Annke C800 vs Reolink vs Amcrest
In my 5 yr quest to find something better within SecuritySpy than the Reolink in the same general price range - I have stumbled upon Annke C800 cameras. I have read a few posts on here and they seem to generally work with SecuritySpy other than possible a fixed issue of ONVIF being off by default. My questions are a) do they stay connected better to SecuritySpy than the Reolink? b) how is the picture quality vs Reolink and/or Amcrest.
I have about 15 cameras - They Reolink are by far the superior picture quality but some are 'sketchy' in staying connected to SecuritySpy. The Amcrest do pretty good always connecting to SecuritySpy - but the picture quality is much lower than Reolink. I have 1 Sunba with Sony sensor it it does very well but not interested in the price range for all cameras. What got me interested in the Annke is supposedly the C800 uses a Sony sensor (Sunba has the Sony also) and is Hikvision OEM (again supposedly).
Reolink provides amazing support in replacing cameras. I go through a lot, so that is a plus. I don't mind buying replacement cameras at 70-100$ but not at 250$.
Obviously lower quality video is better than no video (when Reolink drops) - but about half of my cameras record wildlife type things and putting together videos, it is much nicer having the better quality...
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Riolink does have a very good picture quality… But the cameras are problematic. They don't use H265. Also, lots of reports of latency with their cameras.
The C 800 looks like a nice camera with a great price point and with the lens of 2.8 mm and a field of view of 123° does suggest a good sensor.
Does Annke require Active-X to use a browser?
Like you, I'm looking to swap out older cameras… If you do get this camera, it would be great if you could report back your experience… There is one other post on this camera… That seems to be related to a particular problem with one individual camera.
Thanks!
Jay.
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I just pulled the trigger on the Annke C800 4mm to see how they do. I have most of the reolinks working fine - but each new one I get is always a struggle. I have 2 instances of using TP Link N300 Wireless Bridges and one handles the SecuritySpy to Reolink without issue and the other bridge is constant drops...so went to the Amcrest on one bridged zone that actually runs off a Jackery. With so many variables it is difficult to diagnose the true issue at times.
The other Reolinks are hardwired direct to network and have same proportion of issues there...Almost unfortunately....They work just well enough that the picture quality always makes me return to them, regardless how often I vow to stop using them.
I will let you know about the C800 once I get it.
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In my forever attempt to find replacements for the Reolink cameras...I am trying the Annke 5MP PTZ (which even the name/model is difficult to figure out - but seems its the WZ500. I bought on Amazon for $139). The Annke documentation and ease of use (other than getting camera connected to iphone which is instantaneous) is possibly the worst excuse for a product I have come across...BUT the video coming out of the camera is AMAZING. It says it is a Sony sensor and seems to be so. The connection to Security Spy seems very stable at full resolution (2592x1944) at 15fps. I have it set up for continuous video and motion photos.
There is no real mac support - so my process was finding the IP which I had to scan the network and figure out what was new among 60 devices, since the IP shown in iphone app was external IP via proprietary wifi (never gave it SSID creds for my home). Then logging into the camera via browser and guessing the default login/pw. There is no browser support on mac for the plugins to actually see the video but most settings seem to work. The browser software is named Megapixel IP Camera - for which I have asked Annke and googled attempting to find manual for understanding all settings.
Using ONVIF default profile so far. Using H265 encoding.
There is nearly no access to changing the settings in the phone app. And no information on how to connect. There is a voice that comes on when powered up that tells you to proceed with the wired setup instructions (these dont exist and doesnt seem to even allow wired via app). It will connect itself to wireless for viewing in the app...without being connected to your network (scary)...
Issues so far include video nearly scrambled in SS when attempting to change resolution to anything other than 2592x1944.
Turning off wifi via the brower setup doesnt seem to effect the phone app actually turning off.
Lots more digging and exploring to go. Hopefully a manual for settings will come from Annke.
Bottom line so far is: best picture I have ever seen in security camera (I am a photographer so picky). I have a Sunba with Sony sensor that has good quality and 25x but cost approx 500 and 15 reolinks because the quality is better than any other $75-150 camera I have found. The Annke camera is nearly all plastic, sturdy but would be leary having full in the elements. Connecting to SS seems as good as it gets at full resolution (cant get picture at any other resolution but only briefly tried). I have some tricky network jumps (TP Link long range antennas) I have not tested, so far hardwired between router and SS computer. The Reolinks and Amcrest and Sunbas handle these jumps for most part going into SS and required for my setup.
If anyone is using the Annke cameras and has tips/tricks on using with SS would love to know...
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Did you get the Annke C800? I’m curious which model of Hikvision camera it actually is a white label of.
I have 10 OEM Hikvision cameras, and I LOVE them. When I read in your message that you had cameras that didn’t stay connected to SecuritySpy, I didn’t even realize that was a thing! haha My Hikvision cameras have never had even a single interruption. I highly recommend them, as they work flawlessly with SecuritySpy.
The only issue I had last year was something related to the aspect ratio, and even though the cameras are true, genuine 4K, at the standard 4K resolution, the video capture files were oddly squished. I think it was something in the data stream from the camera. In any event, I messaged Ben about it, and literally within days it was fixed, and that was the only incompatibility I’ve ever bumped into with SecuritySpy.
Of course, it’s possible that it varies from model to model. All 10 of mine are DS-2CD2185FWD-I (Hikvision model number) or DT185-I (generic white label model number). They are dome cameras.
This model of mine is getting a little out of date, there have been a couple new direct replacements of it. One was a slight downgrade (20fps became 15fps for 4K), but the most recent version is back to 20fps for 4K, and has some other enhancements like a built-in microphone and the ability to do the third stream even when you have some of the advanced image/video options selected, like fisheye correction. On my version, the third stream becomes unavailable if you use some of those options. I suspect it probably works just as well with SecuritySpy, but don’t know.
I’ll probably be picking one up soon enough to find out, I just need to make sure that the new version is physically identical to the old version in terms of the mounting and the design of the housing. I don’t really want to mix-n-match (at least visually to look at them), but my older version is slowly getting harder to find and more expensive actually than the newer version.
Edit: I just remembered that two of my cameras are actually not that same model number. They are from the exact same family, but are the bullet version. So the only number that’s different in them is the “1”, but I can’t remember offhand what digit the bullet version uses. I know that the dome is “1”, and either the bullet or the turret is “0” and the other I think is “2” but don’t hold me to it. haha
But because all of these use the exact same firmware file, they work exactly identically with SecuritySpy, with exactly the same feature set, options and limitations (in terms of the third stream). It’s because they’re so identical in SecuritySpy that I forgot I had opted for two of them to be bullets!
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I just looked it up, the turret is “3” and the bullet is “0”.
So the turret is DS-2CD2385FWD-I and the bullet is DS-2CD2085FWD-I.
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I am using the 20x Annke and comparable Hikvision are not what I want to pay. Currently working with Annke in an attempt to figure out what is going on with the WZ-500. Their last answer after attempting to give me software and manuals that didn't apply/work with my camera is that "This is a new camera, we will need to check if we can get a manual".
Main issues: Cant turn off auto focus - so if rain or snow - camera refocuses on snowflakes...Cant stop overnight 'adjustment' to the zoom - and it zooms out all the way.....Resolution can't be changed from maximum and have OBS or SS see the stream (and since their software doesn't work that was provided, no way of knowing if even works that way)....Changing to H265 wont allow OBS to capture feed - although SS does work - so might be the RTSP url needing more than H265 but cant get info....
I will give Annke a little slack for now - this apparently is a new camera and perhaps others work differently, but self adjusting zoom and focus is complete deal breaker when attempting to stream/record a constant outdoor scene....As much as I hate it...exploring another Reolink RLC-823A 16x - if anyone using input would be great...
Interestingly - the Sunba VMS software found the Annke camera...while the Annke SADPtool software can't...
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I own (2) C800 and (1) C500 for the last 2 months. I got them on eBay new for $67 and $37 respectfully. They are great cameras at that price… This model is couple of years old now, but I don't see an upgraded version on their website and they work seamlessly with SS. Yes, finding them on the network might be a little problematic, but if you use their app for the phone… Don't scan the QR… Just enter the serial number directly… Then you can hook up the cameras and assign it an IP, and easily configure everything through your browser. The night vision is is very good. I am looking at the AC 800, as that provides two-way audio… And that's what I really want… I need one good camera with a good speaker. I'm not sure what version of hikvsion this is a knock off of, but I do use the Hikvision profile.
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I purchased the 823A, but I returned it. It's not residential friendly, very institutional. It is incredibly loud, when I had it on the tracking function… I was tempted to get a baseball bat and whack at it. Very good image quality, good speaker, good strobe lights… And it does do H265. I was less than impressed with its 5X optical Zoom. It would be a good camera for a job site or a parking lot… But I would want the optical zoom to be larger 20X.
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I am returning the WZ-500 Annke - it changing the zoom on its own every night was a deal breaker - just unusable in that form. Might try one of the Annke bullets (first attempt they were out of stock for months). I believe they also have a sony sensor. The picture quality of the wz-500 was wonderful, so pains me to return it. Replaced the WZ-500 with a Sunba P625 25x - picture quality seems nearly identical, depth of field much deeper.
