New 4K PTZ 20X Optical Zoom from Alptop - Surprisingly good camera at $329

Tuckerdude

Tuckerdude

Getting the hang of it
Apr 28, 2014
193
79
Seattle Area
Hey everyone, I hope you are all coping with the current craziness!

Back in 2018, I posted a review of the 4K Hikvision which had great performance characteristics but at a quite hefty price tag and extremely large and heavy footprint. Since then, I've been scouring the web for ANY alternatives which offer a more attractive price point and not quite so large.

So when I found this camera, I felt compelled to let you all know about it. The camera is the Alptop AT-4K30P available on Amazon for $329. Here are the specs

40K at 25 FPS (H265 or H264). Other resolutions supported, dual stream, ONVIF.
4.7mm~94mm
365 degree horizontal pan (not continuous)
90 degree vertical pan
POE+
Audio support (undocumented)

The product comes well packaged and includes a power supply, Ethernet cable, some mounting bolts, and user manual.
Photo Jul 25, 6 08 50 AM.jpg

The camera itself is relatively small for what it gives you and built solidly. As you can see from the inset picture, this camera also has audio support, although this is not mentioned anywhere in the product description or the manual. I've tested it and it works fine, but I believe is one-way only (microphone)
Photo Jul 25, 7 35 33 AM.jpg

I've added this camera to one of my Blue Iris installations and have been running it for about a month now. I can verify that it works quite well with Blue Iris. The only function that's not supported are the manual focus controls. Everything else works super smooth and reliable. Both Day and Night vision offer extremely sharp and clear pictures.

Another thing I want to mention here is the the excellent customer service I got from Altop when I encountered an issue in the early going. It was about the camera "Fogging" up after the first heavy rain, which after reaching out to Alptop they quickly responded with a solution. I was quite surprised by this, and really appreciated their willingness to help me. Unusual for this day and age.

Now, I know there are folks on here that will say, "Buyer beware, Chinese Made, Security Risk". I'm not here to debate any of those valid concerns and believe it's really up to the user to take precautions and ensure the security of their setups. But I believe those risks are present with any company who manufactures these types of products (can you say "Ring") ;)

At any rate, my only goal here was to let folks know about a really nice camera that offers a lot of value for the price! If you are looking for a solid 4K PTZ in a compact form factor, this is a great option!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Broachoski and VisionxOrb
Hey Warptooper...

I don't have any additional information on the sensor....but I've attached an example screenshot.

As I mentioned in my review, I've run the gamut on price...from several thousand dollars (Hikvision), to this at three hundred dollars.

If you know of a 4K PTZ camera with better specs (even for a few hundred dollars more), I'd love to know about it! Any info or links would be appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • Alptop.jpg
    Alptop.jpg
    11.9 MB · Views: 197
Tuckerdude said:
Hey Warptooper...

I don't have any additional information on the sensor....but I've attached an example screenshot.

As I mentioned in my review, I've run the gamut on price...from several thousand dollars (Hikvision), to this at three hundred dollars.

If you know of a 4K PTZ camera with better specs (even for a few hundred dollars more), I'd love to know about it! Any info or links would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
A daytime shot is worthless although that one is not good.
I cant offer a camera with better specs as we dont know the specs. If you are foolishly simply looking at the resolution rather than the quality of the sensor then you got what you paid for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bigredfish and jd415
fenderman said:
A daytime shot is worthless although that one is not good.
I cant offer a camera with better specs as we dont know the specs. If you are foolishly simply looking at the resolution rather than the quality of the sensor then you got what you paid for.
Click to expand...

No kidding my eyes hurt just looking at that pic and I was already blinded by installing a motion light just now!
 
mikeynags said:
Does it still fog up on you in the rain or did the manufacturer have a fix for that?
Click to expand...

Yes, how did Alptop help to fix the fogging? Might be of help to others?

Also how about a few clips showing the extremes of the zoom in both day and night? If the cam is already mounted then you should just be able to grab clips that BI has already recorded?
 
Looks as if the camera is really struggling with the dynamic range of that shot. It's not particularly clear just over sharpened and in the shadow areas the cameras colour has gone to a purple. Would have to see some real video to post a proper opinion, but it's not looking particulary good from that screenshot compared to the big branded competition.
 
Man, I don't know much about cameras still but just going off that photo, my slightly higher priced $380 4MP Amcrest PTZ blows that "4K" camera out of the water.
 
Truckerdude, I appreciate your post. I have 3 20 lb 4k basketballs that are a pain because of their size and weight. There can be a place for small , cheap ptz . Please post min and max zoom photos or vid.
Thanks
 
Tuckerdude said:
Hey everyone, I hope you are all coping with the current craziness!

Back in 2018, I posted a review of the 4K Hikvision which had great performance characteristics but at a quite hefty price tag and extremely large and heavy footprint. Since then, I've been scouring the web for ANY alternatives which offer a more attractive price point and not quite so large.

So when I found this camera, I felt compelled to let you all know about it. The camera is the Alptop AT-4K30P available on Amazon for $329. Here are the specs

40K at 25 FPS (H265 or H264). Other resolutions supported, dual stream, ONVIF.
4.7mm~94mm
365 degree horizontal pan (not continuous)
90 degree vertical pan
POE+
Audio support (undocumented)

The product comes well packaged and includes a power supply, Ethernet cable, some mounting bolts, and user manual.
View attachment 67123

The camera itself is relatively small for what it gives you and built solidly. As you can see from the inset picture, this camera also has audio support, although this is not mentioned anywhere in the product description or the manual. I've tested it and it works fine, but I believe is one-way only (microphone)
View attachment 67126

I've added this camera to one of my Blue Iris installations and have been running it for about a month now. I can verify that it works quite well with Blue Iris. The only function that's not supported are the manual focus controls. Everything else works super smooth and reliable. Both Day and Night vision offer extremely sharp and clear pictures.

Another thing I want to mention here is the the excellent customer service I got from Altop when I encountered an issue in the early going. It was about the camera "Fogging" up after the first heavy rain, which after reaching out to Alptop they quickly responded with a solution. I was quite surprised by this, and really appreciated their willingness to help me. Unusual for this day and age.

Now, I know there are folks on here that will say, "Buyer beware, Chinese Made, Security Risk". I'm not here to debate any of those valid concerns and believe it's really up to the user to take precautions and ensure the security of their setups. But I believe those risks are present with any company who manufactures these types of products (can you say "Ring") ;)

At any rate, my only goal here was to let folks know about a really nice camera that offers a lot of value for the price! If you are looking for a solid 4K PTZ in a compact form factor, this is a great option!
Click to expand...


What was the solutions for fogging
 
Registered here to weigh in on this camera, since I got suckered into one on Amazon. Hopefully I can answer some of the questions and save others the same experience.

TLDR: Been waiting for a decent <$500 4K PTZ for awhile. Still waiting.

The image sensor is a Sony IMX415. It is a UHD 1/2.8" sensor that has good performance in regular and low light conditions.

The sensor, I mean, not the camera.

Also, this camera is a pain to install on the network because it comes preconfigured to a static IP, not DHCP. And you get to download and use their weird software tool to switch it to DHCP mode from a computer on the same LAN.

The web interface is nearly the same as the Amcrest, but they've chopped out some features. Like HTTPS. Facepalm. Also, there's code for calling a PTZ preset after restart. But there's no way I've found to define presets. In fact, there are lots of spots in the UI where it's obvious that something is

There's no reference to this camera on the ALPTOP (and let's give that name full credit, shall we?) web site. Not on the product pages, not on the support pages, not in the download area.

Even zoomed all the way out (3.2mm, according to Alptop), the field of vision is incredibly narrow; well under 90 degrees. Much narrower than the 112 of (for example) the Amcrest IP8M-T2499EW, which is nearly idea for overlapping coverage.

The autofocus is terrible as well, especially at night. It really struggles to stay in focus, especially if zoomed in. Autofocus can be turned off, but not only is there then no way to manual focus, that also disables PTZ completely. Which I guess makes sense if the alternative to autofocus is not "manual focus" but rather "no focus."

Can't speak for other software, but it has compatibility issues with Synology. It seems like its ONVIF profile doesn't report H.265, only H.264. Attempts to force it to H.265 and high quality work briefly, but after awhile it always resets to H.264 in "Worser" quality. Which, I assure you, is correctly and accurately named.

It's definitely capable of producing good images, in a broken-clock-is-right-twice-a-day kind of way. Unfortunately I can't show you any of those because the fogging is too bad to get a usable image currently. If it clears up at any point, I'll try to post something but as it stands, I think people would assume I was trolling.

About the fogging: it's a major issue. There is a "Defogging" setting in the web interface, but it appears to do f-all. "What was the solution for fogging?" you ask? Pretty sure there's not one. It rained two days after the install and the camera has been foggy ever since.

That said, according to my PoE switch, the Defogging setting doesn't seem to affect power draw, so it's not like it's trying to heat the lens cover. (Not that that would work, but I don't know what else would.)

And I don't know if it's exacerbated by the fogging or not, but the lens bloom is stunningly bad as well, like no outdoor camera I've ever seen.

This is potentially a great camera. All you'd have to do is change the optics, the firmware, and probably the manufacturer.

Based on the web interface, my guess is that big chunks of this came from the same source factory (Icamra.cn?) that Amcrest uses. Maybe they'll pick it up, put more realistic optics on it, and release it with non-goobered firmware.

Like Tuckerdude, I'm kinda of in the position of wanting a 4K camera that isn't so expensive that the primary use of the 4K PTZ camera footage will be trying to figure out who stole the 4K PTZ camera. I guess we're just not there yet.

I did do a "fake review check" on this camera, but I should have looked at the positive reviews more closely. They're definitely fake/paid. I particularly like the one with a picture of a young woman that, of the course of various reviews, claims to be 55, a CNC machinist, and someone who works with security NVRs.

Edited to add: A couple of days after my Amazon review of this camera posted, the fake five-star reviews disappeared, leaving it with a still-overrated 2.5 stars. It's also "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock." (Not suggesting cause/effect there, just timeline.) Hopefully that's the last of it, but we'll probably see it back under a new SKU soon.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Dartez
Oh, forgot to attach this image showing how effective the Defogging setting is.
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2020-12-03 at 2.40.57 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2020-12-03 at 2.40.57 PM.png
    1.7 MB · Views: 76
4K Outdoor PTZ IP POE 8MP Security IP Camera Pan Tilt 30xOptical Zoom Speed Dome 300FT IR Night Vision Motion Detection Remote View Two-Way Audio Support


I just bought the updated model that Alptop offers. The camera looks quite decent in 4K but there are some major caveats. The camera doesn't seem to want to tilt very hig so my father had to put a block of wood behind the mount to make it tilt higher. (I am not able-bodied so he has to work out problems for me that takes physical exertion.) Anyways here is a picture from the backyard. As I said before the picture looks great but it's extremely small field of vision when it's even zoomed out all the way. Also not being able to use focus through blue Iris is very annoying. I'm thinking about sending the camera back and getting something else from Amazon. Probably with Andy as I just bought a 4 megapixel camera from him that I am very happy with. Also sound is a joke as well is the 2 way speaker. You sound like an alien with a high-pitched voice.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2021-06-30 190551.jpg
    Screenshot 2021-06-30 190551.jpg
    2.1 MB · Views: 68
  • Like
Reactions: Parley
The pictures OK but 2 points;

1. The current leader in 4k, the Hikvision DS Hikvision DS-2CD2087G2-L ColorVu has a far better picture and that's just in daytime. At nightime it will very likely blow it away.

2. Unless that is zoomed in, I fail to see why you need a PTZ to cover that angle unless it's for some reasons such as tracking you down the garden in case you have a fall. A fixed camera such as the one above would cover it far more cheaply if ptz functions aren't required.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EMPIRETECANDY
Oh sorry I wasn't more specific. I want a camera that I can turn around and look around the backyard and the back gate. Also I wanted to be able to zoom in on the birdfeeders etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom