Amcrest Security Camera Review

Amcrest seems to have everything going for it, but after close inspection, we found that this home security camera company has way too many options and not enough features.

On the good side, Amcrest offers just about any type of home security camera you can think of, including wireless, wired, indoor, and outdoor cameras. And they offer plenty of video storage options.

Amcrest’s negatives include confusing and expensive cloud subscription plans, numerous apps, and lackluster features.

Pros	Cons
Affordable cameras Helpful and quick customer service Many video storage options Super bright floodlight camera	Many cameras lack two-way talk Too many apps Confusing cloud storage plans Narrow field of view Many cameras lack color night vision

Amcrest camera review

1. UltraHD Dome: Best for outdoors
2. UltraHD Indoor: Best for indoors
3. Video Doorbell Camera Pro: Best for porches
4. UltraHD 4K Bullet: Best bullet camera
5. Floodlight Camera: Best floodlight

Compare Amcrest security cameras

Cameras	Best for	Price*	Video resolution	Field of view	Color night vision	Two-way talk	Learn more
Amcrest UltraHD Dome	Best for outdoors	$119.99	2160p (4K)	112°	No	No	View Packages
Amcrest UltraHD Indoor	Best for indoors	$64.99	1520p (2K)	120°	No	Yes	View Packages
Amcrest Video Doorbell Camera Pro	Best for porches	$109.99	1080p	140°	No	Yes	View Packages
Amcrest UltraHD 4K Bullet	Best bullet camera	$109.99	2160p (4K)	112°	Yes	No	View Packages
Amcrest Floodlight Camera	Best floodlight	$159.99	1080p	114°	No	Yes	View Packages

*Amazon.com price as of post date. Read full disclaimer.

What to expect with Amcrest cameras

Amcrest offers a wide range of cameras:

• Wireless security cameras
• Wired security cameras
• Indoor cameras
• Outdoor cameras
• Motion sensor cameras
• Doorbell cameras
• Floodlights
• Nanny cams
• IP cameras
• POE cameras
• HD security cameras

Most Amcrest cameras are affordable when compared to other top security camera brands. They also have comparable video quality. Where they fall short is a narrow field of view. The industry standard is around 120° to 140°, and many Amcrest cameras are well below that range. Some also don’t have two-way talk capabilities, another industry standard.

Amcrest security cameras storage and plans

Plan	Price	Downloadable recordings	Cloud playback	24/7 continuous recording	Learn more
Free plan	$0.00/mo.	No	No	No	View Packages
Monitoring Recording	Starts at $7.00/mo.	Yes	Yes	No	View Packages
Continuous Recording	Starts at $9.00/mo.	Yes	Yes	Yes	View Packages

Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Robust storage options

Amcrest security cameras offer local storage using SD cards, micro SD cards, your computer, DVR, NAS, or NVR. There’s also a cloud storage option with three membership options.

You get a 24/7 live view of video, camera health checks, multi-view video timelines, intelligent alerts, and motion activity zones with all three plans. An app on your mobile device or computer controls all of these features.

With the free plan, that’s all you get. The upgraded plans offer a few more features (like downloading video footage and playing back stored footage).

Confusing and expensive storage pricing

You may notice the prices for these plans say "starts at." That's because Amcrest charges more depending on how long you'd like to store your videos. There's no charge if you just want to watch your videos through live view with the app without saving them.

Let's take a closer look at pricing.

Frankly, Amcrest's cloud storage pricing gave us a headache. It's one of the most convoluted pricing schemes we've ever seen. Plus, it's one of the most expensive.

Typically, cloud storage for a single camera will cost around $10 or less per camera, with a set time limit on how long footage is stored. Or, the brand will offer an upgraded package that covers several cameras (usually five to ten) with upgraded features. The upgraded package will also have a set amount of days the footage is stored. No fuss, no muss. We have no idea why Amcrest is this complicated.

Great warranties, no contracts, and fantastic customer support

Amcrest has you covered:

• 1-year product warranty
• No contracts
• 30-day money-back guarantee on subscriptions and equipment

Amcrest also provides a delightful customer support department. We were impressed with how fast its on-site chat service connected us, and the agent that helped with our questions was quick and friendly. Amcrest also offers an online support page and a call center to help with questions.

Amcrest app

Amcrest has five different apps, including the Amcrest View Pro App and Amcrest Cloud. Each one works with a different Amcrest camera or storage option. So, for example, there's an app you can use if you subscribe to Amcrest Cloud service, one for cameras that use DVR, and one for wireless cameras.

Like with the cloud subscription packages, this is confusing. If you have different cameras, you'll likely use different apps to access footage and features.

Amcrest camera reviews

1. Amcrest UltraHD Dome: Best for outdoors

The Amcrest UltraHD is an outdoor dome 4K PoE IP camera with local and cloud storage. It's Amcrest's best outdoor camera. Our favorite feature is that it's tamper-proof, just in case a potential thief gets any ideas about making off with the camera.

The UltraHD Dome comes with two flaws. First, its field of view is a tiny 112°. That's way below the industry standard. If you're focusing the camera on a small spot in your yard, like the doors to your toolshed, no problem. But for bigger areas, you'll need a camera with a broader field of view.

There's also no two-way talk. That's not a big deal if you don't plan to talk to people outside of your home using your camera. We find it helpful when we need to tell your kids or partner to come inside for lunch.

2. Amcrest UltraHD Indoor: Best for indoors

The Amcrest UltraHD Indoor is a pan-and-tilt camera for all of your indoor needs. It can pan (swivel side-to-side) 360° and tilt (look up and down) 90°. We love pan-and-tilt cameras because they can “see” an entire room.

Need to see more? The Amcrest UltraHD Indoor also packs a 16x zoom so you can get a closer look.

The Amcrest UltraHD Indoor’s video quality isn’t quite as good as our outdoor pick, but we think most people won’t notice much of a difference.

3. Amcrest Video Doorbell Camera Pro: Best for porches

The Amcrest Video Doorbell Camera has both local (up to 128 GB on an SD card) and cloud storage options. That’s rare for video doorbells. Eufy has a similar doorbell camera, but it costs almost $100 more.

We like the local option for video doorbells because your footage is safe at home instead of floating up to the cloud. Plus, you don’t need to worry about subscription fees or how long your video is stored.

It features a wider field of view than many of Amcrest’s security cameras too. So it can see your whole porch and some of your yard.

It doesn’t support 5 GHz networks, though. If you use 5 GHz for your phone and not 2.4 GHz, setting up the app for your doorbell camera can be tricky. You’ll need to switch your phone to your Wi-Fi’s 2.4 GHz before you can complete the setup.

4. Amcrest UltraHD 4K Bullet: Best bullet camera

The Amcrest UltraHD 4K Bullet is a bullet camera, which means it’s easier to aim at whatever you want to record. It’s also one of the few Amcrest cameras with color night vision. We find that color night vision makes identifying people much easier.

5. Amcrest Floodlight Camera: Best floodlight camera

The Amcrest Floodlight Camera uses 2,000 lumens to shed light on any nighttime situation. When it comes to motion detector lights, we love the LeonLite, but even it doesn’t match the sheer brightness of this floodlight camera.

The Amcrest Floodlight also has a 110 dB siren to scare off any potential thieves . . . or raccoons rooting through your garbage. It’s about as loud as a blaring car horn.

One massive problem with this floodlight is that it isn’t compatible with Amcrest Cloud. So you’ll need to stick with local storage.

Disclaimers

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