Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

So I am looking at replacing all the cameras in our laundromat (8 indoor, 2 outdoor). We're going to pull new cat6 to replace the coax and run BI. I came upon this thread while looking for the best reasonably priced camera. I got through 20 pages of posts, gave up and skipped to the last few pages. I have 2 questions: is the IPC-HDW5231R-Z still the camera to get? and where should I buy them from for use in the US? I see @EMPIRETECANDY mentioned a lot around here. Should I start there?

Yes and yes. Fantastic cameras and empire is great to deal with. Super fast dhl shipping. Can't speak for blue iris, but heard it's great.
 
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So I am looking at replacing all the cameras in our laundromat (8 indoor, 2 outdoor). We're going to pull new cat6 to replace the coax and run BI. I came upon this thread while looking for the best reasonably priced camera. I got through 20 pages of posts, gave up and skipped to the last few pages. I have 2 questions: is the IPC-HDW5231R-Z still the camera to get? and where should I buy them from for use in the US? I see @EMPIRETECANDY mentioned a lot around here. Should I start there?

Well, real men read the whole thread!

Hit the link in my signature for some curated knowledge from this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So I am looking at replacing all the cameras in our laundromat (8 indoor, 2 outdoor). We're going to pull new cat6 to replace the coax and run BI. I came upon this thread while looking for the best reasonably priced camera. I got through 20 pages of posts, gave up and skipped to the last few pages. I have 2 questions: is the IPC-HDW5231R-Z still the camera to get? and where should I buy them from for use in the US? I see @EMPIRETECANDY mentioned a lot around here. Should I start there?
You may want to check out the Dahua 2MP Starlight Lineup post. Since you want indoor maybe the dome camera, may save some money there. For outside, maybe you could look at PTZ. Depends on what you plan on doing.

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So I am looking at replacing all the cameras in our laundromat (8 indoor, 2 outdoor). We're going to pull new cat6 to replace the coax and run BI. I came upon this thread while looking for the best reasonably priced camera. I got through 20 pages of posts, gave up and skipped to the last few pages. I have 2 questions: is the IPC-HDW5231R-Z still the camera to get? and where should I buy them from for use in the US? I see @EMPIRETECANDY mentioned a lot around here. Should I start there?
Have stock now. I ping you a private message. Thanks!
 
So I am looking at replacing all the cameras in our laundromat (8 indoor, 2 outdoor). We're going to pull new cat6 to replace the coax and run BI. I came upon this thread while looking for the best reasonably priced camera. I got through 20 pages of posts, gave up and skipped to the last few pages. I have 2 questions: is the IPC-HDW5231R-Z still the camera to get? and where should I buy them from for use in the US? I see @EMPIRETECANDY mentioned a lot around here. Should I start there?

Have stock now. I ping you a private message. Thanks!

I brought all my starlight camera from Andy @EMPIRETECANDY and I am impressed with his services handling my orders. Andy also is great at keeping good at Dauha head up on software issues and bugs to get a firmware update out before it even become official on Dauha website. I know it a risk but I trust Andy enough to know he want to keep all good customer to conitune to buy from him in future when there are better and faster camera released.

Bill
 
I just want to say, Andy from Empire has been great. I thought I had a bad camera after 6 months of operation and I reached out to Andy over on Aliexpress. He responded to all of my questions and concerns very promptly. In fact, with his help, we were able to troubleshoot what the problem was and now my camera is back up and running again. Great customer service Andy! I'll be placing another order from you in the near future. Thanks!!!!
 
Well, real men read the whole thread!

Hit the link in my signature for some curated knowledge from this thread.


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WOW, your link to setting up this camera along with an NVR/PC setup is amazing. Thank you so much. I'll be doing some reading this weekend. Really appreciate people like you taking time out of your day to help newbies like me.
 
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There are two silica gel packs inside the camera housing.

What is the recommended thing to do? Leave it in or take it out?
Does the camera lens barrel move during zooming? One pack is next to the lens.
 
There are two silica gel packs inside the camera housing.

What is the recommended thing to do? Leave it in or take it out?
Does the camera lens barrel move during zooming? One pack is next to the lens.

You need to leave it in there, it is to keep moisture from developing inside the housing which can fog up the lens.

But if you feel it interfering the zoom, you can move it out of way. Just make sure it stay inside when you close it up.
 
Well, real men read the whole thread!

Hit the link in my signature for some curated knowledge from this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for that link and thank everyone for their replies regarding Andy.

A couple more question. When mounting a turret, is there anything wrong with mounting them sideways (like on a wall instead of the ceiling)? Will the FOV or the camera's performance be degraded in any way? I'm guessing no since the lens can be rotated whatever orientation that I need.

Second question is what are people's feeling about wide angle cameras? I have a small parking lot that I would like to monitor in the back with 1 camera. The current camera is pretty awful. It covers the back door and maybe 2-3 parking spaces up front. I'm wondering if there are any wide angle cameras that are comparable in quality to the hdw5231r-z.
 
A basic question, IR should be up or down?
 
Turrets work fine mounted on a wall.

If you want any chance of ID'ing a face, wide angle is a bad choice. If by wide angle you are talking about 2.8mm or 3.6mm lens.
Example, A 2.8mm the face needs to be within aprox 13ft from the cam for a solid ID.

Get familiar with this: Camera Calculator / Design Software keep PPF>100, tutorial upper left of page. This will give you an idea of Id'ing distance's.
 
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I think the only thing that could matter is to get it furthest away from any surface it can reflect off of. For me, I like the look of the "Mickey Mouse" silhouette. :lol:
 
Thank you for that link and thank everyone for their replies regarding Andy.

A couple more question. When mounting a turret, is there anything wrong with mounting them sideways (like on a wall instead of the ceiling)? Will the FOV or the camera's performance be degraded in any way? I'm guessing no since the lens can be rotated whatever orientation that I need.

Second question is what are people's feeling about wide angle cameras? I have a small parking lot that I would like to monitor in the back with 1 camera. The current camera is pretty awful. It covers the back door and maybe 2-3 parking spaces up front. I'm wondering if there are any wide angle cameras that are comparable in quality to the hdw5231r-z.

The turret can be pretty much mounted in any way and it still be adjusted 360 degree and you can flip the image in the configuration menu if needed. One thing to keep in mind if mounting outdoor, you will either need a junction box or bury the connectors inside the wall to keep it dry. You would want to decide if you are needing a junction box or not before you place an order with Andy to save yourself on shipping cost.

I looked at your previous post and you said your replacing coax cable with Cat6 so I am assuming your current cameras are analog cameras. This 5231 is probably going to be wider compared to your current analog camera setup.

Bill
 
Quick question about this camera. I live in an area that is very well lit up at night. There is really no place you cant see due to the ambient light. Im in the middle of a big city with commercial area behind, street lights and etc. . Does the starlight version offer any real advantage if theres plenty of ambient light? I know it will be good, but Ive read in here is similar to another Dahua turret when theres plenty of IR.
 
Quick question about this camera. I live in an area that is very well lit up at night. There is really no place you cant see due to the ambient light. Im in the middle of a big city with commercial area behind, street lights and etc. . Does the starlight version offer any real advantage if theres plenty of ambient light? I know it will be good, but Ive read in here is similar to another Dahua turret when theres plenty of IR.
yes you will benefit greatly even with lighting..
 
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Hello everyone. I will be mounting several of these cameras to the side of a stucco house on vertical walls. 2 of them under a very small eaves, and one under a patio cover. Any recommendations on the best junction box or mount bracket to use? Running cat6. A couple others I already have the L shaped dropdown wall mount brackets that I will reuse by drilling appropriate mounting holes into the plates.