Best starlight cam for the price

M

MakeItRain

Pulling my weight
Aug 7, 2017
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Too much info on here now.

I know the 5231R was the king for a while but what has come out since? What is the best starlight poe camera (bullet or turret) for your money. Is it worth going to the 4MP or stick with the 2MP?

This will be for a street wide view with good lighting on one end, and okay lighting on the other end. I plan to mount two side by side for wide 180 angle coverage.
 
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MakeItRain said:
Too much info on here now.

I know the 5231R was the king for a while but what has come out since? What is the best starlight poe camera (bullet or turret) for your money. Is it worth going to the 4MP or stick with the 2MP?

This will be for a street wide view with good lighting on one end, and okay lighting on the other end. I plan to mount two side by side for wide 180 angle coverage.
Click to expand...

Hi @MakeItRain

See the recent reviews by members - you can start with the Reviews by @looney2ns

There's now a more affordable varifocal starlight model w/o audio - IPC-HDW22xx
 
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By the way, does anyone know how to read the Dahua's website. It's confusing as heck. Do I look at Dahua International or do I look at Dahua (English) US-North America. The product offerings and model numbers are completely different. Which one is empirecandy based off of?
 
I just bought the IPC-HFW1831E from Andy for $135 and am stunned by this cam even in low light. I have a couple 5231s and this camera holds up pretty good to them.
Seems to eat up more cpu cycles on the BI machine I guess due to being 8MP. There are a couple excellent reviews of it on here. I am somewhat surprised there hasn't been more discussion. Still won't beat the 2MP like the 5231 and it's little brothers but amazing pic. Might want to check it out.
 
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NoloC said:
I just bought the IPC-HFW1831E from Andy for $135 and am stunned by this cam even in low light. I have a couple 5231s and this camera holds up pretty good to them.
Seems to eat up more cpu cycles on the BI machine I guess due to being 8MP. There are a couple excellent reviews of it on here. I am somewhat surprised there hasn't been more discussion. Still won't beat the 2MP like the 5231 and it's little brothers but amazing pic. Might want to check it out.
Click to expand...
There are several threads discussing the 1831 in detail with images and video. If going with that type of camera I would spend a bit more and get the 2831, which adds SD card slot and motorized varifocal.
 
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Hi! Thanks for all the suggestions. I spent the whole day reading and yes, concluded that the 1831 bullet is going to be the most suitable for me in terms of price and performance. I’ll be ordering two. I’m currently also looking for another camera to buddy up with a 49225thn which is being zoomed in to capture license plates. I’m thinking just something wall mount like a 5231R or 2231R but the problem is I don’t want to invest so much in brackets and the mounting boxes it needs. This is the reason why I like my bullets as they’re the easiest to mount
 
MakeItRain said:
Hi! Thanks for all the suggestions. I spent the whole day reading and yes, concluded that the 1831 bullet is going to be the most suitable for me in terms of price and performance. I’ll be ordering two. I’m currently also looking for another camera to buddy up with a 49225thn which is being zoomed in to capture license plates. I’m thinking just something wall mount like a 5231R or 2231R but the problem is I don’t want to invest so much in brackets and the mounting boxes it needs. This is the reason why I like my bullets as they’re the easiest to mount
Click to expand...
The bullet is no easier to mount then the Turret and will require a junction box unless you make a hole big enough in the wall for the pigtail. If you're willing to make the hole the turret will not require a junction box either.
 
I haven't seen any difference in mounting bullets vs turrets as @fenderman said. The only thing is turrets have less of a problem with spider webs. But the 1831 actually has an adjustable shield and I chose to pull it all the way back. Not seeing any problems as a result and no webs so far. Turrets also more vandal proof, so plus there.
 
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MakeItRain said:
By the way, does anyone know how to read the Dahua's website. It's confusing as heck. Do I look at Dahua International or do I look at Dahua (English) US-North America. The product offerings and model numbers are completely different. Which one is empirecandy based off of?
Click to expand...

You want the international site, and if trying to read on a mobile device, it truly sucks. use a real computer and monitor.
 
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Okay, planning to order (2) 1831's from Andy this week. I'm still looking for a turret to mount on a pole to complement my existing 49225 PTZ.

By the way, does anyone know if it's possible to set a schedule for preset views? For example, if its 6AM - 6PM, switch to preset 1 view. If it's 6PM to 6AM, switch to preset 2. The reason why I ask is because 99.9% of burglaries happen in the day light, so I want to camera to switch to preset 1 zoom mode to capture plates. Then when darkness falls, zoom all the way out.
 
NoloC said:
I haven't seen any difference in mounting bullets vs turrets as @fenderman said. The only thing is turrets have less of a problem with spider webs. But the 1831 actually has an adjustable shield and I chose to pull it all the way back. Not seeing any problems as a result and no webs so far. Turrets also more vandal proof, so plus there.
Click to expand...

I'm looking for a turret to mount on a pole but it would appear to me that most of the turrets (compared to their bullet siblings) don't do 30 FPS @ 4K.

For example:
IPC-HDW4831-EM 8MP is 15 fps @ 4k.
IPC-HDW5831R-ZE 8MP is 15 fps @ 4k.
 
The Ultra serie can do 25/30 FPS @4K, but no turret, only bullet and dome ... (and aren't ... cheap as other model)
Cheers,
 
Yeah, but the Ultra cost too much. I also noticed that the bullets also have better lux ratings than the turrets. Is it me or does that tells me that the hardware is better in the bullets because they can stuff more hardware in the bullets.

For example, the 1831 fixed 8MP has:
30fps @ 4k
0.003Lux/F1.6( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.08Lux/F1.6( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.6(IR on)

But the 4831 turret 8MP has:
15 fps @ 4k
0.03Lux/F2.5( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.3Lux/F2.5( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F2.5(IR on)

Andy also tells me the 4831 costs more, $20 more.

The 5831 varifocal also not much better:
0.05Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.2Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.4(IR on)


I don't need microSD slots or sound tbh. The problem is if I'm pole mounting, a bullet will definitely look more uglier on a pole than a turret. But then it's hard to pay more for a slightly more inferior turret 4831 than a 1831 bullet.
 
MakeItRain said:
Yeah, but the Ultra cost too much. I also noticed that the bullets also have better lux ratings than the turrets. Is it me or does that tells me that the hardware is better in the bullets because they can stuff more hardware in the bullets.

For example, the 1831 fixed 8MP has:
30fps @ 4k
0.003Lux/F1.6( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.08Lux/F1.6( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.6(IR on)

But the 4831 turret 8MP has:
15 fps @ 4k
0.03Lux/F2.5( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.3Lux/F2.5( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F2.5(IR on)

Andy also tells me the 4831 costs more, $20 more.

The 5831 varifocal also not much better:
0.05Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.2Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.4(IR on)


I don't need microSD slots or sound tbh. The problem is if I'm pole mounting, a bullet will definitely look more uglier on a pole than a turret. But then it's hard to pay more for a slightly more inferior turret 4831 than a 1831 bullet.
Click to expand...
its not bullets vs turrets. Its the sensor used in that particular line.
 
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MakeItRain said:
Yeah, but the Ultra cost too much. I also noticed that the bullets also have better lux ratings than the turrets. Is it me or does that tells me that the hardware is better in the bullets because they can stuff more hardware in the bullets.

For example, the 1831 fixed 8MP has:
30fps @ 4k
0.003Lux/F1.6( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.08Lux/F1.6( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.6(IR on)

But the 4831 turret 8MP has:
15 fps @ 4k
0.03Lux/F2.5( Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.3Lux/F2.5( Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F2.5(IR on)

Andy also tells me the 4831 costs more, $20 more.

The 5831 varifocal also not much better:
0.05Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/3s,30IRE)
0.2Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/30s,30IRE)
0Lux/F1.4(IR on)


I don't need microSD slots or sound tbh. The problem is if I'm pole mounting, a bullet will definitely look more uglier on a pole than a turret. But then it's hard to pay more for a slightly more inferior turret 4831 than a 1831 bullet.
Click to expand...

HI @MakeItRain

Many of the cameras models you will see the same internal electronics in various form factors.

Example:
IPC-HDWnnnn and IPC-HFWnnnn - if the n's are the same, the boards inside the computer case ( camera ) are basically the same.

Sometimes the turret version may have a microphone.

Also note, the 1xxx and 2xxx series of cameras are officially a lower tier than the 4xxx and 5xxx cameras. In the past models there were some significant differences from what I could tell, and there still appear to be some ( example only able to do 2 rtsp streams vs 3 )

With the newer IPC-HFW1831E model the 1xxx tier has become very interesting. Personally I am surprised that Dahua did not also update the 4xxx and 5xxx tier at the same time with the newer larger sensor.
 
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Just ordered (2) HFW-1831E and (1) HDW4831EM-ASE from Empire. Very excited. It will be my first three 4K cameras. I've got 9 cameras around the perimeter of my house, mostly all Amcrests 4MPs but 1 SD-49225 PTZ from Empire. Was very pleased with Empire's prompt service last time, so hence my repeat business.

I'm going to be pole mounting the 4831 on a very long 20 foot vertical rain drain pipe about 3.5" in diameter. I wonder if it will be okay.
 
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Congrats, but don't get to enamored with the "4K" and "MP" BS. The 2MP 5231 and variants are pretty hard to beat. And impossible to beat in low light, period. All the rest of that shit is marketing. But I have to admit that 1831 looks awesome! BTW I run mine at 7 FPS which is fine. Another misconception, IMHO, is these silly frame rates of 25, 30 or even 60. You don't need more than 10 for security cams.
 
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