Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

[Bryan]

To anyone,

Will spray painting these cameras void the warranty?

Do you have any suggestions on how to alter the color without compromising the cooling effect of the orb?

Thanks.

Maybe you could find some cheap round tupperware bowl or toy rubber ball with a body size slightly bigger than the camera main body. Cut a round hole out that fits snugly around the smaller turret part. And paint the bowl/ball instead. It would have a small airspace between it and the camera. Just trying to help.

 

[baraider]

I'm running defaults, with one exception, Backlight: WDR@10%

Does this apply to Day/night or normal? When I change to 10% for all profile, the pictures appear washed out
Thanks

 

[nayr]

thats what WDR does, if you dont have dynamic lighting its best to run it off for better color reproduction.. WDR is needed when you have strong variations in lighting, like on a covered patio looking out to a brightly lit yard.. you dont want the yard over exposed nor do you want faces on the patio under exposed, so washed out is better than defaults.

a little bit of WDR usually goes a long ways.. start off low if you need it and work your way up.

You can switch between day/night profiles on a schedule if you want WDR only on when you need it the most.. just configure both profiles the same but one with WDR on and one with WDR off.

 

[gansle]

thats what WDR does, if you dont have dynamic lighting its best to run it off for better color reproduction.. WDR is needed when you have strong variations in lighting, like on a covered patio looking out to a brightly lit yard.. you dont want the yard over exposed nor do you want faces on the patio under exposed, so washed out is better than defaults.

a little bit of WDR usually goes a long ways.. start off low if you need it and work your way up.

You can switch between day/night profiles on a schedule if you want WDR only on when you need it the most.. just configure both profiles the same but one with WDR on and one with WDR off.

Hi Nayr,
Just found your videos on YouTube. Does Empire sell starlight bullet varifocal 2mp camera? Is it a Poe and will it be plug and play with my dahua nvr I have now? Thx.
Eric

 

[tangent]

Hi Nayr,
Just found your videos on YouTube. Does Empire sell starlight bullet varifocal 2mp camera? Is it a Poe and will it be plug and play with my dahua nvr I have now? Thx.
Eric

Read this thread starting at the beginning... Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)
Just be aware Chinese New Year will be upon us soon and will cause shipping delays / canceled orders. Might be simpler to just wait till mid February to order.

 

[nayr]

Hi Nayr,
Just found your videos on YouTube. Does Empire sell starlight bullet varifocal 2mp camera? Is it a Poe and will it be plug and play with my dahua nvr I have now? Thx.
Eric

Yes, Yes, Yes..

 

[Dropnbassonu]

Also, it helps to increase contrast as well when doing HDR to avoid a totally flat image. Experiment and see what works best for your situation as there is no hard and fast rule

 

[TVT73]

I used a PFA135 made by Dahua I got from Andy. It mounts to the wall, the camera base mounts to that and the camera ring mounts over the camera to fix the position. Worked fine for me. You can get them on Amazon but you actually might get them faster from Andy but hurry as they are about to go on Chinese New Year holiday for the next 3 weeks. This junction box has enough room to hold the camera pigtail and keep the connection out of the weather. It includes a fitting to allow the cable in and keep things waterproof though you'll have to replace the RJ45 to get the wire though.

I also have this junction box and it´s an absolute nonsense part... It´s suggesting water protection, but in fact depending on the mounting position it´s a pool filled with water... Why the hell is there no top plate like on the pfa 121 p.e. ? These ones are really water proof ip67 but this pfa135 one should be forbidden. Only when mounting it on the ceiling its ok, but on any other position the water or any condensation causes problems with the cables. You need to open a hole on the bottom, to prevent it from beeing filed with water.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I also have this junction box and it´s an absolute nonsense part... It´s suggesting water protection, but in fact depending on the mounting position it´s a pool filled with water... Why the hell is there no top plate like on the pfa 121 p.e. ? These ones are really water proof ip67 but this pfa135 one should be forbidden. Only when mounting it on the ceiling its ok, but on any other position the water or any condensation causes problems with the cables. You need to open a hole on the bottom, to prevent it from beeing filed with water.

It's got a hole in the bottom and the sides, just unscrew or poke a hole in the black stuff, I don't understand.

Also, it helps to increase contrast as well when doing HDR to avoid a totally flat image. Experiment and see what works best for your situation as there is no hard and fast rule

 

[TVT73]

I'm running defaults, with one exception, Backlight: WDR@10%

For me it seems to be, that the wdr range is not comparable with hdw4431/hdw4421. When using with other cams a wdr of 50 is ok, the 5231 shows strange negative effects. WDR 20% of hdw5231 is the same as WDR 50% of hdw4431

 

[TVT73]

It's got a hole in the bottom and the sides, just unscrew or poke a hole in the black stuff, I don't understand.

The fitting has no holes, all accessory is for ip67. Look on the cable outlet.
And therefore it has no protection against humidity and water, be sure to tape the network cable with watersafe glue tape.

 

[Bob Sherger]

I got five of these from Andy. Going through the installation process of getting cable and figuring out precise mounting points. Only thing I noticed testing them indoors was that one of them makes an audible motor noise when zooming out, and only zooming out, while the others are quiet. Is this anything to be concerned about? It seems to focus and be fine otherwise.

I just want to make sure that these turrets and their housing can withstand the rain. The driveway cam is probably the least protected of all and could take direct rain onto it falling at an angle.

What do you guys use to fill in the 3/4" hole that the pigtail gets shoved into? Caulk or something else? I'm mounting directly to wood siding or wooden eves with no junction box.

Do you consider 9 feet too high for accurate facial ID (for the driveway cam)? I wanted it at 8 feet but I am a little squeamish drilling into a load bearing post that holds the garage wall at the center, especially since the pigtail needs a big hole to fit and hide. At 9ft I can just go through siding and house wrap foam and maybe a single horizontal 2x4.

 

[aristobrat]

Only thing I noticed testing them indoors was that one of them makes an audible motor noise when zooming out, and only zooming out, while the others are quiet.

I think someone with a similar issue took the camera apart and noticed one of the silica packets was rubbing against moving parts (and that relocating the packet fixed the sound).

 

[nayr]

@Bob Sherger They are IP67 Rated, the'll handle high pressure from a pressure washer.. rain will be fine.. There is a Silica packet inside that could have bound up against the lens, might make sure thats free of any moving parts.

Caulk should work fine, I like silicon because it lasts long and is easy to remove.. depends on how your FOV is and how far away the cars are.. if you look further out you can go that high.. but if your activity is right below the camera thats probably a bad idea.. get your self a 10' 2x4 and mount camera to that to test your views before making permanent modifications to your building.

 

[Bob Sherger]

Great idea on the camera mount test. I need to make a long patch cable too.

Is taking it apart and putting it back together relatively simple? Would like to know if there are bunch of loose parts that will fall out if I attempt this. O-ring getting dislodged could be bad for example. I suppose I should replace the silica packet after opening it.

 

[nayr]

Its required to open these up to insert a MicroSD card, just undo the 3 screws and split it in half.. nothing will explode, no need to replace the sililca packet.. just make sure its clear of mechanics.. its a big packet and there is minimal airspace inside.

you can see a photo of it split open in first post

just be careful with the gasket during re-assembly, mess that up and it wont be waterproof.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

*****************8
Hi Guys,

As the new year holiday comes here, dahua slow and the shipping speed like a tortoise now, seems we can't ship out the HDW5231R-Z before our holiday.
So sorry for this. But we will do our best!

Andy

 

[nayr]

enjoy the holidays, mebe it'll give sony a chance to fulfill a few back orders of these starlight sensors

 

[shmookles]

@EMPIRETECANDY when is the holiday over and when do you expect normal shipments to start back up?

 

[BLKMGK]

when is chinese new year over 2017 - Google Search