Recommendations – Security Cameras

Below you will find my most current recommendations for each product category. As always, these are NON-SPONSORED recommendations based on as much empirical information and testing as I can gather.

Last Updated: September 25, 2025

Color Night Vision Cameras

Best Overall

Annke NC800

MSRP: $349.99
Common Price: $299.99
Link: https://amzn.to/4bnCRRq

As far as overall image quality, none of these cameras were able to unseat the Annke NC800 as the best color night vision camera on the market, and the 1 / 1.2” 8 megapixel sensor gives it crisp clear video both during the day and in ultra-low light situations, and it managed to outcompete the similar sensor sized Dahua Color4K camera despite the Dahua having a narrower field of view. The Annke’s only real downside is its cost, which is around $350.

Best Value

Reolink CX810

MSRP: $109.99
Common Price: $87.99
Link: https://amzn.to/4cgS8TN

No other cameras came close to the value of the Reolink CX810, which only scored 1 point lower than the Dahua Color4K, for a price of just $109. Normally I qualify my Reolink recommendations by saying that they have issues with low light motion smearing, and that they don’t work particularly well with Blue Iris, but neither of those statements seem to apply to the CX810, and in fact it was the highest scoring camera for motion, and seemed to have the best compatibility with Blue Iris, which again, is not something I ever thought I’d say.

More information on Color Night Vision Cameras: https://youtu.be/a3G_2zVu3cU

360 Degree Fisheye Cameras

Best Indoor for use with ONVIF NVRs

Loryta IPC-EW5541 (Dahua)

MSRP: $174.99
Link: https://amzn.to/47O6Uzs

I wouldn’t recommend the Reolink FE-P for use in Blue Iris and instead the Loryta would be my top pick for an indoor only rated camera with a good mix of daytime and nighttime video quality, sound quality, ease of use, and compatibility and I was surprised how well Blue Iris person detection and facial recognition worked on these cameras, despite the warped fisheye video feed.

Best for Stand Alone Use

Reolink FE-P

MSRP: $109.99
Link: https://amzn.to/3QYZhjR

if you’re not a Blue Iris user and you want to use your 360 camera stand alone with a phone app, the Reolink is by far the best option. Not only is the Reolink app extremely user friendly compared to other manufacturer apps, but it’s got a ton of options for dewarping both live view and recorded footage including the dual panoramic view and hemispheric view that Blue Iris offers as well as a quad view that lets you individually focus on 4 separate points of interest within the 360-degree video. As for recording and playback, Reolink’s built in person detection works very well and is a huge step up from the contrast-based motion detection you find on most cameras, and the Reolink app makes it extremely easy to find person detection clips stored on the SD card. Reolink also makes a Wi-Fi version of the 360-degree fisheye camera called the FE-W that may be even more ideal for this kind of camera since it’s important to install them as close to the center of the room as possible and being wireless gives a little more flexibility in placement.

Best Outdoor ONVIF

Amcrest IP12M-F23-80-EW (Dahua)

MSRP: $759.99
Link: https://amzn.to/44BbUoa

The Amcrest IP12M-F23-80-EW, an outdoor rated 360-degree camera with a 1.85mm focal length and a super high resolution 12-megapixel 1/1.7” image sensor. In my testing the Amcrest had 180 degrees of vertical and horizontal field of view and output a very clear true fisheye image. The Amcrest was extremely simple to set up with DHCP and ONVIF enabled by default, as well as Dahua’s new more user-friendly web interface. I was able to add the Amcrest to my Blue Iris NVR using ONVIF discovery and easily change settings using that new Chrome compatible web interface.

Best Value Outdoor

Vikylin DT955

MSRP: $219.00
Link: https://amzn.to/45uGMIz

The Vikylin is a Hikvision OEM and is functionally identical to the DS-2CD-2955-FWD, which means it is a 1.05mm focal length lens paired with a 5-megapixel 1/2.5” image sensor providing 180 degrees of vertical and horizontal field of view. In my testing the Vikylin exceeded its 180-degree field of view claim and could see the white ceiling on either side of it despite being mounted roughly 2 inches below the ceiling. I had no issues getting the Vikylin connected to my network, and unlike most Hikvision cameras that I’ve tested, the Vikylin came with DHCP and ONVIF enabled by default allowing me to immediately add it to my Blue Iris NVR without any modifications.

More information on 360 Degree Fisheye Cameras: https://youtu.be/KPFPuXm2u7I

Lightbulb Cameras

Best Camera Without a Light

AlkiVision

MSRP: $27.99
Common Price: $15.99
Link: https://amzn.to/4lLM8Xj

If you just want a camera and not a lightbulb replacement, the AlkiVision is by far the best option. It finished first in picture quality, it had the 2^nd fastest notifications with included thumbnail images, and it has free person detection filtering. It uses the VicoHome app which is decently easy to use and makes finding and downloading clips relatively painless, and it’s only $15.99, though like all the cameras in this video you’ll also need to buy a microSD card separately.

Best Camera With a Light Replacement

ZKCAI

MSRP: $23.99
Common Price: $18.99
Link: https://amzn.to/40bL2Mn

If you’re looking for a camera + lightbulb, the ZKCAI is another easy recommendation. It finished 2^nd in image quality, had quick rich notifications with free person detection, and the EseeCloud app is easy to use. The light output isn’t quite up to par with a 60-watt bulb, but it’s ten times better than a camera with only front facing LEDs, and the light output is evenly spread similar to a traditional bulb. Even though it’s twice as expensive as the AlkiVision $29.99 still seems like a fair price.

Highest Build Quality

Lorex 2K

MSRP: $69.99
Common Price: $54.99
Link: https://amzn.to/44DO39C

If you’re looking for something with a slightly better app and a more powerful light bulb, the Lorex was also very good with decent image quality, good light output, and a full featured app that doesn’t require a subscription but seems a bit overpriced at $70.

Best Design

Wyze Bulb Cam

MSRP: $49.98
Common Price: $49.98
Link: https://amzn.to/4lTZAZy

Speaking of overpriced, the Wyze bulb is cool, and I especially like the ultra-wide field of view and the ability to buy companion bulbs, but I can’t help but think Wyze has lost their way as a company. They used to make decent quality affordable cameras with local access and no subscription. Then they said the only way they could keep selling cheap cameras and stay in business was to charge a monthly fee, but now almost all of their cameras are at higher price points, but they still make them basically worthless if you don’t pay the $3 per month subscription. They’ve also completely abandoned the idea of local access, which I can’t get behind.

Best for Local Only Access (ONVIF)

SHANNA

MSRP: $27.99
Common Price: $23.79
Link: https://amzn.to/4kx0uK7

The camera that is most interesting to me is the extremely bright and aimable JUFLSKY garage style lightbulb camera. But it has issues that would stop me from recommending it to be used as an out of the box solution, namely that the JUFLSKY’s app, AJ Cloud, is legitimately terrible and has almost zero functionality if you don’t pay the monthly subscription. But the camera supports full local access and ONVIF, so if you already have an NVR, you can just use the app one time to set up ONVIF and the light timer and then never open them again.

More information on Light Bulb Cameras: https://youtu.be/49H9Qye3wa0