A few years back, I made a whole series about awesome 5MP IP Cameras. Over the years they have grown old and it was time to replace them. Technology has not stood still so I started a search for the best 4K (8MP) IP Camera. After testing a lot of no-name and name brands, my choice has fallen on Dahua cameras, check out this post to read about them and watch my video including lots of demo footage!

Part of a series

This post is part of a series about IP cameras. Click here to go to the series index page!

Best 4K (8MP) IP Camera 2018

Selecting the right camera isn’t easy. There is a lot of technical terms involved and combined with marketing talk it can quickly become quite a difficult task!

Ofcourse, I have already done all the work in looking up specifications and testing lots of different cameras to find, what I believe to be, the best 4K IP cameras available right now.

I’ve made a video about this, including sample/demo footage of all the cameras, discussing the different housings and lenses, etc.. Take a loot at it here:

 

 

Eyeball/Dome cameras

As can be seen in the above video ad links, I much prefer Eyeball or Dome style cameras above bullets. Although bullet cameras can give you the same image quality I most find them a much bigger hassle to install then eyeball or mini-dome.

I showed the following models in the video:

IPC-HDW4831EM-ASE

A fixed focus, 8 MegaPixel (4K) camera in the eyeball style. Very easy to position and adjust, but that last part can also make it a bit weaker if you want to install it where it’s in reach of someone turning the camera away. Good image quality, but visible less than the other models with the vari-focal lens. It does come with a microphone and 1 IR LED and is overall a good and stable camera.

IPC-HDW5831R-ZE

Again an Eyeball style camera but this time in a more modern housing. It also comes with well upgraded optics against the previous model with a vari-focal lens that goes from 2.7mm to 12mm. This is both a very wide angle or a zoomed in image making installing this camera a lot easier than others, because positioning becomes more flexible!

This camera again comes with a built-in microphone and this time has 2, very powerful, hidden IR blasters for at night. Because of the design, the is no chance of any IR reflection and as mentioned in the video, this model is by far my favorite!

IPC-HDBW5831R-ZE

One letter difference from the above, makes a bigger difference then you might think! Same 8MP sensor, same high-quality vari-focal lens but this time no integrated Microphone and the IR LEDs are a little bit weaker.

However, this camera does have a wired Microphone in and speaker out and has alarm trigger input and output wires for IO connectivity. If you want to do 2-way audio or trigger a door lock, this model can do it!

Also, because of the mini-dome style, this camera has an official anti-tamper rating. With the previous models, if in reach, people could turn the cameras away (with force, but still). This model is fully encased and they would have to smash it to bits before being able to deter you from watching them.

Aokwevision 5MP 20x PTZ

This is a whole different beast then the other cameras listed here but after testing this one, I really liked what you got the price! With just under 200$ you get a decent 5Mpix sensor but coupled to a well designed PTZ head! 20x zoom optics with great image clarity.

If you are looking for a PTZ camera or want to play around with one, put this one on the top of your list!

Shopping links

(All links provide a choice between Amazon, Aliexpress and Ebay)

IPC-HDW4831EM-ASE: http://geni.us/f8zv
IPC-HDW5831R-ZE : http://geni.us/JxaSu
IPC-HDBW5831R-ZE : http://geni.us/FwAAx3X
IPC-AOKWEPTZ : http://geni.us/j6CjH

PFB204W (for HDW4831EM-ASE) : http://geni.us/MQzj
PFA130-E (for HDW4831EM-ASE) : http://geni.us/7ACk7

PFB203W (for HD(B)W5831R-ZE) : http://geni.us/6fAwB
PFA137 (for HD(B)W5831R-ZE) : http://geni.us/1cYmiJT

End note

This article doesn’t go into too much detail but that’s the thing with IP cameras, you kind of just need to see the video to see the quality they give you. So if you haven’t yet, after reading this post, make sure to watch the YouTube video at the top of this page!

I’m planning on making this one of my series with lots of information surrounding all kinds of topics regarding IP cameras, NVR’s, time lapses, etc.. So make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

And as always, if you have any questions, let me know in the comments here or on YouTube. 🙂