Amcrest Security Cameras and Systems – 2018 Guide

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.

A quick note: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and then purchase something, we may receive a fee. This does not cost you anything extra. Also note that Hikvision and Dahua do not consider certain platforms including Amazon as an authorized seller platform. So if you need warranty support please purchase from authorized resellers of Hikvision and Dahua products in your country.

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.

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

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

Indoor non-WiFi POE IP Cameras

Indoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras

Outdoor WiFi non-POE IP Cameras

Outdoor non-WiFi POE IP Cameras

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.