues.. (could be the h265 codec of reolink but I'm using the substream which is h264 if I'm not mistaken)

[@Atum_Ra]

Reolink just needs to upgrade their software a little. (Video scrubbing would be nice) & stop slowing down the fps on night vision. I don't understand why they do that! They have the best all around platform and could become the leader in camera's but they keep cutting corners in my opinion.

[@DoobieDeb]

I want a camera for outside my motorhome it has to be of course weatherproof and I want on my phone and PC no subscription wifi only

[@Mike5Brown]

Have you spent any time playing with Frigate? I’m in the process of adding cameras to my system and trying to decide if I’m good enough with just frigate, or if I need to do something more light blue iris. Although the biggest thing I’m working on right now is wiring --edit-- Ah yes you are mentioning Frigate, I’ll dig through you videos and see if I missed one about it.

[@th0master]

I wonder what you’re neighbors are thinking, with all those cameras on your house 😂😂

[@ronm6585]

Thanks Rob. 👍🏻

[@AnitaRedmond-op8ws]

do any of these cameras record audio

[@ilyatous]

Bare foot testing makes great test :) thanks for the good hook up

[@LTVoyager]

Is your large font similar in size to license plate numbers?

[@socaloutdoors7355]

Great vid

[@matthewharrison3813]

Thanks for the great review. Could you please add power consumption to future reviews? Especially for cheaper cameras, running costs may quickly exceed purchase costs if your electricity prices are high.

[@postskeetclarity]

What are these things mining bitcoins too or something?

[@Underdog271]

Can you review the best video security camera with motion detection and night color vision for behind glass. A lot of people including me live in an apartment and need a good security camera to put in the window. Thank in advance

[@peterklawitter1450]

what is the best way to see all security cameras on all TV's in a home? so i have 3x TV's want to be able to see all cameras if i need to on all TV's in house. what is the best solution or how to do this?

[@josephcarson]

I love your videos. Any chance you plan on reviewing this bad boy ANNKE FCD600 I was wondering if it would work with my existing swann nvr? Thanks for doing all these reviews there awesome and it helped me pick my system last year.

[@TheHookUp]

Yes, I will be reviewing the FCD600 soon.

[@anonomas7123]

great content and delivery as always. do you have an ETA on the NVR video? I need to upgrade the system at my office but i wont dare until i heard the final word on NVRs from The Hook Up!

[@TheHookUp]

Sunday 9/18

[@leonardlunsford8924]

I used a car dashcam with a phone charger and 30$ for it

[@PurpleDragonProsperity]

I am new to the research to get an in home sec cam. Do these need a sd card or subscription? I want to be able to save any footage if needed. Do these need you to download an app? Can these be used ondoors?

[@Intellistan]

Could you please do the opposite type of cameras? I understand the whole pushing affiliate products within reach of everyone, but I'm sure there are many of us who want high-end professional grade cameras to be showcased as well. Cameras that perform well beyond 25 feet and can be reliable for true surveillance of higher value properties/areas. Building years of tension looking for the best camera just to see a 1000 dollar camera be out performed by a 110 dollar camera is a bit annoying. Please review some cameras that can read the text perfectly out by the end of your driveway at night or something at least capable of reading a license plate or letters on a passing vehicle at 50 feet. Please, please and thank you.

[@TheHookUp]

Reading license plates can easily be done by a $150 zoom camera. The key is not expecting your LPR camera to do double duty as a general purpose detection camera. An LPR camera should be zoomed to a license plate choke point, and set up for a high gain, high FPS, and short exposure time. This video has a few $1000+ cameras from professional brands: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KsdX6ffsp7e5o

[@youknowit158]

Some of these I have never heard of

[@TheHookUp]

Veezoom is the only one I hadn’t tested before.

[@5050amd]

Now we need a PC monitor review 20-23 " under 180$

[@asuhadude4817]

Looking for a budget friendly wired 6 camera looking at lorex 4KAD86-2T-C882 but now having second thoughts about them being hacked.Would reolink be better? Also I wanted to use the app to monitor if needed through phone

[@PALADIN867]

@thehookup, are you including NX Witness in your NVR / VMS review?

[@jayhardway23]

Is there an AI to combine a floorplan and cameras available to the user (already purchased or planning to purchase) that then suggests placement?

[@19mati67]

You want to tell me, that cameras that don't even advertise their sensor size(which are most likely 1/3, or 1/2.7), are better, that a 1/1.8 Dahua camera? How did you setup their settings? Did you left it at default settings?

[@TheHookUp]

Which video did you mean to comment on? You left a comment about video cameras on a projector video.

[@kdramalover5242]

Hai, how about CCTV Tapo C310? Had u review it?

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

Thanks so much

[@BL-tr2ug]

Why do domestic xamera optics fail to deliver commercial quality zoom and capture when technology, manufacturing cost and other factors provide for it? - why are we getting limited products? Or products with limited ability.

[@TheHookUp]

I'm not sure I fully understand your question, but the market for DIY cameras that cost $1500 each is very small.

[@BL-tr2ug]

@@TheHookUp Sorry, I should have put it better. When we look at footage from commercial cameras the video quality always seems to be better, and camera functionality, including tilt, pan and zoom seem to be features that'd transfer into domestic camera systems at a better price point than currently available. No conspiracy offered, in some way I feel technology's advancements should allow security camera manufacturers to deliver better DIY systems but I can see how this might affect their commercial business. Airlines are a good example of companies slightly differentiating the same thing to sell a premium product, and I wonder how good DIY systems will ever get, they still seem to be far behind what's capable.

[@Kiloptero]

HI!! any recomendation for a POE interior camera? Worried about the design to not affect the interior design. Using Frigate + Home assistant.:D

[@TheHookUp]

I'm about to test out some 360 degree cameras that are very inconspicuous.

[@Shhh-ImHiding]

Thoughts on Canadian defender 2k 5mp??

[@sfcstriker9537]

Have you done any higher end comparisons. I'm looking at some other companies such as Backstreet Surveillance due to their advertised 5 year warranty, but haven't seen any third party reviews on their product. Thanks! By the way, I love your in-depth reviews...

[@TheHookUp]

I have a lot of higher end reviews, this is the most recent: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KsdX6ffsp7e5o Backstreet looks like Raysharp OEM to me, which is a lower end manufacturer from China.

[@sfcstriker9537]

@@TheHookUpI'll take a look and thanks again, keep up the great work!

[@anthonyshuman81]

Just a quick question about projectors, is the miroir L300 worth it at all? Best Buy says that it has native 1080p resolution and it looks like it’s true. Just didn’t know if you’d recommend it

[@bf3and4highlights83]

Just found your channel and it is a great site. My knowledge of camera security systems is very very basic. Can you put together a Frankenstein system? Can I get a really good camera for what I consider high target and then lower quality for lesser value areas and feed it into one base station? Different brands, resolutions etc.

[@TheHookUp]

Yes, absolutely. Stay tuned for my next video on NVRs.

[@user-xu2pi6vx7o]

Just make sure the cameras you pick have ONVIF. If they have that, then you can do anything.

[@Shadow-dz8zc]

did I miss a review of frigate vs motion eye vs blue iris? i dont think ive heard of frigate before and curious about it. maybe in your nvr roundup?

[@TheHookUp]

Yep. That will be in the NVR roundup.

[@Plissken68]

Great video. I'm looking for a second camera. I just purchased a Wyze V3 today online from Home Depot for $35. Found it at Slick Deals. Will probably choose the Reolink.

[@blitz00123]

If I buy ONVIF Reolink camera and a non Reolink ONVIF NVR, will it surely work? I hope you can make a video about NVR. What NVR to buy, How to setup etc. These camera compatibilities are quite confusing. There seems to be grey area if ONVIF compatibilities truly work's or not. The camera I wanted is from Reolink but I want an NVR that is ONVIF compatible. I read somewhere that Reolink NVR only work with Reolink cameras so it's a deal breaker for me. I want to have flexibility to choose other brand when I add new camera someday.

[@TheHookUp]

That video is coming (it was supposed to be the video for this week, but I had a package get lost).

[@FrankGraffagnino]

that app experience for reolink... does that all happen using a reolink NVR? or is it able to do all that pulling footage from the SD card from each camera?

[@TheHookUp]

It works the same with the NVR or cameras with individual SD cards.

[@hiz99]

Hey Rob! Are you still configuring your cameras to your network like you mentioned in your most recent unifi setup video?

[@TheHookUp]

Yes, I keep my cameras off the internet.

[@675Danny]

What about a camera with a good fov for a small retail store? #smb #nvr

[@VeritasEtAequitas]

Thanks, but one HUGE aspect you didn't cover is which of them require use of a proprietary app over the internet/with internet access. This is a critical security risk in that MANY camera companies have been found to be sending the video or other data over the internet including Chinese servers, NOT just LAN.

[@ppetrix]

What about a Poe camera that has Cloud storage like Tapo has? Can you please recommend a camera? Tnx

[@TheHookUp]

Reolink and Amcrest both have available cloud storage plans, they are not free though (I believe Reolink is free for 1 camera, but additional have a monthly charge).

[@oodles86]

Can I link these to an Aqara or Yolink hub, and have them trigger sirens?

[@TheHookUp]

Unlikely.

[@jakeleslie97]

Been a lot of thefts at my house lately, would prefer the least complicated to use. I would like one with decent night visions and over all quality. But would also like one that’s easy to use as I’m not very tech savvy.. any input? Would I need one of the recording boxes? How much storage can there be??

[@nickchandler1389]

Rob have you had issues integrating Reolink cameras into Frigate? Blake is apparently recommending Loryta cameras.

[@TheHookUp]

Nothing wrong with Loryta (Dahua cameras sold by Andy at EmpireTech). The 5442 in this video is from Loryta. From what I understand the issue with Reolink cameras is with H265 encoding. Only the 8mp reolink cameras are H265, so RTMP with the 5mp and below cameras works great in frigate. Edit: The Amcrest in this video is also made by Dahua, so it will have the same firmware and compatibility as a Loryta.

[@StrawberryKitten]

​ @The Hook Up The Reolink 8MP ReoLink cameras DO support H264, but you have to lower the resolution. :/

[@TheHookUp]

@@StrawberryKitten Very true, seems kinda silly to get an 8mp camera and then run it at 5mp though :)

[@StrawberryKitten]

​ @The Hook Up Indeed! By the way, what were your results with the old Reolink client and exposure/etc.. settings?

[@TheHookUp]

@@StrawberryKitten I was able to adjust gain/exposure and slightly improve motion blur, but doing so automatically turned off settings, and fixed framerate makes it a deal breaker for me.

[@carltonwbrooks]

Seeing all the cameras, do your neighboors think you are a little "Tin Foil Hat"

[@TheHookUp]

Maybe random passerbys, but my neighbors know about the KZbin stuff.

[@DoobieDeb]

Is reolink free no subscription

[@TheHookUp]

No subscription.

[@rgruenhaus]

From the beginning it seemed you were Reolink biased from the beginning of the video!

[@TheHookUp]

You got any specific instances? The great part about testing and showing you the results is that you get to see exactly what I see. Did you come to a different conclusion?

[@ckjoshny]

can the reolink be used in the google home hub ?

[@TheHookUp]

Yes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oarQkKWNistpe8U

[@JohnZeBags]

What's the stain on the drive way?

[@TheHookUp]

It's rust from working on an inboard/outboard boat engine that had been exposed to salt water. Replaced the (cast iron) exhaust manifolds and risers and they were almost completely rusted through. I’ll get around to pressure washing it eventually :)

[@JohnZeBags]

@@TheHookUp nah leave it as it helps differentiate the video quality of the security cameras you test. You should have a dedicated rust comparison segment from here on out.

[@TheHookUp]

@@JohnZeBags lol

[@antoniodasilva1230]

My chacon cameras blow all of these away

[@allengreen7628]

In fact ,my OEM dahua is cheaper than Amcrest

[@TheHookUp]

Sometimes yes, depending on where you buy them. However not all Dahua cameras are meant for international or US regions, so if you are buying off ebay or random sellers on Amazon/AE there's a chance you will get a camera meant for China only, and if you try to install new firmware you could brick your camera. Going with a company like Amcrest for Dahua or Annke for Hikvision ensures that you are going to get a camera with the proper region designation.

[@jbob6545]

I just need a budget cam dont need some fancy shit. someone keeps going into my yard

[@Billy-bf7zn]

Do u want to sell any camera s

[@danielslocum7316]

Installed it myself without any issues. The wifi signal is great even kzbin.infoUgkxE_D_sddGAdiVUKp7PkkmyxO7bRtgqmk5 when the router is located far away. I really enjoy the night vision feature that allows me to see clearly any activity near our house (mostly cars and wild animals). The motion detection is helpful to me as well to monitor what happens on our front.

[@Lazyspaceout]

Im cheap im going with an affordable price

[@BillyBobDingledorf]

They're all usable, but then I don't care about phone apps. How about a $100-$150 camera review?

[@rbks80]

The Annke really should have been tested in night color mode where it might even best all these other cameras (even in IR mode).

[@rbks80]

@TheHookUp I know you don't care for night color but isn't the night color performance of the Annke better than the Reolink IR (based on your video of C500/510a/C800/810a)

[@TheHookUp]

I did test night color modes on all the cameras. None of them performed well enough that I would even remotely suggest using them that way. One of the things you'll commonly find in budget camera is very small image sensors, and the most important thing for night color mode is a large image sensor. The C500 uses a 1/3" sensor, compared to the NC800 designed for color night vision which uses a 1/1.2" sensor.

[@DmitriyKhazansky]

Curious if you're going to compare shinobibin your NVR showdown

[@TheHookUp]

Shinobi wasn't in the running. Frankly, last time I used it it just wasn't very good at all. I'll be looking at Blue Iris, Frigate, Synology, Ring Pro, Dahua, Hikvision, Reolink and UniFi.

[@JasonSharpee]

What about Camect?

[@brendanrx7]

@@TheHookUp Can you please include Milestone and Avigilon? Milestone has a free version for up to 8 cams, Avigilon can be activated for 30 days under a trial license.

[@TheHookUp]

@@JasonSharpee the biggest issue with Camect (other than the $10/mo subscription), is the limitation of 24mp total. That means 4x 5mp cameras or 3x 8mp cameras and you've maxed out your $400 NVR.

[@TheHookUp]

@@brendanrx7 I've used Milestone before and I just can't imagine any instance where someone should choose Milestone over Blue Iris. I'll check out ACC, but I wouldn't really consider Avigilon to be a real option for most consumers since they are not a direct to consumer company.