Apologies, but this will be a longer review than normal, due to the myriad of issues with the firmware on this camera.I've been back and forth between 5 stars and ZERO stars. (Yeah, 1 is minimum around here)First impressions, minus the mounting of it, were 5 stars, such as when using the Optical zoom to read things at a distance. Once I started digging into the night settings, well, it went south from there.This has a very narrow FOV and the software is very buggy.This has DHCP out of the box, so it was as easy as powering it up, connecting to a router or switch, and checking the router for the IP it handed out. Then pulling up a browser and logging into the camera to tweak settings, change the password, etc.It does easily connect to Blue Iris as well, via Onvif settings. The Onvif settings seem better than the generic settings BI has for this brand too, and it has both Main and Sub streams.I need to point out that I recently got an Anpviz camera (I don't normally mention other brands, but it's relevant in this case) and noticed they use almost identical web interfaces, but didn't think much beyond that until I started trying to get the night vision working on this. They both also have a similar MAC range as well, so I suspect they both use the same manufacturer. I had rated that camera 5 stars initially, because it seemed fine. I never tested Night vision mode on it, since that camera is mounted where there is a bright light at night, so didn't need it.Once I decided to test that though, it has the exact same issue as this one when it comes to using any type of lightning at night (IR, or white LED's).This includes a power block and cord, in case your Ethernet is not POE capable. This is a very nice plus, so kudos for that.This does NOT have Wi-Fi in it, and IS advertised as not having it, so if you have a power outlet only and need Wi-Fi, get an Ethernet to wireless adapter or keep looking.Out of the box, this thing is huge. Over twice the size of any other camera I have.The housing and bracket are metal and seem sturdy.It includes lag bolts for mounting into brick or stucco, but no wood screws. As others have pointed out, the cables go through the mounting bracket, so if you need to use wood screws, this presents a huge challenge, as the camera housing blocks the holes from using a long screw driver or drill gun.You'll either need a third hand , or get creative with pre-drilling holes, then using a right angle screwdriver to screw them in while you try and hold this thing up. If you have a helper, you can route the cables through, but not secure the housing to the bracket, so you'll have room to use a screw gun or screwdriver to mount it.Now for what you've been wondering. SHORT version:Narrow FOV, colors tend to wash out a bit, or have a yellow tint, depending on the angle of the sun if you have it facing towards that general direction. Other cameras I have do not have that issue.Daytime zoom does work very well. I can zoom in to the street and using Blue Iris to record, I can freeze the recording and clearly see a license plate, from vehicles doing 25-30 MPH. On THAT point, this is an impressive camera, due to the Optical zoom. Now the FOV narrows the more you zoom, but that part is to be expected. For being such a large camera and having what appears to be a large lens, I just didn't expect the FOV to be so narrow before any zooming.Now, if you want to use this for any kind of night vision, well, don't. I'll explain in more detail below, but there is heavy ghosting with any kind of movement at night, and it seems to over pixelate very badly, for lack of a better description. Reminds me of looking through a microscope and seeing all those little things moving around, so image that on the whole view at night.No amount of tweaking settings can fix it either. My older 4 MP cameras (Different brand) have better night vision than this 6MP does, from a movement/blurring perspective. LONG version:As I pointed out, the FOV is very narrow, without zooming in. Probably around 75-80 or so. Mounted in the same spot I had another camera, this one barely covers half the driveway and one car, whereas the other one covered the whole thing, plus a few feet on each side. If this is a far away mount, you may be fine with that. For more up close, not so much.I mainly wanted the option to have an Optical zoom, and yes, this does that very well, but ONLY during the day.As stated above, it works well during the day, but if you have it where the sun hits it in the afternoon or early evening, the whites turn a bit yellowish.As for the nighttime, forget about it. Between the heavy pixelation and ghosting, anything moving is just a blur. No amount of tweaking settings seems to fix that.The problem is the software/firmware on this. Changing settings for IR only or white LED's only, does not work properly. It won't change anything, or the camera starts flashing to a pink or a greenish colored screen with the image behind it and ...
