Hikvision 4K Security Camera Review – Unboxing, Day & Night Footage + Star Trails!

1. A user manual
2. A drill template with lots of drill holes. Actually, the holes are labeled 1 and 2 depending on the bracket or conduit box you use
3. A star wrench for changing the direction in which the camera is pointing once it’s installed
4. A mini CD. As always download the latest Hikvision SADP and iVMS software from their website if you need it
5. 4 screws and anchors for installing the camera. They the typical cheap ones that I never use
6. A RJ45 connection weather seal
7. The camera itself, which is surrounded by lots of foam for good protection

The first thing you’ll notice is its weight.  The shell is obviously metal but the weight and feel of this thing is outstanding.  It weighs 2.65 pounds or 1200 grams. The camera is just shy of 30cm or a foot long.

The mount is quite large to hold up all this weight.  It’s says “bottom” here and there is a cut out just in case you need to run the wires outside of the mounting area.  Make sure to seal up this opening with some caulking once it’s installed because you don’t want this to me a home for bug or other pests.  The wires are thin and not shielded so I would avoid exposing them to the elements as they may rot and crack with the sun overtime.

This lead is where you would plug in your NVR or PoE switch with a network cable.  Your NVR or PoE switch will inject electricity into the network cable and power the device and use the same cable to transfer data.  The second lead is a 12v input but keep in mind there is no power pack supplied.  Most setups these days take advantage of the PoE option.

On the underside of the camera there is a little door for the SD card, let’s have a look inside.  You will need your own Phillips screwdriver for this. The optional SD card can have a capacity of 128GB for recording and playing back footage.

Here we have the sunshade and a screw to adjust it or completely remove it.  I like how it’s black to avoid glare but I’m not sure why it’s a glossy black instead of matt.

The night vision infrared lights surround the lens we’ll test those out here shortly.  Like I mentioned, the lens has a 12mm focal length projecting images on its 1/2.5 CMOS sensor capturing images up to 20fps at 8MP or 4K.  That is a resolution of 3072 × 1728.  To ensure you see the 4K image, this is my first upload of a 4K review.

It supports a bitrate up to 16Mbps.

This camera is available with several different lens sizes from 2.8mm to 12mm depending on your requirements.  I will be posting another video soon demonstrating these differences.

Its operating temperature is -30 °C to 60 °C (-22 °F to 140 °F) which will be interesting to test on a -40 day here in Canada.

The camera works great with Hikvision NVRs by simply plugging it in.  If you run into trouble check out my videos where I connect to cameras to the NVR directly or over to my network.

It is ONVIF compatible meaning it works well with ONVIF NVRs.

Connecting this device to BlueIris is also a breeze since it’s listed as a known device in your camera’s properties.

This bullet camera is larger than the typical bullet camera which has recently been given the name mini-bullet.  Concealing this camera from view is not going to be an easy option.  This camera screams attention, which could work in your favor as a deterrent in protecting your home or business.  I would install it at least 10 feet high so it’s not an easy target for vandalism.  Given its weight, installing this camera on a firm surface is critical.  The soffit under your eave night be too flimsy unless you can reinforce it with a stud.  Attaching it directly to a wall is definitely a good option.  A light pole will also work.  You have a lot of options since it’s weatherproof and device is well built and does not need to be in a sheltered area.  The seal will also protect it from dust, so you can install it in a dusty warehouse.

Here we are looking at my shed from 24m (80ft) away.  Remember this is a 12mm zoom lens meaning it has a horizontal field of view of 23 degrees.  If you require a wider angle, do the math to figure out which lens you would require, or check out my video coming soon on lens calculations.  The shed is within the 80m (262 ft) of IR light range and should provide a good backdrop for testing.  The daytime footage and the quality is outstanding.  Even when I digitially zoom in, the details are perfect.  I do get a little blurry as I approach the camera and hit the 12m (40ft) mark because this zoom lens isn’t designed for focusing on objects so close.  As for the nighttime, again, the quality is fantastic but as I approach the camera those super-bright IR lights blow out the image.
On the web user interface, if I turn on Smart Supplement Light (or what use to be called Smart IR), as I walk towards the camera, it senses that the IR lights are too bright and lowers the power, so the image isn’t as blown out.  The colors and details are amazing in this time-lapse.

Our next test location is in the driveway. I already have a wide-angle lens covering this area, but it’s not detailed enough to capture faces and license plates at 25m (85ft) away.  I’ll point this camera at the main access point to my property to get those details.  At the fence posts, the daytime image is perfect.  As I approach too close to the camera, the image becomes blurry.  At night, the IR blows out the image when within 9m (20ft), but with Smart Supplement Light on, the image is much better.  Here is a look at the detail of a vehicle entering the driveway.  Check out how bright the IR lights are f rom my fence cam.  Not bad.

Next, we’ll do the open field distance test and examine how far we can see. Here are 80m (262ft), the daytime footage is difficult to make out but let’s zoom in digitally.  The 80m (262 ft) point is in the center of the image where the IR lights are at their strongest.  The IR lights seem to reach that far but the 12mm lens doesn’t reveal many details (try digital zoom on both).  At 61m (200ft) (grainy but not bad given the distance), 46m (150ft) (much better, this seems to be a distance were people are recognizable and license plates would be readable).  At 30m (100ft), the image is much better and great quality for both daytime and nighttime use.  At 15m (25ft), the daytime looks great but the IR lights are throwing off the nighttime.  Using another wide-angle camera, see how the IR lights are concentrated to stay within the narrow field of view.  No IR light is getting wasted here.

It’s supposed to be a clear night tonight, so let’s see how well this camera does at stargazing and it will be a good noise test.  I’ll set the camera up here, pointing at the north star.  On the web user interface, I will turn off the power of the IR lights (on the web UI, go to Configuration – System – Maintenance – System Service and uncheck Enable IR Light) and I will slow down the shutter speed to 1/3.  1/3 is the slowest the shutter will go, if the conditions don’t require a 1/3 shutter, the camera will automatically speed it up to save the image from being too dark.  Wow, what is that?  This is incredible.  Not only do I see stars that I cannot see with the naked eye but there is stuff flying by.  I’m so impressed right now and there is little to no noise.  Let’s do a time-lapse of all night.  I can convert this time-lapse to an image by splitting out all the video frames then stacking them all into one image.

1. Like all camera sunshades, they become homes for spiders and impair my vision.  Keep this area clean.
2. Tightening the final position of the camera with the star key is difficult.  You need to keep an eye on the screen and try to tighten all 3 screws at the same time.
3. Speaking of which, there are gears or teeth inside these joints to keep the camera secure when the star screws are tight but if you need a location between these teeth you may need to readjust another pivot point.
4. The IR lights are so bright in fact, they are easily noticeable with the naked eye as the camera’s front is glowing red.
5. Lastly, the file size is much bigger.  This means a smaller timeframe of recorded history and for BlueIris users, a more sluggish system as you navigate through your files.
6. These are pretty minor, except this one where the IR lights in this -I8 version are very bright but at the advertised 80m (262ft), with the highest zoom lens available, the 12mm lens can’t display much detail, just shapes, colors and motion at that distance.  I find this misleading.

1. I like the ruggedness of the camera including its size and weight and that it’s weather proof. (spray with hose)
2. I like the flexibility in lens options and IR light distance options and how you can configure the IR light to suit your situation.
3. I love the image quality.  It’s a 4K camera and the picture resolution is outstanding.  Daytime is perfect, and the nighttime footage exceeds my expectations, as long as the subject is at the right distance for the selected lens.