Best IP-camera, budget 200 USD? Dahua?

[stefaneriksson11]

Hello!

I am new at this forum, would like to start with saying Hello to everyone!
I am looking for the best Low light IP-camera on the market with a budget of USD200/pcs.

What should i buy?

I found this one: IPC-HDW5231R-ZE



Thank you.
All the best from Denmark
Stefan Eriksson

 

[bigredfish]

Yep!

 

[stefaneriksson11]

Yep!

Yep as in this is the best one?

Thanks

 

[SouthernYankee]

Good choice on the camera .



My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the cliff notes and other items in the wiki. The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) | IP Cam Talk in the wiki also.

Quick start
1) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras or ICPT Night eye cameras (https://store.ipcamtalk.com/) if you need good low light cameras.
2) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
3) Do not use wifi cameras.
4) Do not use cloud storage
5) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
6) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
7) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
8) Do not use reolink, ring, nest cameras (they are junk)
9) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
10) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
11) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

 

[aristobrat]

Yep as in this is the best one?

For most situations, I think it is too.

It’s a turret, which for most folks is the best style — doesn’t have the potential issue with IR glare that dimes have, and it can be a little more difficult for spiders to spin webs across as compared to a billet.

It has a microphone. If sound isn’t important to you, there is a 2231 model that’s about US $50 less expensive.

It’s varifocal, which means you can zoom the lens in when you install it to get the best image width.

And it’s also from their Starlight line, which means it will do about as well as possible (for this price range) when it comes to low-light image quality.

 

[stefaneriksson11]

Here in this demo: It dont look that good, are we sure there is not a better alternative out there on the market? =)


Thank you all!

 

[SouthernYankee]

You need to change the mounting location on the camera.
You need to work on the lighting for the camera, reflections, or the dirt on the camera

 

[aristobrat]

Here in this demo: It dont look that good, are we sure there is not a better alternative out there on the market? =)

This camera uses the larger 2MP 1/2.8” back-illuminated image sensor from Sony, designed for low-light situations.

There are sensors that do better in low-light... Sony makes an even bigger 2MP 1/1.8” sensor used in more expensive cameras ($300+).

If you want to search for a alternative that does better, have at it. There are literally hundreds of forum members here on the same hunt... maybe you’ll find something that’s been overlooked by the enthusiasts here.

I didn’t watch all of that demo, but from what I saw, if the purpose of that camera was to protect the cars, then it needed to be zoomed in a lot more on the cars. More zoom increases the PPF, which increases the distance from the camera that a person can be identified.

If you’re interested in any of the background info, read the Cliff Notes document, preferably from a computer.

You should also watch demo videos from cameras with smaller image sensors/higher MP in low-light. The 5231 (or any model using the same sensor) isn’t magic. It’s not going to give perfect low-light image quality in all conditions. But it’s almost guaranteed to give you the best low-light image quality possible. In that demo video, swap in a typical camera with a 5MP 1/3” sensor (smaller) and it’d look a whole lot worse than what you saw with the 5231.

As you compare cameras, remember to compare videos and not still images. Even the crappiest camera can take a brilliant low-light still image... the trick is to simply slow down the shutter speed, which allows more light in. Problem is that when it comes to motion, slow shutter speeds cause significant blur. Few cameras can do low-light motion without blur. Even the 5231 will blur motio. in certain conditions, it just usually blurs the least.

 

[bigredfish]

You'll have to post settings to troubleshoot. Bitrate? Iframe? etc... Looks like a dirty lens or a reflection from something. They're much better than that.

Dont use WDR in B&W at night.

 

[fenderman]

Here in this demo: It dont look that good, are we sure there is not a better alternative out there on the market? =)


Thank you all!

Lots of better alternatives. How much money you got? 200 wont cut it.
it dont look that good because its improperly installed and improperly setup. The cameras are not magical. Why you picked a terrible example rather than view the great videos others have posted here is beyond me.

 

[stefaneriksson11]

Thank you very much guys!

I am trying to search for another demo videos, hope i will find anything. If you guys have anything, please post link.

I am happy to get advices on 300USD cameras also, that are better than HDW5231R ZE in low light

 

[aristobrat]

Older 5231 model. This review started the Dahua Starlight craze here.
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

Current 5231 model. Same lens/image sensor, updated to support ePoE.
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

Cheaper model, 2231. No microphone and a few other changes that most folks don’t notice.
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

As for the more expensive models that use the bigger 2MP sensors, I haven’t seen a lot of talk about them.
Dahua Ultra Starlight Varifocal Bullet (IPC-HFW8232E-Z)

 

[stefaneriksson11]

Wow thank you aristobrat!
I will look thru all the thread.

Do you guys know if its possible to see more posts per page in a thread? Right now I only see 32 posts per page, total over 600 posts.