Comparing real pro cameras to home grade. More than resolution specs.

I should clarify that the PTZ employed in the prev example would be positioned at the rough center point of the fence so the furthest shot would be about 250ft. I planned to have additional cams backing that up as overview/spotter cams.
 
wittaj said:
Here is what the "manual" says about it (with no number provided):

View attachment 206385

And here is what pops up on some cameras when it happens:

View attachment 206391


My understanding from folks that had that pop up is that it was autotracking that was disabled, but they could manually move the PTZ.

Someone here claims they hacked the firmware to remove the disabling of the PTZ, but despite repeated attempts asking to share or show how to do it, they refused to do so.
Click to expand...
They delete this warnning on new PTZs and i see the latest new firmware will not show this warnning anymore.
 
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It would still be great for life cycle predictions to actually know how many "miles" these are good for, and a counter on how many you got! Now, being an automation guy, I could understand this being a pretty open question as things like being in the desert could be quite different than some other locations. Maybe they trip out in high heat or cold?
 
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fastline12 said:
It would still be great for life cycle predictions to actually know how many "miles" these are good for, and a counter on how many you got! Now, being an automation guy, I could understand this being a pretty open question as things like being in the desert could be quite different than some other locations. Maybe they trip out in high heat or cold?
Click to expand...

Yeah, so many variables would come into play. That is why I equated it to a timing belt on a car. They tell you to replace it every X-thousand miles. But some break before that and others go twice the recommended amount.

The way I look at it is if the camera is bought thru authorized Dahua Distributors, it has a 5-year warranty, so one would hope you are getting at least 5 years out of the camera.

But as I said before, one has to be careful with paralysis by analysis LOL. Where do you stop - how many hours are the infrareds rated for as an example LOL.

At some point you have to accept enough research has been done and buy one LOL!
 
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wittaj said:
Yeah, so many variables would come into play. That is why I equated it to a timing belt on a car. They tell you to replace it every X-thousand miles. But some break before that and others go twice the recommended amount.

The way I look at it is if the camera is bought thru authorized Dahua Distributors, it has a 5-year warranty, so one would hope you are getting at least 5 years out of the camera.

But as I said before, one has to be careful with paralysis by analysis LOL. Where do you stop - how many hours are the infrareds rated for as an example LOL.

At some point you have to accept enough research has been done and buy one LOL!
Click to expand...
I agree but as I struggle to get up to speed as fast as I can, you gave some critical advice regarding constant patrol routines. Making me wonder what else I don't know.

I do have a very rookie question on IP cams in general. Does the camera constantly send video back to the NVR regardless of any triggered events? In my head, I am thinking of this like sort of a "sleep mode" where a camera could be active in the software and doing it's thing, but just no point in dumping countless boring hours of video to an NVR. I guess at least in MY head. Could something get missed? Oh, probably, but quite literally we will have thousands of hours looking at a boring open field of nothing.
 
fastline12 said:
I agree but as I struggle to get up to speed as fast as I can, you gave some critical advice regarding constant patrol routines. Making me wonder what else I don't know.

I do have a very rookie question on IP cams in general. Does the camera constantly send video back to the NVR regardless of any triggered events? In my head, I am thinking of this like sort of a "sleep mode" where a camera could be active in the software and doing it's thing, but just no point in dumping countless boring hours of video to an NVR. I guess at least in MY head. Could something get missed? Oh, probably, but quite literally we will have thousands of hours looking at a boring open field of nothing.
Click to expand...

You can set your VMS system to record 24/7, only record on AI triggers, only record on motion, lots of options.

Most here would suggest 24/7 recording because as good as the AI is, it does sometimes miss.

These are some great threads if you haven't seen them:

samplenhold

Thread 'Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)'

So a guy came to the door yesterday, and while my wife did not open the door, it kind of spooked her out. She said he seem suspicious saying he found a driver's license on the lawn and wanted to know if it belonged to her. So when I got back from the range, I checked out the cams. This is one reason that continuously recording video, not just when triggered, is important. It helped us to understand the situation.

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samplenhold

Thread 'Why I Like Redundant Views/Multiple Cam Views'

A lot of newbies ask for help with their camera setups and most think that they can get by with a single cam to cover quite a bit of area. While that is possible if all you are interested in is a wide-angle overview, it usually will not give you a great chance of getting a face shot good enough for police to act upon. There are numerous threads here where people have an incident but their cams did not capture good enough footage to give to the police to get an arrest. They then ask what they should have done to get a better shot. Usually the answer is more cams, closer FOV, and more light...
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Good stuff! Curious, since you are good with all these thread linkies, I am wondering if there is anything out there on real work done AT NIGHT with a PTZ? You go look on YT and it's nothing but YT fairies with perfecting lighting. Haven't seen one real event at night. I have concerns that zoom coupled with night time will equal very poor lighting in images. Just my experience with even pro level rifle optics, and as you point out. As that zoom rolls in, that light goes away.
 
Yeah the YouTube stuff is always with perfect conditions LOL.

Here was a snapshot I got of some mailbox checkers with my PTZ. 110 feet away. PTZ forced in color. Just coach lights on house:

1730775804367.png


Here was one from @tech101







Here are some video reviews by a well respected member here @Wildcat_1 and you can see his testing and setups for many cameras

www.youtube.com

Wildcat

Your home for SecTech reviews, unboxing, tips & tricks, configuration assistance
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com


Here is a video of 2MP PTZ from 4 years ago and they have only got better:




And that $2K bad boy posted by others here!



P

Thread 'SD8C845FG-HNF 8MP 45x 1/1.2'' CMOS Dual Light Fusion Electronic Defog Network PTZ Camera'

Was thinking about this new PTZ for covering front street.

IR range is limited around 250 meters but I think I’m good. Street is max 300 feet distance.

What I find odd is the white light illuminator. Wouldnt it shine down like a spotlight ? Not sure I would like that but maybe. Maybe there is a way to use it only when tracking. That might be interesting.

I do like the 1/1.2” sensor on 8MP.

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Here is a great thread that will show you what you are getting into - PTZs are not plug-n-play and takes a lot of trial and error iterations to get it to track properly for your field of view and lighting. But this shows what is capable at 600 and 300 feet.

Captain_B

Thread 'SD6AL433XA-HNR Laser PTZ Tracking Issue'

Does anyone have an idea as to what my tracking issues are, the video shows the person being captured using Deep IVS Tripwire but the PTZ then loses the target and begins searching for it and then getting lost before returning to the Preset. Also, the max tracking time I can get is 15 seconds, anyone know of a solution for that? I'm using the Dahua NVR5216-16P-I AI NVR. Thank you for your help.
View attachment PTZ Issue #1.mp4
 
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Ive gotta organize my captures. I cant find shit when I'm looking for it!
 
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fastline12 said:
I am wondering if there is anything out there on real work done AT NIGHT with a PTZ? You go look on YT and it's nothing but YT fairies with perfecting lighting. Haven't seen one real event at night. I have concerns that zoom coupled with night time will equal very poor lighting in images. Just my experience with even pro level rifle optics, and as you point out. As that zoom rolls in, that light goes away.
Click to expand...
This is a Dahua (SD5A425XA-HNR) PTZ (5.4 - 135 mm) with IR lighting off. The B/W IR is coming from a LPR camera. Local sunrise is at 9:29 AM. Street lighting with some IR for illumination.

Video directly from BI export with a file size of 194 megs reduced for IPC to 9 megs.


View attachment PTZ_Tracking_1.mp4
 
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And Last, comedy Gold.

First one is really bad video but ...




 
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We actually nabbed him a few months later breaking into and trying to steal a car. Took 6 months and one day I get a call from an Orange County Detective I had given video to saying they got him and 2 buddies and he was going to spend some time in the pokey ;)
 
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bigredfish said:
And Last, comedy Gold.

First one is really bad video but ...




Click to expand...

Like wow, I have so many questions! First of all, I don't to be where you are! OMG! You can literally read those criminal minds! I notice your PTZ takes off at an exact point. Is that a trip wire event? What distances? I also notice them ALL look at your cam. Do you have lights on? It seems massively effective! Criminals don't like to be tracked.

I mean seeing real user footage coupled with conditions, distance, etc, is so helpful!
 
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