A**X
You get what you pay for
I bought 3 of this cameras all at once on the same order, they came on 3 separate shipments (that's really a story but I'm wonder why).The bottom line is that out of the three, one came DOA and the second one malfunction. I was left with just one working camera an have to return the other 2.I'm giving only 1 start because of the inconvenience and the disappointment of receiving two DOA cameras. I would probably rate it about 3 stars if wasn't for that and all 3 cameras worked as it supposed to in the first place.The camera DOES NOT include a power supply. You must purchase separately either a compatible power supply, a PoE injector or a PoE switch with a least 12 volts output per port. Passive PoE injectors WILL NOT work.Now, the camera that does work, does works great. I'm crossing fingers I won't have to return in the future the one that works, because I really like the camera. However I will not buy another Huacam product for a LONG time, now up to find replacement for the 2 brand new cameras I had to return due to malfunctions.The IR cut works great and illuminates indoor a good 20 feet perfectly fine I think it can reach 30 feet with good image quality, I will update when I install it by the porch that is where is meant to be. It does have a good image quality indoor when you consider you're looking at a security camera (this is not a professional HD cinema quality camera folks for what it is nobody should complaint about it). It came already with a good focus so you don't have to mess focusing the camera.You need to install a plug in to configure the camera, the plug in comes on a CD in the box. There are plug ins for Internet Explorer and add-on for Mozilla Firefox only. The plug in for Internet Explorer does not work (maybe some security setting on the browser is preventing the ActiveX from running). The one for Mozilla Firefox does what it suppose to do and accomplish the work on Windows 8.1 64bits version. If you have a different operating system other than Windows, you're out of luck, this is not your camera since you won't be able to access the configuration interface in any other way. The camera takes about 90 seconds to boot up and negotiate power requirements with the switch, so be patient and give it plenty of time to be onlineThere are 2 other pieces of software included in the CD, a search tool to locate the IP address of your cameras that does what it meant to do and a security software that fails to install on Windows 8.1 even when try compatibility mode for Windows 7, so I can say anything about it other than won't install. I'm not very concerned about it because I wasn't planning on using it, I just was curious what else is there to offer.I'm using Blue Iris for all my cameras and I can say this camera is 100% compatible with Blue IrisThere are also Apps for Android and iPhone, I haven't try those ones yet, but if they are using rtsp protocol to show you your cameras over port 554 you're better at use MX Player for that matter than installing this unknown source app.. There are also the user's manuals for the cameras and the software that the only thing it does is just pointing out the obvious you already seeing on the screen, like the button with an arrow that represents "Play" they explain that if you push that button then the camera will "Play". Really? all the manuals I came across lately are the same waste of time reading them because of the obvious. They don't really teach you how to get the most out of the product but describing what you already see.I was reading the reviews before buying it and it seems to me the review wrote by Christopher C. Mulkey isn't partial since he is using the stock pictures from the Huacam website. If you took the time to upload a pic why would you upload a stock pic that you have to previously download instead of your own ones?On the other hand Takeshi Inafuku points out "...As others have noted the Ethernet connection point includes a plug with a seal. but this only intended to help ensure a waterproof network connection for making your own cables..." this is true. It doesn't bother me because I have no choice but to build my own cat5e cables so it comes quite handy that I can be sure the connection is perfectly sealed, but if you don't have the capabilities to build your own cables and have to die with a store purchased one then you will have to find out the way to seal that connection somehow.All the people who are rating low this camera are right on the money, read them and decide if you want to deal with the inconveniences and limitations and cross your fingers you won't get a DOA like I did; twice.
T**O
Could be great but poor color low light quality
The Huacam HCV724 is an inexpensive megapixel IP PoE camera but the color image quality is poor/grainy in moderate-to-low light levels.THE GOOD:+ Inexpensive+ Powered via external 12VDC adapter OR POE Ethernet (data & power over the cable).+ Day/Night cam (has infrared LEDs) & sealed for outdoor use.+ 2.8mm wide angle lens, best for use in small rooms or areas where you desire a wide view.+ Has adjustable/removable sunshade.+ ONVIF compliant, so most NVRs (or BlueIris) will work with this cam.+ Search tool utility is a single file and does not require installation.THE BAD:- Image quality for color is pretty grainy/noisy in low light environments (where other cams deliver a better image). I suspect the sensor is 1/4" (smaller sensors generally need more light).- If you are using an NVR be aware that I could not get ONVIF motion detection to function with a test NVR. The cam would not send motion alert data to the NVR (that it would recognize). This means that with this particular NVR I could not use motion detection with this camera! This may not be a problem if you use BlueIris as BI can do its own motion detection function. I had the same problem with this NVR with Grandstream cameras as well (Both the Grandstream & Huacam web interfaces are almost identical).- Note that the default setting for the cam is "Outdoor" so you should change to "50Hz/60Hz" as appropriate for Indoor.This cam is best suited for brightly lit areas (halls or rooms where the lights are always on). I have not tested outdoor, but one way to avoid the poor color quality is to set the cam's day/night sensitivity to switch to Black & White (so you might get a better B&W image rather than a grainy color one, but this may not be acceptable for all applications). I would recommend other cameras over this one if low light color image quality is high on your list of priorities.If you need a 2.8mm lens an alternative is uSmart- 1.3 Megapixel 720P 2.8mm 1/3" Aptina CMOS IP66 20m IR Mini Dome IP Camera Compatibility ONVIF, DAHUA .For a 3.6mm option check out GrandStream GXV3610-HD Infrared Fixed Dome HD IP Video Camera I hope you have found this useful!
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