Best sub $1000 outdoor PTZ for wildlife (Hikvision vs Dahua vs others?)

[timb999]

Hi all,


Bit of a quirky request but hoping to get some opinions on what are the best sub $1000 PTZ IP cameras for picture quality please?


Specifically...best low light performance (at night under floodlights), as well as IR, preferably @ 60fps, 1080 resolution?


I use cameras for watching wildlife, hence the desire for high quality and 60fps.


At the moment, I am using Hikvision...a 2DE7225IW and 2DE5425IW. They are decent for low light performance, but the IR performance of all Hikvision PTZ cameras I have tried leaves a lot to be desired...mainly due to the use of only 2? IR leds. Therefore they suffer from a ‘halo’ effect, and there is little gradient to their IR illumination...it is either all or nothing, and there are often dark patches at different zoom levels. I also tried an older Darkfighter...a 2DF8236I and was not impressed with its low light picture quality...seemed worse than the newer budget models.


I am partly tied to Hik as I am using their IP joystick...I thought they were the only ones who did joystick over network but i see Dahua do one as well.


I have seen the cliff notes and notice they are heavily Dahua based and wonder if this is because they are deemed better than Hik etc?


So I am wondering how the Dahua SD49225T-HN compares to what I have. Weird tho, as some sites say 30fps, and others 60fps...is it 60fps? I guess the more expensive models in the cliff notes will be better as the IR set up looks better?


Using Blue Iris so need to be compatible with that ideally.


Can anyone give me any opinion please?


Thanks in advance.


Cheers!

Tim.

 

[jmcu]

Out of my sub 1k Dahua PTZ's, I would have to say the SD6AE240V-HNI is the best for wildlife video. It has great low light, good zoom and has a aperture of F1.2- 3.5 that make for a great picture.

They do offer some newer PTZ's that came out but none I have not found with a lens like this one.

https://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset/upload/product/20180525/SD6AE240V-HNI_Datasheet_20180523.pdf

Dahua does offer some joysticks, a NKB5000 / 3000 will set you back as much as a camera, the 1000 is much more reasonable.
Keyboard

Dahua SD6AE240V-HNI Samples

 

[bigredfish]

Love that clip @jmcu

 

[timb999]

Hey jmcu, really appreciate your reply. Shame nobody else can give any input on this...I guess I should probably dig around in the individual forums to see if I can coax some opinions on specific models.

Given the lack of reviews of IP cams, and the highly variable range of demo footage on YouTube, I have found it really difficult to evaluate the quality of cameras. Given their expense, it’s great to get other people opinions if possible.

 

[fenderman]

Hey jmcu, really appreciate your reply. Shame nobody else can give any input on this...I guess I should probably dig around in the individual forums to see if I can coax some opinions on specific models.

Given the lack of reviews of IP cams, and the highly variable range of demo footage on YouTube, I have found it really difficult to evaluate the quality of cameras. Given their expense, it’s great to get other people opinions if possible.

there are hundreds of posts with sample videos - search.

 

[jmcu]

Your welcome, but as fenderman says there are many samples here, you just need to take some time to learn your way around these forums and you will see a lot...

 

[weigle2]

@timb999 - Before going with a big expense of a new Dahua PTZ, I would first try going with external IR to either supplement the internal IR, or to replace it completely. External IR will generally give much better 'fill' and do it in an even manner without hotspots. Using 2 or more IR units is almost always best, in some sort of crossover pattern. Locate the IR units away from the camera, also. Of course, this is only recommended if you are satisfied with the daytime images produced by the Hik camera.

And, play around with the night settings like BLC, exposure, contrast, etc. to optimize the image. This for me, has made a world of difference.

 

[timb999]

Thanks for the tips - I will search the forums for specific models etc.

And yeah cheers for the comments about IR lights. I have looked into that before, and I did have a cheap IR floodlight at one point, but the problem I have is that I am trying to cover some quite big areas, like a small field/paddock, so my floodlight could only illuminate a tiny section of it. I looked at the powerful arrays and woah...the price of cameras or more! But yeah its definitely a great idea for a more managable space.

However, I have not really changed the settings like BLC exposure etc much as I don't really have much of a clue what they all do or mean! I guess it does not matter as long as the image improves, so I will give this a try thanks!

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks for the tips - I will search the forums for specific models etc.

And yeah cheers for the comments about IR lights. I have looked into that before, and I did have a cheap IR floodlight at one point, but the problem I have is that I am trying to cover some quite big areas, like a small field/paddock, so my floodlight could only illuminate a tiny section of it. I looked at the powerful arrays and woah...the price of cameras or more! But yeah its definitely a great idea for a more managable space.

However, I have not really changed the settings like BLC exposure etc much as I don't really have much of a clue what they all do or mean! I guess it does not matter as long as the image improves, so I will give this a try thanks!

Listen to @jmcu he is the king of PTZ's around here. He knows what he speaks.
With any camera, you will need to tweak it to get the best video out of them. Typically you will need to set different settings for day, and night.
I reviewed this cam, it has powerful IR, but has trouble focusing at the the high end of it's zoom range after dark.
Review-Dahua SD6CE245U-HNI Starlight PTZ 45x Zoom | IP Cam Talk

 

[jmcu]

lol @looney2ns your funny... I don't think king is the word... fool may be a better one. I am just the one who has dumped much $$ into PTZ's for a hobby... ( but they are a lot of fun )