Review on Hikvision 4MP EXIR PoE Turret IP Outdoor Surveillance Camera, DS-2CD2342WD-I 2.8mm Lens - White by Jeff Davidson

I have two of these cameras to monitor/record activities outside my home. Both models are American not Chinese fakes with hacked English firmware. Installation: This was probably the hardest part, but it mostly has to do with where I chose to install. Because connecting the Ethernet cable to the location of the cameras turned out to be more difficult than expected. Both cameras came with life size stickers showing where to drill the holes. Although I just stuck them to the surface as I don't like stickers (I'm afraid they will never come off). Configuration: I used Hikvision SADPTool to set these to my IP scheme which was very easy to use. It was also very easy to add them to my Blue Iris software, which I run on a dedicated Windows server. In general, it took no more than 10 minutes. I have set up many cameras in the past so others may find the process a little more complicated. Note that if you use Blue Iris software, you will not be able to take advantage of H.264+ encoding. When you turn it on, none of the saved videos play (as far as I know, this is because you're basically double-encoding the videos). Picture Quality: Daytime picture/video is wonderful. The picture/video at night is significantly better than the cheap cameras I've had before. It lights up to the end of my driveway! Although it tends to oversaturate objects the closer they are to the camera. But maybe additional camera settings will help. I haven't really deviated from the defaults. Build Quality: They look and feel good. Sturdy metal construction (even the mounting ring) as opposed to the cheap plastics I've had in the past. It generates a small amount of heat after being on for about a day. But I consider it a plus, especially in winter when it can be well below zero in my area. I am sure he will survive. Other thoughts: IR doesn't attract bugs like bullet and dome cameras do. Well, maybe that's true, but since the IR lights are on the side of the lens (rather than around the lens like other styles), that's where they should go, not above the lens. At the moment I am more than happy with them. Even my wife (who isn't a techie like me) thinks they were worth the extra money compared to the budget cameras we've had in the past.