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I’ve introduced a lot of home monitoring technology over the years. One of the biggest advancements in this technology was the introduction of object detection. Cameras are able to identify randomly moving objects, people, vehicles, and sometimes the difference between faces, pets, and packages.
For an outdoor camera, I find this feature absolutely essential. Old-fashioned general motion detection used to trigger a lot of alerts due to shade, rain, or leaves and shrubs blown by the wind.
The quality of object detection varies by brand, I’m not 100% sure how each brand does things, but I think some cameras do the processing on-board, while others offload it to the server.
In this article, I will focus on wired POE cameras.I will post battery powered cameras separately
So, what are the best options when installing a new POE camera?
It depends on your NVR / storage
All my recommendations for these POE cameras are based on the built-in capabilities of the cameras themselves and the company’s NVRs. Many of these have microSD slots, which allow motion-triggered events to be recorded to them instead of the NVR.
However, if you have DIY network video recording running Blue Iris or other software, you will bypass the smart features of these cameras and let the NVR app handle everything.for Blue Iris, they have Smart Sentry AIwhich is a paid service, or there is DeepStack AI.
I haven’t used DeepStack AI, but it seems to offer excellent performance and includes face detection. I used Smart Sentry AI, which sends a single image to a server for processing, and the overall performance was perfect for my needs.
In my experience, this person detection method provides the best performance. However, the cost of running an NVR/server needs to be considered, especially with rising electricity costs.
relink
All wired POE cameras introduced by Reolink in the past few years have people detection and vehicle detection capabilities. They’ve released so many cameras, probably too many to list, but any camera that ends with an “A” has this feature. This includes:
The leading number indicates the resolution, 5MP, 8MP or 12MP.
All cameras are affordable, so I personally don’t think the 5MP option is necessary unless you’re on a very tight budget.
I also wouldn’t get a camera without a spotlight. None of the Reolink cameras do native color night recording, they need spotlights to provide that. Those shots recorded in black and white without the spotlight are very good quality, but you don’t get the same type of detail that color provides.
Using a camera with no spotlight and 5MP rules out the following:
Of these, the main things to consider are the viewing angle and the overall size of the unit.
If it weren’t for the fact that it’s absolutely huge (and rather expensive) I’d use the RLC-823a for all my cameras.
This RLC-811A Probably my favorite all-around camera, but even so, it’s quite bulky. This model benefits from 8MP, spotlight, 5x optical zoom, and good viewing angles when zoomed out.
Reolink Duo
Another option is Reolink Duo. This basically has two built-in cameras pointed at different angles. Each camera is only 5MP, but you get a huge 150-degree viewing angle.
Hikvision, EZVIZ and other brands
Hikvision Not technically sold to consumers, but the camera is fairly easy to get hold of, though you might have to jump through a few hoops.
In my experience, these provide better image quality than the Reolink, and the ColorVu cameras deliver bright color images at any time of day. The downside is that they cost a lot more. There are also Darkfighter-branded cameras that offer black-and-white night shots, but can deliver sharp images in unusually dark scenes.
For object detection, you need an AcuSense brand camera.
The cheapest ColorVu AcuSense camera I could find is the Hikvision DS-2CD2087G2-LU 8MP mini bullet for around £170.
Annie
Anke is either a sub-brand of Hikvision or uses white label Hikvision hardware, which is the same distinction as far as the end user is concerned.They have a lot of cameras at attractive prices, and when I had them, I was impressed reviewed them before
I think the N branded cameras are the models with AI body detection, these are not very cheap but the quality should be good. Depending on the dome or bullet, the Annke NC800 might be the best option for £189/199. It’s an 8MP camera, color night vision, and has person/person detection. The lens is also 2.8mm so you have a wide viewing angle.
Rolex
I haven’t reviewed any Lorex hardware, but they have a large 8-camera system worth considering. The cameras have built-in spotlights for color night vision, and the system has full person/vehicle detection. The included NVR has a built-in POE port, so it should be relatively easy to set up.
Last updated on February 25, 2022 / Affiliate Links / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API
