Best 4k Colour Night Vision Turret Camera

[abefroman]

Hi, new member here

I'm pretty new to the world of CCTV and would like some with help picking out my first POE CCTV setup.

When I first started researching CCTV cameras (specifically 4/8mp Poe cams), I inevitably stumbled across Reolink. I spent the next few weeks watching comparison videos against similar brands like lorex, amcrest, eufy etc and concluded that reolink was the best option for me. I thought that the RLC-811A (8MP Bullet) was the perfect camera for the job (I assumed the bad night vision would improve with supplemental lights).

Shortly after this I discovered Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview, Empiretech and other similar brands. I'm glad I didn't rush into purchasing a reolink system but the stress that came after has driven me crazy.

After months of migraine inducing research and comparison I settled on the new Colorvu Hybrid 8MP Turret Camera (DS-2CD2387G2H) but I would like to get some outside opinions before I dive into the Hikvision ecosystem.

I wanted to hear your opinions as I noticed that very similar turret cameras from the brands mentioned above are highly regarded in this forum (Dahua 5842/5442, UniView Colorhunter and Empiretech 4KCT)

I chose this specific Hikvision camera as it fit my needs perfectly and I liked the idea of the camera using IR at night, switching to the built in led when it detected motion (Hybrid Light).

This is important to me as the CCTV is for my residential property in a very urban part of London, England so I don't want to attract unnecessary attention at night.

I do have quite a bit of ambient light around my house (Mains powered light above my doorstep, 2 PIR sensor lights on my driveway, 1 PIR sensor light in my rear garden and a streetlight a few feet away from my house). I understand that the LED light may seem unnecessary with this much ambient lighting but I do not want to rely on these for colour images at night in case of failure or criminal damage (lighting cables are exposed)

This particular hikvision model has a 1/1.8 8mp sensor. I don't know a lot about sensor sizes in relation to resolution but after reading a few threads on this site I understand that a 1/1.2 camera with a lower resolution could potentially be better at night than a 1/1.8 8mp camera.

After comparing the spec sheets for two Hikvision models I also noticed minimum illumination (0.0005lux at F1.0 on one model and 0.0008lux at F1.0 on the 2387G2H). I'm not sure what any of this lux stuff means but wanted to include it so you know the extent of my knowledge, I don't want you to leave something out in your responses assuming that I have already considered it.

I would also like an opinion on which focal length to choose for the driveway cam between 2.8mm and 4mm. As much of the frame would be taken up by brick walls, recycling bins and vehicles, I don't mind losing some field of view if it would improve details during day and night.

Optical zoom isn't important to me for cameras mounted in the locations mentioned below as none of them are mounted in areas that would require it.

Taking into account the requirements listed below, what full colour day & night vision turrets do you recommend for my installation?.

The requirements for my setup are:

• x3 Turret style cameras (driveway, side and rear garden view)

• Full Colour Night Vision (without leaving the built in led on all night)

• Preferably 4K/8MP but I am open to 4/5mp for my driveway as there isn't that much to capture due to the design of my house (terraced with driveway and front door underneath the house instead of in front)

• Powered by POE

• Onvif compatibility

• 20fps minimum at Full Resolution

• Black camera housing to attract less attention at night (this isn't a deal breaker it's just a preference)

• Under £300 per camera

• Remote Live view and playback from mobile app & Live view and playback from nvr to main display.

I'm sorry for the long ass post but getting the perfect configuration is very important to me as I can't afford to play around with different systems.

All advice is very much appreciated.

TL;DR : Best 4k Colour Night Vision POE Turret?

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

Glad you didn't fall for the Reolinks, but you still have some to learn.

4MP is the sweet spot for surveillance cameras. The problem folks are finding out with the 4K full color type cameras is that the area of focus is a small area and anything before and after the distance is blurry. They make great overview cameras though.

Most here find that cameras with motion activated white light ends up causing problems with image exposure and are bad for surveillance cameras.. What happens is then the camera is momentarily blinded and you lose the ideal capture when the lights kick on and the camera adjusts from basically no light to a lot of light.

Keep in mind that Hikvision has been bouncing back and forth on the ability to allow the light to come on with motion detection. Some firmware updates only allow on or off all night. Probably because of people complaining that they miss the clean capture.

Motion activated lights are not a deterrent. There are enough videos here showing that perps do not flinch when a floodlight turns on. They avoid homes all lit up, so go with floodlights on all night or cameras with infrared capabilities.

Watch this video someone posted and how the floodlight comes on and they don't even flinch. But then the audio comes on and they don't know which way to run LOL.

https://ipcamtalk.com/attachments/whatsapp-video-2020-07-28-at-7-23-08-pm-mp4.73970/

Either keep the lights on all night or not at all to ensure the best chance of capture.

Here is usually what happens when a motion activated light comes on - it just about completely blinds the camera right at the moment of optimal opportunity to get the picture. There are 3 deer in this picture and two of them are lost in the blinded white while the camera's exposure adjusts to the rapid change in available light:

Or the example from the Reolink CX410:

That flash can be the difference between capturing a clean image or not.

Or this example that completely missed the perp:

The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.

First off, they shouldn't buy crap NVRs. Dahua NVRs' can easily export video to a thumb drive in MP4 as can Hik's. Most of the time it is simply a matter of them not taking the time to figure it out, until they need the video NOW. I've seen BI user's be guilty of doing the same. Couldn't be...

ipcamtalk.com

Keep in mind that with the exception of that hybrid (which isn't on the ideal MP/sensor ratio), full color cameras on the ideal MP/sensor ratio cannot see infrared, so if you do not have enough light or are unwilling to use the built in white LED, then cameras with infrared is the better choice.



How far away do you want to IDENTIFY? Whether you get a 4MP or 8MP 2.8mm fixed lens, at night IDENTIFY is only good to about 15 feet.

Here is a thread that shows the most commonly recommended cameras based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the best overall value in terms of cost and performance day and night.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[abefroman]

Thanks for the advice I appreciate it very much!. The MP/ Sensor ratio chart makes selecting the right camera easier as well.

My driveway is only around 12ft wide and 18ft long so that identifying distance isn't too bad for night time (the turret will be mounted around eye level very close to my door).

As you said, 4k is great for overview which is pretty much what my rear garden and side view cameras would be for so I could get 4mp for the driveway if the image would be better.

If a 4mm would provide more detail during day and night with the only disadvantage being field of view I wouldn't mind getting one for my driveway. I did think about getting a Hikvision Motorized IK10 dome (DS-2CD2787G2H) for my driveway because of the mounting height being so low but I was worried that it would stand out too much due to the size.

I understand that having different cameras for different tasks makes more sense than trying to find one that ticks every box.

 

[Ri22o]

This thread might be of some assistance. You will be able to see the difference height makes, as well as, going from one focal length to another with the same FOV.

"I want 2.8mm cameras everywhere to see everything..." - This is why you need specific FOVs with purposeful focal lengths.

I have gained a lot of knowledge since I signed up and wanted to share my experience and examples of improvements and changes for others who are coming from a "I want 2.8mm cameras everywhere to see everything" system mentality. My ongoing "build/looking for advice" thread can be found here...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[bigredfish]

Agree with @wittaj above, but in the right scene, the 4MP 3.6mm 5442 turret can work pretty well with a good motion light of say 3500 lumens+ at out to say 15-20ft in old school Auto Day/Night mode (This cam is running 0-5 exposure)

NO TEMPORARY WASHOUT



View attachment Home_ch4_20231011013508_20231011013548.mp4

 

[xxHi-Fixx]

You have options and personally I really like Hik over Dahua. You tend to get a bigger image sensor for the cameras I'm interested in and sharper, less oversaturated picture. Many here will disagree and forum sellers tend to lean Dahua, so make your own opinions.

Remember these cameras have an output on them. My front outside lights are tied into a RIB relay that my camera triggers. When a human or vehicle is detected, it triggers all my soffit lights to come on for a minute. I'm working on setting this up in the backyard too, for when my rear fence line is crossed (up against a park). That's going to give you plenty of light, especially with the light built into the camera. Depending on the camera and your environment you can try and leave a color image 24/7 and motion activates that additional light to come on making for a good picture. This helps to eliminate the temporary washout discussed above. I have also found Hik's ability to define light sources with WDR to be very useful in producing quality video with my lighting.

 

[GentlePumpkin]

I haven't tried it, but the DS-2CD2387G2H (1/1,8 Sensor) should now be ideal for most cases. If you truely want permanent full color night vision, I personally recommend the DS-2CD2387G2 (bigger 1/1,2 Sensor), which (unbranded) is less than 140€ on Aliexpress. Both are significantly better than the 5442 in terms of resolution (and thus how far you can look), but as Wittaj correctly pointed out, there is a minimum distance of 1m that objects show have from the camera to be sharp. When installing them, set the contrast on the Hiks to 20% to get a very good night time image.

Focal length is a controversial topic, my two cents: IF you have limited access to your property, p.e. your entire property is surrounded by a wall and there is only one entry, then zoom one cam on the entry to get a good facial image, and the remaining cams can have wide angle to have a good overview.

 

[bigredfish]

Um, the Dahua 5442 has a 1/1.8 sensor and the 4K-T or bullet 4K-X both have the 1/1/.2 sensor. Same resolutions as the HiK cams mentioned

None of them are magic. They all need some form of light.

 

[GentlePumpkin]

Very true. The 4mp 5442 should be better at low light than a 8mp camera like the Hik 2386g2 (IR) or the 2387g2h (IR+color on motion) on the same sensor size. On the other hand the 8mp cams have a f1.0 lens and are more recent, thus have better noice reduction. I don't know which one is eventually better.

In my experience: the Hik 2387g2 (1/1.2 sensor, color night vision) is superior to the Dahua 4K-X (color). Slightly better low light quality, and much more stable firmware. The 4k-x i used had weird bugs in multiple firmware-Version related to human detection events not working. That being said, firmware quality is miserable with both Hik and Dahua, considering the reference that both companies are "professional grade".

 

[bigredfish]

I haven't seen a side by side comparison so I'll take your word for the quality difference.. Mine does really well and is the best performing cam I have with regards to AI human detection at night. Of course each scene is different.

3.6mm 4K-X, Exposure 0-7, Target 47ft
View attachment Home_ch1_20231111011713_20231111011728.mp4

 

[abefroman]

It's been nearly a month since I made the original post and I still haven't decided on the final configuration .

I was about to jump into buying multiple 2387G2H for my setup but I realised that it uses a 1/1.8" sensor instead of the 1/1.2" that the non hybrid G2 used. I'm still trying to figure out what I care about more out of hybrid light and sensor size.

Someone in the forum did send footage from the G2H in their back garden and the footage did look great in both IR and Full colour mode so I suppose I'm just overthinking. In my defense I do want it to be perfect as I'm looking for a setup that I'd be happy to have for many years.

I am impressed with what I've seen from the Dahua 5442 and the Empiretech Color4kt that is recommended a lot in this forum. If I can get equal or similar quality from hikvision I'd definitely lean towards hikvision because I'm in the UK and most of the CCTV 'experts' close to me have more experience with hikvision and uniview.

None of the other companies have released hybrid light models yet and that function does mean a lot to me as the cameras would be for a residential property in an urban area so I wouldn't want to attract too much attention with white LEDs.

I'm hoping Hikvision release an updated version of the hybrid models with a 1/1.2" sensor soon, that would pretty much address all of my concerns and I'd be happy to finally jump in.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Yes, currently the 1/1.2CMOS is the killer on the low light full color camera, price is a little higher than the 1/1.8cmos but worth to try.

This is the IPC-Color4K-T pics, camera nearby the street light even not turn up.

 

[bigredfish]

I would caution the OP to look at footage with moving targets, in similarly lit scenes at similar distances, in comparing cameras.. it’s far too easy to make a static image look great.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Yes for sure the full color camera still need led illumination if at low light place, @Wildcat_1 has some compare video at different settings based on the light change.

(53) Dahua 4K Full Color Security Camera Review - DH IPC HDW5849H ASE LED / IPC Color4K T - Night Test - YouTube

 

[Wildcat_1]

Yes for sure the full color camera still need led illumination if at low light place, @Wildcat_1 has some compare video at different settings based on the light change.

(53) Dahua 4K Full Color Security Camera Review - DH IPC HDW5849H ASE LED / IPC Color4K T - Night Test - YouTube

Yes, as I've mentioned and demonstrated many times, if you want the full color to be the best it can be, definitely add light, especially for those targets on the edge of your capture zones. You'll find otherwise that details get mushy. With that said, as I've shown, even small amounts of additional light can make a HUGE difference

 

[1fxman]

Agree with @wittaj above, but in the right scene, the 4MP 3.6mm 5442 turret can work pretty well with a good motion light of say 3500 lumens+ at out to say 15-20ft in old school Auto Day/Night mode (This cam is running 0-5 exposure)

NO TEMPORARY WASHOUT

View attachment 175510 View attachment 175511

View attachment 175509

Nice setup

 

[OfficerD00fy]

It's been nearly a month since I made the original post and I still haven't decided on the final configuration .

I was about to jump into buying multiple 2387G2H for my setup but I realised that it uses a 1/1.8" sensor instead of the 1/1.2" that the non hybrid G2 used. I'm still trying to figure out what I care about more out of hybrid light and sensor size.

Someone in the forum did send footage from the G2H in their back garden and the footage did look great in both IR and Full colour mode so I suppose I'm just overthinking. In my defense I do want it to be perfect as I'm looking for a setup that I'd be happy to have for many years.

I am impressed with what I've seen from the Dahua 5442 and the Empiretech Color4kt that is recommended a lot in this forum. If I can get equal or similar quality from hikvision I'd definitely lean towards hikvision because I'm in the UK and most of the CCTV 'experts' close to me have more experience with hikvision and uniview.

None of the other companies have released hybrid light models yet and that function does mean a lot to me as the cameras would be for a residential property in an urban area so I wouldn't want to attract too much attention with white LEDs.

I'm hoping Hikvision release an updated version of the hybrid models with a 1/1.2" sensor soon, that would pretty much address all of my concerns and I'd be happy to finally jump in.

I was actually in the same boat. 2387G2 is bettter than 2387G2H IMO given sensor size.

 

[abefroman]

I really hope they release a Hybrid Colorvu turret with the 1/1.2" sensor that the non hybrid model has.