Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera – the G4 versus the G4 Pro

Full Disclosure: I do not get anything from Ubiquiti for writing these articles. I just like their products, and I like digging in and comparing their products.  I want to look at the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 camera versus the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 PRO Camera.

Let’s start with the less expensive Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera.

Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera

The Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera is loosely called a bullet camera.  It is built very solidly, looks nice and professional and is an indoor/outdoor camera.  The camera is powered via 802.3af PoE.  That is awesome. It is the older standard, so it is very easily available with pretty much any PoE switch.

The Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera includes night vision with an IR cut filter and built in LED ring for low light viewing.  The video is 4 mega pixels (MP) at 24 frames per second (FPS). That translates to 1440p video. It includes a built in microphone for picking audio for whatever events the camera captures.

The G4 camera performs really well capturing video even of vehicles for example traveling at 25 to 30 mph.  The video is crisp and clear and really awesome. It is not 4K, but it does a great job capturing high quality HD video.

When you unbox the camera,  you will see a cord grip in the box.  Don’t lose this part!  It is meant to go on the ethernet cable that powers the camera and keep water from running down into the ethernet port.  The part is very hard to get if you lose it. Ubiquiti does not sell the part separately. You will have to go to a distributor to find one.  All I can say is make sure you don’t lose it and make sure you don’t lose the rubber boot that fits in the body of the camera as well.

The other important part to remember when installing the camera outside is that Ubiquiti recommends a surge kit for the camera that will protect it from any electrical surges.   It is simple to install.  All you need to do is ground the small box, run the supply PoE cable into the box and the camera supply enet cable out of the box to the camera.  This applies to the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro as well.

The Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera is available for right around $200.  It is worth it. It works seamlessly with the Unifi Protect app and performs really well. I can’t speak to how it holds up in winter weather.  I expect it to do fine.

Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro Camera

The Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro Camera like the Unifi G4 Camera is a bullet camera.  The hardware again is rock solid. Unlike the G4, the G4 Pro has an IP (Ingress Protection) rating of 67.   The 6 signifies protection against DUST ingress.  The 7 signifies protection against the immersion of the camera in water between 1 cm and 1 meter for 30 minutes.

The Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro Camera includes night vision with an IR cut filter and built in LED ring for low light viewing.  You can add an additional LED ring as well for enhanced night vision.  The video resolution is awesome.  FULL DISCLOSURE: I have not tested a G4 Pro camera yet. However, the specs are outstanding: 3840 x 2160 resolution (full 4K) with 50 FPS.

What I don’t like here is that they don’t give you any specs on the video processor and video RAM.  Maybe they just haven’t gotten around to providing these details yet. I don’t know. I will edit this post if I they give us more details on the hardware.

Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro Camera

When you install this camera, you will need to follow all the install guidelines including the surge protection kit (noted in the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera description above) and the cable grip included with the camera.   You can see the cord grip in the image below.

Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro Camera – showing water boot location

Conclusion

I love the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Pro camera. I think that is the one you should buy – if you can afford it. If you don’t want to spend more than $450 on a camera (for example if your application requires a lot of cameras and the price jump ends up being significant at that price), then go with the Ubiquiti Unifi G4 Camera instead. It is a very nice camera with good weather proofing properties.  It can capture outstanding images even in low light situations.

Old School Other Links Section

You might be interested in this more general article about Ubuiquiti cameras.  LINK

Here is another one about Unifi security cameras. I tried to cover all the reasonably priced cameras that Ubiquiti offers.  They do have a super expensive (like over $2000 camera) that is awesome, but I don’t think a lot of people are going to buy that for a small/medium sized business or their home. LINK