In summary, I was very satisfied with the sales service I received from Use-IP and with the cost of the HikVision IP camera I bought from them. Hence the 5 star rating. For more detail, read on ….
My first experience of using an IP camera to monitor my front door, drive and garden was with a Trendnet TV-IP310PI bullet camera, which I bought from another source at the end of 2016 to use with Surveillance Station on a Synology NAS. I found that experience very disappointing, with the camera being very difficult to set up, at least for me as a novice. The seller had no technical support to offer, an omission I came to regret. And I thought the night vision was quite poor, with the IR providing a pool of light mainly in the middle of the picture, a bit like a torch.
Having learned a lot from that experience, I investigated the market much more carefully. Not only did I discover that my Trendnet camera was a version of a better-supported HikVision camera, but that a technically superior version of the camera, having the same form factor, connectors and 3MP resolution, was available from HikVision, the DS-2CD2035WD-I.
So I visited several UK CCTV equipment providers’ websites and was most impressed by Use-IP in terms of both up-front information, range of products and cost-competitiveness. Having emailed them to confirm stock availability and getting an immediate response, I ordered the 2.8 mm version of the camera which, again from my original experience, would provide a far better field of view for my purpose than a 4mm lens - the only option with the Trendnet camera.
The HikVision camera safely arrived from Use-IP within their 2-3 days ‘free shipping’ window and I successfully put it to work immediately, not only using the hard-won knowledge gained from my original IP camera experience, but also the Hikvision’s more comprehensive browser-based (IE) interface. The night vision is far superior with even and brighter illumination, and the H265 and H265+ video coding is saving me a lot of bandwidth and storage. Getting reliable motion detection is still a bit of a challenge for me though.
I’ve not used Use-IP’s applauded technical support yet, but have the reassurance that it’s there if needed. I do hope that Use-IP can resolve the supply problem they have with HikVision (as explained on their website), because I would buy that maker’s products from them again.