First Dahua camera. Very nice. 2.8mm fisheye was a bit unexpected though.

Zog

Zog

n3wb
Aug 26, 2020
10
1
Australia
Hi all,

New to the forum but thought I would post about my new Dahua IPC-HDW5442TM-AS.

After having had some reasonable quality grandstream cameras about the house for about 8 or so years now and having had great results, I thought I would buy a new camera to see what had changed.
My my aren't the new ones nice and crisp. Like putting on a new set of glasses.

The old grandstreams were 3.8mm (from memory) so I was kind of shocked to see the curvature on the 2.8s. I do like them better though as it gives me more width even with the curve.

Still it looks like the new camera does not want to play with my old NVR though 8CH Super Mini NVR - 1080P, HDMI, | eBay ... wow so cheap now. It has served me well for the 6 cameras I have.

Looking for a compatible cheap 8 channel NVR now.
 
As a rule of thumb, cameras work best with the same brand of NVR and won't work well with anything but, Dahua camera and a Dahua NVR. The same with Hikvision. Alternately a PC running VMS software, like Blue Iris, will work well with almost any camera.

Another comment is that a 2.8mm lens will show you what happened but not who did it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: looney2ns and samplenhold
sebastiantombs said:
As a rule of thumb, cameras work best with the same brand of NVR and won't work well with anything but, Dahua camera and a Dahua NVR. The same with Hikvision. Alternately a PC running VMS software, like Blue Iris, will work well with almost any camera.

Another comment is that a 2.8mm lens will show you what happened but not who did it.
Click to expand...
What do you recommend of that? A varifocal camera? Most of the people wear masks if the do something
 
A varifocal is designed to be set to the required focal length at the time of installation and left that way. A varifocal is not a zoom camera, the mechanism is not designed for constant use, although many people seem to think they are and use them that way until they fail. A varifocal does take the guess work out of buying the right lens size and I have a few that I bought with that specific purpose in mind, set the focal length and leave it alone.

Even a capture with a mask can be helpful if it contains enough detail of the miscreant. It's even better if it can be in full color, especially at night, to get clothing details which can be dead giveaways to the police. The latest versions of low light cameras use a 1/1.8 sensor which can maintain full color under low and minimal light conditions. The Dahua 5442 series and the Hikvision Darkfighter series use those sensors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SouthernYankee, Jessie.slimer and samplenhold
And i wanna ask you the model hdw5442 how good is to mount outside. Because i read tha for outdoor camera is better tou use bullet or torrent. My supplier dont have the series 5442 bullet only dome and i want your opinion to mount a dome camera outdoor.
Thank you
 
The T5442TM-AS is designed for outside or inside. Whatever you want.

I use to have domes outside but replaced them all with the above camera. Domes get dirty and can have some IR reflection issues depending on the dome model.
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
  • Like
Reactions: Jessie.slimer and sebastiantombs
Opeth said:
This model is oem? Why take this and not the dahua version
Click to expand...
In the US, Dahua doesn't sell this model (or many of the better ultra-low light models). For the models that we can get in the US, it's usually less expensive to buy the OEM model from Andy (@EMPIRETECHANDY) than it is to buy the Dahua model. The only difference noted between Andy's OEM models and Dahua models are that they don't contain the Dahua logo on the hardware or firmware (although you can easily put the Dahua-branded firmware back on the camera if you want).
 
  • Like
Reactions: bigredfish and sebastiantombs
I know what andy is selling. But when tell to a client the brand, the client expect a brand. I know it is the same firmware but the clients most of them want to see the logo
 
Opeth said:
I know what andy is selling. But when tell to a client the brand, the client expect a brand. I know it is the same firmware but the clients most of them want to see the logo
Click to expand...
I'd guess 99% of the forum members here are home enthusiasts who don't want to pay extra for the logo so Andy's OEM prices + support is what most folks here go for. If you're an installer, I'm assuming you can go to your distributor and buy the Dahua version of this camera?
 
  • Like
Reactions: biggen
Im not a fully professional yet .but in my country they dont have these series. All dahua sellers here have similar product. Mostly series ip 1xxx 2xxx 3xxx and some from 5xxx so i take the risk and meet some suppliers from china and order some models that we have here and it is the same original upgradeble products. So now i can order whatever i want from the china suppliers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aristobrat
Opeth said:
I know what andy is selling. But when tell to a client the brand, the client expect a brand. I know it is the same firmware but the clients most of them want to see the logo
Click to expand...
I'm not a professional installer, just a hobbyist, but I have installed plenty of systems so far for others. Not a single one of them could tell me the camera brand I put on their homes/businesses. They have no clue and don't care so long as it works.

By all means, if you have a supplier that you are working with it may be best to use them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: looney2ns
Maybe you could tell your customers they are Dahua "under the hood" but missing the Dahua logos and pass some of your savings along. Your customers would save money and you would make a little more. Alternately, you could install Dahua firmware on to the cameras from Andy or even do that in either case. Dahua is Dahua, no matter what the logo says if the firmware is original Dahua.
 
2.8mm is much better. I don't want to cover every angle with multiple cameras and if they are going to break in they will have to walk towards the camera right ?
It's really just to see who is around, anyone coming to murder us or steal from us will probably do a good job of covering up anyway right ?

Re: NVR it's disappointing to see that it's camera specific per NVR. The older cameras work just fine and I would rather replace them when they do fail as I am sure they will eventually.

I don't want to run any PC based software for recording. It seems like overkill for 8 cameras just watching the house, where 99% of the time nothing much happens.
The few times I have needed to see anything the NVR did just fine. I don't even use triggers of any kind as spiders and insects just make it alarm all the time.

It's just there (just like the alarm) to make people think twice about breaking in.

edit: Re: outside mounting.
I have not had a problem so far but it's only been up a day ! Rain should not be a problem as it is under the eve and also has a high IP rating. Time will tell I guess.
The reason I bought this one was that one of the old grandstream bullets just fell off due to the bracket getting aluminum cancer and falling off.
 
Last edited:
I guess it's good for some installations but motion sensing is a nightmare here. Too much wildlife and insects moving about.
 
Well, if you just want the "deterrent effect" why not just put up a bunch of fake cameras with nice blinking LEDs on them. No NVR needed at all that way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheGooginator, Jessie.slimer and bigredfish
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom