Has Anyone Here Tested the SD1A203T-GN Yet (2MP 3x Starlight IR PTZ Network Camera)?

[Arjun]

Has anyone here ordered the SD12203T-GN instead?
This one is PTZ and comes in a white color as it does not have IR built in, but does have the same foam factor as SD1A203T-GN.

I'm curious to know what the differences would be in low light settings (with one being IR and other no IR, perhaps external IR illumination required? Otherwise just sub-par nighttime quality without an external IR?)

 

[aristobrat]

Looking at the specs, everything looks the same except for no IR. I run mine without IR and don't have any problems with the night-time quality. The street lights (and 60W light over the garage) give it enough to work with.

 

[Arjun]

That looks well lit. Are your street lights LED?

Whats nice about the SD12203T-GN is that its front appears to be metal, not plastic. Whereas the IR version has a plastic plate which may not do so well in areas where heat is prevalent.

 

[nbstl68]

Looking at the specs, everything looks the same except for no IR. I run mine without IR and don't have any problems with the night-time quality. The street lights (and 60W light over the garage) give it enough to work with.

How is video quality in this scenario. Still images often look wonderful...it seems that is mostly what people post here when referring to the camera's optical qualities. But trespassers are rarely going to be motionless and looking into the camera. A person or animal walking through a low light situation is more often than not quite fuzzy of blurry.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I like a small PTZ. I have a large one and the WAF isn't going over very well. I have read things about domes and ir. Is that the case with this one?

 

[ingeborgdot]

After reading a little on this cam, I really am not sure how good it is at night? The ir spec says only 50'. Does anyone care to point me to some videos where there is not a lot of light. Thanks.

 

[MixManSC]

This is just a static shot from one I bought. Unfortunately no action, it is in our install bay. We have a graphics company so there are some bits of reflective vinyl stuck around the bay in various places (and a new police car waiting to get new graphics). The camera is at its default settings. Based on how it totally blows out and over exposes the reflective materials it is apparently, at least with the current settings on the camera, that is would be totally useless for trying to read a license plate at night. The bright white spots are reflective graphics stuck on things. It is near 100% pitch black dark in the bay - there is a clock on one wall that provides a small bit of light and you can see a small bit of light around the door on the far wall and a tiny bit of light from the door on the left but its not enough that you could walk around in there without running into things. The far wall is right about 60 feet from the camera and the ceiling the camera is on is 14 feet high. If you were in there the car would be 100% invisible to you. I need to try messing with some of the settings but I have not had time. There are a bunch of different settings with regards to the backlight, day/night mode, HDR, color vs B&W, etc. and I'm not familiar with what each does yet nor what the best combination would be.

Click for full size.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I was talking to Andy about this cam and how it compares to the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE. I know it's a PTZ. I have some of the older model 5231 and really like the picture. Andy says the pic is as good on the SD1A203T-GN. Can anyone elaborate on this? Thanks.

 

[aristobrat]

I was talking to Andy about this cam and how it compares to the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE. I know it's a PTZ. I have some of the older model 5231 and really like the picture. Andy says the pic is as good on the SD1A203T-GN. Can anyone elaborate on this? Thanks.

How I have mine setup, it performs as well as my older 5231s. I run it without IR, but I'm lucky enough to have ambient light (from street lights), plus a little bit of IR shining on the driveway from a 5231 that's above the garage door.

The shot below is from a SD1A on my front porch at a little before 2AM, with IR disabled. The way I have the camera aimed, if I run IR, it does reflect back into the dome and ghosts things out.

 

[ingeborgdot]

Well, I am not that lucky to have street lights to help me out. It can be fairly dark around me so I would need some help.

 

[MixManSC]

How I have mine setup, it performs as well as my older 5231s. I run it without IR, but I'm lucky enough to have ambient light (from street lights), plus a little bit of IR shining on the driveway from a 5231 that's above the garage door.

The shot below is from a SD1A on my front porch at a little before 2AM, with IR disabled. The way I have the camera aimed, if I run IR, it does reflect back into the dome and ghosts things out.

What are your other conditions settings on that? Backlight, Day & Night, etc....

 

[aristobrat]

What are your other conditions settings on that? Backlight, Day & Night, etc....

That's the Night profile. Looking through the settings, everything looks default except for Digital Zoom (which is enabled) and IR Light (which is off).

Well, I am not that lucky to have street lights to help me out. It can be fairly dark around me so I would need some help.

To me, the IR emitters on this model (red dots below) are a lot smaller than the 5231s, which explains why they're rated for less distance.



Another thing probably worth calling out is the optical zoom on this camera is 2.7mm-8.1mm, whereas the older 5231 is 2.7mm-12.0mm (and 2.7mm-13.5mm on the newer 5231). This camera does have digital zoom, but for folks trying to get a clear shot of something 30-40 feet away, I think a 5231 is going to do better in that case.

 

[flynreelow]

How I have mine setup, it performs as well as my older 5231s. I run it without IR, but I'm lucky enough to have ambient light (from street lights), plus a little bit of IR shining on the driveway from a 5231 that's above the garage door.

The shot below is from a SD1A on my front porch at a little before 2AM, with IR disabled. The way I have the camera aimed, if I run IR, it does reflect back into the dome and ghosts things out.

View attachment 30618

I may of asked you this before, but can I get a video sample at night, with maybe a moving person. That still image looks amazing, especially with no IR (maybe a bit from the other cam) and that street light. Would love to see if you could identify a moving object towards ur car, and/or the front door.

Thanks

 

[looney2ns]

I was talking to Andy about this cam and how it compares to the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE. I know it's a PTZ. I have some of the older model 5231 and really like the picture. Andy says the pic is as good on the SD1A203T-GN. Can anyone elaborate on this? Thanks.

See link below

Well, I am not that lucky to have street lights to help me out. It can be fairly dark around me so I would need some help.

This cam is not for you then, unless you add additional IR illumination.

I may of asked you this before, but can I get a video sample at night, with maybe a moving person. That still image looks amazing, especially with no IR (maybe a bit from the other cam) and that street light. Would love to see if you could identify a moving object towards ur car, and/or the front door.

Thanks

Review-Dahua SD1A203T-GN Starlight Mini PTZ

 

[ingeborgdot]

I do have an area that has some small garden lights, maybe one of these would work in that area? Here is a pic at night of a cam I want to replace.

 

[fenderman]

This is just a static shot from one I bought. Unfortunately no action, it is in our install bay. We have a graphics company so there are some bits of reflective vinyl stuck around the bay in various places (and a new police car waiting to get new graphics). The camera is at its default settings. Based on how it totally blows out and over exposes the reflective materials it is apparently, at least with the current settings on the camera, that is would be totally useless for trying to read a license plate at night. The bright white spots are reflective graphics stuck on things. It is near 100% pitch black dark in the bay - there is a clock on one wall that provides a small bit of light and you can see a small bit of light around the door on the far wall and a tiny bit of light from the door on the left but its not enough that you could walk around in there without running into things. The far wall is right about 60 feet from the camera and the ceiling the camera is on is 14 feet high. If you were in there the car would be 100% invisible to you. I need to try messing with some of the settings but I have not had time. There are a bunch of different settings with regards to the backlight, day/night mode, HDR, color vs B&W, etc. and I'm not familiar with what each does yet nor what the best combination would be.

Click for full size.
View attachment 30614

no camera can read plates with IR at default settings. You need to dedicate a camera for this task and set proper exposure. See the LPR section of this forum.

 

[hostileharry]

I just received one of these from Andy and I was thinking about placement and mounting... well mounting is not going to be fun as it won't fit any of the normal mounting accessories.

What to do what to do... Oh well. I will take some photos when I figure out where I'm going to place it and mount it. Sounds like I need to place is somewhere where I have external IR setup...

 

[Arjun]

The price of the ceiling mount for this model is super-crazy. What you can do is go into your local hardware store, and buy a metal plate with pre-drilled holes (which are about M4 diameter) and use long enough screws to hold the unit in place.

 

[MixManSC]

???? It comes with a ceiling plate for flush mounting it. Are you talking about the ceiling mount adapter and pole?

 

[looney2ns]

???? It comes with a ceiling plate for flush mounting it. Are you talking about the ceiling mount adapter and pole?

Yes, I believe he is.