Dahua Bullet (IPC-HFW4431R-Z) First Thoughts

[c hris527]

I happen to see this camera on ALI express. The seller pumped up how good the camera is but when you scrolled down their was a caveat about the IR issue with this camera. Even they know they are selling cameras with Issues. Here it is.


The takeaway is this. Thank you for buying our product but it does not work as advertised so if you buy it expect issues, we told you so.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I happen to see this camera on ALI express. The seller pumped up how good the camera is but when you scrolled down their was a caveat about the IR issue with this camera. Even they know they are selling cameras with Issues. Here it is.
View attachment 14081

The takeaway is this. Thank you for buying our product but it does not work as advertised so if you buy it expect issues, we told you so.

hahahahaha, that's sad.

 

[nayr]

I should have a IPC-HFW5431E-Z in my hands this week for review; thanks to @EMPIRETECANDY

Ive been harsh on the 4MP China Dahua's ive got, I cant wait to get them off my network.. this camera here seems like much of the same story..

However I'll reserve my judgement on this one til I see how it performs, its got same great optics as the starlight so it could surprise me... at least It'll have varifocal, auto-iris, working DST and an extra alarm input and is not a crap china model.. if your wanting a 4K/UHD camera for indoor use or LPR it might be a suitable candidate.. I wont be surprised when the Starlight mops the floor with it at night though.

The 5421E 4MP Box-Bullet in my LPR camera I am happy with, though it could use nicer optics.

 

[c hris527]

I should have a IPC-HFW5431E-Z in my hands this week for review; thanks to @EMPIRETECANDY

Ive been harsh on the 4MP China Dahua's ive got, I cant wait to get them off my network.. this camera here seems like much of the same story..

However I'll reserve my judgement on this one til I see how it performs, its got same great optics as the starlight so it could surprise me... at least It'll have varifocal, auto-iris, working DST and an extra alarm input and is not a crap china model.. if your wanting a 4K/UHD camera for indoor use or LPR it might be a suitable candidate.. I wont be surprised when the Starlight mops the floor with it at night though.

The 5421E 4MP Box-Bullet in my LPR camera I am happy with, though it could use nicer optics.

Yea he offered that to me also as a alternative, good luck

 

[hmjgriffon]

I should have a IPC-HFW5431E-Z in my hands this week for review; thanks to @EMPIRETECANDY

Ive been harsh on the 4MP China Dahua's ive got, I cant wait to get them off my network.. this camera here seems like much of the same story..

However I'll reserve my judgement on this one til I see how it performs, its got same great optics as the starlight so it could surprise me... at least It'll have varifocal, auto-iris, working DST and an extra alarm input and is not a crap china model.. if your wanting a 4K/UHD camera for indoor use or LPR it might be a suitable candidate.. I wont be surprised when the Starlight mops the floor with it at night though.

The 5421E 4MP Box-Bullet in my LPR camera I am happy with, though it could use nicer optics.

The website says the sensor is 1/3"?

 

[nayr]

That is correct.. all the 4MP ive seen are 1/3" sensors.

 

[hmjgriffon]

That is correct.. all the 4MP ive seen are 1/3" sensors.

the lux number didn't seem as good either, but you said it had the same great optics as the starlight, so I was wondering.

 

[nayr]

It's got F1.4 instead of F2.0, you can use 1/2.8" Optics on smaller sensors, such as 1/3".. considering the only variation seems to be the image sensor its safe to assume its got the same lenses between them.

I dont expect it to be a low light killer; Im being given it as a demo/sample and its a bit more of a fairer comparison between this and the starlight since the 4MP cameras I reviewed it against were cheap-o china fixed lens models.. I'm going to keep it around to compare/review against and likely run it in the garage.

Inside retail stores where a large varifocal turret is desirable and lighting conditions are very good the 4MP Lineup may be preferred to the Starlights.

4MP Cameras are still good for LPR use, the smaller sensor lets you eek a lil more zoom out.. and its not really a low light situation, starlights wont like headlamps and from my testing had to be ran at very high shutter speeds with very low gain to get the plate readable.. which sounds great but I can see potential issues, such as dirty/damaged plates falling out of view sooner.

 

[hmjgriffon]

It's got F1.4 instead of F2.0, you can use 1/2.8" Optics on smaller sensors, such as 1/3".. considering the only variation seems to be the image sensor its safe to assume its got the same lenses between them.

I dont expect it to be a low light killer; Im being given it as a demo/sample and its a bit more of a fairer comparison between this and the starlight since the 4MP cameras I reviewed it against were cheap-o china fixed lens models.. I'm going to keep it around to compare/review against and likely run it in the garage.

Inside retail stores where a large varifocal turret is desirable and lighting conditions are very good the 4MP Lineup may be preferred to the Starlights.

4MP Cameras are still good for LPR use, the smaller sensor lets you eek a lil more zoom out.. and its not really a low light situation, starlights wont like headlamps and from my testing had to be ran at very high shutter speeds with very low gain to get the plate readable.. which sounds great but I can see potential issues, such as dirty/damaged plates falling out of view sooner.

so much to learn, I will be interested to see the comparison, a 4mp starlight would be super killer but probably cost an arm and a leg lol.

 

[nayr]

they have 3MP Starlights but I dont like 4:3 usually.. I doubt much effort will spent on low light 4MP sensors at this point, a big sensor 8-12MP performs as well or better and those will get the most attention in coming generations.. unfortunately the big sensor sizes just make the cameras expensive due to the bigger optics.

I'd like to get my hands on the 6MP IMX178 Dahua, but I really dont know what I'd do with it

 

[looney2ns]

I'd like to get my hands on the 6MP IMX178 Dahua, but I really dont know what I'd do with it

Wait, so you mean we are supposed to know what we are going to do with a new camera before purchase?
I'm doing it wrong.

 

[hmjgriffon]

Wait, so you mean we are supposed to know what we are going to do with a new camera before purchase?
I'm doing it wrong.

I know right, I bought the ptz without even knowing where I'd put it haha

 

[Vitor Alvim Barroso]

I bought 2 of these model. I couldn´t put it to work with the Super Mini NVR from AliExpress.
4/8 Channel Super Mini NVR CCTV IP Camera Network Video Recorder Surveillance 4Ch 8Ch NVR 1080P/960P/720P Cloud P2P ONVIF E SATA-in Surveillance Video Recorder from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I am using Onvif.
I could put a lot of cameras to work with it, including another Dahua (IPC-HFW2325S-W), but this model (IPC-HFW4431R-Z) does not work with the Mini NVR.

 

[framednlv]

I bought 2 of these model. I couldn´t put it to work with the Super Mini NVR from AliExpress.
4/8 Channel Super Mini NVR CCTV IP Camera Network Video Recorder Surveillance 4Ch 8Ch NVR 1080P/960P/720P Cloud P2P ONVIF E SATA-in Surveillance Video Recorder from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I am using Onvif.
I could put a lot of cameras to work with it, including another Dahua (IPC-HFW2325S-W), but this model does not work with the Mini NVR.

The IPC-HFW4431R-Z is a 4mp camera and the NVR you listed is good for 2mp. Try setting the camera to 1920×1080.

 

[Vitor Alvim Barroso]

The IPC-HFW4431R-Z is a 4mp camera and the NVR you listed is good for 2mp. Try setting the camera to 1920×1080.

Hello! After 1 week working HARD, I found the problem!
I had to disable the ONVIF AUTHENTICATION at the Dahua CAM. Then, it works without security!

I don´t know why it happen.
I can use the app TinyCAM Monitor PRO with ONVIF AUTH enabled in the CAM. But when it is enabled, not work with the Super Mini NVR.

 

[modenet]

two questions:
1) I'm afraid: after few days of use I keep having tens of reset (I receive email from my nvr).
I'm using this cam at max resolution, h264h, wdr on and motion dection active.
can be too much for the low resources of this cam?
or can be an hardware issue?

2) I would use tinycam pro to access my IPC-HFW4431R-Z . I had to choose HFW2329R-ZS profile (the similar HFW model with zoom); I tried http mode in lan but I can't see any images; the only way so see images was to choose RTSP over TCP or UDP.
has anyone the same problem? can you connect via http mode using tinycam?

 

[looney2ns]

1) this could be a bad cable problem.

2) As long as it works with RTSP, why worry about it. I use RTSP with all my cams and Tinycam.

 

[modenet]

1) previous there was another poe ip cam, without problems for 1 year.
2) is secure to use rtsp with authentication from internet (i prefer to do without vpn)?