SV3C36X Zoom PTZ POE Camera Outdoor, Auto Tracking 4K ONVIF IP Wired Camera, Person Vehicle Motion Detection, Floodlight Color Night Vision, Two Way Audio, Camhipro, Preset, BlueIris, 24/7 Recording

Pros: Excellent camera, nice zoom, good size, clarity, rain protection, night vision capability, good valueCons: Firmware updates aren’t released very often, unknown security postureThis is my 4th POE security camera: I have two Sunba POE PTZ cameras and another SV3C I purchased over a year ago. (See picture of the larger mounting plate for THIS unit on the right.) I can’t comment on the power connections outside of ethernet for this device as I have either a POE switch or POE injector for all of my cameras, but the connection is solid over just the one ethernet cable. I use SecuritySpy on macOS for viewing, local storage and backup to a NAS. The device obtains an IP address via DHCP without issue, and while I tried using the app to add it to my phone, it didn’t work the first time and isn’t something I utilize so I just browsed via the web interface instead, which works well. Make sure you change the default insecure password to something more robust.Inside the box was everything you need to get started: the little nub to cover the reset button was a bit squished in the unit I received but was easily bent back into shape to cover it. Screws, wall anchors, and mounting bracket all included.Setup was super easy via SecuritySpy: use ONVIF for PTZ control. A piece of paper with templated holes for mounting the device is included, which I’ve seen with other cameras and is appreciated. Wireless is enabled by default: I’d recommend disabling this along with the “cloud” function if you’re not going to use it, but I don’t plan on using them or the SD card feature.Night vision works pretty well via the infrared camera: as you can see from the attached photos, it does a good job of figuring out where to focus. It takes a couple seconds after zooming to figure out what to focus on but generally shows you what you want to see. Since the infrared lights on the other camera are what’s in focus in the night vision photos, that’s why that halo effect is there: note that it’s focus on my old camera, and what you’re seeing is footage from this unit.I like that the mounting plate isn’t as large as the Sunba cameras so it’s more versatile in terms of mounting position. The 36X zoom works well. For the price difference I’d have a hard time deciding between the two all things considered.I’m especially thankful that streaming works in a variety of browsers: my other cameras don’t support native Safari viewing, which is annoying. This does.I get a fair amount of rain here so we’ll see how it fares when moisture hits: I’m thankful for the IP66 rating.I’m not sure what sort of security patches are released or how testing is performed. Generally cameras from other vendors I’ve used update once a year or so. While I have a decent firewall, I’d feel better with more communication about how seriously SV3C takes security. One thing I noticed is that there is no session timeout when connected via a web browser, so I was able to access over an hour after logging in without logging in again. Allowing the admin to customize the session duration would be a better security practice.Zoom visible in photos shows the minimum/maximum zoom capability. Overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase.

Review of SV3C SD7POE-8MP-HX PTZ camera(REQUEST TO AMAZON: Please allow uploading of PDF files. I put together a help document for the phone app but can't upload it).Quick Summary: This camera works as intended. I easily connected it to the CamHiPro App on my phone, and then to a Blue Iris PC system that I have. I was also able to use it on the SV3C NVR (Network Video Recorder). The picture quality is very good. The Quick Start Guide is good. It appears to be a well-built solid camera. This review is for the camera, and I give it 5 stars as it does what I need it to do. I’m not reviewing the CamHiPro App here, but there are some confusing setup selections. The SV3C Support team is eager to help with questions and problems, however sometimes you have to repeat your question or rephrase it to overcome language translation problems. A 24-hour delay in getting a response is common.NOTE 1: I did have a problem that was resolved with help from the SV3C support team. When continuously monitoring the camera video (using Blue Iris) several times a day it would lose focus and take several minutes to figure that out and correct itself. I took several screenshots showing minute by minute the problem. The support team asked for the camera’s UID number and password and they also saw the problem. Unable to duplicate the problem with other cameras they asked me to reload the firmware into the camera. To my surprise it fixed the problem. This was the same firmware version but just reinstalled it.Note 2: Using a web browser and the camera’s IP address I increased the factory default brightness setting from 50 to 70.Details:This is a fairly large camera weighing over three pounds. The mounting bracket is intended to be mounded to a flat vertical surface. The mounting screws should be sufficient, but I suggest a larger diameter.Many residential homes in the U.S. use overlapping vinyl siding. The mounting bracket supplied will need to overlap two sections of siding and you will have a gap of about ¾ inch at the bottom two screws. So, you should use longer screws at the bottom and possibly two spacers to fill the gap. See the attached pictures. You will probably need some calking to fill the gaps on the sides. Pre-Drill holes before trying mount the camera. The bottom two holes are somewhat difficult as the camera is wider than the mounting bracket, and gets in the way of a screwdriver. You can’t mount the bracket first, as the camera wires exit the back of the bracket. So, you must pre-drill holes and then carefully hold the camera while trying to insert the screws (without dropping the camera!)NOTE: A micro SD card is optional but recommended. Insert the card into the camera before trying to mount it. The low price of a 128GB card is well worth the cost. See attached picture.The label on camera says it has a focal length of 4.7 to 94 mm. That gives an optical zoom range of 20X. I don’t know why it is advertised as 18X optical. The 36X apparently is with a 2X digital zoom. I don’t put any importance on the digital zoom number. The optical zoom range (and Focal Length) are the important specifications. After an exchange of emails with SV3C Support, they say the label is wrong and will be changed to show a focal length of 5.3-95.4mm. That is an 18X Optical Zoom.The easiest way to use this camera is with the CamHiPro App on your phone. I already had that installed and it was being used with other cameras from SV3C (and the HX family of cameras). CamHiPro is good for occasional live viewing of one camera at a time, and to play back recorded video (stored on the SD card in the camera). It is also good for non-frequent alerts and notifications to your phone. If you need to monitor multiple cameras simultaneously, you either need the SV3C NVR (Network Video Recorder), or a PC and a program such as Blue Iris.The directions on Pages 4 and 5 in the Quick Start Guide (shipped with the camera) were used to add the camera to the CamHiPro App. The directions were sufficient, but I encountered a few missing minor steps.The green LED on the camera connector should go on after the camera is connected to power and data, and reboots. The first time I did that, it did not come on even after several minutes. The green LED on the POE Switch indicated a good connection and data. Hours later, this green LED was working! I don’t know what the initial problem was. It continues to work normally.The CamHiPro App provides you with the IP Address that your router assigned. I prefer to change the Dynamic IP Address in these cameras to a fixed static address. I did not see how to do that with the CamHiPro App (I thought I previously saw that), so I used a PC and Chrome Web Browser with the supplied IP Address to change it.Note: If you use the IP Address and a web browser to access the camera settings, the main screen has two options (1) PC View, and (2) Setup Software. DO NOT select the setup software option. If I remember correctly, that was needed for the obsolete Internet Explorer browser.Note that many cameras from different manufactures appear to use the same third-party web server (they all look the same). There are many camera settings that could be made using a web browser and the camera’s IP address. Most settings are obvious, but documentation is poor or non-existent. Most users should be fine with the default settings.There are various ways this camera could be used. Some are as follows:CamHiPro App on a smartphone (best functionality and easy to use).Blue Iris (PC Program. Powerful but long learning curve. Great documentation).P2P Client (PC Program. Outdated and limited functions. Poor documentation).NVR (Network Video Recorder) from SV3C (easy to use, does not require a PC, stores to a Hard Disk Drive. Some functions of the HX series of cameras might not be supported but viewing, recording, playback, and motion detection appears to work fine.)Suggestion to SV3C:(1) One very well written User Manual that describes every setting and every screen would be nice to have. Possible chapters could include:a. Camera settings using a PC and Web Browserb. The CamHiPro Appc. The SV3C NVR(2) Make the printed Quick Start Guide larger. Some screenshots are hard to read.I don’t see any benefit to using the P2P PC Client Program over the NVR.

This is my third SV3C Cam. I have a 3MP, a 5MP, and now this 4K model.I access my cameras through Blue Iris. All of the PTZ functions work from Blue Iris as expected, making it easy to move the cam, zoom in and out, focus, etc.In addition to higher resolution, this cam also has super zoom - both optical and digital.The picture is fantastic, and the range of movement is super (360 degrees! straight down, but NOT up).Unlike my older models, this cam has both IR lights and white floodlights to provide color vision at night if needed.It has a narrower field of vision, however (not wide angle), which makes it less desirable for my application.The reason for my review is that the information here implies that the camera requires POE. When the camera arrived, it used the same connections as my previous models, including a power line, and POE is simply an option if you prefer. It comes with a power supply but requires wired internet (no wi-fi).As with previous models, the connectors are unusually large and require a sizable hole if the wiring is passed through the wall. This made my installation unnecessarily painful.Setup is easy using the smartphone CamHi application. Once the cam is online, you can access its internal web server via its IP address or through a third-party app like Blue Iris.This model was twice as expensive as the older cams, but it's probably worth it. I only wish there was a wide-angle option or lens available.