Remember this guy? I think he is also a member of IP Cam Talk forum so be nice 
@EMPIRETECANDY hopefully you get a lot of business after this video.
@EMPIRETECANDY hopefully you get a lot of business after this video.
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Empire Tech Andy Made It To YouTube Video
- Thread starter jd415
- Start date
sebastiantombs
Known around here
He sure covers a lot and a lot of things most reviewers never mention. I was surprised that he picked the Reolink for one of the daytime tests, but he did. He also made no bones about how poorly the Reolink and Uniview performed at night.
This latest video is the best he has done IMHO.
The biggest issue that I have is the fact that he fails to discuss DORI numbers, or the concept of focal lengths and field of views. He marks down the 4mp cameras because they cannot produce as crisp an image at 25' that a 8mp camera can. Well this is to be expected because 25' is in the "Recognize" range of most 2.8mm 4mp cameras and in the "Identify" range of most 2.8mm 8mp cameras. He should explain that someone could get a very sharp image at 25' or beyond with a 4mp camera if they simply choose the appropriate focal length for the job. Sure they will loose some of the width on their field of view, but he doesn't explain any of this. Instead, viewers are left to believe that 4mp cameras only produce "soft" images while 4k cameras produce sharp images. Obviously it isn't so simple.
The biggest issue that I have is the fact that he fails to discuss DORI numbers, or the concept of focal lengths and field of views. He marks down the 4mp cameras because they cannot produce as crisp an image at 25' that a 8mp camera can. Well this is to be expected because 25' is in the "Recognize" range of most 2.8mm 4mp cameras and in the "Identify" range of most 2.8mm 8mp cameras. He should explain that someone could get a very sharp image at 25' or beyond with a 4mp camera if they simply choose the appropriate focal length for the job. Sure they will loose some of the width on their field of view, but he doesn't explain any of this. Instead, viewers are left to believe that 4mp cameras only produce "soft" images while 4k cameras produce sharp images. Obviously it isn't so simple.
Yeah, add to that the fact that many 4K cameras have slightly imperfect focus that detracts from image sharpness.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
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DORI, FOV, focal length, effective pixels, .. so many critical concepts have been overlooked - that it is a disservice when you are comparing different resolutions and FOV cameras.
biggen
Known around here
- May 6, 2018
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This is the guy that has recommended Reolink in the past, right? I've never watched any of his videos but I always see people saying how "Thehookup recommended Reolink...."
I don't think the term "Night Vision" should be used when talking about security cameras unless we are talking about the image intensifiers that the military uses. Instead, "low light color cameras" would be a better term and we all want to run if able.
I don't think the term "Night Vision" should be used when talking about security cameras unless we are talking about the image intensifiers that the military uses. Instead, "low light color cameras" would be a better term and we all want to run if able.
To be fair, I think his target audience (at least for this video) are the folks who flock to Costo / Walmart cameras and buy those $20 generic cameras who do not have the brainpower to understand focal / DORI on their first day of realizing there are other better options out there. Too much info to dish out.
Yeah my neighbor is probably part of that same target audience. I trying to talk him off the Costco/Sams Club "kits" letting him know he'll definitely be getting lower quality cameras, but he seems locked on 4K with included DVR. The only upside is he is definitely NOT going wireless cloud route, and is sold on running POE wiring to each camera location, so with some luck I can eventually get him converted to some better cameras.
Does anyone know if the wiring runs for typical Costco/Sams setups is at least POE standards/ethernet compatible with other camera models so the wiring won't be a complete loss?
Does anyone know if the wiring runs for typical Costco/Sams setups is at least POE standards/ethernet compatible with other camera models so the wiring won't be a complete loss?
It would be a lot of information to try to put into a single video. But he has done enough videos on CCTV (and his whole channel is about home automation - including CCTV - which makes him an "expert" in his viewers eyes) that he should put together a series of videos that go into these important CCTV concepts. Honestly it would probably drive more viewers to his channel over time, so I don't understand the reluctance to do it - other than the fact that perhaps he doesn't understand the concepts himself.
bigredfish
Known around here
Agree he does a good job for the average consumer user.
I will continue to say that if comparing low light full color cameras at night, the Dahua 5442-NI series outperforms the standard 5442 all day long yet it rarely gets included.
Also I may have missed it but are they all set to Auto/Default?
Not sure why you would use the 2439 vs the 5442 with the bigger 1/1.8 sensor?
I will continue to say that if comparing low light full color cameras at night, the Dahua 5442-NI series outperforms the standard 5442 all day long yet it rarely gets included.
Also I may have missed it but are they all set to Auto/Default?
Not sure why you would use the 2439 vs the 5442 with the bigger 1/1.8 sensor?
He finally talked about it on this video. He admits that everything he talks about is sent to him from various manufactures/distributors. So while he claims he isn't paid for any of these reviews, he also isn't spending any of his own money to buy products to talk about and therefore is limited to only the products sent to him. It would be great if Andy send him a decent camera instead of an older model, but I certainly understand that the older models cost Andy less to give away than the better models.
My neighbor's $1,300 4k Lorex system from Costco provided zero useful info for doorcheckers in the middle of the night because the 2.8mm wide angle provides a great overview, but lacks on detail and suck at night - the cams just didn't cut it at night.
His system wasn't even a year old and after that event has started replacing with cameras purchased from Andy on this site based on my recommendation and seeing my results - fortunately those cams work with the Lorex NVR. He is still shocked a 2MP camera performs better than his 4k cameras... It is all about the amount of light needed and getting the right camera for the right location.
He used the Lorex wiring and simply took down the Lorex and put up the Andy cams and it all worked and he didn't have to do anything the the NVR - by the time he got inside the NVR had auto found them.
out of curiosity, what IS the difference between the 5442-NI vs standard 5442? I thought all 5442 had the baseline specs but different models #'s would include audio/no audio, plastic/metal, enhanced POE/not enhanced, etc.
I'm sure you can purchase either analog or IP or hybrid COSTCO systems. Tell him to go hybrid or IP. That way, covers all bases if he can not afford IP cameras at this time.
For the record...any IP camera uses universal Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat170, Cat1001, etc data networking cable. If you can slap in a laptop at the end of the cable and get to the internet...any IP camera will work regardless of make/model.
biggen
Known around here
- May 6, 2018
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I believe the 5442-NI is the bullet model. I think @bigredfish did some tests last year and concluded it did better at night (though it does lack IR).
Here's a simple sample (hihi) of a 5541 (top of picture) in forced colour vs the 5442R-ASE-NI.
Do take note the slight angle difference to the 5442R-ASE-NI's favour.
The 5442R-ASE-NI is 3,6mm vs 2,8mm on the 5541.
Both cameras in main etc etc.
The 5442R-ASE-NI performs very good!
Do take note the slight angle difference to the 5442R-ASE-NI's favour.
The 5442R-ASE-NI is 3,6mm vs 2,8mm on the 5541.
Both cameras in main etc etc.
The 5442R-ASE-NI performs very good!
sebastiantombs
Known around here
To me the 5542 looks noisy compared to the 5442. Just my us two cents or whatever it may be worth. Try putting motion in and get screen caps with motion. That is the real test. With that noise level I suspect motion will be kind of blurry.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
This is also something he missed in the video unfortunately, the balance between megapixles and Cmos-size. And the picture above shows just that (even though 5541vis not a "NI").
And exactly like you say @sebastiantombs the 5541 is working its ass of to produce this pic that very blurry.
It's a pitty the 5442R-ASE-NI wasn't compared together with the others in the video. But, already stated... the target audience for the video is probably not willing to pay the little premium for the fantastic extra you get!
And exactly like you say @sebastiantombs the 5541 is working its ass of to produce this pic that very blurry.
It's a pitty the 5442R-ASE-NI wasn't compared together with the others in the video. But, already stated... the target audience for the video is probably not willing to pay the little premium for the fantastic extra you get!
bigredfish
Known around here
regular 5442 ASE turret
.002 lux @F1.6
5442 NI
001 lux @F1.0
But yeah it only comes in bullet and dome. And no IR