Best indoor and outdoor cameras from Dahua ?

M

Maanu1141

n3wb
Jul 28, 2025
6
0
Romania
Hello everyone!

I'm looking to upgrade my current Dahua NVR system and would really appreciate your input. I’d like to add an exterior camera to cover the outside of my local market, and also replace the existing camera monitoring the counter with a high-end model. Ideally, the new counter camera should offer crystal clear image ( when i playback the video to still keep the high quality when i zoom in — I need to clearly see the banknotes when they’re counted or handed over by customers )

For the exterior camera, I’m aiming for something reliable and high-quality. If it has built-in lights or features that can help deter thieves or burglars at night (especially near the windows), that would be a huge bonus.

I’ve spoken to a few security camera vendors in my area, but it feels like they’re just trying to push what they have in stock. So I’d much rather hear real recommendations from you guys.

Also, I’d like to install two additional cameras on my house for personal security and to monitor the surroundings when I’m not home. Since the market is located at my house's ground floor, I can connect them directly to the market's NVR also.

My budget is around €150 to €300 per camera if there's something really worth it.

Thanks in advance — I really appreciate your help!
 
You may find these cameras are not that good to read banknotes and cash, especially if fast moving. They are good at captures general identification of a person but unless the banknote is slowly placed in front of the camera and optically takes up most of the field of view, it won't work. Someone here tried to do a similar system to count bags and types of mulch and it just isn't that good. He could make out different types, but barcodes were a no go.

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
 
wittaj said:
You may find these cameras are not that good to read banknotes and cash, especially if fast moving. They are good at captures general identification of a person but unless the banknote is slowly placed in front of the camera and optically takes up most of the field of view, it won't work. Someone here tried to do a similar system to count bags and types of mulch and it just isn't that good. He could make out different types, but barcodes were a no go.

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
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot, man! But honestly, as someone who knows almost nothing about these systems, those two topics actually left me more confused than I was before, lol.

I know there are tons of options out there, but could you recommend a few Dahua models that would be solid choices for my use case—something I can’t really go wrong with?

Just to clarify, we already have a decent camera installed on the ceiling above the counter that lets us distinguish between different banknote types pretty well (I’m not trying to read the barcodes, just to tell if it’s a 5 or 10 euro bill, stuff like that) but would like to upgrade it to something clearer since there are people that are trying to scam saying they handed a 100 euro banknote instead of 50.

However, we don’t have a good outdoor camera yet, and we definitely need one for the front of the market—with some kind of lights and good night visibility. I’m also planning to add two more cameras on the sides of my house, mounted higher up, to cover as much area as possible.

If you could just suggest a few Dahua models that would be reliable for these kinds of needs, that would help a lot. As I mentioned, I’ll be connecting them all to a Dahua NVR and viewing them through the DMSS app.

Forgot to mention, i'm from Europe
 
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These are Dahua OEM cameras as sold by the forum’s favorite seller. EmpireTech.

For outside your shop
empiretech01.com

EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP Smart Dual Light Active Deter

4MP 1/1.8" CMOS Built-in multi-core light, Max. IR distance is 30 m, Max. warm light distance is 30 m Intelligent monitoring: Intrusion, Tripwire Supports max. 512 G Micro SD card Built-in dual Mic Support two-way talk IP67 protection Sound and light alarm (red and blue lights) SMD 4.0
empiretech01.com empiretech01.com

For the POS camera we’d need to know the distance from camera to the point on the counter and how wide of a FOV you want there ideally
 
Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! Unfortunately, it seems that EmpireTech doesn’t ship to Romania. Are there any Dahua equivalents to the models you recommended? I couldn’t find any myself—there are so many options, and I’m worried I might end up ordering something that doesn’t match what you suggested. Only site i can find the EmpireTech brand is Amazon and they have only 2 models that ship to Romania there.
 
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Maanu1141 said:
Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! Unfortunately, it seems that EmpireTech doesn’t ship to Romania. Are there any Dahua equivalents to the models you recommended? I couldn’t find any myself—there are so many options, and I’m worried I might end up ordering something that doesn’t match what you suggested. Only site i can find the EmpireTech brand is Amazon and they have only 2 models that ship to Romania there.
Click to expand...

You must contact Andy by DM (@EMPIRETECANDY)
he ships to all EU...
 
Maanu1141 said:
Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! Unfortunately, it seems that EmpireTech doesn’t ship to Romania. Are there any Dahua equivalents to the models you recommended? I couldn’t find any myself—there are so many options, and I’m worried I might end up ordering something that doesn’t match what you suggested. Only site i can find the EmpireTech brand is Amazon and they have only 2 models that ship to Romania there.
Click to expand...

Those ARE Dahua cameras with a different sticker.

Here's the Dahua Intl official part#
 
bigredfish said:
Those ARE Dahua cameras with a different sticker.

Here's the Dahua Intl official part#
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot ! I guess those would be also good to put them on the lateral of my house for personal security mounted higher ? Or should i stick with this one just for the outside of the market and go with something cheaper on the lateral of the house ?
 
Maanu1141 said:
Thanks a lot ! I guess those would be also good to put them on the lateral of my house for personal security mounted higher ? Or should i stick with this one just for the outside of the market and go with something cheaper on the lateral of the house ?
Click to expand...

you can use them everywhere, except places where you need strong optical zoom (due big distance - like from gate to building).

For good camera with strong telephoto zoom, you need to choose 5442-Z4E (Dahua) / 54IR-Z4E (Andy shop) (2x-6x optical zoom comparing to mobiles).
 
Sorry for the double post, everyone. I got home earlier and took some photos to help you better understand the situation. The ceiling camera inside the market, above the counter, is installed at a height of about 3 meters. The exterior camera at the front of the shop is also positioned at approximately 3 meters. I'm planning to install two additional cameras on the side of the house, and they’ll likely be mounted at a similar height.
Lateral house.jpegFront market.jpegAbove counter.jpeg
All my current Dahua cameras are connected to NVRs, and I monitor them through the DMSS app. My plan is to connect the new cameras to the same existing NVR setup. I've attached some photos so you can get a clearer picture.
 
For POS area, from what I'm reading, most installations use a close-up camera directly over the POS for capture of cash exchange and another overview camera to capture a wide shot of the area. Seems a text invertor can be used as well to get real-time register information and be overlayed onto the camera feed

See the inserter here: CCTV POS Text Inserter CCTV POS Text Inserter, RS-232 to Ethernet Cash Register Data Capture

That's the cheapest inserter I can find, and I don't know how or if it will work with Dahua equipment or if it's available to your country.
 
Ideally, you would want a camera right outside the entrance pointing towards the door from the canopy to capture traffic coming out of the store.

And the cameras viewing the parking, might get better coverage if the views were reversed as in crossing lines of sight
 

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bigredfish said:
Those ARE Dahua cameras with a different sticker.

Here's the Dahua Intl official part#
Click to expand...
i just can t seem to find that 3449 anywhere, i only see 3849 which seems to be identical except it's 4k version ? is this ok for exterior in front of the shop and on the lateral side of the house ?

Dahua Full Color WizSense TiOC IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV-0280B-S4​

Also , would a Dahua IPC-HDW5442TM-ASE-S3 be a better option than that 3849 for the exterior ? If i get a noticeable better video quality i think i can give up that alarm and lightning , i saw this one is really praised along this community .
 
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