4MP Cameras, anyone using them??

[SpeedyDave]

Hi all,
Haven't been able to find much info on the Hikvision 4MP cameras ( DS-2CD3145F-I etc. ) ?

Is there any reason for people using the 3MP over the 4MP cameras ?

TIA
[h=1][/h]

 

[CodeGreen]

Price and the ones ending in 5 can not be upgraded.

 

[SpeedyDave]

Price and the ones ending in 5 can not be upgraded.

Not sure about price as there seems to be about $2 between the 3MP and the 4MP cams.
The "upgrade ability" seems moot. Why would you ever need to upgrade it ???

 

[badmannen]

Sometimes it's just nice to upgrade and could be some new feature or setting that comes with upgrades. But yes in most cases for normal usage upgrade is rarely needed

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[gwminor48]

I have some 4MP Hiks and I really like them at 4MP during the day. I haven't been as happy with 4MP at night even after adding external IR lighting so I've ended up using my 4MP at 2MP instead. I doubt that 3MP would be much better at night but I could be wrong, I believe it has something to do with the sensor size on the cameras.

 

[SpeedyDave]

I have some 4MP Hiks ....................................... so I've ended up using my 4MP at 2MP instead. .

I too are very happy with my 4MP during daylight. Night time really is not so flash..............

Really sorry to ask....... but how do you set the night time resolution to 2MP ??

 

[badmannen]

You can not do it default in the camera settings to switch between resolution for day and night unfortunately. What you could do is to use and external program set to change the whole settings at nightfall and when the sun pops up.

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[Del Boy]

I think 3MP is better than non-WD 4MP at night but haven't tested it in the same location to be fair.

There are 2 different 4MP Hikvision cameras. 2x42WD or 2/3x45, they're not the same but the 3x45 are much cheaper as are intended for Chinese-domestic market only.

 

[SpeedyDave]

I've got the 3145
what is the setting that affects resolution ?

On mine, it looks like I can have 2560*1440@25fps or 1920*1080@25fps ( config - image - capture mode )

AND

In Config - audio/video - [resolution] , I can select 2560*1440 , 1920*1080P or 1280*720P

 

[badmannen]

The last one

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[Del Boy]

I don't think setting them to 2MP is going to improve the night-vision much. It's still a 4MP sensor.

 

[badmannen]

What you or anyone thinks is irrelevant. Try it and see the facts

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[Del Boy]

What you or anyone thinks is irrelevant. Try it and see the facts

It's not quite that black and white (no pun intended!).

This is a forum btw, based on collective opinion. I still think (yes think) recommending running 4MP cameras at 2MP to get better night-vision rather than getting 2MP cameras is bad advice. I'll have a play later to see the difference but that still won't make it a fact.

 

[badmannen]

I don't think Noone ever recommended that

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[gwminor48]

I too are very happy with my 4MP during daylight. Night time really is not so flash..............

Really sorry to ask....... but how do you set the night time resolution to 2MP ??

I use the cURL method to switch between night and day using Blue Iris but this only changes the image settings (brightness, contrast, WDR, exposure speed, etc). I have not been able to switch from 2MP to 4MP so I've kept them at 2MP all the time. These cameras have so many settings, maybe there is a sweet spot I haven't found yet but I haven't been able to get 4MP at night good enough to be happy with.

 

[gwminor48]

It's not quite that black and white (no pun intended!).

This is a forum btw, based on collective opinion. I still think (yes think) recommending running 4MP cameras at 2MP to get better night-vision rather than getting 2MP cameras is bad advice. I'll have a play later to see the difference but that still won't make it a fact.

I agree @Del Boy, if I'm not able to be pleased with these 4MP at night I feel I would have been better off getting 2MP cams. I seem to have read that 2MP cams usually do better at night than a 4MP, but again, I could be wrong.

 

[CodeGreen]

Not sure about price as there seems to be about $2 between the 3MP and the 4MP cams.
The "upgrade ability" seems moot. Why would you ever need to upgrade it ???

The difference in price changes depending on the camera. Yes the Turrents have a smaller difference.

2cd3xxx have more plastic parts compared to the 2cd2xxx counterparts

Also the 2cdxxx5 have a limit of 25fps if im not mistaken (no 30fps)

 

[Jack B Nimble]

I have several 3mp and for me seem the ones that you can't change from 50hz to 60hz do better in 2 mp as the 3mp seem very grainy almost day and night. I will add that at 2mp is more than great image in day and works very well as night. I think alot of the china cams neglect the PAL and NTSC otherwise know as 50hz - 60hz and you have to look closely at the options which also can change by the firmware like 5.2.5 way different for me then 5.3.6 same camera the older version more options but not as nice browser interface.

 

[mcx]

I use the cURL method to switch between night and day using Blue Iris but this only changes the image settings (brightness, contrast, WDR, exposure speed, etc). I have not been able to switch from 2MP to 4MP so I've kept them at 2MP all the time. These cameras have so many settings, maybe there is a sweet spot I haven't found yet but I haven't been able to get 4MP at night good enough to be happy with.

@gwminor48 resolution can be changed by using cURL method.

Extract xml:

curl http://admin:12345@192.168.2.10/streaming/channels >2Mpix.xml

String which should add to "night.bat":

curl -T c:\2Mpix.xml http://admin:12345@192.168.2.10/streaming/channels/1

If the cameras not shown correctly in Blue Iris when resolution has changed then it is necessary to add an additional "restart" event for reset camera window after changes, depends on how long it takes the camera to make changes... 10-15 sec I guess.

 

[gwminor48]

Thanks @mcx I'll give this a try! So I will need a 2nd preset to change the resolution besides the existing one that changes the image? And a >4Mpix.xml for changing back to 4mp at day? The string you show for night.bat can be another line added to the existing bat file? Sorry for so many questions.

If the cameras not shown correctly in Blue Iris when resolution has changed then it is necessary to add an additional "restart" event for reset camera window after changes, depends on how long it takes the camera to make changes... 10-15 sec I guess.

I have noticed that if I change to 4MP the whole view is not shown in Blue Iris. Restarting the camera or BI does not help, I've had to manually rebuild the cam in BI to get the correct view, but it just affects the live view, it records the entire view correctly. I'm running v4.2.8.5 so maybe that has been fixed on newer versions.