UK - new camera choice? Help pls.

Hi

I’m new at all this myself but here’s some info.

Empiretech will sell and ship direct to you. Just DM Andy when you know what you want.

You need to provide more info for people to help, distances to cover and purpose of cameras e.g. spotting wildlife or people coming on property? It would help a lot if you uploaded photos or a layout diagram of the property.

Next thing is it can be quite a learning curve getting the cameras setup correctly. Empiretech cameras are professional grade, so expect to spend time tweaking them.

I’m sure some of the more knowledgeable people will reply shortly.

Cheers

Mike

This thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL

Yes Empiretech (Andy) provides support all of the world and we have many members from the UK that buy from him.

He is based in Hong Kong, not the US.

Rosey14 said:

Empiretech is based in US?

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Andy (EmpireTech) is in Hong Kong. The website has a US address. He has a person in the US that US returns are sent to for review/refurbishment, along with cameras in US warehouses for easy shipment to US customer.

Rosey14 said:

Wondering how these 2 cameras compare also?
View attachment 226221

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Every camera serves a purpose.

You mention you do not have a lot of light, so you need to be looking at cameras on the ideal MP/sensor ratio, so the first camera is not going to be the right choice for you.

There are reviews of all the popular cameras if you do a search, including these two as shown below.

Now keep in mind what these cameras are and the type of support that is provided.

One of the ways EmpireTech keep costs low is by not staffing a 1-800 call center like an Amcrest, Lorex, Ring, etc. would do.

Those brands are consumer brands. Empiretech is not a consumer brand.

Empiretech is Dahua OEM and the Dahua and Hikvisions of the world do not cater to the "consumer" market - their target audience are professional installers that know what to do with these cameras and service their clients (but you are also paying 5-6 times more than you paid for these), so we are considered "prosumer" and we are fortunate to get our hands on these types of cameras and NVRs instead of consumer grade junk and not having to go thru professional installers to get quality gear.

So EmpireTech provides support on technical issues/warranty issues, etc., but does not hold your hand thru troubleshooting and setting up a system to the extent of a consumer grade system. There is no 1-800 number.


Nothing in this arena is true plug-n-play if quality and able to IDENTIFY is important.

All cameras need to be dialed in to the field of view. Even the best cameras left on default will result in motion blur and ghosting at night. It is the same process for the dialing in the camera regardless of the VMS (NVR) system used.

If you want true plug-n-play simplicity, then go with one of the consumer brands - Ring, Arlo, Reolink, Nest, Blink, etc. They are true plug-n-play because those cameras all run on default/auto settings with very little, to no ability to change camera parameters and they provide 1-800 numbers if you plug the camera in and can't figure out how to get an image.

Simply download their app and scan the camera QR code and you are up and running, with a better app experience also.

But their plug-n-play simplicity comes at a cost of nighttime performance and ability to customize stuff, but obviously many do not seem to care about that as those systems are popular and those consumer grade systems are a perfect fit for those that want simplicity and not having to learn how to use an NVR.

We are just fortunate to be able to get our hands on the better stuff. And a forum like this to help us when stuck.

Different end user, different expectations.

So if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and understand how to change IP addresses of a device, then Dahua or Hikvision OEM cameras are the right choice for you.

Rosey14 said:

Any user experiences of the:

EmpireTech IPC-B52IR-X3 1/2.8" CMOS 3 × 2 MP Triple-Sight Perimeter Protection Bullet Network Camera

Or

4MP Hikvision DS-2SE4C425MWG-E/26(F0) TandemVu IP PTZ, 25x Optical Zoom, Two 4mm Fixed Lenses


Thinking of using 2 of the IPC and 2 more basic turret cams for my setup.
So 8ch used.

Would a 8ch or 16ch NVR be better?
I don't want blue iris.

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People always want more cameras. The cost difference between 8 and 16 channels is not that much. And the added bandwidth usually with the higher channel NVR.

Like that Triple Sight perimeter camera is considered 3 channels for the NVR even though it is "one camera"