Is ColorVu any decent or more of a gimmick?

MrRodgers

MrRodgers

Getting the hang of it
Sep 22, 2021
55
27
NJ
Been looking for a 2.8mm hikvision turret camera just wondering how good they are at night. It looks like all they do is use LED lights.

I have LED motion lights so the LED would not benefit me in one case others it may. What is the best 2.8mm turret/eye for day and good night vision? I'm not brand loyal if it matters. I would be willing to spend $400 each
 
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I have said this before, but worth repeating. Do not be sold by some trademarked night color vision (Full Color, ColorVu, Starlight, etc.) that is a marketing ploy in a lot of ways lol. It is simply what a manufacturer wants to claim for low-light performance, but there are so many games that can be played even with the how they report the Lux numbers. They will claim a low lux of 0.0005 for example, but then that is with a wide open iris and a shutter at 1/3 second and an f1.0 - as soon as you have motion in it, it will be crap. You need a shutter of at minimum 1/60 second to reduce a lot of blur from someone walking.

All cameras need light regardless of what any marketing claims. I can make a crap camera look like noon at midnight, but then motion is a blur. But with any light at all, this camera does really well.

Sensor size, F number, MP, quality of the lens and sensor and software running the cameras are the real determining factors. And then obviously dial each cameras specific software settings to optimize the image and video. A brightness of 50 for example will look different between two different brands, or even the same brand but different cameras.

It is interesting how many of us experience better camera images with the camera LED off, regardless of whether it is a Hik or Dahua! I personally don't think they cast a far enough light to be effective. They are blinding looking at the camera, but do not project enough light out far enough to be effective. I have 3 different cameras with the LED and I do not run any of them on!

Unless you know you have enough ambient light or can live with the camera's white LED on, go with a camera that can see infrared. The full color type cameras cannot see infrared, so you couldn't add external IR later.

But in a completely black situation without any ambient light and without the white LED on, it looks like crap and you cannot add external IR as it won't see it.

I have a Full Color type camera and the LED light on it is a gimmick. It helps for a small diameter circle, but it is no different than going outside at pitch black and turning on your cell phone light - it is bright looking directly at the LED light, but it doesn't spread out and reach very far. Fortunately I have enough ambient light that I do not need the little piddly LED light on and it actually looks worse with it on, but it performs better than my other cameras when tested at the same location. But without some light, a camera with IR capability is the safer bet.
 
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ColorVU, Starlight, StarLight+, Full Color and all those terms are nothing more than marketing terms, no matter what brand is involved. Resolution, sensor size and the F stop of the lens are what govern the night vision capabilties. Even the listed minimum lux numbers are usually overstated. Chase sensor size, not resoltuion.

1/3" = .333" 720P
1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet) 2MP
1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball) 4MP
1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round) 8MP
 
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I guess i need a normal IR turret by the sounds of it. Any suggestions?

Not sure how i feel about the led lights on a camera if you turn them off no color at night?
 
1/3" = .333" 720P
1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet) 2MP
1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball) 4MP
1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round) 8MP
[/QUOTE]
Finally terms I can wrap my goofy brain around! ( former ammunition plant employee :))
 
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MrRodgers said:
I guess i need a normal IR turret by the sounds of it. Any suggestions?

Not sure how i feel about the led lights on a camera if you turn them off no color at night?
Click to expand...

I have the Hikvision DS-2CD2087G2-L(U) 2.8mm with LEDs but I don’t turn them on. It’s full color at night and works really well when there’s enough ambient light. I have some yard lights and a flood light mounted on a pole that brighten up the area enough for that cam to perform well in the middle of the night.

If I turn off some or all of those nearby lights the cam will try to compensate by slowing the shutter speed but it’s not worth it.

If you have enough light in the area at night, the cam is impressive. If it’s dark, stick with traditional IR.
 
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I made the mistake of buying cameras with no IR in the day great picture but at night you see nothing un-less the flood light turns on but not every spot has one so i bought some IR lights and would still like to have them back on the camera itself.

After searching i found this cam.


Would this be the best? I think it's a dahua, i seem to be going more for them than hikvisison now days.
 
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Yes it has IR.... it would work, but if you could spring for this one, you'd be much happier in the end. I'm not as impressed with the 2431T as I am with the tunability of the 5442, which has better lowlight performance.
 
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Maybe buy one of each. and see where you can get the best fit. the 2431 is ok in decent light, I havent used it in an IR situation.
 
MrRodgers said:
I made the mistake of buying cameras with no IR in the day great picture but at night you see nothing un-less the flood light turns on but not every spot has one so i bought some IR lights and would still like to have them back on the camera itself.

After searching i found this cam.


Would this be the best? I think it's a dahua, i seem to be going more for them than hikvisison now days.
Click to expand...
This 2431T-AS is a basic camera, good for low budget.
This IPC-Color4K-X is even better than hikvisions.

Worlds First Review - Dahua - IPC-Color4K-X / DH-IPC-HFW5849T1-ASE-LED - Full Color 4K Camera

Intro I’m excited to be doing another Worlds First Review. this time as I mentioned in the full color thread, I’ve been testing the new Dahua full color 4K camera. This was provided courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY for a fair, honest, no holds barred, unbiased review. I’ll attempt to answer any and...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Flintstone61 said:
Maybe buy one of each. and see where you can get the best fit. the 2431 is ok in decent light, I havent used it in an IR situation.
Click to expand...

That's almost a 2 to 1 price difference. How much of difference would you notice in the dark? Looks like it has a larger sensor and the IR distance is greater?

BTW what dahua model is that? How do you know who makes what camera anyway.
 
EMPIRETECANDY said:
This 2431T-AS is a basic camera, good for low budget.
This IPC-Color4K-X is even better than hikvisions.

Worlds First Review - Dahua - IPC-Color4K-X / DH-IPC-HFW5849T1-ASE-LED - Full Color 4K Camera

Intro I’m excited to be doing another Worlds First Review. this time as I mentioned in the full color thread, I’ve been testing the new Dahua full color 4K camera. This was provided courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY for a fair, honest, no holds barred, unbiased review. I’ll attempt to answer any and...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
Click to expand...

It's not a turret.
 
Nor is it better than the Hikvision DS-2CD2087G2-L(U) which is a lot smaller. Both Camera's are good camera's but I and other members feel the Hikvision is a better camera and much cheaper.
 
MrRodgers said:
I made the mistake of buying cameras with no IR in the day great picture but at night you see nothing un-less the flood light turns on but not every spot has one so i bought some IR lights and would still like to have them back on the camera itself.

After searching i found this cam.


Would this be the best? I think it's a dahua, i seem to be going more for them than hikvisison now days.
Click to expand...

Hi @MrRodgers

Remember to check the sensor size, .. if you need low light image capture you want to look for larger sensors ..

4MP Starlight: 4MP, 1/3” CMOS image sensor
 
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MrRodgers said:
That's almost a 2 to 1 price difference. How much of difference would you notice in the dark? Looks like it has a larger sensor and the IR distance is greater?

BTW what dahua model is that? How do you know who makes what camera anyway.
Click to expand...
Cam 3 is a 3.6mm 2431. Cam 5 is a 2.8 mm 5442 . Both are from same vendor. both are looking into the Sodium Phosphorus lighting out front. Your Mileage may Vary.
index.jpg
 
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Hopefully Looneytunes doesnt see this Iphone screen photo of the 2 camera's. they are within 24 hours of the swap out. Still didn't know what I was doing settings wise. So your result will vary. Photo dated 4/12 is the 2431 3.6 mm. photo dated 4/13 is the Dahua Oem 5442 2.8mm. photo 3 is a 90%resolution email alert.


5442-LED.jpgt2431t.jpgindex.jpg
 
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