I recently purchased a 2CD2387G2 8MP ColorVu to replace a 2386G2 monitoring the driveway and front yard of my home.
After conducting some side-by-side testing with the existing 2CD2386G2 I came to the conclusion the new 2CD2387G2 was not as well focused. Images from the 2CD2387G2 were noticeably softer and lacked the razor sharp clarity and fine details of the existing 2CD2386G2 under the exactly same conditions. Both cameras were fitted with 4mm lens. Nothing I did with bit-rate settings or compression settings made the images from the 2387G2 as crisp as the 2CD2386G2.
Faced with either sending the camera back to the supplier (which was not really an option since it was purchased from China), putting up with the loss of clarity or just fixing the focus myself, I decided on the latter.
I've disassembled and changed lenses in Hikvision cams several times before but never on a G2 ColorVu. I was concerned it was going to be difficult to disassemble and refocus but I was actually pleasantly surprised how easy the entire process. To help anyone else wanting to try I decided to take a few pictures.
STEP 1 - Disassemble the turret housing. Once the back mounting is off, three small Philips head screws need to be taken out to remove the plastic cage.
STEP 2 - Free the camera ball from the turret housing, locate and remove the three Philips head screws which secure the two halves of the camera housing. (NOTE: Put a pen or texta alignment mark on the housing before disassembly to make sure it goes back together in the same orientation.
STEP 3 - Carefully separate the two halves of the camera housing.
STEP 4 - Disconnect the two multicore cables between the PCB and the pigtail. I small pair of long nose pliers will make the job easier. Gently squeeze the retaining clip against the connector body and pull away from the PCB. The rear camera housing is now free.
STEP 5 - Locate the three black Philips head screw securing the CCD and lens assembly to the camera body and remove them.
STEP 6 - Disconnect the ribbon cable connecting the CCD/Lens assembly to the main PCB by lifting the small brown catch located at the base of the ribbon cable. The imaging module and lens can now be lifted out.
STEP 7 - Camera CCD/Lens assembly is now free to work on. You will note that in my case the lens focus is fixed by a resin/glue around the complete circumference of the lens. (Try not to touch the lens itself to save the trouble of having to clean it later)
Pressing the pointy tip of a knife into the resin and lifting slightly will break the adhesive. Work you way around the lens pulling gently at the adhesive as you go. In my case the adhesive came away in one piece.
STEP 8 - Reconnect the two ribbon cables to the PCB and the cable to the CCD/Lens assembly and fire up the camera. From here you can point the lens at a suitable target and adjust the focus to your liking by rotating the end of the lens.
NOTE: In my case there was no grub screws in the two threaded holes at the base of the lens assembly but I've seen pictures of a 2087G2 which is essentially the same camera in a box format that had grub screws installed. These need to be loosened a couple of turns before attempting to rotate the lens. Failing to do so might cause damage.
Please note that in most case fine tuning the focus requires only minute rotation of the lens. In my case the total adjustment needed to obtain the razor sharp focus I'd been chasing was only around 1-2 degrees of rotation. Before starting to refocus it's worth putting an alignment mark on each of the fixed and rotating parts of the lens to help gauge how much the lens has been moved.
Finally, fix the lens in place using either the grub screws if installed or you will need a little adhesive such as from a glue gun. Do not use acetic cure adhesives otherwise the will corrode the electronics.
Assembly is the reverse of the above.
After conducting some side-by-side testing with the existing 2CD2386G2 I came to the conclusion the new 2CD2387G2 was not as well focused. Images from the 2CD2387G2 were noticeably softer and lacked the razor sharp clarity and fine details of the existing 2CD2386G2 under the exactly same conditions. Both cameras were fitted with 4mm lens. Nothing I did with bit-rate settings or compression settings made the images from the 2387G2 as crisp as the 2CD2386G2.
Faced with either sending the camera back to the supplier (which was not really an option since it was purchased from China), putting up with the loss of clarity or just fixing the focus myself, I decided on the latter.
I've disassembled and changed lenses in Hikvision cams several times before but never on a G2 ColorVu. I was concerned it was going to be difficult to disassemble and refocus but I was actually pleasantly surprised how easy the entire process. To help anyone else wanting to try I decided to take a few pictures.
STEP 1 - Disassemble the turret housing. Once the back mounting is off, three small Philips head screws need to be taken out to remove the plastic cage.
STEP 2 - Free the camera ball from the turret housing, locate and remove the three Philips head screws which secure the two halves of the camera housing. (NOTE: Put a pen or texta alignment mark on the housing before disassembly to make sure it goes back together in the same orientation.
STEP 3 - Carefully separate the two halves of the camera housing.
STEP 4 - Disconnect the two multicore cables between the PCB and the pigtail. I small pair of long nose pliers will make the job easier. Gently squeeze the retaining clip against the connector body and pull away from the PCB. The rear camera housing is now free.
STEP 5 - Locate the three black Philips head screw securing the CCD and lens assembly to the camera body and remove them.
STEP 6 - Disconnect the ribbon cable connecting the CCD/Lens assembly to the main PCB by lifting the small brown catch located at the base of the ribbon cable. The imaging module and lens can now be lifted out.
STEP 7 - Camera CCD/Lens assembly is now free to work on. You will note that in my case the lens focus is fixed by a resin/glue around the complete circumference of the lens. (Try not to touch the lens itself to save the trouble of having to clean it later)
Pressing the pointy tip of a knife into the resin and lifting slightly will break the adhesive. Work you way around the lens pulling gently at the adhesive as you go. In my case the adhesive came away in one piece.
STEP 8 - Reconnect the two ribbon cables to the PCB and the cable to the CCD/Lens assembly and fire up the camera. From here you can point the lens at a suitable target and adjust the focus to your liking by rotating the end of the lens.
NOTE: In my case there was no grub screws in the two threaded holes at the base of the lens assembly but I've seen pictures of a 2087G2 which is essentially the same camera in a box format that had grub screws installed. These need to be loosened a couple of turns before attempting to rotate the lens. Failing to do so might cause damage.
Please note that in most case fine tuning the focus requires only minute rotation of the lens. In my case the total adjustment needed to obtain the razor sharp focus I'd been chasing was only around 1-2 degrees of rotation. Before starting to refocus it's worth putting an alignment mark on each of the fixed and rotating parts of the lens to help gauge how much the lens has been moved.
Finally, fix the lens in place using either the grub screws if installed or you will need a little adhesive such as from a glue gun. Do not use acetic cure adhesives otherwise the will corrode the electronics.
Assembly is the reverse of the above.
