EmpireTech 4K 8MP Ultra Low Light Full-Color AI IP Camera Warm LED Bullet SMD 3.0 IP67 Weatherproof, Built-in Mic and Speaker,ePOE and POE, SMD Plus,Face Detection,Fixed Lens IPC-Color4K-X 3.6mm

After a recent uptick in criminal activities, i needed to upgrade some of the cameras around the house. Typically, Ill avoid 8MP cameras due to their small sensor size, but this one had a 1/1.2 sensor in it and i decided to give it a try. It replaced the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE (2MP Starlight varifocal zoom with a 1/2.8 sensor) i purchased from the same seller years ago. Note that the screenshots shown are a comparison between IPC-HDW5231R-ZE (optimized tuning and would be at 2.8MM zoom or close to 2.8MM) and the IPC-Color4K-X 3.6MM (no optimization, this was an initial testing picture). Both screenshots taken from BlueIris Console. Note that the screenshot with the IPC-Color4K-X 3.6MM is overblown with the street light, but again this screenshot was taken without optimization of the camera itself. Due to the larger sensor, the IPC-Color4K-X 3.6MM has quite a wide view, but the difference in detail is significant over the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 2MP. Even compared to the IPC-T5442T-ZE (4MP 1/1.8 Starlight) which i purchased alongside the IPC-Color4K-X 3.6MM the differences between the two are significant. IPC-T5442T-ZE 4MP is a step up to the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 2MP. The IPC-Color4K-X is several steps ahead both in my opinion. Cons: - there is an odd stuttering when it is set to h265 recording, but it does not do this in h264. I expect a firmware update would fix this. - 3.6MM on this is quite wide with a 1/1.2 sensor and there would be more purposes with a varifocal zoom or a 6MM fixed lens version. More models should be coming in the future though. The IPC-Color4K-Xs performance is similar to when i jumped from the Canon 7D to a Sony A7RII; completely caught off guard in the best means possible. I look forward to either purchasing another IPC-Color4K-X as well as future models with a 6MM lens or varifocal lens.