3 MP WDR Vari-focal DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS

[Anthony A.]

Any update on this cam?

 

[triumph202]

An update from me regarding the audio issues. After purchasing a second camera with a genuine Hikvision microphone (on the proviso it was all tested before shipping) I have worked out what the audio problem is.

The Hik microphone arrived with no plug and three bare wires. Black for ground (common for power and audio ground), a red wire for the power and white for the mono audio channel. I wired it all up as per the diagram using a mono 3.5mm plug and was very mad to find no audio- exactly the same problem. Then I remembered Hikvision's generic instructions show you can use either a 3.5mm mono or stereo plug. I had a stereo plug lying around and compared them- the second audio channel extends further up the plug shaft. So I changed the mono plug to the stereo and now it's working. You need to wire the stereo plug so both audio channels are shorted/joined together. That means if you buy an aftermarket mic (like the MicroSeven) you'll have to make your own extension lead/ adapter. I'd bought generic single RCA to single channel 3.5mm leads- which is why it didn't work.

So thanks Hikvision for the lack of instructions supplied with the camera and your generic instruction for all cameras being not much use. Why on earth they thought it would be a brilliant idea to use a shorted stereo plug for a mono channel is also beyond me.

 

[triumph202]

I haven't got around to making up a custom lead for the MicroSeven microphone, but will do a comparison between it and the Hik microphone once I do. The Hik is proving very sensitive to picking up sound, I'm running the camera at around 50-60% line in gain level.

 

[Anthony A.]

What about picture quality..... better than 2325? I find my 2.8 2325 hotspots in the center. I prefer the ir on this model as I have similar one in tvi. Spread is more even with this design imo. How about you?

 

[triumph202]

The IR spread seems very good to me, but I think you'll find any varifocal will suffer from poor IR coverage at the wider viewing angles. It does seem to be a lot better than a Dahau IPC-HDW5231R-Z Starlight I've got- that does suffer from virtually no IR illumination at the edges at wide angles. (Noting I haven't tested them back to back in the same locations.)

The DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS does have IR LED's above and below the lens behind the dark tinted plastic- so a total of four LEDs.

The picture quality (focus, detail) is better than the DS-2CD2335FWD-I ultra low lights I've got.

 

[Anthony A.]

Thanks for the feedback. Will probably order one today. How about night performance in comparison to your 2335?

 

[triumph202]

Night performance appears to be the same.

 

[aster1x]

Any image comparison posts?

 

[Anthony A.]

How is this camera mounted? It appears from onlune images that it has a metal bracket and you plug your ethernet feed directly into the camera board (no pigtail). Can this fit without a junction box if mounted on brick? Is there a junction box that works with it?

 

[triumph202]

The design is a PITA to mount. You secure a metal plate to the desired mounting surface; the plate has three raised slots on it (for raised screws on the camera's base to fit in) as well as a hook to hang the camera off while you're installing it (via a safety cord on the camera itself.) The base of the camera has a hinged metal door (secured with two Torx screws) which has a large rubber grommet that the cables pass through. Inside the sealed door are all your connections. They're all bulk head mounted sockets- RJ45, Alarm/ Power (removable plugs fitted for both), Line In (3.5mm stereo plug only!!!), Line Out (perhaps a 3.5mm stereo plug again, I haven't tried it?)

So you plug in all your desired cables and then have to pop out the relevant matching holes in the grommet to feed the cables through. The grommet then gets sandwiched via closing the hinged door to (supposedly) make a waterproof connection. The network cable has to make a relatively sharp turn when you install the camera to the base plate- not a good design. The camera fits to the base plate via 3 raised screw heads mating with matching slots in the base plate. Once the raised screws are mated into the slots you rotate the camera around 30 degrees and then secure it via a single Torx screw.

It's a very complicated method- the worst I've seen out of the four different cameras I've played with. The good part is all the connections are contained within the camera so you don't have to feed all the usual inline connectors back into the wall or ceiling cavity.

I haven't done any comparisons, but you're basically looking at a varifocal DS-2CD2335FWD-I with alarm and microphone/ speaker capabilities. The biggest issue I have seen with the 2335's I own (lens quality/ poor focus) is fixed. The picture is much sharper and always in focus. I've compared the DS-2CD2335FWD-I to the Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-Z 2MP Starlight and they're virtually the same for night vision. The 5231R-Z doesn't have good IR coverage at wide angles, this camera appears to be a lot better in that respect. The current set up with the Hik microphone works better than the built in mic in the 5231R-Z- but I've got no complaints about the audio 5231R-Z, it works well enough. The Hik microphone I've got isn't weather/ waterproof which is a concern. I have found the Hiks are better at switching back to colour sooner than the Dahua will- it seems to be reticent to changing back to colour once it's gone to IR (eg. if flood lights come on it won't always change to colour when there's plenty of visible light and a good picture in colour.) That is with them both adjusted to the most sensitive settings for IR.

 

[Anthony A.]

Can you turn the ir completely off? I wasnt able to do so on the 2325 I had.

 

[triumph202]

Yes. On the Hiks there's normally an option to disable it under System- Maintenance IIRC.

 

[triumph202]

I did find my 5231R-Z wasn't so good in total darkness zoomed out to the widest angle. The inbuilt IR has a definite hot spot in the centre- optimised for being zoomed in tighter. Near the edges of the FOV it was basically dark. My 2.8mm Hik DS-2CD2342WD-I (4mp) had better full screen night vision using it's in built IR in the same position.

I've got the DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS up and it appears to have better IR spread at the widest FOV. (I haven't got it up where I found the 5231R-Z lacking in IR spread, nor have I bothered testing them side by side.) Not having a built in mic for the price sucks though!

The IR spread seems very good to me, but I think you'll find any varifocal will suffer from poor IR coverage at the wider viewing angles. It does seem to be a lot better than a Dahau IPC-HDW5231R-Z Starlight I've got- that does suffer from virtually no IR illumination at the edges at wide angles. (Noting I haven't tested them back to back in the same locations.)

The DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS does have IR LED's above and below the lens behind the dark tinted plastic- so a total of four LEDs.

The picture quality (focus, detail) is better than the DS-2CD2335FWD-I ultra low lights I've got.

Regarding the IR on the DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS: I was playing with the manual IR settings and noticed Hik have got a "Low Beam" and "High Beam" setting (possibly not the exact terms used.) Think of it like car headlights- low beam gives you a wide spread (but shorter throw) for when the lens is at wide angles. High beam gives you a hot spot in the centre of the frame for when the lens is zoomed in and your subject is further away. You can manually set a mix of both sets of LED's at whatever levels you like. That's something the Dahua 5231R-Z is missing. I've got mine at a wide angle so turned the high beam right down to avoid a centre frame hot spot. I imagine the high beam would be very handy for lighting up subjects a long distance away.