I brought two of this Hikvision turret camera model for my burgeoning network. It has been a major disappointment because the 4k video is unstable when the camera is installed outside. However, this camera works fine inside without any issues. But only works outside at night only. The 4K video constantly fades in out with gray pixelation in between. I thought it was just a bad camera, however, both cameras & the replacement that the vendor sent also have this issue. So all those so-called great reviews are seemingly from users who installed their cameras indoors or just lucky they didn't get one of the defective ones. The workaround to make this model somewhat functional outside during the day is to enable HDR, which I discovered by playing around with the configuration. However, HDR is useless at night & must be disabled because the whole video will be dark & unviewable, hence, the moniker "vampire" because this model works outside as expected after sunset. Vikylin tech support was useless for the most part. Instead of earnestly trying to resolve the issue, they kept insinuating that this issue was due to insufficient bandwidth of my network when I told them I had up 12 cameras in my network. I simply asked them how come the second IP camera of the same model installed inside doesn't have this issue & I have a Gigabit Ethernet network, which has more than enough bandwidth to accommodate twelve 4K cams because each 4K IPCAM takes up to 8 megabit per sec, hence 8 x 12 = 96 Mbps? It suffices to say tech support simply ignored that question. After so many back and forth emails with tech support, I had to terminate tech support because they kept taking me down the proverbial rabbit hole to nowhere via useless/ repeated emails. However, they did send me a replacement camera, which has the same issue & it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention that tech support does reply to email inquiries relatively quickly despite being in China. Finally, I reluctantly pulled the trigger for a refund, which is still being processed after several weeks because they kept ignoring my inquiry regarding a new firmware update to fix this issue instead they continued to rinse & repeat the same useless emails to me. They should just say in bold letters that this model is not recommended for outside. Moreover, the circular lens of this model is situated within a rectangular field, apparently where the AI/motion sensor is located. It appears this lens/ rectangular complex must ideally be in the horizontal position for the AI/motion sensor to function optimally. This is a hindrance in those situations where you must install the camera on the sidewall of the front entrance of a house. The vertical option will show more area compared to the horizontal position, however the AI/motion sensor will not be accurate if the camera is installed above 9 ft. It's more of a hit/miss when the lens is in the vertical position at a certain height. My other turret cameras don't have this limitation. IMHO, This camera is really meant for indoor & not ready for prime time if installed outside, hence, cannot fully recommend this model.
