4K PoE Bullet Camera, 4MP to 8MP

This bullet runs on Power over Ethernet. A single network cable, fed by a PoE switch, an injector or a PoE recorder, carries both its power and its video, so there is no adapter at the wall and no radio link to lose. It has no Wi-Fi at all.

What it brings to a fixed view:

• Face detection as well as human detection, so alerts centre on people and the snapshots aim for faces.
• H.265 compression, which records the same scene in noticeably less space than H.264, easing the load on a recorder's disk.
• Colour night vision with a 30m infrared reach for when the lights stay off.
• An IP66 housing built for -10°C to 60°C.

The body measures 18.7 × 6.8 × 6.8cm and comes in white. A waterproof kit for the network joint and an installation kit arrive in the box, with a short manual.

The camera works with the XMEye and iCSee apps, which share the same camera platform. A PoE bullet shares a switch with a dual-lens PoE PTZ, so a turning camera can cover the drive while bullets hold the fixed views.

It is a single-purpose camera by design. There is no pan, no tilt and no zoom, and the view you set on mounting day is the view it keeps.

The lens width sets the trade-off. A 2.8mm lens takes in a wider scene, around the 100° quoted by the maker, so people appear smaller. A 3.6mm lens narrows the view and makes a subject at the same distance larger in the frame.

The 8MP 3.6mm version names its sensor, the Sony IMX415, an 8MP sensor widely used in 4K security cameras. The other versions do not name theirs.

Points that decide the resolution:

• Recorder capacity. An 8MP stream takes more disk space per day than 4MP, even with H.265.
• Recorder support. Check the recorder accepts 8MP input before choosing 4K.
• Distance. The further away a face will be, the more the extra pixels or the narrower lens earn their place.

For a single back door, 4MP is often enough. For a wide drive where a face might appear anywhere across the frame, 8MP keeps more usable detail when you zoom into a recording. The resolution guide goes further into the per-pixel reasoning.

On its own, the camera streams live view to iCSee or XMEye but keeps nothing. To record, pair it with one of these:

• A network video recorder. A recorder that supports iCSee or XMEye cameras, ideally with PoE ports, stores footage from every camera on one hard drive.
• Cloud storage. A paid plan in the app stores events off-site.
• Computer software. Recording on a PC that stays on, covered in the RTSP and PC guide.

Setup on the network side is short:

1. Connect the camera to a PoE port on the switch, injector or recorder.
2. Fit the waterproof kit over the network joint before it goes outside.
3. With the phone joined to that same network, add the camera in iCSee through the wired or nearby search.
4. Set a strong password, then add it to the recorder.
5. Aim the lens, lock the bracket, and check the view in daylight and after dark.

Mount it high enough that a passer-by cannot reach up and turn it, and angle it down so faces fill the frame rather than the sky. Keep porch lamps and street lights out of the picture where possible; a bright point in the frame makes the camera darken the rest of the scene to compensate.

Pick this bullet when a recorder already handles storage and you want to choose resolution and lens width per door. Pick the HIKJBSET when ONVIF matters: it names ONVIF compatibility and a metal housing rated IP67. Pick the PoE PTZ when one camera must hold a card of its own and follow people across a yard.

A mixed system works well. Bullets like this one can hold the side passage, the back door and the bin store, each with the lens width that suits its distance, while a single turning camera covers the open drive. Every one draws power from a single PoE switch and appear in the same app, and the recorder keeps every view on one drive.

The face detection on this bullet helps most at doors, where people walk straight at the lens. On a wide drive, where people cross the frame side-on, human detection does more of the work.

Before ordering, check:

• a free PoE port, or an injector, on the network side;
• a recorder or cloud plan to store the footage;
• that the recorder accepts the resolution you pick;
• the lens width against the distance to the door or path.