AmcrestDual-Lens 4K (8MP) Outdoor Security POE Camera, 2 x 4MP Lenses PoE AI Bullet IP Camera, 65ft Night Color, Face Detection, Panoramic 180° FOV, 4K@15fps IP8M-DLB2998EW-AI (White)

The packaging for this camera is perfect for the size and weight of the camera. I’ve found the packaging of all the Amcrest cameras I have purchased to be designed to securely support the camera preventing any damage during shipping. None of my purchases have ever been damaged or dead-on-arrival. I found the package from the original Amcrest camera I purchase in January of 2017. It was an IP2M-841 ProHD 1080P Pan/Tilt camera, that I am still using today. The packaging on it was a bit bulkier than the cameras I have purchased since then. I feel like Amcrest has simplified the packaging, while maintaining its effectiveness. The graphics and details on the package are excellent in covering the features and specifications of the camera. The included quick start guide had several more pages than what I am accustomed to with other Amcrest cameras. That is due to the multiple screenshots of the Amcrest View Pro 2 app, as well as covering the multiple setup procedures, depending on the network interface being used. I’m pretty tech savvy myself, but the thorough coverage of setup and installation of this camera covered in the quick start should allow anyone to easily download the app and setup the camera. I also appreciated the physical installation methods listed at the back of the setup guide. You direct the customer to the web site, where a video can guide them through the physical installation of the style of camera purchased, which in this case, was a bullet camera.This was my first experience with the new ViewPro2 iOS application. This was also the first camera where I needed to go through an initialization procedure prior to configuration. I already had the Amcrest IP config tool installed and was familiar with it from prior use. Following the quick start guide procedure, initialization of the camera was simple and straightforward. I then followed the POE setup procedure, and the camera was up and online quickly. The look and feel of the new ViewPro2 is fantastic. I had primarily been using the Amcrest SmartHome app with most of my other cameras, but after installing ViewPro2 and adding the panoramic camera, I went ahead and completed the search and added all my other Amcrest cameras to the new ViewPro2. I found the new interface much more friendly to navigate than the original ViewPro app. Adding additional cameras is simple and the app provides access to the features of various models. Once other feature of the Dual Lens Panoramic camera I really like is the ability to use a web interface. Some of my other Amcrest cameras provide a web interface, in addition to an application. I find the web interface to be extremely useful for configuration, as well as offering an alternative way to access the camera. For example, while at work, I can quickly pull up the web browser on my desktop computer and check in on any of the cameras that have a web interface.As for the physical installation of the camera, where feasible, I have found the use of rubber coated magnets to be a terrific way to securely mount the camera, whenever the installation location is metal. The magnets I am referring to are high powered magnets, rubber coated to prevent marring of the metal surface, and they include threaded studs and nuts to secure the magnets onto the mounting holes of the camera body. The magnets I use can easily support 30 or more pounds of weight and make placement and relocation, if desired, simple. I have a metal unattached garage that I have used these magnets for some of my installations and they’ve worked well. These magnets would be a great additional offering for Amcrest to include on the web site as an alternative way for camera mounting. I really like the latest look and feel of the web interface to the panoramic camera. After clicking the ‘Home’ button at the top left, the menu utilizing icons for option selection looks great.Now to discuss the panoramic camera itself. This is by far the most feature rich of the Amcrest cameras that I own. It seems I just keep finding features around every corner of the interface. This is only the second camera I have that utilizes POE. I also own a IP5M-B1276EW-AI. My initial setup of the camera was having it connected to a Cisco Catalyst 3550 switch. But my planned installation was on the outside of a metal unattached garage. I purchased an Amcrest 6 port POE switch for that garage to connect the camera. The simplicity of POE and utilizing a single connection for power and data has me thinking I will utilize other POE Amcrest options in the future. I initially tested with the iOS Amcrest ViewPro2 app but utilized the web interface for most of my evaluation testing. The panoramic view from the camera is remarkable. The camera view provides an enormous view from the outside of my unattached garage looking toward the house. After configuring some of the standard features, such as time format, time zone, email settings, camera overlay, etc., I began looking at some of the detection features, some of which were certainly new to me. I always enable motion detection, particularly with outdoor cameras. I enabled both the human and motor vehicle smart motion detection options. They both worked perfectly. The security options are amazing with this camera. I’m familiar with PTZ functionality but had never experienced electronic PTZ. I enabled EPTZ and selected one of the display modes. Great option to enable PTZ functionality without having to manually move the view around like traditional PTZ. I also enabled Auto Track and as the interface mentioned on the screen, I also needed to enable tripwire or intrusion in IVS, which I also did. I had my wife walking around in view of the camera and she was tracked. Back to IVS and the other AI options. I tested each of the AI options. I created both a tripwire and intrusion rule. I enabled both the motor vehicle and human targets. Both were picked up when they crossed the drawn borders. The smart object detection worked perfectly as well. I created a missing object rule and removed a box from with the drawn boarder. The alert was generated for the missing item. In testing the Face Detection, I had to allow the smart motion detection to be disabled, which I did. I also enabled the face statistics to show the count on the screen. I much preferred the AI face detection to the smart object detection for human detection. For each of the AI options, I chose to include an email. Anytime I have the option, I choose to get an email for whatever the notification is. I also enabled the test email to be sent every 24 hours.ConclusionThis camera has an amazing selection of options. It seems I find something I missed each time I go back through each of the web interface options. This will become my primary security camera installed on the outside of my unattached garage and facing the home.

The Amcrest IP8M-DLB2998EW-AI delivers incredible image quality—both day and night—and the 180° wide-angle lens is a game changer. I'm able to see the entire side of my home in one image! Night vision is crystal clear with no glare or IR reflection. In the night photo below, the Reolink camera I had in this location had difficulty with the IR brightness at the downspout. Night vision is so good, and you’ll see how a PTZ camera at the far left side of the night image is clearly visible. I was really impressed that the secure HTTPS certificate was included by default.That said, the setup experience was awkward. It requires a new app (Amcrest Pro 2) whereas I would have appreciated support by the existing app. Firmware updates confused me. The new app said I needed to do an update, presented three options “1. Cloud upgrade,” “2. Official website,” and “3. Technical support,” along with a [Save] button. Clicking "Save" simply closed the dialog, and I got a “Connection Failed” message. However, using the (Chrome) web UI, under Maintenance > Update > Manual Check, it told me I was already running the latest firmware, directly contradicting what the mobile app said. I had cycled the power and tried the app setup twice to make sure it wasn't something I had done wrong.The web UI looks great, though feels a bit like it was developed by different teams in terms of slightly different styles. I like how the UI retains tabs of pages which I’ve visited for quick re-access. One UI quirk: after creating an AI rule (via AI -> SmartPlan -> Add Rule), the Rule List was empty. I eventually realized I had to go back into the SmartPlan section to see the rule I just added. That inconsistency made the interface unnecessarily confusing.I use Blue Iris and this camera was instantly discovered and worked flawlessly.Overall, the hardware is excellent, but the software feels somewhat unfinished. If Amcrest improves the app and UI, this would be a perfect camera. Still, I’m very impressed with this product, and ordered another to replace a PTZ camera on the east side for unparalleled visibility around my home.