The PoE surveillance camera, which is available in black and white and as a tower or bullet version, is currently only 37 euros in the flash sale. Can you go wrong at this price? The test report shows how well the Annke AC500 works in practice.
Annke AC500: housing, scope of delivery & basic functions
With dimensions of 170.8 × 66 × 69.1 mm, the Annke AC500 is relatively compact. The housing and bracket are made of plastic, so the PoE surveillance camera including bracket and PoE connection cable weighs only 294 grams. It is protected against weather influences according to IP67 and, according to the manufacturer, can be used in a temperature range between -30° and 60° Celsius. The lens with a focal length of 2.8 mm offers a horizontal field of view of 98°, vertical 54° and diagonal 114°. Although the aperture with F1.6 is quite bright and already records color videos at 0.005 lux even at night, the camera also offers an LED, which provides colored night vision up to 20 meters in extreme darkness. The AC500 guarantees night vision in black and white thanks to IR LEDs, which illuminate the monitored area up to 30 meters at night.
In addition to a quick start guide in English, a drilling template and three screws and dowels for attachment, the scope of delivery also includes waterproof protection for Ethernet cable connections.
The camera is supplied with power via Ethernet (PoE, 802.3af). However, it can also be put into operation using an optionally available 12-volt power pack. Accordingly, an approximately 25 cm long cable with a PoE connection and a 12 volt socket runs out of the housing.
Installation
When it comes to commissioning, the Annke AC500 is very flexible. Users can set it up using a browser, a desktop client or an app without having to register with the manufacturer. The easiest way to set up is with the mobile app Annke Vision.
Since the Annke AC400 is compatible with Hikvision cameras, users can also use the SADP tool to activate the camera on the desktop. The tool identifies the camera including its IP address if it is connected to the same router as the computer. You can then use a browser or the Hikvision application IVMS 4200 (Windows, macOS) in addition to the desktop client Annke Vision (Windows) for commissioning and configuration. However, Annke offers an older version for download, so it is best to download the software from Hikvision. Overall, commissioning is easy and completed in a few seconds (see also picture gallery).
Practical use: alarms and notifications
The motion detection integrated in the camera differentiates between people, vehicles and other moving objects. Accordingly, false alarms are almost impossible in practice. An alarm when a movement is detected is sent either via e-mail or push. There is no acoustic warning on the device because the Annke AC500 does not have a loudspeaker. Sound recordings are possible thanks to the integrated microphone.
The AC400 does not offer the setting options known from more expensive Annke models such as the FCD600 (test report) or NCD800 (test report), such as line crossing detection or area entrance/exit detection. But the AC500 has sabotage monitoring, for example if the lens is covered, just like the more expensive versions. It also informs about illegal login attempts when someone tries to login to the camera via the browser.
The camera has a microSD card slot on the underside for storing recordings, which supports storage media up to 256 GB in size. Under Storage – Schedule Settings, users can define by day and time how the recording (continuous or when motion is detected) should take place. In addition to videos, the AC500 can also record images at specific times or when an alarm is triggered.
In addition to the option of defining an activity area for motion detection, users can also define so-called data protection zones. This is particularly necessary when aligning the camera to the neighboring property for GDPR-compliant operation. Correspondingly configured areas are blacked out (see also picture gallery).
Pictures: Annke AC500
Pictures
Video quality and practice
The Annke AC500 offers numerous functions to increase image quality: Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), Backlight Compensation (BLC) and Highlight Compensation (HLC). Most of the time, only one of these methods can be used to improve low-light shots, such as backlighting.
Preconfigured image parameters are available under Scene. Here users can choose between Normal (default setting with BLC on top and HLC with level 50), Backlight (WDR on with level 50), Front light and Dim light. The latter adjust the parameters of brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness to improve the image quality. Two scenes are also available for user-defined settings. Since the optimal setting of the scenes depends on the time of year and day, you can specify when they should be activated under Picture parameter change per month.
However, the functions for increasing the image quality are only available via access via browser or desktop application. Only a few parameters such as resolution, video quality, data rate and video codec (H2.65 or H.264) can be set with the Annke app.
The various functions for increasing image quality are relevant in practice and make it easier to identify detected objects in difficult lighting conditions (see also image gallery).
Basically, there is nothing wrong with the recording quality. They are very detailed and rich in contrast and, thanks to a high resolution of 3072 × 1728 pixels, still have reserves when zooming. Thanks to its bright lens, the AC500 continues to record long color images after dark without activating the integrated lighting option in the form of white LEDs. However, recordings are often too dark, so users are better off activating the lighting option after a certain time. You can do this using the image parameter settings already mentioned, whereby you can define different parameters depending on the time of day or night, which the camera automatically selects depending on the light intensity.
Thanks to the PoE connection via Ethernet cable, there is no delay in the display of the live stream, unlike with WLAN cameras in the test, if the client, such as a PC or Mac, is also connected via Ethernet. You have to wait a little longer for the live stream if you access the live stream via smartphone via WLAN or mobile communications.
Smart Home
Thanks to Onvif support, users can easily integrate the Annke AC500 into powerful smart home centers (top list) such as Homey Pro (test report) or Home Assistant and use it for automation. In connection with other smart sensors (advisers), it is possible to set up a smart and powerful alarm system. With Home Assistant, it is even possible to set up a powerful network video recorder using the Frigate plug-in. Alternatively, third-party solutions such as Synology Surveillance Station (guide) can also be used for the latter, into which the Annke AC500 can be easily integrated (see image gallery).
Last but not least, the Annke also supports the output of the live stream on an Echo Show. However, this has not been working as reliably as usual lately – regardless of the manufacturer of the surveillance camera.
Preis
The PoE surveillance camera Annke AC500 costs just under 70 euros. It is currently available in the flash sale for 37 euros. Anyone who does not yet use a PoE switch or PoE injector must calculate additional costs for this. We have summarized offers for the AC500, other Annke surveillance cameras and PoE switches in the following table.
Conclusion
The Annke AC500 was convincing in the test. It offers excellent image quality thanks to time-adjustable settings. False alarms are almost impossible thanks to the motion detection, which differentiates between people, vehicles and other moving objects. Controlled by a browser, desktop client or mobile app, it can be integrated into smart home centers or third-party solutions. With a regular price of just under 70 euros, it is very inexpensive compared to the performance offered. It is currently a no-brainer in the flash sale for 37 euros. You can also get over the fact that the housing is only made of plastic and that there are additional costs for a PoE switch.