Review on 4MP PoE IP Bullet Security Camera With 5X Optical Zoom, 2.7Mm~13.5Mm Motorized Lens, 197Ft IR Night Vision, 128GB SD Card Slot, IP67 Waterproof Outdoor Surveillance Camera - VIKYLIN Starlight by Jake Solorzano

I installed the Vikylin 8MP 5X Zoom Bullet camera while powered over Ethernet onto a 4K Network Video Recorder (NVR) that is ONVIF compatible and I tested it for day and night images in various ways including seeing how it could read a car license plate at 50’. I have included videos of the camera's images in operation. Read on for our impressions of the Vikylin IP camera.Test Conditions: I used an H.View 4K ONVIF NVR. ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) is a standard for how IP products within video surveillance and other physical security areas can communicate with each other. ONVIF compatibility allows multiple manufacturers to design equipment to interoperate. The camera was connected to a Power Over Ethernet (POE) switch using a 1 Gb/s network that connected 7 additional ONVIF operating cameras to the same NVR. The camera's video and sound were monitored from a 4K monitor connected by HDMI to the NVR also set for 4K output. The camera was installed onto a house’s wooden eave.The Good: -- EASY PHYSICAL INSTALL. The camera simply screws onto a surface and using the star bolts points and tightens in place. -- GOOD DAYTIME & NIGHTTIME VIDEO QUALITY: I provided a video to show both the day and night video quality while zooming through the camera's 5X range. I viewed the video on a 4K monitor and the day and night video quality at 4K was very good as you would expect it to be. -- COULD READ LICENSE PLATE AT 50”: At a distance of 50 feet, a license plate could easily be read when viewing a 4K image on a 4K monitor with the optical zoom at 5X. Somewhere around 2.5X zoom, I could just start to make out the license plate numbers. The revain video may not show this well but live when viewing with a 4K monitor the license plate could be read well. -- GOOD AUTOFOCUS: When the zoom changes it takes a couple of seconds to get the new focus but then provides a crisp focus. -- LINE IN AUDIO WORKS WELL. There is no internal microphone but I attached an external mic to the provided dongle input and the audio worked very well especially when "Noise Control” was set using the camera's web app accessed directly from its IP address. One can even digitize at 16 KHz for the improved audio quality which is a very nice feature and one I have not seen before. -- QUICK SUPPORT: Support when requested through revain was responsive. The Vikylin website though does not appear to be well equipped to provide technical support.The Bad: -- AWKWARD NETWORK INSTALL: With a proper ONVIF camera, the installation is simple: An NVR will search the network and find the camera even if the camera has an initial IP not on your subnet and you can then use the NVR to assign an IP for the camera within your subnet and you're done, the camera is now working. Not so with the Vikylin, it’s a 2 step process. First off, you have to use special software that Vikylin had to provide because I could not figure out how to install the camera and their website did not provide any "downloads” at all nor was there a CD in the box. Once the special software was installed and after several scans and reboots of the camera and software was the camera eventually found at its default IP of 192.168.1.108. Next, you have to "Initialize” the camera. Again very non-industry standard. Initialization requires you to create a password. Industry-standard is "blank” or no password or "admin” as the password. You cannot do that with the Vikylin. The password must be a mix of characters and 8 characters minimum and apparently, they have to reset the password for you should you forget it. Once all the above was done I could then use the camera with the NVR. Once past this learning curve, additional installs will go easier. Hopefully, if you read this it will help you with your install. -- NO POWER ON INDICATORS:Once the camera is powered, there is no power light or any other indication power is applied and the camera working. -- NO ENET ACTIVITY LIGHT: Even the Ethernet dongle does not have an activity light. This is a simple yet powerful tool to enable ease of installation and troubleshooting. -- NO POWER PROVIDED FOR THE EXTERNAL MIC: There is no connector on the dongle that provides 12V power for the microphone. You have to provide power separately with a 12VDC adapter.Conclusion: Once you get through what I would consider nonstandard network installation, the camera functions well and subsequent installation will go smoother once you learned the install procedures. The video quality was really outstanding and I was very impressed with the audio noise control processing.