You are basically paying for a decent DVR. You will have to replace the cameras if you are looking to use them in low light. They are fine if you would like to use them in an area with good lighting. I have these cameras setup outside around my house and I have replaced 4 so far (4 more to go). The IR on these cameras is not very good as it causes interference lines due to the low light, which, in turn causes the motion detecting to be constant. So, If you are trying to use the record on motion capabilities to avoid recording all the time you will still end up recording all night. Oh, and although you can access the DVR from an iphone, I have not yet been able to access the the DVR from my MAC, but it does work great on a PC.
Pros: The dvr is nice looking and the cameras are small(I prefer not to scare my guests away). Images are clear during the day. I got every thing set up in about 6 hours ( 4 hours of wiring work ). Installation is not for everyone but not hard. Spent 40 mins on the phone with their tech to setup the network viewing. I got a road runner turbo plus with 2M/s upload speed which is great for it. I was able to view them thru my ipad and android phone.
Cons: The instruction book is really hard to understand, especially the part for network setup (have to call the tech support). The actual night vision distance is about 10-15 feet.(Only B&W) Overall, decent unit for the money.This Zmodo Surveillance System works well for my needs and is also a great deal. We own the Zmodo Surveillance System with 8 Weatherproof IR Cameras PKD-DK0865-NHD and added our own 500 GB Hard Drive, making it identical to this package (same cameras, cables, and DVR).
To be perfectly clear, this is not a high-end system with high definition cameras, but it isn't priced like a high-end system either. This is a budget system that exceeded my expectations for what you get and how well it works. Here are my observations:
Our Use We recently bought an old but very large building for my wife's business and needed a way to monitor the six exits and the retail shop space.
Included:
* Main Control Unit this is a fairly small unit (smaller than most DVD players) that is has button access for most functions
* 8-Cameras these are also fairly small, good physical quality and include mounting hardware
* USB Mouse connects to Control Unit
* Remote Control gives access to all menu functions (batteries included)
* Required Cables 60' Video/Power cables
* Power Supplies one for the Control Unit and one for the cameras (uses splitters to distribute the power between the cameras)
* Instruction Manual
* Software CD
Features:
+ Camera; IR Illumination for night vision
+ User configurable Options; Privacy Zones (blackout areas in the display), Motion Zones (areas where motion triggers an alarm)
+ Network Access; Can be viewed on local network using Internet Explorer (required allowing ActiveX and would not work with Firefox) and remotely via a DDNS service (often an extra expense for a reliable service)
+ Alarm Notification; Audible alert and E-Mail capability
+ Display Options; Includes a VGA monitor connection and BNC/video out for TV viewing
+ Remote Control; Really makes it easy to quickly access features
Pros:
+ Setup; Basic configuration is surprisingly easy
+ Image Quality; Good enough for basic security needs in both bright and dark settings (but see "Cons" below)
+ Value; Lots of cameras and features at a reasonable cost
+ Options; Can be made to do everything we need it to do
Cons:
Washed Out Colors; Colors are somewhat muted, but can be individually adjusted in the controls to get the best possible picture for the lighting conditions
Night Vision; Limited range, less than 20'
Hints/Notes:
* Alarmed Events can be recorded and searched on later
* A 500GB Hard Drive can record 165 hours of video on this system
* Placing a camera too close to a window will cause the IR to reflect and blind the camera when it shifts into night vision mode
* Display can be set to show 1, 4, or 8 video feeds at a time
This system covered my needs very well and provides a lot of advanced features that were unexpected in a budget system.
Highly Recommended!
CFHRecently installed this in our home. Everything works as described and gives us peace of mind. One camera we hooked up did not work. After contacting a representative of the company this problem was very quickly resolved. We had a new camera in just a couple of days. We have had a good bit of bad weather and these cameras have held up very well. There are several setting that would be suitable for almost anyone.I bought this as a cheap system to monitor my house while away at work and out of town. I set up 7 of the 8 camera, all of which seem fairly durable and are easy to mount. The mounting screws that come with the package are fairly short, so I went through a local hardware store and bought some longer ones. The metal mounting bases are sturdy for being a cheaper grade of aluminum, so you can damage them if you're not careful. I don't really like the plastic knob on the arm for the adjustment but none of them have failed or stripped out or broken yet. I have 5 of my 8 cameras set up outside my house, and through 3 rains I haven't had any issues with the signals or the images, even with some of the wiring being exposed to the elements. I will say that the night function on the cameras is not that good so if you're trying to catch people doing things in the night time, make sure there is ample lighting for the camera to see. The motion recording is very easy to set up, letting you mask areas of view from being motion detected and only recording when motion is detected. The DVR is simple, compact and easy to set up, the only real issue, like most people that I had was getting it hooked to my network. If you have an IPhone, there is a FREE program called. ZViewer, it lets you view up to 4 cameras at a time, regretfully not all 8 like some of them, it does have a PTZ(pan tilt zoom) control feature and even lets you save snapshots from each camera to your camera roll. It does lack the ability to control the DVR remotely, but it funtions well and switched well between the camera channels. Overall for the price I would say this is a great buy for someone looking to keep an eye on their house/yard/vehicles, and it fairly easy to set up. I do like the fact the camera cables were all 60 feet in length, which let me set up views around my entire house without having to buy any extra cables. It would be nice if they included 2 20foot cables, 4 60 foot cables and 2 100+ foot cables, but that's where they're gonnna get their extra money. I did speak with the ZMODO customer service trying to get my network access up and when I did get connected the 2 times, both people were friendly and helpful, and got me going in a jiffy. The DVR is also smart enough to let you name each camera channel, I named them for locations they are pointing at for ease of use and memory for me and my wife. I have had it up for about 2 weeks and no camera has come undone, flickered(even after putting a staple partially through one cable), lost signal, or even moved.
All in all, I would recommend this product. One last thing, the kit does come with a mini mouse for use with the system, but no keyboard, so you have to use the mouse to type each password, setting or re-naming takes a little while, I don't know if a USB keyboard will work being hooked to the DVR but the mouse works fine.
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