The first thing I noticed after unboxing is how substantial this camera is. It is bigger and heavier than all the other security cameras I have. The arm is made of solid metal instead of plastic. The housing is also mostly metal. Even the wall anchor is heavy duty metal ones. The camera feels professional oriented, not cheap at all. Even though this camera is POE powered, a 12V adapter is also included in the box which is convenient for the initial configuration and test with regular non-POE routers. I followed the included Quick Guide to download the Windows application LMS from the Jennov website, as well as the user’s manuals. LMS had no problem finding the camera on the LAN. Once I got the IP address of the camera from LMS, I used the Edge web browser to access the camera. I was able to configure the camera with the Edge browser. The browser based user interface has almost all the functions of LMS for a single camera, with the exception of no audio in the Live View. I configured the main video to 2560×1440 @ 30 fps and the sub-stream to 640×480 (VGA). The image was sharp and clear, both in daylight and night vision. The 20X zoom was truly amazing. The camera has a very good lens. I also installed the VideoLink app on my Android phone. VideoLink had no trouble finding the camera over the LAN. I enabled and tested the FTP, ONVIF, Intelligent Motion Detection functions. They were all functional. I really appreciate the professional level control functions provided by the camera, like the manual shutter speed setting, WDR level, noise reduction level, large selection of video stream formats and frame rates, etc. That’s one thing I like about Jennov products. They provide professional level functions not available in most of the cameras in their price range. I especially appreciate the manual shutter speed setting option. Too many other cameras capture clear images of still objects but blurry moving targets. Manual shutter speed control should help solving this problem.
With the exception of one main issue, I would consider this camera to be quite satisfactory to replace the older cameras that do not have the intelligent motion detection. The main issue I have with the camera is the snapshots (pictures) captured during a motion detection event. The snapshots were in the format of the low resolution sub-stream, which was VGA (640×480) in my configuration, instead of the high resolution of the main stream. There is no option to select the resolution of the snapshots. I configured the camera to send snapshots to a NAS through FTP in an intelligent motion detection event. Along with the snapshots, videos can also be captured during a motion detection event and there is an option to select either the high resolution video stream or the low resolution video stream to capture. But the videos captured in the motion events are stored locally on the SD card in the camera. They cannot be sent to the NAS via FTP. I don’t trust to have the motion detection event data captured on the local SD card only. I prefer to have the motion detection event data sent to a NAS through FTP. In case the camera is tempered with or the SD card goes bad, I still have the data. Therefore, the fact this camera only captures low resolution snapshots during a motion event is disappointing to me. Interestingly, in the Record function, which records either continuous video streams or periodic snapshots, if the snapshot option is selected, there is an option to select either the high resolution snapshots or the low resolution snapshots to send over FTP, as well as to store on the SD card. But no such option on the snapshot resolution in the motion detection function. This is the main issue I had. There are a few minor issues as well. One is the Intelligent Night Light mode. When enabled, the camera automatically determines whether to turn on the white LED light or the IR lamp when dark. When I tried it, the LED white light did come on at the first motion detection event after dark. But afterwards, the camera went berserk, constantly toggling between the IR and the white light. I had to disable this “intelligent” night light and enable the traditional IR only nightlight mode. Another issue I had was with the Motion Tracking function. When enabled, the camera is supposed to follow a motion detected target, like a walking person until the target is out of view. At which point, the camera is supposed to return to the pre-tracking position. The tracking function is mentioned on their product description, both on the website and on the packaging. But it cannot be found on the Quick Guide, LMS, VideoLink, or the browser based user interface. It was described in the user manual downloaded from the Jennov website. Seems this tracking function is still very much a work in progress. To enable it, one needs to type a magic number into the “Preset” box on the Browser based user interface. I tried it. It did work. The camera started to follow me when I walked in its view. But when I went away, the camera stayed at the last tracking position instead of returning to the original position. There is actually an FAQ in the user manual about this issue and a “solution” involving another set of magic numbers entered into this “Preset” box. A long story short, the “solution” worked once. Then the second time it wouldn’t work. In addition to this issue of not returning to the original position, the tracking function, once enabled, disables the zoom function and the pan function. It’s 1X zoom only and no matter where you pan the camera, it will quickly return to the pre-pan position by itself.
So here is the list of pros and cons I came up after the test.
Pros:
1. The 20X optical zoom lens is amazing. I have not found a camera in the same price range with comparable zoom lens.
2. Very clear video in the high resolution stream.
3. The intelligent motion detection function significantly reduces the false alarms caused by such things as the moving shadows of swaying trees, blowing leaves, etc.
4. This camera can be fully accessed and configured through a web browser like Edge or Chrome, unlike the older cameras which require the discontinued IE browser and Flash plug in.
5. The construction of the camera is very sturdy, professional grade.
6. Professional level functions and controls, like FTP, NVIF, manual shutter control, WDR, noise reduction levels, etc. Some of these controls like manual shutter speed are invaluable to capture clear moving targets.
7. One of a few if not the only camera to offer an excellent 20X optical zoom lens and professional level functions and controls in its price range.
Cons:
1. Snapshots (pictures) captured during a motion event are in the low resolution format only.
2. Firmware in the camera seems buggy or incomplete. Functions like the “intelligent nightlight” mode , target tracking mode, don’t seem to work properly. The browser based user interface is not very responsive. Clicking the PAN or ZOOM buttons often resulted either in no action or sudden non-stop action. For example, clicking the ZOOM-IN button once to go from 4X to 5X can either result with no change at all, or a continuous zoom-in to 30X. It’s quite frustrating trying to zoom to a particular level, or pan to a particular position. I have another similarly priced camera from a very popular vendor on Amazon. Its functions and user interface are much more refined, including the target tracking, intelligent night light, high resolution snapshots in motion events. But that camera does not have an optical zoom, let alone a 20X one. It also does not offer the professional level controls like manual shutter speed, WDR, noise reduction levels, back light control, etc.
Overall I rate this camera as five stars despite the issues since it offers more for the money than most other choices.
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