Review on Swann Wired PIR Dome Security Camera | Ultra 4K HD Surveillance Cam with Color Night Vision | Indoor/Outdoor | Thermal, Heat & Motion Sensing | Add to NVR with PoE | Model: SWNHD-886MSD by Micheal Wolf

In short: easy to install and set up, works great, fantastic video and sound quality, solid metal body. I was impressed with the camera's advanced features and settings, which offered the perfect level of customization for my specific situation - the custom settings are very easy to set up and adjust. I really don't have any major complaints - this camera works and does what it's supposed to. Enhancement: I added 4K cameras to my existing new Swann POE DVR system that came with 5MP cameras, the improvement in video quality from 4K was very obvious. 4K cameras also performed better at night and over longer distances. I am not an expert on security cameras but I have some experience with Swann systems, applications and cameras having used their products for years and set them up properly. I've read many complaints about all types of cameras - many of which are due to the camera and DVR system not being set up for your specific situation. In general, the default settings work well, but each surveillance scene is unique - adjusting the settings will make the cameras work better for you. Swann systems are easy and intuitive to set up, which is an important factor. I've never had a problem with their software or dash cams. If you don't change the settings, you'll get unwanted warnings, or not be warned when you want to. My 5 cameras are in very different situations. 3 are on a busy street, one inside, one in my parking lot. My 4K cameras are outside, they are set to NOT alert unless someone enters a very small area near my door or parks in my driveway - however they capture a wide view around my house and draw 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They captured every "incident" in perfect 4K detail and sharp focus. Faces, license plates, local graffiti crew, car break-ins, etc. Day and night. I don't live in the best area, I rely on these cameras to work. It took a while for these cameras to work the way I wanted them to. At first they warned me about everything that bothered me. My internal camera is set to almost maximum sensitivity and only records when it alarms, but it turns everything off, which is good. Without activity, most of the time there is no recording. I found I have mice that are easy to spot in a large room. My parking camera is set to medium, with custom motion zones configured to cover specific areas and alert when someone comes and goes - the camera does a good job of NOT alerting. for movement/shadow of trees and small moving animals like rats, birds or cats, but a dog will call them. Note that 4K cameras will quickly take up space on your dashcam, especially if you're recording 24/7. They also use up a lot of bandwidth when streaming from a DVR - 4K streaming requires an extremely fast internet connection. Luckily, the cameras also stream at a lower resolution, but still record in full 4K. How quickly that camera eats up your DVR space depends on the frame rate and resolution you choose for each camera, as well as many other variables. My 2TB DVR stores about 6 days of video with my 5 cameras and a certain configuration. Before adding 4K cameras, I had about 15 days. This is a POE (Power over Ethernet) camera - a standard Category 5 cable is enough to connect it, very simple - just need a power plug on the connected DVR. Keep in mind that not all Swann DVRs are compatible with this POE camera system - few in fact. The 4K and 5MP cameras I have are great, but if I wanted to add a PTZ camera to this system, there isn't one. If you want PTZ, you'll need a different Swann camera system. Again, I really have no complaints about this camera after using it for a few months - it was a natural fit with my security system.