Amcrest 5MP Optical Zoom AI IP PoE Camera, Varifocal Outdoor IP POE Camera Turret, Human & Vehicle Detection, 2.7mm~13.5mm Lens, IP67, 5X Optical Zoom, (IP5M-VT1289EW-AI)

Easy to install and a breeze to get online. Image is excellent.

This camera has a very good build quality. The bracket as well as the ball turret appeared to be powder coated aluminum and have a solid feel. Installation using POE is super simple. I just plugged the camera in to my POE switch and then checked my router for its IP address. You can access the camera directly from your web browser as long as you know the IP address. I looked through the manual to find the default username and password, and proceeded to set up. When you log in with the default username, it immediately prompts you to set a new password. From there you have access to all the controls. There are a good selection of image controls as well as network settings, storage and everything else you would expect. Navigation is simple. This camera has a 5X optical zoom that is accessible from the web browser. 5X is quite a lot of zoom. One thing I did notice is that the camera is a bit slow to auto focus. It does a good job but it’s slow. The image quality is very good in normal lighting conditions. The image is sharp and the color and white balance are very accurate. Low light performance was very good as well. You can customize the overlay name as well as time display settings in the video.The camera is accessible from an app on your phone as well. I downloaded Amcrest Cloud. And proceeded to set up my camera. It instructs you to scan the serial number of the camera and it offers you a QR reader using your devices camera. I found a QR code on the box and scanned it. That did not work. I found a device number on the box, but never a serial number. I also could not find one on the camera. I eventually located the serial number from the web interface. After that, I was able to add the camera easy enough, but it was frustrating that the serial number was not easier to find. In using both the app and the Web interface, I found the web interface to be much more reliable and straightforward. The app seems glitchy sometimes. It sometimes freezes, and I have to restart it. It works acceptably well for viewing the camera remotely, but I do not suggest trying to do configuration on it.It's a very solid camera and quite useable even without a Network Video Recorder. Amcrest offers a web storage service but I haven't looked at it. My intention is to build a complete IP camera system with a NVR.

I've reviewed quite a few of the off brand cameras sold here. They all seem to be based off the same hardware and software package including this brand. The difference is Amcrest looks to stand behind the product and provide updates and new features. I was really impressed to see there is an auto update feature to keep the cameras firmware up to date. Most of the other camera manufacturers send you to hikvision to download their software and tools. Amcrest looks to have a large product line and access to support if you have problems.ProsAuto focus buttonOptical ZoomFirmware updatesFree remote viewingONVIF support for other brands of NVRConsCloud storage is pretty exprensive if you have multiple camerasNo LED light on the ethernet plug to verify PoE when you are up in an atticNo built in light for night time security to scare off intrudersVideo is not as sharp as the IP5M-VB1286EW-AI or the IP8M-VT2679EW-AI

I have 8mp camera's and was expecting this to be slightly smaller. Now there are alot of camera's out there that look almost identical, the difference with Amcrest, is the instructions are clear English, the web interface supports windows, Mac and apps for tablets are good. You don't realize how valuable that is until you buy the other off brands. This camera may only be 5MP, but you're getting it for the optical zoom. 8MP with digital zoom isn't as good. If it's outdoors, say at a warehouse, mounting it high up, is good but then it's too far away for the DORI distance, so zooming in on a garage, gate or entrance is nice here.The kit comes with a drilling template, the mount, the hex key to tighten it up once it's fixed in position. This is not a PTZ camera. Just the Z. It does have the water resistant connector to slide over your ethernet cable that's run to it. If you've never used a camera like this before, it needs power over ethernet "POE" switch. If you have just a regular router for your house or small biz, then get a 12v adapter, that's what the extra plug is for on the cable. With POE, that other plug is unused. If you have a couple of cameras, it's worth it to get a POE switch or a NVR that has POE ports on it.Amcrest has an app for iPad that does enough to view, and change a couple settings, but you'll need the web browser to configure anything advanced, and tweak the bitrates, resolutions, detection quality, night vision etc. Don't think the camera is low on features if only using the iPad/iPhone apps.

The Amcrest 5MP Optical Zoom AI IP PoE Camera is a very welcome addition to my pre-existing PoE security cameras. This camera is packed with features, I particularly like the VS features (tripwire and intrusion) for perimeter protection. I live in a somewhat rural area on just over 2 acres, so VS (tripwire and intrusion) is especially good to have. Also it features the latest in JavaScript technology which allows you to access the camera in multiple mainstream web browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc. I don't subscribe to the Cloud that Amcrest suggests for saving my images, I prefer to use a SD card for saving and then keep any images I want.This camera also offers 5X zoom, and the night vision is pretty pretty good. This is my second Amcrest camera. I would buy another Amcrest security PoE camera.