Network or IP security cameras
Network cameras have become incredibly popular with security conscious homeowners over the last couple of years. Quite a few manufacturers have tried to jump on the bandwagon in 2016 and I would argue none has been more popular than Amcrest. The shortsightedness of industry leaders like Hikvision and Dahua in restricting authorized sales to distributers only instead of including more popular retail channels like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart is a golden opportunity for smaller players like Amcrest, Reolink and many others. Amcrest have seized this opportunity with open hands and are reaping the rewards.
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Amcrest – who are they?
So who is Amcrest? This is a question that I am asked often by my readers. The short answer is that Foscam US re-branded themselves as Amcrest Technologies in early 2016. Foscam US ( Foscam Digital Technologies) used to be an independent distributor for the Chinese manufacturer/supplier Foscam Shenzhen. However in 2016, the Chinese supplier started undercutting Foscam US. Foscam US had no choice but to cut all ties with Foscam Shenzhen and go it alone as Amcrest Technologies.
Foscam vs. Amcrest
Foscam security cameras never had a great reputation and once Amcrest launched their own products, they have quickly overtaken Foscam both in quality, reliability, support service levels, and reputation. Well-deserved too, I might add.
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Amcrest Network Cameras
Amcrest Network Camera Model naming convention
The full Amcrest IP camera naming convention is:
IP (Y) M – (HX) (YYYY) (E) (B or S or W)
- A fixed prefix:
- ‘IP-’ for Internet Protocol camera, then
- a digit Y which represents the number of Megapixels the camera sensor has, but only if its at least 2MP (1080p), then
- a fixed alphabet ‘M-‘, then
- ‘HX’ if its a camera from the Hex product family, then
- 4 digits representing the camera series
- ‘E’ if the camera is POE equipped
- The last alphabet represents the colour of the camera
- B = Black
- S = Silver
- W = White
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Amcrest Network Camera Model Range
On their website, Amcrest divides their security cameras into two very broad following categories:
- Indoor and Outdoor Wireless IP Cameras
- Indoor and Outdoor POE IP Cameras
Their website doesn’t currently have any filters, so its quite difficult to narrow your search down to cameras with specific features. So we have grouped Amcrest’s very diverse network camera range to help you easily find the model you are looking for:
- Indoor non-WiFi POE IP Cameras
- Indoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras
- Outdoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras
- Outdoor non-WiFi PoE IP Cameras
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Indoor non-WiFi POE IP Cameras
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Indoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras
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Outdoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras
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Outdoor non-WiFi POE IP Cameras
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Amcrest IP Camera Recommendations
A few things stand out when you study the Amcrest security camera product range:
- All cameras have either WiFi or Power over Ethernet (PoE), but not both features.
- WiFi cameras top out at 3MP, if you want 4MP you have to go PoE
- All the indoor cameras have 2-way audio and a local storage option.
- All the indoor cameras except the new Hex Cube models have the Pan-Tilt feature.
- All the outdoor cameras have at least an IP66 weather rating.
- Most cameras are available in a choice of colours: black, white and silver.
- None of the outdoor PoE cameras have a local storage option such as a microSD card slot -> this was the biggest surprise for us, and is an obvious gap in their product lineup.
If you want a no-frills outdoor security camera from Amcrest, we recommend these models:
- 1080p Bullet: IP2M-842EB (PoE), IP2M-842B (WiFi)
- 1080p Dome: IP2M-844EB (PoE), IP2M-844B (WiFi)
Amcrest NVRs
HD over Analog (HD-CVI) NVR
Coming soon
WiFi NVR
Coming soon
POE NVR
Coming soon
Amcrest Complete Security System Kits
HD over Analog (HD-CVI) NVR
Coming soon
WiFi NVR
Coming soon
POE NVR
Coming soon
Where can I buy them?
We recommend Amazon they are one of the authorized worldwide sellers of Amcrest products.
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