DH-IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E autofocus issue

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Another Solutions to try , recommend by wildcat
Remember in the latest FW you can set manual focus as mode and should hold setting. Just make sure you are using IE.
Firmware link:

IPC-T5442T-ZE IPC-T5442TM-AS IPC-T5842T-ZE SMD 3.0 Smart IR Latest New Firmware From EmpireTech

Hey guys The Smart IR firmware with SMD 3.0 V2.8 2022 Aug Version has been released. The update is mainly for Smart IR, New Security Baseline function, highly recommend to update, esp the 4K models. This firmware is working great with the help of @Wildcat_1 , has big improvement on the 4K...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[samplenhold]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the help, though I'm not happy to hear the truth about the "autofocus" feature of the camera/lens combination. Coming from the photography world where I've seen focusing technology continually improve over the last few decades, I'm well aware of what is possible with current tech. Larger apertures and longer focal lengths make depth of field smaller and autofocus more difficult, especially in low light, but not impossible even with moving subjects. My digital still camera (5+ year old Canon 7d) focuses a 500mm lens quickly enough to reliably lock focus on moving wildlife (birds flying, ground animals running) at dusk. My Dahua PTZs do a much better job of autofocusing stationary objects at all focal lengths, even in low light, than the DH-IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E.

This cam is not a DSLR. It is not meant to change it's FOV often. It is meant to dial in an FOV and keep it. Your disappointment in the autofocus capability is rather silly. Dial it in, let it autofocus on something stationary, get that focus value and set it to manual and forget about it. As others have stated, this cam is not designed as an LPR cam. It is a 12X varifocal that many here have been able to use for LPR. None of the advise given to you are "workarounds" needed to address a shortfall of the cam. They are proven techniques developed by members here to adapt a cam for a role it was never designed to do.

As I stated in my post above, I have two of these cams performing LPR duty, for almost a year now, and have never adjusted the FOV or the focus since the cam was dialed in.

 

[biggen]

This cam is not a DSLR. It is not meant to change it's FOV often. It is meant to dial in an FOV and keep it. Your disappointment in the autofocus capability is rather silly. Dial it in, let it autofocus on something stationary, get that focus value and set it to manual and forget about it. As others have stated, this cam is not designed as an LPR cam. It is a 12X varifocal that many here have been able to use for LPR. None of the advise given to you are "workarounds" needed to address a shortfall of the cam. They are proven techniques developed by members here to adapt a cam for a role it was never designed to do.

As I stated in my post above, I have two of these cams performing LPR duty, for almost a year now, and have never adjusted the FOV or the focus since the cam was dialed in.

Pretty much what others have said. You set the zoom and never move it again. Camera is wonderful for LPR duty once you know the limitations and work around them. I have mine switch to B/W nighttime mode 30 minutes before sunset and have it switch to daytime color mode 20 minutes after sunrise. That gives ample time for focusing.

 

[alwaysoff]

Pretty much what others have said. You set the zoom and never move it again. Camera is wonderful for LPR duty once you know the limitations and work around them. I have mine switch to B/W nighttime mode 30 minutes before sunset and have it switch to daytime color mode 20 minutes after sunrise. That gives ample time for focusing.

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Wow this is a very tight frame!