Review of Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) AI Outdoor Security Turret

brianegge

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Review of Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) AI Outdoor Security Turret POE IP Camera, 3840x2160, 4K @30fps, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording, Built in Microphone, White (IP8M-T2669EW-AI). I'm receiving a 50% rebate from Amcrest for reviewing this camera. Hope my information is helpful.


I purchased this camera to replace a IP8M-2493E which shorted out due to water entering the ethernet connector. I learned my lesson and now coat all my outdoor connectors with Super Lube 82016 Anti-Corrosion & Connector Gel.

I was curious to see how the camera compared to the IP8M-2493E and also how the AI features compared to the 5442.


Hardware: This camera comes with a solid metal eyeball mount with a security torque screw. This is nice as the lower end cameras offer no locking mechanism. Also, it was nice I didn’t have to replace my already mounted ring from the previous camera - the eyeball is the same size as the 2493.


The 2669 has a smaller sensor than the camera it was replacing. Since the previous camera failed, I don’t have any like for like comparisons, but generally the larger the sensor the better the night performance.


Sensor:

IP8M-T2669EW-AI: 1/2.8”

IP8M-2493E: 1/2.5”

5442: 1/1.8”


It attempts to offer color night scenes, but as you can see below, it properly exposes where the street light is and the rest of the scene is dark. It could probably be forced into night mode via a script, but out of the box it’s not great.




If you access the camera in Chrome or Safari, it will start streaming a video feed in your browser:



But if you use mobile Chrome you will get the deaded plugin message:




Fortunately, you can view the stream in the app, but when I’m positioning the camera, I tend to be on the ladder with my phone, and don’t want to go through the app setup.


AI features:

The camera offers Face Detection and IVS.




I checked to see if any other features were available via a firmware update:



But Amcrest doesn’t list any firmware for this model, so I assume this is the latest. Compare to the AI features in 5442 (with latest firmware). It adds heatmap, people counting and object missing/abandoned.



I have the Amcrest paired with an Amcrest 4K NV5232, which has a people counting feature in it, so I was hoping the AI camera would have this one.


The face detection features seem to be the same between the Amcrest 2669 and the Dahua 5442:






For IVS, the types of rules on the Amcrest are limited to Tripwire and Intrusion, while the 5442 gives you those plus Fast-Moving, Parking Detection, Crowd Gathering Estimation and Loitering Detection.








Both cameras offer smart motion detection, separate from the SmartPlan features. You can optionally install an SD card in the 2669 so the event screen all gives the option to record.



Compare to the 5442 more basic screen:








The camera did quite well during daylight tracking people. Sorry - I can't post a video of it tracking kids around. Also, I think people have been watching too much Squid Game as the tracking on the NVR screen is causing concern - best to explain the feature before turning it on I've learned. Note, you do not need to have an AI NVR to use AI camera or see the onscreen tracking, but an AI NVR will give you the ability to search. I have a $100 4216 NVR which offers the smart search feature, but the new Amcrest NV5232 doesn't offer it.

The detail during daylight is quite nice on the 4k camera, though it suffers at night.




The 2669 was quicker to switch to daylight mode than other 2493 camera I have. This is probably tunable, but both cameras are running with default settings.





Overall, the Amcrest AI camera adds a few nice features over the IP8M-2493E and I certainly think it's worth $30 more, but lacks both features and quality found in the 5442 series camera. Maybe the 5442 isn't the right camera to compare it to, but that's the camera I use at my house and also my favorite, so it's the one I can compare other cameras to :)
 
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