Review-Dahua 2mp PTZ1C203UE-GN Starlight Positioning system

[looney2ns]

Dahua PTZ1C203UE-GN from EMPIRETECANDY
2MP Starlight Positioning system

Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link
Andy's AliExpress store: link
Andy's Amazon store: link
Andy's Email: kingsecurity2014 (at) 163 (dot) com

Price Approximately US $160
Link to camera on Andy's AliExpress store: US $159.7 6% OFF|PTZ Camera PTZ1C203UE GN 2MP 3x Starlight IR PTZ Network Camera ,free DHL shipping-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
(price and link valid 07/25/19)

Full Spec Sheet:

https://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset/upload/uploads/soft/20190528/DH-PTZ1C203UE-GN_Datasheet.pdf

PTZ1C203UE-GN
2MP 3x Starlight IR PTZ Network Camera

> 1/2.8” 2Megapixel STARVIS™ CMOS
> Powerful 3x optical zoom
> Starlight technology
> Max. 25/30fps@1080P
> IVS
> WDR
> H.265 Encoding
> Support PoE
> IR distance up to 20m
> IP66

Image Sensor 1/2.8" STARVIS™ CMOS
Max. Resolution 2MP
Effective Pixels 1920 (H) × 1080 (V)
ROM 128MB
RAM 256MB
Electronic Shutter Speed 1/3–1/30000s
Minimum Illumination
Color: 0.005Lux@F1.8
B/W: 0.0005Lux@F1.8
0Lux (IR light on)

IR Distance 20m (65.6ft)
IR On/Off Control Zoom Prio/Manual/SmartIR
IR LED Number 1
Lens Focal Length 2.7mm–8.1mm
Aperture F1.8~F2.7
Field of View
H: 46.43°–106.79°
V: 25.91°–57.88°
Optical Zoom 3x
Focus Control Auto/Semi-Auto/Manual
Close Focus Distance 0.8m–1.7m
Iris Control Fixed Iris

PTZ
Pan/Tilt Range Pan: 0°–180°; Tilt: -5°–55°
Manual Control Speed Pan: 6°/s; Tilt: 3°/s
Intelligence IVS Tripwire; Intrusion; Object Abandoned/Missing
Advanced Intelligence Heat Map; Face Detection

This camera in it's operation is intended to be set in field of view position, and for the most part left alone. It is not a true PTZ, thus Dahua calls it a Positioning System. It pans and tilts at a slow pace. There are no options for preset positions to be saved. Zoom speed is ok, but it's not like a regular Speed PTZ by any means.

It features Aux Audio in and Out, as well as a built-in microphone, selectable in setup.

Sorry, for the shaking video.





Remove 4 screws from the back of the mounting bracket, and you can move it up top to configure it for ceiling mount.


Reset button and SD card slot

Swap mount for ceiling or wall configuration with removal of 4 screws.

 

[looney2ns]

Video recorded and exported with Blue Iris. Camera settings at factory defaults, except time and channel name.



Night

 

[Pmedicj]

I have mine up and running and I cannot call on presets nor set up any IVS rules because of it. Andy sent me the latest firmware and it does the same thing. I have tried factory resets for both the camera and NVR, Also I just upgraded to the NVR 4.0 new interface to see if that would work...Nope! (However I do like the new interface on the NVR and my other cameras are behaving normal. I logged into the Web ui for the camera and there is no PTZ setup tab like my other cams. Something is seriously flawed with the firmware I believe.
When I got it and first starting setting it up it worked fine and then when I logged onto the web UI for the first time to update some audio settings it asked for my country and video setting PAL or NTSC. I changed it to USA and NTSC and then the preset and IVS stopped functioning. A factory reset to default did not help either it changed the settings back to blank country and PAL standard but the IVS and ptz presets still not working.
If we can get this straightened out I am getting a few more. its a starlight, mini bullet PTZ and it will be awesome!



Disregard the above......Dummy Me, I just re-read your post and it mentions no options for presets! Well then thats a major bummer because it would be awesome if it did function like a PTZ. Everything about this cam is great and I bought it with the anticipation of being able to call on presets and set IVS rules. Maybe Dahua will release firmware that will do this, It would be smart if they did!


Looney, You may be wrong Look at this. PTZ1C203UE-GN latest new firmware201904
Andy put this Firmware out and it specifically addresses the preset problem and said it was fixed with this, However it is not.

 

[looney2ns]

I have mine up and running and I cannot call on presets nor set up any IVS rules because of it. Andy sent me the latest firmware and it does the same thing. I have tried factory resets for both the camera and NVR, Also I just upgraded to the NVR 4.0 new interface to see if that would work...Nope! (However I do like the new interface on the NVR and my other cameras are behaving normal. I logged into the Web ui for the camera and there is no PTZ setup tab like my other cams. Something is seriously flawed with the firmware I believe.
When I got it and first starting setting it up it worked fine and then when I logged onto the web UI for the first time to update some audio settings it asked for my country and video setting PAL or NTSC. I changed it to USA and NTSC and then the preset and IVS stopped functioning. A factory reset to default did not help either it changed the settings back to blank country and PAL standard but the IVS and ptz presets still not working.
If we can get this straightened out I am getting a few more. its a starlight, mini bullet PTZ and it will be awesome!



Disregard the above......Dummy Me, I just re-read your post and it mentions no options for presets! Well then thats a major bummer because it would be awesome if it did function like a PTZ. Everything about this cam is great and I bought it with the anticipation of being able to call on presets and set IVS rules. Maybe Dahua will release firmware that will do this, It would be smart if they did!


Looney, You may be wrong Look at this. PTZ1C203UE-GN latest new firmware201904
Andy put this Firmware out and it specifically addresses the preset problem and said it was fixed with this, However it is not.

Mine only arrived a few hours ago, I am finding other quarks that were missed in the firmware. This cam already has the firmware mentioned in the above link. I've had no problems setting up IVS, be sure to do it directly in the cams interface, not in the NVR.

 

[Pmedicj]

Looney,
I have IVS working after another reboot and it is sending me email alerts like my other cams now. I am really upset at the fact that it will not allow presets for the PTZ which limits it ability to have multiple IVS rules for different presets. The camera itself is nice, I had it on all night in color with just the street lights and porch lights on it looked great. They really dropped the ball by not allowing these functions.

How hard would it actually be to update this firmware with those functions? Is it possible for dahua to do this? If they would I would switch out my other cams for these in a second. I could have all the cameras scan, tour, position etc. on an IVS Tripwire. essentially this is what I was hoping out of this.

I noticed your camera name says Positioning system in your video, did you change that? mine says IP PTZ camera. Which is what it was labled as and listed on the Dahua website.

 

[looney2ns]

Looney,
I have IVS working after another reboot and it is sending me email alerts like my other cams now. I am really upset at the fact that it will not allow presets for the PTZ which limits it ability to have multiple IVS rules for different presets. The camera itself is nice, I had it on all night in color with just the street lights and porch lights on it looked great. They really dropped the ball by not allowing these functions.

How hard would it actually be to update this firmware with those functions? Is it possible for dahua to do this? If they would I would switch out my other cams for these in a second. I could have all the cameras scan, tour, position etc. on an IVS Tripwire. essentially this is what I was hoping out of this.

I noticed your camera name says Positioning system in your video, did you change that? mine says IP PTZ camera. Which is what it was labled as and listed on the Dahua website.

More fixed cams are always better than any PTZ. Invaribly, it will be looking at the wrong place when something happens, plus I doubt that it was designed for that type of usage.

Yes, if they intended to have Presets, I certain that can be solved with a firmware upgrade, but it's possible that wasn't planned.

Yes, I changed the title on the camera to positioning system. That was my decision, as it seems to be it's purpose.

From the specs for this camera:


There is no mention of Preset's or tours or the such for this model.

Typically they do list how many presets and tours and such, if the camera supports as such. Now, this could be an oversight on Dahua spec writers, but with other PTZ's such as the SD1A203T-GN I reviewed here,Review-dahua-sd1a203t-gn-starlight-mini-ptz, it specificaly list's PTZ info.


I have no insight into the engineers design ideas for this camera, So I have to assume on the information available, they didn't intend for this camera to have those capabilities, or as I said, it could simply be a case of incorrect specs and a faulty firmware. But the evidence kind of points otherwise.
I'm afraid you assumed the features you wanted existed, but no where on the Dahua site does it list having said features.

 

[looney2ns]

Night video added to post #2

 

[Pmedicj]

Looney,
Did you have smart IR on?
I logged into the camera's web ui and it was available so I switched it on and it works.

 

[looney2ns]

Looney,
Did you have smart IR on?
I logged into the camera's web ui and it was available so I switched it on and it works.

As stated, I left the the cam at factory defaults for testing... so no, it was in zoompriority.

 

[Pmedicj]

As stated, I left the the cam at factory defaults for testing... so no, it was in zoompriority.

Sorry Looney I missed that. Living with out of control 3 & 7 year olds you end up rushing to read and miss some things, lol.
I agree that more fixed cams are better. In my case I like to use the PTZ to respond to another cameras broken IVS and also like to “position” the camera to various presets which have their own IVS rules at different times during the day or night based on activity in that specific location. So even though it’s a positioning camera it still fails in the aspect I am referring.
I would have to position my camera manually and then set up different IVS rules every single time I positioned the camera.

 

[pinko]

Did this camera end up getting Presets and IVS rules via F/W update?

 

[Pmedicj]

Did this camera end up getting Presets and IVS rules via F/W update?

Nothing, no answers and no new firmware. It seems as though this camera sounded like a great idea turned out to be a poorly executed afterthought.
The camera itself is good quality but in retrospect so is a completely stationary camera. This camera is essentially a camera that can only be setup like a stationary camera with IVS rules. But for some reason you can re- “position” the camera but in doing so it carries the initial IVS rules to the new position which is not optimal at all.
Even if this is not your typical PTZ and is considered a positioning camera you should still be able to recall presets with different rules.
PTZ vs stationary debate aside, This is why I purchased this camera:
if I want to watch one area of my property and setup IVS rules for that spot but at a different time of day more activity is suspected at another location I can just recall that position and the IVS for that position without having to reset all the rules each time I move the dang camera.
Too bad someone had their head up their ass when they designed the firmware because this could have fit that bill perfectly!

 

[pinko]

I ended up buying and installing this mini PTZ.
I have to say I really like it.

Whilst its not a full blown PTZ, It's a pretty good choice if you want a small compact camera with tilt pan zoom.
Its the smallest IP Rated PTZ Dahua makes at the moment. I was worried that is was going to be too big, but it's barely noticeable.
I went for Soffit mount ~2" from wall. It got the WAF (wife approval factor) so that was an added bonus.
Images are good, they are better than I expected. Max Zoom is 4x,
Images are Night color (low light), night color (aided by interior lights), daytime and B&W.

 

[J Sigmo]

We often see cameras with motorized lenses that are useful for testing or for locations where we need to be able to adjust the zoom to a setting between available fixed lens focal lengths.

It seems like this camera extends this adjustability to position as well. I can imagine that the idea is simply that the installer doesn't have to get the aim (and zoom setting) chosen perfectly when designing and then doing the installation. Then later, the user or installer can tweak the camera or cameras to get the fixed coverage they prefer.

As long as the price is reasonable, this seems worthwhile. Who hasn't had to climb up on a ladder to make a few tweaks to a camera's aim? And who hasn't just accepted a less than perfect aim because we don't want to get up on the ladder again?

 

[pinko]

I'm thinking of getting a second cam and placing in the garden as a wildlife cam. This cam is at the top of the list, although 12x zoom, in a similar form factor would be much better. We get good mixed bag of native visitors like sugar gliders, possums, kangaroos, koalas, Kookaburras, King parrots, Whip birds and Satin bower birds.

 

[J Sigmo]

It sounds like you get an amazing variety of excellent wildlife. I think a lot of us set up a security camera system initially for, well, security purposes. But once the system is up and running, the vast majority of what we capture are wildlife visits.

And then we want to get better wildlife shots. Also, general weather and scenery videos are nice.

While a longer zoom would be great if we're manning the controls, for capturing critters when we're not there, or not viewing live, a longer zoom may not be of much use, anyhow.

This does seem like a useful and reasonably-priced camera for a lot of applications. A true PTZ has its uses, too, of course.

 

[Arjun]

Has anyone been able to get the PFA731 mount and / or even mount this on a wall with a universal junction box?

 

[Arjun]

Has anyone purchased the PFA731 mount, I can't find it anywhere, lol Is it only made on demand?

 

[Arjun]

What is the diameter of the base (to where this affixes to via ceiling / wall)?

 

[Arjun]

Face washes out when getting close to camera, does this have the Smart IR issue as well?

Video recorded and exported with Blue Iris. Camera settings at factory defaults, except time and channel name.



Night