do not buy a 4MP camera that is anything smaller than a 1/1.8" sensor

[johnfitz]

.It is simple LOL do not chase MP - do not buy a 4MP camera that is anything smaller than a 1/1.8" sensor. Do not buy a 2MP camera that is anything smaller than a 1/2.8" sensor. Do not buy a 4K (8MP) camera on anything smaller than a 1/1.2" sensor. Unfortunately, most 4k (8MP) cams are on the same sensor as a 2MP and thus the 2MP will kick its butt all night long as the 4k will need 4 times the light than the 2MP... 4k will do very poor at night unless you have stadium quality lighting (well a lot of lighting LOL).

Suppose I have a 4MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor but I run the camera at 2MP resolution... how will nighttime performance compare to a 2MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor?

 

[wittaj]

Downrezing a camera does not work - the camera doesn't change the "pixel resolution screen" on the camera when you go from 4MP to 2MP. The sensor still needs 2 times the light going from 4MP to 2MP, so the native 2MP camera will result in a better image at night. The firmware will make some algorithm attempt at downrezing it, but it could be a complete crap image or a somewhat usable image, but if there is a concern that the 4MP isn't performing or wouldn't perform well at night, then it is better to go with the 2MP.

I have a 4MP and 2MP on the same 1/2.8" sensor and the picture quality is quite different between the two and the 2MP kicks it's butt at night.

In most instances, you want to get a camera that will perform at your location for the worse situation, which for most of us is at night when it is dark and there is little to no light. If a camera performs at night, it is easier to tweak settings to make it work during the day than it is the other way around.

My 2MP cameras outperform my neighbors 4K (8MP) cameras....why....because they are both on the same size sensor.

When we had a thief come thru here and get into a lot of cars, the police couldn't use one video or photo from anyone's system but mine. Not even my other neighbors $1,300 8MP system provided useful info - the cams just didn't cut it at night.

My neighbor tried the "I will just downrez the 8MP to 2MP" and the image was a soft dark mess.

His system wasn't even a year old and after that event has started replacing with cameras purchased from @EMPIRETECANDY here based on my recommendation and seeing my results. He is still shocked a 2MP camera performs better than his 4k cameras and he cannot figure out why downrezing from 8MP to 2MP doesn't work properly... It is all about the amount of light needed and getting the right camera for the right location and downrezing doesn't change the physics of the camera.

It is simple LOL do not chase MP - do not buy a 4MP camera that is anything other than a 1/1.8" sensor. Do not buy a 2MP camera that is anything other than a 1/2.8" sensor. Do not buy a 4K (8MP) camera on anything smaller than a 1/1.2" sensor. Unfortunately, most 4k cams are on the same sensor as a 2MP and thus the 2MP will kick its butt all night long as the 4k will need 4 times the light than the 2MP... 4k will do very poor at night unless you have stadium quality lighting (well a lot of lighting LOL).

 

[mat200]

Suppose I have a 4MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor but I run the camera at 2MP resolution... how will nighttime performance compare to a 2MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor?

Hi @johnfitz

This is basically what happens iirc ( of course, depends if they decide to change the method ):

a 4MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor will capture the 4MP resolution picture => then it will get clipped into a 2MP picture, basically reducing the FOV ...

So .. not much benefit in that ..

Now, if the camera has enough processing capability.. it could take the pixels it captures and recalculate to a 2MP resolution .. probably not as easy as going from 8MP -> 2MP ( basically taking 4 pixels and making an average value and putting into a "1 pixel" image .. that is 4x resolution -> 1 is easier math .. )

 

[johnfitz]

Thanks for the quick replies... I suspected it would not help...

What I actually have is a DS-2DE4A320IW-DE 3MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor ... I tried setting it to 2MP but didn't see any difference in the image... the camera works well anyway as there is a floodlight on at night.

a 4MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor will capture the 4MP resolution picture => then it will get clipped into a 2MP picture, basically reducing the FOV ...

The FOV did not seem to change when I reduced the resolution to 2MP, but I'm sure I have seen the FOV change on other cameras when I temporarily changed the resolution futzing around.

 

[mat200]

Thanks for the quick replies... I suspected it would not help...

What I actually have is a DS-2DE4A320IW-DE 3MP camera with a 1/2.8" sensor ... I tried setting it to 2MP but didn't see any difference in the image... the camera works well anyway as there is a floodlight on at night.



The FOV did not seem to change when I reduced the resolution to 2MP, but I'm sure I have seen the FOV change on other cameras when I temporarily changed the resolution futzing around.

If the FOV does not change, then I would guess there is a calculation to convert the higher resolution to a lower resolution image.

Otherwise, if the FOV does change I would expect the image to just have been clipped ( which I have seen in some older model cameras I have played with .. )

 

[The Automation Guy]

Some cameras (notably cell phone cameras and some high end DSLR cameras) are starting to "pixel bin" where they have a large megapixel sensor, but downrez to a lower resolution by combining multiple sensor pixels into one larger image pixel. This effectively gives the same benefit as a lower resolution sensor that is the same physical size. However I haven't seen this done on CCTV cameras yet.

 

[ipcamuser11]

I have seen 3 different models from the same company using the same sensor, Sony IMX334, a 8mp 1/1.8" sensor, 3 models with different advertised resolutions, 2MP/4MP/8MP, they use exactly the same hardware, just limit the resolution by software, and selling for different prices, of course the higher mp the higher price

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Then get some of this one to play, 1/1.2cmos

EmpireTech IPC-Color4K-X is an amazing weather cam | IP Cam Talk

 

[Mike A.]

I have seen 3 different models from the same company using the same sensor, Sony IMX334, a 8mp 1/1.8" sensor, 3 models with different advertised resolutions, 2MP/4MP/8MP, they use exactly the same hardware, just limit the resolution by software, and selling for different prices, of course the higher mp the higher price

Which company/cams?

 

[ipcamuser11]

Which company/cams?

It's a company you may never heard

I've found same situations on Hikvision and Dahua cameras too, I have torn down many Hikvision and Dahua dome ptz camera blocks, for example, Hikvision use the same senor IMX334 on both 2MP and 4MP models on their H7 platform PTZ cameras. Actually IMX334 is one of the only two sensors with drivers included in the SDK of the SoC they used, Hisilicon Hi3519AV100, I doubt they share the same hardware with the 8MP model too, but I haven't got chance to tear down one

On Dahua cameras, I've seen IMX178(1/1.8" 6MP) used on both 4MP and 6MP PTZ cameras, and IMX290(1/2.8" 2MP) used on both 1.3MP and 2MP PTZ cameras. I can even unlock the unused MP by changing model numbers, buy a 1.3MP camera and change it to a 2MP one

 

[mat200]

It's a company you may never heard

I've found same situations on Hikvision and Dahua cameras too, I have torn down many Hikvision and Dahua dome ptz camera blocks, for example, Hikvision use the same senor IMX334 on both 2MP and 4MP models on their H7 platform PTZ cameras. Actually IMX334 is one of the only two sensors with drivers included in the SDK of the SoC they used, Hisilicon Hi3519AV100, I doubt they share the same hardware with the 8MP model too, but I haven't got chance to tear down one

On Dahua cameras, I've seen IMX178(1/1.8" 6MP) used on both 4MP and 6MP PTZ cameras, and IMX290(1/2.8" 2MP) used on both 1.3MP and 2MP PTZ cameras. I can even unlock the unused MP by changing model numbers, buy a 1.3MP camera and change it to a 2MP one

Hi @ipcamuser11

Would enjoying seeing more of the breakdowns shared .. feel free to share what you can here ..

 

[ipcamuser11]

Would enjoying seeing more of the breakdowns shared .. feel free to share what you can here ..

What I have torn down are all their domestic models, model numbers are different from the international ones, but may share the same hardware