Which PTZ Camera is Best? Lets Find Out!

Video Correction: The Hikvision compatible does NOT have an SD card for recording.

Top Pick:

Top Field of View and Night Performance:
UniView:

Highest Build Quality:

Inexpensive Fun PTZ Camera:

**As an Amazon Associate I earn a % of qualifying purchases at no cost to you.**

0:00 Intro
1:18 The Cameras
6:15 Field of View
7:03 Daytime Clarity
9:03 Pan Tilt and Zoom
13:28 Nighttime Clarity
15:20 Additional Features
16:40 Final Thoughts

Follow me on Twitter: @TheHookUp1

Support my channel:

[themagiceye]

Do any of your neighbours ever wonder why on earth you're standing in your front yard with a sign all the time?! Great video :)

[antibrevity]

Dear YouTube and Creators,
What viewers *really* want is to have videos show up in our subscriptions feed that we can't actually watch until some future time and date. Thank you for this wonderful feature ;).

No offense intended, Rob, and I love your channel.

[qdaniele]

What I love about the Armcrest is that, while being as sturdy as the Lorex, is also almost completely white.
It might not seem very important but If you live in a very sunny place like me you would know that anything white will survive in the open a lot longer than something painted black (plastic parts will have a better time with UV light, rubber seals keeping out water will not crumble to dust after a couple of months, the electronics inside will not overheat, etc).
In fact, very high end PTZ cameras are almost always completely white.

[DarCezToons]

Wow, such a comprehensive review of PTZ cameras! I appreciate how you compared their field of view, clarity, and other features. It's interesting to see the variation among the different models. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on their performance at night. Great job!

[jhiggz]

Great work! Covered the important factors. I've worked with 2 CTronics cameras, one for ~$275 (Big zoom, Wifi, POE, human detection, etc) while the other costs ~$140 (solar PIR doorbell cam). Both are impressive in their own way but not compared to your HikVision compatible for $239. Thanks for posting this vid.

[StevenHorneruk]

Excellent video, I recently bought an RLC-423 here in the UK when it was on a lightening deal for £48, wouldn’t pay the £229 it normally is but for the price I paid it was a bargain. I already have good coverage from fixed non PTZ cameras. Keep up the good work.

[DiggyJay]

Hi Rob, long time follower here. Thank you for your great review. But... here comes: I think it is best you remove your Top Pick referral. I've bought and installed two of them under a roof (dry) after watching your review, as it seemed to me that the price to performance ratio is good 'bang for the buck'. Unfortunately, both of them turned out to not be waterproof and full of moist after a week of use. This moist against the inside of the lens protection could then not be removed. After opening the camera's to dry, I found out there was a paper bag moist absorber inside the rear part of the camera housing, that seemed to be put in there by the manufacturer to (temporarily) hide the moist problem. What is even worse, is this paper bag is fitted right against the backside cooling fins of the camera unit, that being a MAJOR FIRE HAZARD as these fins can get quite warm. Furthermore, it turned out that the rubber 'seal' is really not a true seal, as it does not snugly fit and stay in place in between the enclosure parts. So the amount of sealing they provide strongly depends on your ability to fit the parts as straight as possible together with no edges to securely fit in the rubber. Luckily, after filing a claim within the 15 day period, AliExpress refunded both upon (free) return of the camera's. I'll shy away for a while from buying any serious but low-priced tech from china, as 'too good to be true' turned out to be (still) the case...

[carerforever]

I purchased one on eBay, and since it was a clear blue sky day, l decided to zoom in on the moon, l saw it's lovely craters.

[fantomcity]

I would like to see a vid on Backyard Bird watching, w/ Multi feeders and baths.

[robertoshea]

What a superb presentation... I learnt a great deal from this video and fast Deliverys precise accurate information... I’m in Uk and this has helped me make a decision on PTZ camera we were debating I think Hikvision... thank you... 👍

[Spuderman]

Great in depth video. Really thorough tests. I’ve just clicked the Hikvision link in the description and it takes me to a completely different camera. This may be because I’m in the UK.

[MySledgeHammer]

Very nice review and testing done in a professional way. Easy to understand but a bit fast talking for me to understand. But I am 76 years and I have at times I have issues comprehending things. I like my PTZ camera but I would like one with more clarity for reading license plates. I like being able to turn my camera if it has picked up a noise and turn it to see what it is or was. I also which it had a zoom feature because I love watching wildlife but also to see what is going on down my street. Some might think I am nosy but a neighbor had his house broken into and my cameras clarity just wasn’t good enough to capture the thugs ripping my neighbors house and car off. I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want color at night time myself being a retired police officer can attest that black and white can be useless at night for descriptions such as the color of a vehicle or someone’s colors of their clothing. So someone’s description when asked what color someone’s car or clothing was and the answer being ah to be honest my camera doesn’t record in color. I think your channel is one of the if not the best in my opinion on YouTube this was why I subscribed to it. Thank You and Cheers

[brian.hanifin]

That auto license plate preset is a pretty compelling feature. I still don’t think I need to add a PTZ to my setup. I could easily add extra 4K non-AI Reolink cameras for much less and retain good coverage. Thank you for these videos.

[Lp-zetg]

The problem with auto tracking is that if two people came into the range of the property and then one attempt to entering the house at the side door and the other one goes to the backyard. The ptz camera won't be able to track two people going separate ways. That's why I think ptz security camera is an add on. You will still need to place cameras at 4 corners of the house (assuming that the house is a regular design) and they should be installed with a minimum 13 feet above ground.

[paulwhite]

Well done Comparison. Any thoughts on making an updated video with cameras available in 2024? Seems every company these days is making a 4K PTZ with 20x optical. With prices ranging from $180 to $800. It would be great to see a comparison video with today's offerings.

[gwgent]

First of all, this is the absolute best channel/source around on all of the topics covered; just superb job on every subject!

Want to share my experience purchasing the Hikvision Compatible on Aliexpress. I received a sealed box with only a bracket and NO camera. I disputed and seller responded almost immediately saying weight of package registered with UPS was what it should be and actually produced a picture of box/package on a scale. I guess it's possible seller is totally legit and somehow the camera got removed in transit before getting to my home, but ultimately I paid $200+ for a camera and only received a bracket. I'm assuming many others have great experience with Ali but this was my first (and likely last). Now wishing I had paid a few more $ on Amazon..

[Liferoad]

Good review, you explained why I can not see much with my Amcrest cameras,
many of these cameras are out of stock.

[markd.songsandstuff]

Another great video comparison, lots of time, work for you. Thanks. Reolink updated firmware for E1 Outdoor. Users say presets and tracking are better. Not going to get the best for a hundred bucks, still okay cam for price IMO. The 3X zoom helps if you want a smaller FOV close up, obviously not good for long range. Reolink just released the 823A 8MP PTZ.

[McCuneWindandSolar]

They need to have a camera that has about 180 degree view up down left right. If it detects motion then record, and it can have a PTZ camera that can move to that location and follow the motion and record and follow the movement until that movement is out of frame. Now that would make a great Camera. The 180 degree camera can be lower Resolution like 2mp ect then the PTZ can be like 8mp or higher.

[marcin.ronndahl]

After having a HikVision compatible (albeit 5MP, 30x zoom version) at my cabin for over two years now, in rather harsh (northern Scandinavia) climate, I can only concur with it being a good buy!
Drawbacks so far are that I never got the Onvif stuff working, and the built-in web server requires ActiveX (Internet Explorer) to control it.