Dahua Ultra Alternative for $160?

[mike123]

I spoke with this company and they are selling this camera for $160 and it has 2MP, 1/1.9, True WDR, H.265.
2.0MP Full HD Super Star-Light Bullet Camera - IP Camera Manufacturer China

Any thoughts?

 

[nayr]

IMHO, Looks like another Longse Low light destroyer.. ie, a cheap piece of shit that will fail on you in record time.

Just buy a Ecco Starlight and you'll get something reliable from a manufacturer, not some no-name fly by night brand that will vanish into the ether within a year or two.

 

[mike123]

I can't say much for quality, but this one is using the better IMX185 sensor compared to Longse which is using IMX178.

 

[nayr]

and? Its not the sensors that make em shit.. its the fact that the firmware sucks nuts and the cameras just give up on life randomly.

the fact that its discontinued does not bode well.. One failure and replacement and you'd of been better off buying a Dahua cost wise.

 

[mike123]

Here's a live demo of it from their website in pouring rain and I don't think they would install it in such a location and have it die within months.

User name: kduser ; Password: kduser
http://gwipcam.3322.org:8238/

 

[nayr]

Here's a live demo of it from their website in pouring rain and I don't think they would install it in such a location and have it die within months.

You get what you pay for, and a fool and his money will soon be departed..

Its your money, do with it what you want.. but many people have played these games before and lost, far more than those whom win.

fyi: they coulda replaced that camera 10x by now since they make the cameras and you'd never know.. talk to someone whom dont work for them and has had one installed for a while, good luck finding such a person.

But no, this is not a Dahua Ultra Alternative.. this is a pice of garbage; The Ultra Alternative is the EcoSavvy 3.0 Dahua Starlight

 

[mmdb]

why would you bother with this unknown cam for 160 when you can buy Dahua Starlight 5231 for 170 ??????

 

[mike123]

Because this is an IMX185 sensor versus the IMX174 in the 5231

 

[nayr]

The 5231 has an IMX291

Also keep in mind the larger sensor requires larger lenses, that 10mm lens on this camera will be pretty wide still.. the Dahua Ultra has a 16mm which is no more narrow than the Eco's 12mm

 

[mike123]

Hopefully someone that's used GWSECU can chime in on their quality. Seems like someone mentioned these products in other threads before

 

[alastairstevenson]

Because this is an IMX185 sensor versus the IMX174 in the 5231

The 5231 has the IMX291 sensor.

I spoke with this company and they are selling this camera for $160 and it has 2MP, 1/1.9, True WDR, H.265.
2.0MP Full HD Super Star-Light Bullet Camera - IP Camera Manufacturer China

The link shows the camera as a discontinued product.

the better IMX185 sensor compared to Longse which is using IMX178.

Comparing apples and pears on the sensors.

 

[mike123]

It's not discontinued I already contacted them. IMX291 is still a worse sensor for low light compared to IMX185. Even if you think it's apples to pears, this camera is using a Sony IMX185 sensor with True WDR, so I don't see how you can show that the basic Dahua you linked to will have better low light capability.

This company is an authorized reseller of Dahua. I don't know what to conclude from this, but here is what this company said about the 2 brands compared:
Security Article: Comparision Between Dahua HDCVI HFW3200S/4200S and GWSECU HDCVI

 

[nayr]

The IMX291 is newer backlit sensor with much better technology behind it, it outperforms the IMX185 when it comes to sensitivity and thats why its a 1/2.8" Starlight.. if/when they extrapolate these backlit Starvis sensors to the larger 1/1.9" format it'll fucking destroy the IMX185, its just a matter of time now.

Ive got both, and the IMX185 is not that much better than the IMX291 for most situations.. What makes the UltraStarlight kick ass and worth the premium is not how much better it is at low light over the IMX291 (though it does contribute), its SSA Backlight feature, Image stabilization for pole mounts, and vandal resistance; your not getting that with this pice of crap camera.

Authorized my ass, they are not listed as an authorized distributor on any of Dahua's sites.. thats why they put there own name on em.

Note this company gives you Lux rating for a lens it does not provide; asshat move.

 

[mike123]

Thanks for the education. So in general is SSA considered better than WDR?

 

[nayr]

SSA is a form of WDR, just alot more useful and more powerfull.. it automatically adjusts to the conditions throughout the day

No WDR:

SSA:

and here is an animated night comparison:

 

[mike123]

Do you have a picture with the default WDR also? I'm curious how it compares.

 

[nayr]

not under these lighting conditions; but take my word for it.. normal WDR dont come close; think of SSA kinda like AutoWDR, it has no settings (its on/off).. it determines whats best on its own and adapts to conditions as they change... you can point headlights right at it and it'll tone em down so you can still make out the car behind them, and then go back to how it was before once they pass

 

[mike123]

That sounds pretty awesome. Thanks for putting me in my place.

 

[nayr]

WDR washes out the image when you turn it on, it gets applied to everything.. if you look at those SSA shots, nothing is washed out; its like it takes only the portion of the image that needs WDR and enables it for those pixels and leaves all the other areas alone.

Its friggin Magic; I was totally taken by surprise by SSA and I really wish they offered it on non-Ultra models; it has me seriously considering an UltraPTZ despite the insane premium.. my front yard is northernly facing and WDR features are manditory as my house and tree's cast alot of shade while the street and other side will be entirely overexposed w/out WDR

 

[mike123]

So these guys are probably selling fake versions of the ultra?
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