Hi all, I joined this site when I began to install cameras for the first time on my house last week.
I purchased two HDBW4431R-ZS on Amazon and mounted them horizontally under the eaves. One on each corner looking down the driveway and angled slightly so as to keep an eye on the other camera. The cameras ship with the lens zero'd so that it's pointing out the top/center of the glass. In order to get the angle I needed I had to tilt/twist it slowly on all three axis including a twist of the lens housing to position the IR underneath the lens.
The first camera is crystal clear with no issues both day and night. The second one exhibited some discoloration and eventually began bouncing or flickering (sorry if there is a more proper term for this). Sometimes it would flicker and turn green or purple with just a slight outline of whatever was moving in the frame. Since these were from Amazon, I promptly ordered a third and returned the second cam. I configured the third (leaving it in the zero'd position) and then carefully positioned the camera upon installation. Immediately, the image began to flicker and freeze, even losing the feed altogether. Using TinyCam Pro while installing and adjusting it, I noticed that during problems with the video image only the FPS dipped to '0' while the stream maintained roughly 300-600Kbps. Wiggling the wires on the back of the lens would sometimes improve things briefly.
I'm perplexed whether I'm causing the wires to become pinched while tilting/twisting the lens into position or if this perhaps just bad luck on these two cameras. I've ordered a fourth and if still problematic I'll be returning them all and coming back here for suggested alternatives, I guess.
Much thanks!
P.S. I took both cameras back to the POE switch and tried different cables/switch ports to rule out the other components. The image issues are visible through web GUI, ISPY and with TinyCam.
I purchased two HDBW4431R-ZS on Amazon and mounted them horizontally under the eaves. One on each corner looking down the driveway and angled slightly so as to keep an eye on the other camera. The cameras ship with the lens zero'd so that it's pointing out the top/center of the glass. In order to get the angle I needed I had to tilt/twist it slowly on all three axis including a twist of the lens housing to position the IR underneath the lens.
The first camera is crystal clear with no issues both day and night. The second one exhibited some discoloration and eventually began bouncing or flickering (sorry if there is a more proper term for this). Sometimes it would flicker and turn green or purple with just a slight outline of whatever was moving in the frame. Since these were from Amazon, I promptly ordered a third and returned the second cam. I configured the third (leaving it in the zero'd position) and then carefully positioned the camera upon installation. Immediately, the image began to flicker and freeze, even losing the feed altogether. Using TinyCam Pro while installing and adjusting it, I noticed that during problems with the video image only the FPS dipped to '0' while the stream maintained roughly 300-600Kbps. Wiggling the wires on the back of the lens would sometimes improve things briefly.
I'm perplexed whether I'm causing the wires to become pinched while tilting/twisting the lens into position or if this perhaps just bad luck on these two cameras. I've ordered a fourth and if still problematic I'll be returning them all and coming back here for suggested alternatives, I guess.
Much thanks!
P.S. I took both cameras back to the POE switch and tried different cables/switch ports to rule out the other components. The image issues are visible through web GUI, ISPY and with TinyCam.
. I still see merit in posting my experience with the international/Chinese Dahua domes -if for no other reason than to underscore the point that you make -that the "savings" probably comes at a steep cost. And I'm curious if I just suck at installing or if these little domes are really that delicate...
