Dahua 5442 3.6mm Field Of View

[f1restarter]

Hi.
I just purchased my first cam from Andy based on the recommendations from you guys here.
I bought this cam to replace a Hikvision ds-2cd3332-i that has been in 24/7 duty since 2014.

Overall I am very impressed with this camera compared to my old one, but the FOV is completely different. The old Hikvision had a 4mm lens, so I ordered the 5442 with a 3.6mm lens. In theory that should be similar with a slightly bigger FOV on my new Dahua.
Anyway, as the attached screenshots show, it is a LOT larger. I suspected they had sent me a 2.8mm version but the box the camera came in says 3.6, the sticker on the camera itself and also the firmware says 3.6. What is the explanation behind this? The Dahua runs 2688x1520 resolution and the old Hik was 1920x1080 so the aspect ratio is similar.

 

[wittaj]

There are several threads about this. Basically they are not absolute and sensor size and other factors come into play.

You are comparing a 1/1.8" sensor to a much smaller 1/3" sensor. A larger sensor usually is making for a wider view. So even two cameras that are both 4MP on the same focal length will usually result in the one with the larger sensor having a wider field of view, which is what you are seeing.

Comparison of a Fixed Lens and a Varifocal Lens Camera's FOV

I was testing out a new Dahua T5442T-ZE 2.7-12mm Varifocal camera (from @EMPIRETECANDY ) and was going to compare it's performance to the Dahua HDW5231R-ZE and the HDW5431R-ZE cameras, which are 2.7-13.5mm varifocals, along with the T5442TM-AS fixed lens at 6mm camera. The HDW5431R-ZE has been...

ipcamtalk.com

Dahua T5442T-ZE in-depth review

Hi guys, Today I present you a review of Dahua T5442T-ZE. This model is equipped with 2.7-12mm zoom lens and an excellent 4 megapixel 1/1.8 inch CMOS sensor. Compared to 5442TM-AS-LED and 5442TM-AS models, which I’ve already reviewed, this one has twice as much RAM available. The housing is...

ipcamtalk.com

Which focal length to go for? Went for 5442 3.6mm cams from Andy

Want to order a pair of 5442 fixed cams from Andy to upgrade a pair of 5231-ze cams but am really unsure of the focal length I need so am looking for help and advice. I know the obvious answer is to get the ze variant but am hoping to save some money by going fixed plus all of my ze I’ve set and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[f1restarter]

Hi @wittaj, thanks for the feedback. Would probably have been better off with a 6mm lens if that exists for that camera.

Last night I spent a fair amount of time dialling in the camera for best color at night images following your instructions, thanks for all the good information you provide. Anyway, during daytime I am more than happy leaving it in "all auto" but at night it requires tweaking, especially the shutter speed. The problem is I can not get the camera to shift between profiles based on the available light conditions . I have searched this forum and it seems you have to run a windows script which to me appears as a makeshift solution. I also noticed you could have BI do it with some advanced PTZ commands but that is over my head. I am not even sure if my BI version would let me do that. (I am actually running BI 3.66 but that has worked out fine for me as I am only running 3 cameras.) Will consider an upgrade though as I am replacing my old 1st gen i7 BI machine from 2009

Is there any other solution?

 

[wittaj]

Glad to be able to help!

You can always change the lens yourself. It is pretty easy.

Yeah the profile change has been a big issue for us trying to use these in residential settings. Options include:

1. Use the sunrise/sunset utility a member wrote.
2. Use the PTZ "hack" in BI to force it. Wow that is an old version, but if you can send commands, you can probably do it.
3. Go into the camera schedule and set up when to switch profiles based on time. Unfortunately that means you have to go in several times a year and adjust it based on the changing sunrise/sunset.

 

[f1restarter]

Yeah, for the ease of use I would prefer something like your suggestion #3 but that would make more sense if I was located closer to ecuator. I live far north so there is already 2 hours more daylight since Christmas... would have to do these adjustments quite often. My philips hue outdoor lights does this automatically with a built-in automation

 

[tigerwillow1]

The best reference I've found is FOV in the camera specs.

 

[Rob2020]

The 5442 is available in a 6MM.

Use the 3.6 in a different location.

 

[samplenhold]

Personally, I think that there is not much FOV difference at all. The Hik cam is turned a little more to the right, has more wall in the frame. If it was moved more to the left with less right wall in the frame, it would be about the same.

As far as the night time adjustments, really the sunrise/sunset utility works just fine for this cam. I would not 'worry' it is a 'makeshift solution' as it works just fine. It is simple to set up and keeps on working.

 

[CCTVCam]

Hi @wittaj, thanks for the feedback. Would probably have been better off with a 6mm lens if that exists for that camera.

6mm might have cut off your porch and stairs, difficult to say.

You probably should have gone with the ZE version. That way you'd have had an infinite zoom from 2.7-12mm and could have just set the perfect focal length for yourself.

Thats the problem with fixed focal lengths, they can be difficult to judge. Personally, I see nothing wrong the current view but understand if it's your intention to cover the garage doors, you may want a closer view for facial recognition.

One course of action could be to buy another 5442, this time a ZE and use the 3.6mm for over view and the other for the garages. I don't know what it's your priority to protect here, but even on the HIk you may have been pushing it to Identify someone at the garage as it looks a good 30 feet from the camera to the nearest garage.

 

[f1restarter]

Appreciate all the feedback.
@samplenhold, I agree that it is slightly more panorated to the left than the Hik, but I still believe it shows 3-5meter (10-15feet) more to the left where you can see the excavator.
As I can read from many threads here, I am trying to achieve too much with only 1 camera Especially for identyfing at night purposes. But with that said, there really is not much crime in my area. Even having a single surveillance camera at a private house is not common at all. Visitors that notify it always asks me why I would have such a thing

I actually painted the cam the same colour as my house, and prefer to not have IR lights on my camera as it is very obvious because the camera sits in a very dark spot (The parking area is still well lit enough to give a good color@night picture)


I tried to use bp2008s sunrisesunset application but no matter what I get the "input string is not in a valid format"
My old blueiris version does not support the commands, at least not when I compare it to the description on this site of how to configure it.
If I want BI v5, would I have to do a full purchase or is there any way to upgrade older versions? Mine is 3.66 so probably obsolete....

I definetely see the need for more cameras and that is on my wish-list now

 

[wittaj]

Bp2008 works with the 5442, so I suspect you have a wrong user/password put in.

I am not sure about that version, but V4 you simply buy the next plan that is $30ish so see if that option is available to you?

 

[f1restarter]

User/pass I am sure is correct. Which port shall I use? I tried 80 and 81 but maybe another port is used for that command.

 

[samplenhold]

I vaguely remember something about someone having a problem at high latitudes a while ago. Maybe @bp2008 could comment.

The sunrise/sunset utility is separate from BI. It does not interact with BI.

 

[f1restarter]

@samplenhold
I actually just asked in bp2008s main thread about the utility. Yes, I understand that it does not interact with BI. It appears that my BI version is too old to be able to push these commands but that will be my go-to solution when I upgrade to BI 5 during the next month or so. Was just hoping this utility could help me out temporarily

 

[f1restarter]

And for testing purposes I tried the lat/Long for Texas, US but the same result

 

[samplenhold]

Yes, I understand that it does not interact with BI. It appears that my BI version is too old to be able to push these commands

? BI does not push the commands. The script pushes the commands. BI is not involved.

 

[f1restarter]

Yes, but as wittaj suggested in post #4 in this thread as option #2, one can also have BI do the day/night override. And yes, I understand that has nothing to do with this utility. Even bp2008 says he is using BI to control his cameras now instead og the utility. I appreciate your effort to help me out anyways

 

[wittaj]

Yes the utility should work without BI if you are not using the commands and PTZ option in BI.

You need to make sure that you are using an account that can see ONVIF.

This is a common problem unfortunately when someone changes the admin password or it doesn't carry over to ONVIF user when initially setting up the camera.

What happens is the ONVIF user password isn't changed.

Log into the Camera GUI and under users you will see a tab called ONVIF User

Select it and then change the admin password for the ONVIF user to match your password.

Or simply create a new user and password and use that.

Then try the utility again.

 

[f1restarter]

Thanks. I did not know about that ONVIF user/pass.