I got a free IP5M-T1179EW-28MM from Amcrest - Same Menu's as Dahua?

Philip Gonzales

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How is it that the menu's are almost exactly the same as the Dahua camera's that I own? I find this kind of odd. Is this a rebranded Dahua in any way, shape or form?

I saw a post from Amcrest that stated they would give anyone this camera for "free" in exchange for a video of either an unboxing, review, footage from the cam, etc. They direct you to a link on facebook and refund your money after sharing the video with them.


I mean I didn't really NEED another camera, but I couldn't pass up FREE! lol.
 

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fenderman

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How is it that the menu's are almost exactly the same as the Dahua camera's that I own? I find this kind of odd. Is this a rebranded Dahua in any way, shape or form?

I saw a post from Amcrest that stated they would give anyone this camera for "free" in exchange for a video of either an unboxing, review, footage from the cam, etc. They direct you to a link on facebook and refund your money after sharing the video with them.


I mean I didn't really NEED another camera, but I couldn't pass up FREE! lol.
Why are you confused? amcrest does not manufacture cameras. They simply rebrand a limited number of dahua models. Try trashing the camera in your video, see if they still give you that refund.
 
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Philip Gonzales

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Why are you confused? amcrest does not manufacture cameras. They simply rebrand a limited number of dahua models. Try trashing the camera in your video, see if they still give you that refund.
I just sent them a crappy video of me unboxing the camera with one hand and rambling on about my initial reaction. I didn't care about the quality of the video, just the refund lol. They gave it to me already.

They should have specified if they wanted a good quality video lol. And hmm I guess I haven't had too much experience with any other cams other than Dahua cams. Didn't know the menu's would be the same. Interesting.
 

fenderman

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I just sent them a crappy video of me unboxing the camera with one hand and rambling on about my initial reaction. I didn't care about the quality of the video, just the refund lol. They gave it to me already.

They should have specified if they wanted a good quality video lol. And hmm I guess I haven't had too much experience with any other cams other than Dahua cams. Didn't know the menu's would be the same. Interesting.
Its a dahua camera, made by dahua, firmware by dahua. Dahua adds the amcrest branding for them.
 

Arjun

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Looks like a legit deal for anybody new to the field or just cheap and reluctant to even install one in the first place. @Philip Gonzales post the video here, curious to know the format. Also camera is $70 on Amazon Amazon.com : Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera with Mic/Audio, 5-Megapixel, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) : Camera & Photo

Advertised as Starlight but not really Starlight as far as ipcamtalk definition is concerned :p
 
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Philip Gonzales

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Looks like a legit deal for anybody new to the field or just cheap and reluctant to even install one in the first place. @Philip Gonzales post the video here, curious to know the format. Also camera is $70 on Amazon Amazon.com : Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera with Mic/Audio, 5-Megapixel, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) : Camera & Photo

Advertised as Starlight but not really Starlight as far as ipcamtalk definition is concerned :p
One thing I did notice is that the build quality is noticeably different than my other dahua cams. Like my IPC-HDW5231R-Z has metal parts, this amcrest has plastic parts. It seems to be much lighter, a little smaller, the pigtail seems much lighter and more hollow than my 5231's pigtail. The microsd card/reset cover seems to be offset and uses philip's head screws. At least on my particular camera.

20200214_195138.jpg20200214_195212.jpg

Moral of the story is you get what you pay for. Is it worth ~$70 to me? Hmm maybe, but probably not. Maybe like you said as a "gateway" camera or an auxillary camera then it is OK. It's hard to recommend a cam like this when you can get the "cream of the crop" cams like the starlight+ and colorvue cams for around double (just a rough estimate).

I'd definitely feel more confident with my old trusty 2PM Starlight 5231.

@Arjun the video I sent to Amcrest? They literally said to just send a video. They did not specify any requirements. What I did was record a cell phone vid of me rambling about what was in the box and how it compared to a couple of other cams that I have. It was six minutes of length and I literally just rambled on and I did not even edit the video. I added the video to my youtube as an unlisted video and sent them the link along with my order #. I will not be sharing that video on here. I would be too embarrassed about the random stuff I was saying lol. Just imagine how I ramble on, on these posts and add a little more rambling to account for the nervousness and my lack of planning. Lol.
 
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Philip Gonzales

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Hey how was the installation process? How big of a hole you need to drill to run the wires through the wall?
Well I'm probably one of the last ppl to ask about the physical install. If you are going to use a junction box then the hole only needs to be a little bit thicker than an ethernet cable. If not then you may need to make the hole a little bigger to fit the female ethernet connector in the wall or what not. Since I am renting, I try not to make any more holes, so I'm using a preexisting hole in the house from an old coaxial run for the cable. So I'm actually just tucking the excess cable up into the carport roof area. So probably can't be of too much help here. Posted a couple of pics. I actually moved it down to the lowest I could after but did not take updated pics.

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dudmleh522

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Thanks for quick reply. According to your first pictures It looks like there is some gap between the camera and the wall? You think its big enough where i can tuck in the big connectors so i can only drill small hole on wall size of ethernet cable?730AE83F-B792-4226-B1DB-437EE92EC5BD.png
 

fenderman

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Thanks for quick reply. According to your first pictures It looks like there is some gap between the camera and the wall? You think its big enough where i can tuck in the big connectors so i can only drill small hole on wall size of ethernet cable?View attachment 55752
There is not sufficient room to tuck the cable. Once you properly waterproof the connection it will take even more space.
 

Philip Gonzales

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Thanks for quick reply. According to your first pictures It looks like there is some gap between the camera and the wall? You think its big enough where i can tuck in the big connectors so i can only drill small hole on wall size of ethernet cable?View attachment 55752
As @fenderman stated, there just is not enough room. To be fair I only tried it very briefly with the waterproofed connector installed and no way it was going to fit, but I believe irregardless it may be too tight of a fit even without the waterproof connector. Also I think it would be silly not to use the waterproof connector also. I think this is the case with all Turrets from the few I've seen from different brands. The 3 opitions are add a junction box and roll up the cable/connectors in said junction box, drill a big hole in the wall, or run the cables on the outside of the cam. I think the last way looks pretty tacky but I rent a "old cheap house" lol so I don't care at the moment.

According to the Amcrest site the following junction boxes are compatible.

Compatible with the following Amcrest Junction Boxes, ASIN:B07CB468HC, B071L2RDK2, & B07195BN8X.

IMO junction box is the way to go. Here is a camera that my brother and I installed at my mom's house.

20191110_112357.jpg
 

Philip Gonzales

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How is the ir light at night? Are they visible? I have older model of amcrest camera and the or is red at night
Yes, IR is always going to be visible unless marketed otherwise. I forget the spectrum that is not visible, but I would think their is a reason most vendors are using the visible spectrum.

Also FWIW, the camera seems to stay in color mode for my while I have everything left at the default settings. I wouldn't take this as any type of proof that it is better as it likely would do better in black and white. Basically being in color or B/W means very little until you start testing for motion blur and playing with shutter speed.
 

dudmleh522

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As @fenderman stated, there just is not enough room. To be fair I only tried it very briefly with the waterproofed connector installed and no way it was going to fit, but I believe irregardless it may be too tight of a fit even without the waterproof connector. Also I think it would be silly not to use the waterproof connector also. I think this is the case with all Turrets from the few I've seen from different brands. The 3 opitions are add a junction box and roll up the cable/connectors in said junction box, drill a big hole in the wall, or run the cables on the outside of the cam. I think the last way looks pretty tacky but I rent a "old cheap house" lol so I don't care at the moment.

According to the Amcrest site the following junction boxes are compatible.

Compatible with the following Amcrest Junction Boxes, ASIN:B07CB468HC, B071L2RDK2, & B07195BN8X.

IMO junction box is the way to go. Here is a camera that my brother and I installed at my mom's house.

View attachment 55754
Not sure if i want to use a junction box because i will be mounting it on a wall sonif i use a junction box it will stick out too much
 

Philip Gonzales

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Not sure if i want to use a junction box because i will be mounting it on a wall sonif i use a junction box it will stick out too much
I think I forgot the pics on my previous post. Shows up kind of purple on my phone cam, in real life looks a little red and less noticable IMO. Notice I did not post a B&W pic as I'm getting a lot of overexposure due to the IR bouncing off of the soffit area. I need to point the camera down some/mount it in an alternate location it seems.

20200217_194025.jpg20200217_194032.jpg1581990252242.jpg
 

mmmburritos

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Any hints what Dahua model number this might be? It physically looks a bit like the IPC-HDW5442TM-AS, but clearly it's not since it's 5MP and not 4MP and you mentioned there are plastic parts. It seems like this could be in the same family as the IPC-T2431T-AS that Andy is selling. I'm guessing the low light performance isn't as good as the 4MP.
 

Amp8424

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I got this same camera from their tester promo. I wasn't required however to make a video/review. Just sent my order # and was refunded in 5 days.

Do I need to add a junction box? I'm new to this so I guess I don't understand the purpose of one? This will go on the front of my house, on the soffit area.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
 

area651

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I got this same camera from their tester promo. I wasn't required however to make a video/review. Just sent my order # and was refunded in 5 days.

Do I need to add a junction box? I'm new to this so I guess I don't understand the purpose of one? This will go on the front of my house, on the soffit area.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
How does someone get involved in one of these tester promo programs?
 

Philip Gonzales

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I got this same camera from their tester promo. I wasn't required however to make a video/review. Just sent my order # and was refunded in 5 days.

Do I need to add a junction box? I'm new to this so I guess I don't understand the purpose of one? This will go on the front of my house, on the soffit area.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
A junction box is not required. A junction box is used to provide space where the pigtail can live. The RJ45 connectors are bulky, especially when using the weatherproof thingies. If you don't use one you either have to drill a hole large enough for these connectors or leave the pigtail/ethernet cable exposed.
 
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