Dahua 8MP IPC-HFW1831E vs 8MP IPC-T2385G-I (OEM HK Darkfighter)

[Wolf4Ever]

After the recent guy checking cars I wanted something better if available so I tried the new IPC-T2385G-I from Andy and they will most likely be replacing my current IPC-HFW1831E. I got 4mm instead of 2.8mm to get a somewhat better view and more light over less area.
So far so good better color and minimal motion blur if any at 1/30 haven't tried 1/60 yet as it get darker, but not to bad still usable. I will try to stay at 1/30 first and less gain/ sharpening to get a little less noise though still not too bad now.
I need to redo the mount and may try to put closed to the glass to have less glare and a better picture depending on the view since not 2.8mm or may stay angled I don't know yet.

 

[mech]

I bought the same cam from Andy in the 2.8mm lens. It arrived today and I just played around with it a few minutes ago. What I found odd, is that there is NO automatic shutter option, unless I"m missing something. It's the first network cam I've owned that had no AUTO option.

Mine is intended to go at the bottom of our apartment stairways, about a 30-foot gap where anyone going up either stairway (or down to the bottom apartment doors) would have to go by. Car prowlers have a decent chance of going by it as well, and it's very close to the mailboxes in case someone tampers with them. Currently I've got a 2MP Dahua Starlight scoped out to 2.8mm, so this 2.8mm Hikvision will have about the same view, but at double the pixel density. This is where mine's going:



(the current 2MP Dahua 2231 Starlight at 2.8mm. the 8MP Hik is going in here)

Initial finding is that in low light, it actually takes a back seat to my shed camera, a dialed-in 4MP Dahua 5442 full-color, at similar-ish settings (fairly fast shutter to prevent blur, low noise reduction to improve detail). I expect it to at least equal the 2MP Starlight 2231 at night and totally dominate in daytime. I'll keep playing with it and try to find the sweet spot.

edit: attached a couple initial samples from my 2.8mm, one out at mid-lot range and one at front-row range, with me at a walking pace. This is significantly better than my first try. Settings as follows:

Exposure at 1/200th-second, Gain at 75
Noise Reduction set to Expert, with Space and Time noise reduction at 20
Brightness dialed down to 40
Backlight compensation OFF (first I tried using HLC, but in this scene, OFF seems best for details like ear shape and face detail)

 

[MakeItRain]

Finally, a 8MP in Turret form that is 1/2" . Still not the 1/1.8" but getting closer.

 

[Wolf4Ever]

@mech, No it does not I was wondering the same thing but so far no issues and it much better to me at 1/30 and gain around 60 less noise and more evenly balanced image. Still playing with it though.
Per the manual:
Exposure Settings
If the camera is equipped with the fixed lens, only Manual is selectable, and the
iris mode is not configurable.
If Auto is selected, you can set the auto iris level from 0 to 100

I don't mind it to much so far as i haven't had any issues as I did with the HFW1831E in which in auto I thought and doing a percentage it was fine at night but then would be to low and white and o picture during the day.
Maybe I did something wrong but never had any luck with it. So for no issues and even stock there is better color and it gets more light even at a smaller sensor. So I guess its the lens and firmware making the difference I don't know.
I may to 1/60 later but then I'm sure it will be a t full gain and more noisy. Also I noticed lights don't bother it as much as they did the HFW1831E.

"Exposure at 1/200th-second, Gain at 75", That's nice I couldn't go near that with my lighting, but even at 1/30 there is little to no motion blur and farther out I can't really identify anything but still has proper color and no blur/ghosting.
Yours looks pretty good to me, mines good for detail around 20" or so at night so far, but still learning and playing with settings.
My issue is mainly it's just to much to cover with one camera but is a great over view. So, I may get another later in 6mm and have one for the front and one for the back, but for now and where I park it should be ok at night. Day is fine.

 

[mech]

@Wolf4Ever what's your recording setup? Do you have the cams record to SD cards, or BlueIris, or an NVR or NAS?

 

[Wolf4Ever]

@mech I have a NVR "5216-16P-4KS2E" I have messed with Blue Iris in the past and do like it, but with the driver/windows issues and having to have a spare PC, I decided to use an NVR this time.
Also, with a NVR as it dosn't draw much power I have around 2 hours uptime if the power goes out with my ups as apposed to 10-20 mins without a big ups or generator. I may add more batteries later if I see a need to run longer.
I don't use or mess much with the IVS except if someone was to open or go though my front door, I have it take a snapshot and rec 10 sec so I can see it on the timeline.
So, I do like the NVR if I wanted to use IVS without 3rd party software or plugins or that I have 3 different zones for motion depending on the priority.
I know you could just use SmartPSS or iVMS-4200 on a computer like Blue Iris but I haven't tried it, just use it to connect to the NVR.

Its just thrown in my closet. Eventually I want a safe with ventilation or a networking cage to keep it as safe as I can but for now it will have to do.