Confusion around Day/Night switch utility and newer Dahua cameras

[WallaWalla]

Hey everyone,

I've been doing a lot of reading on this forum both old and newer threads and just when I think I've got it I get confused again.

Short version:

I have the new Dahua cameras but am confused about the best way to switch between day and night profiles. Should I

1. Use the Day/Night Switch setting in the camera interface itself?
2. Use the Day/Night utility that is often discussed on this forum (seems like it may not even work for the newer cameras based on other threads?)
3. Invoke the camera's API directly (triggered from some other automation) to switch profiles
4. Some other option I am not aware of yet?

Long version:

I've read a lot about this Day/Night switch utility, but then I read it doesn't work on newer cameras. Then I read that now the cameras switch between Day/Night like you would expect but not sure if this is what everyone is doing now or if its still not as good as switching profiles at sunrise/sunset. Then I came across multiple threads where people are invoking the camera's API directly (triggered from some other automation). Just not really sure what the best approach from here is.

I am pretty new to this whole thing so all my Dahua cameras are new (purchased this year) and are on the latest firmware, Web 5.0, etc. etc.

Here are the current camera models I have:

• IPC-Color4K-T180
• IPC-T58IR-ZE-S3
• IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3
• IPC-T54IR-AS-S3

Now that I have everything installed I've been really working to dial in the settings for both day and night profiles. Currently I have every camera configured with "Customized Scene" where I have a different schedule set up for each month that switches between Day and Night profiles based on the sunrise/sunset times for the middle of the month based on my location.

While this works okay it's not precise enough for me and am starting to run in to issues (beginning and end of the month) where its not switching profiles close enough to the actual sunset/sunrise time.
What is the best practice now for these new cameras to most accurately switch profiles based on lighting and/or sunrise/sunset times?

As always appreciate everyone's help and the wealth of information on this forum!

 

[looney2ns]

On the S3 cams you can simply use the day/night switch settings in the camera. They work as they are supposed to now.
Meaning, the camera will determine based on the outdoor light to change from day to night and vice versa.

 

[WallaWalla]

Awesome, thanks! I tried this out on one of my cameras last night and it seemed to bounce back and forth at dusk, not sure if there is a way to configure/adjust that at all.

For my IPC-Color4K-T180 I noticed this same day/night switch setting is not available. What is my best bet for this camera? API call? Modify the day/night utility to work with the newer camera/API?

 

[wittaj]

Are you using default/auto settings for things like shutter? Once you speed up the shutter to eliminate motion blur, the bouncing around tends to stop.

Otherwise it can bounce around as the sensor changes based on the light conditions.

 

[WallaWalla]

I am using manual for both, these are the current settings for the camera that was bouncing back and forth:


Although, maybe it was just bouncing back and forth between color and B&W, not sure if you can tell whether its switching profiles or just between color and B&W. But either way would be ideal to not bounce back and forth.

 

[wittaj]

Force day in color and night in B/W instead of auto.