Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

That's a good idea...see what Andy @EMPIRETECANDY wants for these boxes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Philip Gonzales
If u take care to seal it should be ok. I have hardiboard cement siding and i screwed mine into it. But they are all under long eaves where water cant get to em easily. No differnt than a outdoor light really. On my old cams i surrounded the base with silicone. Ill have to look at these new ones when they come in to see my options.

I have house wrap behind my siding tho too. So less risky.

From what I read you have to use silicone between the turret and the mount as this area is not waterproof for this mount. Sounds like something I could easily mess up. I think my siding is fiber-cement and I'm pretty sure it has asbestos in it. I remember signing some waiver on the lease lol.
 
I planned to check with andy whenever he gets back to me on placimg an order. I only need 2.

These 2 cams will be on the front porch tho. So my main question is do they look nice? Does the color match the cam so it looks like 1 piece? Anyone got a pic?

The two wall mounts on the sides and the junction box on the top all came from Andy with the camera purchase. Picture at the link below.

Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Philip Gonzales
Hey guys, is anyone using these cams with a junction box like the one pictured below? I'm about to order some of these but while I'm swapping cams out I've got 2 that I'd like to hang down a couple inches lower to clear the eave better. I saw these and thought they might be perfect, but I'm wondering if they match the cam so when it's all put together it looks like 1 unit?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QP2X0O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AMI0MCBIBIUP7&psc=1

View attachment 23499

Yes, PFA137 - good product, and I recommend it - or the wall mount you got.

Note - wall mount can handle more versions, the PFA137 handles the 5231 style turrent, the 4xxx turrets need another model.

Pricey - yes, though you can find it for less ( aliexpress or Andy )
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
Is this camera still the best, since its around 1 year old. Is there anything newer/better for the similar price point/performance?
 
Is this camera still the best, since its around 1 year old. Is there anything newer/better for the similar price point/performance?

Hi Vico,

This imho is still the best. I like it better than the ePoE models due to the strong and better protected face of this unit. The other ePoE model has a larger single section of glass which imho would be easier for someone to shatter with a bat or other tool.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vico
Heres how i pulled it off.my wifes father recently passed so i planted a tree in his honor. One of the cams is taking a pic a day for an eventual time lapse. I told her it would look better if we had better cams. :)

smiley15.gif
 
So I've probably read through HALF of this monster thread, skipping around a bunch, but the one thing I'm not finding is firmware. When I receive these will I need to update them or should they be good to go? I've had back luck updating firmware on other brands in the past.

Firmware should come preloaded with firmware from 07202017 from Andy I believe. Only newer firmware is from 09042017 but it is pretty buggy. Firmware from September has a bug that will cause fps to increase to 30fps or 60fps regardless of setting. I believe this bug affects both H.264 and H.265 if I recall correctly. So you should be good right out of the box. I believe the September update adds SSA. Kind of like auto WDR from my understanding. See thread below on September firmware issue.

IPC-HDW5231R-ZE H.265 Firmware Bugs
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
I have an IPC-HDW5231R-ZE with [NTSC]DH_IPC-HX5X3X-Rhea_EngSpnFrn_N_Stream3_V2.460.0000000.16.R.20170904 firmware, running on a Dahua NVR5216-4KS2. I have it set to 15 fps, H.265 and as far as I know it's recording at 15 fps. No bug for me.
 
Last edited:
I just started having some problems with 2 5231R-Z dropping connection. I'm on a NVR5216 w/poe switch. The first one started over the weekend, it just went black and the 2nd camera just went out this morning. The other 3 cameras are still working fine. I haven't had time to really dig into it, but now with 2 cams completely gone, I need to figure out what's going on. All I've tried so far is moving the cables to a different port on the switch, flash the NVR5216 to the 9/01 firmware since the release notes mentioned fixing cameras dropping connections intermittently. The NVR registration still shows them as disconnected.

Tonight, i'm going to hook up a laptop to the NVR switch and see if I can ping the cameras and get access to them directly instead of the NVR. Everything was working solid for months until the past few days where two cameras just died.

Anyone have experiences returning/exchanging defective cameras with Andy?

Thanks
 
I just started having some problems with 2 5231R-Z dropping connection. I'm on a NVR5216 w/poe switch. The first one started over the weekend, it just went black and the 2nd camera just went out this morning. The other 3 cameras are still working fine. I haven't had time to really dig into it, but now with 2 cams completely gone, I need to figure out what's going on. All I've tried so far is moving the cables to a different port on the switch, flash the NVR5216 to the 9/01 firmware since the release notes mentioned fixing cameras dropping connections intermittently. The NVR registration still shows them as disconnected.

Tonight, i'm going to hook up a laptop to the NVR switch and see if I can ping the cameras and get access to them directly instead of the NVR. Everything was working solid for months until the past few days where two cameras just died.

Anyone have experiences returning/exchanging defective cameras with Andy?

Thanks

Do you have your network and cams setup to be secure from the net?
UPNP off, Cams/nvr blocked at the router from contacting the net,no ports forwarded, etc?

Read this: https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/dahua-latest-stable-firmware-best-practice-reminder.20057/