GW Security Starlight with sony starvis sensor 8mp 4k.

ou812b4

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GW8936IP: 8.0 Megapixel H.265 Starlight Color Night Vision PoE Power Over Ethernet , UltraHD 8MP 2160P H.265+ Outdoor Indoor HD-IP Dome Security Camera with 15 AI Smart Functions, Up to 3840 x 2160 Pixel; IP66 Metal Vandal proof Water proof
I haven't found much real info on this brand and my boss has a rental storage unit that needs very good color night vision if possible and a clean picture at night because of break ins. Thanks for info about the system i'm interested in or better alternative. Appreciate help with this because i know a little about ip cameras but i'm always afraid of buying something not capable.
 

Mike A.

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Not familiar with that specific cam but based on my experience with GW stuff I'd pass.

Pass on the 8K too if you want very good color at night.

Better to go with some of the 4 or 2 MP Dahua or Hikvision cams.

Spend some time reading the forums here. You'll save spending money twice.
 

ou812b4

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Not familiar with that specific cam but based on my experience with GW stuff I'd pass.

Pass on the 8K too if you want very good color at night.

Better to go with some of the 4 or 2 MP Dahua or Hikvision cams.

Spend some time reading the forums here. You'll save spending money twice.
Thanks for your reply and i have watched some videos with the brands you mention and both get good reviews. The place he wants them installed has no internet so the most important thing in his situation is night time color to help identify thieves. I've yet to see an infrared image that i could identify anyone with their eyes glowing etc. appreciate you
 

wittaj

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That is because someone hasn't set up the camera properly. You may still get some glow, but set correctly can minimize it unless they look right into the camera.

If nighttime color is what you are looking for, stay away from 4k - especially one with a 1/2.8" sensor. It will be crap. An 8MP will need quadruple the light than a 2MP... the best combination is a 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor. Or the 2MP on the 1/2.8" sensor. You are looking at a 8MP camera on a 1/2.8" sensor - a 2MP will kick it's butt all night long. And then you are looking at one with a 2.8mm lens - if those people are not within 10 feet of the camera, you will not be able to ID a stranger...

ALL cameras need light at night. Simple physics. Marketing a camera as low light and full color doesn't change that fact. As some folks are finding out, some of these cameras play with parameters that make them look nice and bright at night, but when there is motion, it is a complete blur and ghosting. I can make a crap camera look like noon at midnight by adjusting the parameters and make it look great as a still picture, but as soon as motion is introduced, it is blur and ghost city. How many perps will stop for 5 seconds so that your camera can get a clean shot of them...

If there isn't enough light, then you want to get a camera that has infrared, but then it will be B/W. Once you take it off auto settings, you can then dial down the glow eyes quite a bit.

You would be surprised how much light these cameras need to stay in color at night (for the cameras that can switch to B/W with IR).

I have 33,000 lumen radiating off my house and I have to force the camera in color as it is not enough light for the camera to automatically stay in color at night. The sensors are small in cameras and need a lot of light.

I have enough light at this location that the white light on the camera didn’t make a difference. This is a 4MP camera on the 1/2.8" sensor with an LED white light as part of the camera. So with this 1/120 shutter speed, I wanted to see if the camera could perform with only the white light from the camera and the flood lights turned off. As you can see from this video, it never recognized me at these settings. You would need to run 1/80 shutter with just the white light to be able to start to make a person out, but the image is way too dark.

The average Joe will not spend the time to calibrate and will just leave the settings on auto and love the great still image they get and then just accept a blur/ghost motion at night. When do we need these to perform - at night!

Keep in mind that with the shutter at auto, it is a nice bright image, but motion was a blur...once you dial the camera in to actually be usable, you see the limitations...

 
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sebastiantombs

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Read the Cliff Notes in the WiKi, blue bar at the top of the page. Every camera needs white light, of some sort, to produce a color picture at night If that's what you truly want/need, be prepared to spend some serious money for one. The camera, with a 1" sensor, is well over $1,000.00. Then add in a lens for a few hundred more plus an enclosure for it and you'l be well over $2,000.00.

Quick guide -

The smaller the lux number the better the low light performance. 0.002 is better than 0.02
The smaller the "F" of the lens the better the low light performance. F1.4 is better than F1.8
The larger the sensor the better the low light performance. 1/1.8" is better (bigger) than 1/2.7"
The higher the megapixels for the same size sensor the worse the low light performance. A 4MP camera with a 1/1.8" sensor will perform better than a 8MP camera with that same 1/1.8" sensor.

Don't believe all the marketing hype no matter who makes the camera. Don't believe those nice night time captures they all use. Look for videos, with motion, to determine low light performance. Any camera can be made to "see" color at night if the exposure time is long enough, as in half a second or longer. Rule of thumb, the shutter speed needs to be at 1/60 or higher to get night video without blurring.

Read the reviews here, most include both still shots and video.

Lens size, focal length, is another critical factor. Many people like the wide, sweeping, views of a 2.8mm lens but be aware that identification is problematic with a lens that wide. Watch this video to learn how to analyze each location for appropriate lens size and keep in mind that it may take two cameras to provide the coverage you need or desire. Another factor that effects view angles is the sensor size. Typically larger sensors will have a larger field of view in any given lens size.
 

bigredfish

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I cant find that model on their website, but it looks like the closest to it and most of their 8MP cams have 1/2.8" sensors. Not optimal for low light conditions
 

ou812b4

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I cant find that model on their website, but it looks like the closest to it and most of their 8MP cams have 1/2.8" sensors. Not optimal for low light conditions
Thanks for your information and i may tell the owner to add more lighting instead of trying to find a color night vision camera. i remember several years ago having an analog speco brand camera that could see good at night if the area had some lighting but any fast moving object would ghost or blur. At that time it worked better than infrared cameras. lots of changes in the past 20 years. Dang i'm old. thanks so much
 

ou812b4

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Read the Cliff Notes in the WiKi, blue bar at the top of the page. Every camera needs white light, of some sort, to produce a color picture at night If that's what you truly want/need, be prepared to spend some serious money for one. The camera, with a 1" sensor, is well over $1,000.00. Then add in a lens for a few hundred more plus an enclosure for it and you'l be well over $2,000.00.

Quick guide -

The smaller the lux number the better the low light performance. 0.002 is better than 0.02
The smaller the "F" of the lens the better the low light performance. F1.4 is better than F1.8
The larger the sensor the better the low light performance. 1/1.8" is better (bigger) than 1/2.7"
The higher the megapixels for the same size sensor the worse the low light performance. A 4MP camera with a 1/1.8" sensor will perform better than a 8MP camera with that same 1/1.8" sensor.

Don't believe all the marketing hype no matter who makes the camera. Don't believe those nice night time captures they all use. Look for videos, with motion, to determine low light performance. Any camera can be made to "see" color at night if the exposure time is long enough, as in half a second or longer. Rule of thumb, the shutter speed needs to be at 1/60 or higher to get night video without blurring.

Read the reviews here, most include both still shots and video.

Lens size, focal length, is another critical factor. Many people like the wide, sweeping, views of a 2.8mm lens but be aware that identification is problematic with a lens that wide. Watch this video to learn how to analyze each location for appropriate lens size and keep in mind that it may take two cameras to provide the coverage you need or desire. Another factor that effects view angles is the sensor size. Typically larger sensors will have a larger field of view in any given lens size.
Thanks for the info and it's hard to believe what manufacturers say about product or even if the specs are true. i think i have $1000 budget for 4 cameras and poe nvr. appreciate you very much
 

bigredfish

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Yeah, typically 2-4 MP cameras with 1/1.8 sensors are the current low light standard. For around $200 the Dahua 5442 4MP series are the current champs. HiK also makes comparable 4MP cams with the 1/1.8 sensor.
Add a Dahua 5200 series NVR for another $250-$300 and you’re there.
 

ou812b4

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That is because someone hasn't set up the camera properly. You may still get some glow, but set correctly can minimize it unless they look right into the camera.

If nighttime color is what you are looking for, stay away from 4k - especially one with a 1/2.8" sensor. It will be crap. An 8MP will need quadruple the light than a 2MP... the best combination is a 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor. Or the 2MP on the 1/2.8" sensor. You are looking at a 8MP camera on a 1/2.8" sensor - a 2MP will kick it's butt all night long. And then you are looking at one with a 2.8mm lens - if those people are not within 10 feet of the camera, you will not be able to ID a stranger...

ALL cameras need light at night. Simple physics. Marketing a camera as low light and full color doesn't change that fact. As some folks are finding out, some of these cameras play with parameters that make them look nice and bright at night, but when there is motion, it is a complete blur and ghosting. I can make a crap camera look like noon at midnight by adjusting the parameters and make it look great as a still picture, but as soon as motion is introduced, it is blur and ghost city. How many perps will stop for 5 seconds so that your camera can get a clean shot of them...

If there isn't enough light, then you want to get a camera that has infrared, but then it will be B/W. Once you take it off auto settings, you can then dial down the glow eyes quite a bit.

You would be surprised how much light these cameras need to stay in color at night (for the cameras that can switch to B/W with IR).

I have 33,000 lumen radiating off my house and I have to force the camera in color as it is not enough light for the camera to automatically stay in color at night. The sensors are small in cameras and need a lot of light.

I have enough light at this location that the white light on the camera didn’t make a difference. This is a 4MP camera on the 1/2.8" sensor with an LED white light as part of the camera. So with this 1/120 shutter speed, I wanted to see if the camera could perform with only the white light from the camera and the flood lights turned off. As you can see from this video, it never recognized me at these settings. You would need to run 1/80 shutter with just the white light to be able to start to make a person out, but the image is way too dark.

The average Joe will not spend the time to calibrate and will just leave the settings on auto and love the great still image they get and then just accept a blur/ghost motion at night. When do we need these to perform - at night!

Keep in mind that with the shutter at auto, it is a nice bright image, but motion was a blur...once you dial the camera in to actually be usable, you see the limitations...

Thanks for the great information and video. i'll try to find dome cameras for use and hopefully that will help from someone taking a stick and just pointing the camera up, that's what happened last time and he was using an old analog dvr with 4 cameras so maybe he can have more lighting installed as this is becoming a problem. I think he needs more of a deterrent than trying to discover the identity of someone probably with a hoodie and mask on but maybe better cameras will help. thanks again for your knowledge.
 

wittaj

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Keep in mind these better cameras have a locking mechanism to keep it pointing where you want. Makes it a royal pain to do fine tune adjustments moving them just a little to get the right field of view. But it also means they are a lot harder for a thief to simply move it with a stick too. But yea, the domes mean at night they have no idea which way the camera is pointing, so I can see going that route as well.
 
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