Comparing HFW4431M and HFW4431K bullet cams

tigerwillow1

Known around here
Joined
Jul 18, 2016
Messages
3,815
Reaction score
8,424
Location
USA, Oregon
Perhaps the biggest thing I learned is that it's difficult if not impossible to get correct specs for the Chinese market cameras. Probably not an issue if you can read Chinese. The specs on the ebay and aliExpress pages are overall approximate at best, often for a different camera than the one you're looking at. I bought a HFW4431M-I2 and a HFW4431K-AS-I6, fully expecting them to be the same except for the 4431K having more LEDs. Turns out the 4431K has a larger case as shown in the pictures at the bottom.

I'm still assuming both models have the same sensor and optics, and should have equal quality images. They have the same firmware and version loaded. Comparing side-by-side, the 4431K's image is a bit sharper, but a sample of one each doesn't prove anything. The other surprise is that when the 4431K's LEDs fire up, it triggers an overload and port shutdown on my switch. (All the specs I looked at say 6 watts or less maximum). The only way around this is to shut off SmartIR and set a manual IR level of 75% or less, which you have to do when the camera starts up in day mode. I actually solved it a different way, disabling 2 of the LEDs, making it a 4431K-AS-I4. In this configuration, the maximum power consumption is about 12.5 watts.

In summary, unless you really need the additional LEDs or prefer a larger case, stick with the 4431M. If you're powering the camera with a non-plus POE switch, stay away from the I6 model. (There's also an I4, not as readily available).

The camera modules themselves have similar but different markings: One reads 16 06 25 072AN6, and the other 16 07 13 072AN5. Does anybody know how to decode this to determine if they are the same image sensor or not?

P1070608.JPGP1070609.JPGP1070610.JPG
 
Top