Annke FCD800 safety cam evaluate: A single digital camera that sees all

Finest Costs At the moment: Annke FCD800

Not way back, panoramic safety digital camera protection required putting in a number of models and also you’d nonetheless find yourself with blind spots. Then dual-lens fashions got here alongside and promised to repair that by stitching two views into one vast shot. The outcomes haven’t at all times been fairly, although, generally producing seen seams, awkward distortions, and mismatched lighting within the stitched-together picture.

Annke’s new FCD800 goals to alter that. This 8-megapixel power-over-ethernet digital camera (PoE) blends the feeds from its two lenses right into a seamless 180-degree view, providing a viable substitute for multi-camera setups.

Design and options

The FCD800 is a turret-style digital camera housing two wide-angle lenses aspect by aspect (it’s additionally accessible in a bullet type issue for a similar value). The metallic digital camera enclosure is connected to a plastic mount, and connects through power-over-ethernet (PoE), in cable carries each electrical energy and knowledge. A separate mounting bracket permits each wall and soffit placement, making it straightforward to place the digital camera for full yard or driveway protection.

It’s rated IP67 for defense from the weather—which means it’s dustproof and may face up to immersion in as much as one meter (about 3.3 ft) of water for as much as half-hour—it’s constructed to deal with year-round publicity. Its industrial look received’t mix into each residence’s exterior, however it fits garages, aspect yards, and any state of affairs that prioritizes perform over subtlety. Need to find out about IP codes? Take a look at TechHive’s IP code information.

Every of the digital camera’s two 1/2.4-inch CMOS sensors captures video with 4096×1860-pixel decision. These are stitched right into a steady 180-degree panoramic picture with out the warping or fisheye impact you usually get from single-lens wide-angle cameras. Nighttime efficiency is dealt with by a sensible hybrid lighting system that makes use of each infrared and white LEDs.

The FCD800 routinely switches between these two mild sources primarily based on the accessible ambient mild, offering as much as 30 meters of illumination. In response to Annke, that’s a couple of 50-percent soar from the FCD600’s 20-meter vary. In full darkness, it may possibly run in discreet IR mode or swap on the white lights to flood an space with colour evening imaginative and prescient.

Annke

Annke’s Movement Detection 2.0 provides AI to that vast area of view. The system can distinguish between individuals and autos, ignoring distractions like swaying branches or passing animals. If the digital camera does spot bother, it may possibly double as a deterrent with a built-in energetic protection system that mixes a 97dB siren, flashing white strobes, and customized voice warnings that may be triggered routinely by movement or manually from inside the app.

The FCD800 provides you many storage choices. A built-in microSD slot helps playing cards as much as 512GB, sufficient for a number of days of steady recording relying on bit price and movement settings. The digital camera additionally works with Annke NVRs and different ONVIF-compatible recorders, letting you combine it right into a broader PoE system. If you happen to desire community storage, you may level the digital camera to a NAS. It seems Annke hasn’t launched a subscription service for this mannequin, so recording is strictly native.

Setup and efficiency

Organising the FCD800 takes a bit of extra planning than a typical Wi-Fi digital camera, however the course of is easy when you perceive how PoE works. As an alternative of plugging right into a wall outlet, the digital camera will get each energy and knowledge by way of a single ethernet cable. That cable connects to a PoE swap or a PoE-capable NVR, which provides electrical energy and community entry on the identical time. (If you happen to desire, you may energy the digital camera with a 12V DC adapter, however you’ll nonetheless have to hardwire it to your router with an ethernet cable—it doesn’t have an onboard Wi-Fi adapter). It’s a clear, dependable setup that additionally eliminates worries about weak Wi-Fi alerts. The digital camera connects easily to Annke’s personal NVR methods, which could be the most effective guess for newbies, and is managed by way of the Annke Imaginative and prescient app.

As soon as related, you’ll scan the bar code sticker on the underside of the digital camera so as to add it to the app. Then the app prompts you thru the steps to attach the digital camera to your community. As soon as the digital camera is added, you may view stay video, evaluate a timeline of recorded clips, and handle digital camera settings within the app. The interface is clear and responsive, and the connection remained strong in my testing.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Video from the FCD800 appears to be like crisp and evenly uncovered. The high-resolution picture sensor produces a large, detailed panorama with out the seen stitching that plagues some dual-lens cameras. I did discover a bit of curvature close to the sides of the body, a gentle lens distortion from the ultra-wide lenses. It’s widespread with panoramic cameras and most noticeable when the digital camera is aimed sharply downward as mine was. Mounting it degree with the horizon retains this to a minimal.

The hybrid evening lighting was spectacular, as nicely. In IR mode, you get robust black-and-white visibility, with first rate edge sharpness and minimal flare. Change to the white LEDs and the scene fills with vibrant, balanced colour. You’ll be able to select one or the opposite let the digital camera’s intelligence resolve which to make use of on the fly.

The digital camera’s AI detection is fairly correct distinguishing individuals and autos from background movement. I didn’t obtain any nuisance alerts throughout my testing, however for those who discover environmental exercise is triggering the digital camera, dialing again sensitivity or shrinking the detection zone within the app normally solves it. You’ll need to be sure that these settings are tuned optimally to your surroundings as a result of the digital camera’s energetic defenses get consideration. The siren is loud—97 decibels is sufficient to startle anybody close by—and the strobe flashes are onerous to overlook. They’ll rapidly put on in your neighbors’ persistence in the event that they misfire often.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Do you have to purchase the Annke FCD800?

At $139.99, the FCD800 delivers loads for the cash. It’s an amazing match for anybody who desires to cowl a large space like a driveway or yard with out juggling a number of cameras. You’ll want a PoE connection, so you should definitely think about that price for those who don’t have already got the required {hardware} (a router or ethernet swap that helps PoE, a PoE injector, or a PoE-capable community video recorder).

If you happen to’re OK with that, it’s a strong, no-nonsense improve that performs as marketed.

This evaluate is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the finest residence safety cameras.