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Pao Novakovic photo
Spain, Madrid
1 Level
717 Review
46 Karma

Review on Ansice CCTV Camera(White) Day Night Infrared Wide Angle 2.8Mm 1000Tvl Cmos With Ir-Cut Bullet Security Camera CCTV Home Surveillance Outdoor 24 LEDs by Pao Novakovic

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Nice performance; annoying mount

This camera produces a good clear and sharp image, both in color mode and in b/w mode (under IR illumination). The color rendition is quite accurate. The white color of its housing helps it to blend in a bit with white trim, soffits, etc. The moderately wide-angle 2.8mm lens provides the coverage needed to see all or most of "close" areas (out to about 25' x 25'), but still seems to produce marginally useful images of areas further away as well - although probably not adequate for reliable motion detection in those more distant areas. The IR illumination at night seems to appropriately cover those same areas, with suitable image brightness.The camera's relatively smaller size makes it less conspicuous, a little easier to handle, and able to fit in smaller spaces - as compared to many similar cameras.Unfortunately, one thing I don't like about this camera is its floodlight-style mount, although this one is somewhat better than I've encountered on other brands of cameras: This one at least has both set-screws on the same side of the mount - so you don't have to get access to both sides at once in order make adjustments (which avoids a BIG problem when mounting in corners). However, despite being somewhat resistant to vandalism, this type of mount/adjuster presents inherent difficulties when mounting/aiming: First, the adjustments MUST be loosened in order to get access to the mounting screws (for either attachment or removal of the unit) - so all aiming is lost if the camera has to be taken down for any reason (and because the joints sometimes have to be loosened a lot to get them to move, there's a tendency to loosening the screws so much that they fall out - and they're tiny and easily lost/hard to replace). Second, the camera cannot be detached from the base for mounting, so it is heavy and flopping around while the mounting screws are being installed or removed, making it hard to keep things in the proper place. (This is especially a concern when working high on a ladder). Third, although there are three semi-adjustable joints in the mounting "arm", their arrangement tends to limit the degree of aiming freedom - or at least require a lot of fussing and re-work to get things all "coordinated" to simultaneously provide the needed aiming angle AND tilt. Fourth, the axial tilt rotation of the camera head is limited, preventing some particular tilt angles. Fifth, the "grips" in the "elbow" joint only allow the angle to be set in rather large "step increments" - and the best aiming angle often seems to fall somewhere between two adjacent steps. Sixth, getting the set-screws to tighten the joints securely always seems to be a problem on this type of mount. and tightening one joint often changes the aiming, causing the need to re-adjust one or both of the other joints - causing lots of "trial-and-error" (and aggravation). Finally, specific to the mount on this particular camera, the set-screws require a small hex wrench (provided). This gives pros and cons relative to the set-screws on other mounts of this style: These heads are less likely to "strip-out" (compared to the typical Philips heads), and it is usually easier to work the screws in tight spots with the wrench (compared to a screwdriver), On the downside, the wrench has to be re-positioned after each 1/4-turn or so. and if you happen to drop the wrench in the process of all this, it's a hassle - and can be a downright show-stopper if the wrench gets lost (because it's smaller than the "standard" size that comes with other types of camera mounts - so it may be harder to come up with a replacement wrench). Well enough of my rant against floodlight-style camera mounts.The good news is that if/when you manage to tame the annoying mounting/aiming process, the camera does "reward" you with good performance. and it appears to be of good quality and solid construction. And it's wider-angle lens provides broader coverage of near-field areas - such as porches, decks, patios, pools, etc. - compared to the typical camera having 3.6mm lenses, thus avoiding the need for any additional camera(s).

Pros
  • the visor gets in the way at night
Cons
  • The infrared capabilities of the camera might not be enough to provide full coverage of your property, leaving some areas unprotected