Help finding a new security camera

[Garrett_777]

Hi, I need help figuring out which one of these cameras is better. I need cameras that record in 1080p, in full color, and record audio, these are the ones that a dahua tec support recommend to me based on my requirements. :

USA/IPCamera/Lite/N41BK22 - Dahua Wiki

USA/IPCamera/Pro/N84CL52 - Dahua Wiki

Also what's your opinion on the NVR they recommended :
USA/NVR/Pro/N52B3P - Dahua Wiki

 

[fenderman]

Hi, I need help figuring out which one of these cameras is better. I need cameras that record in 1080p, in full color, and record audio, these are the ones that a dahua tec support recommend to me based on my requirements. :

USA/IPCamera/Lite/N41BK22 - Dahua Wiki

USA/IPCamera/Pro/N84CL52 - Dahua Wiki

Also what's your opinion on the NVR they recommended :
USA/NVR/Pro/N52B3P - Dahua Wiki

Great options if you dont care about low light and night vision.
Start by reading the cliff notes. Shame on dahua for those recommendations.

 

[mat200]

Hi, I need help figuring out which one of these cameras is better. I need cameras that record in 1080p, in full color, and record audio, these are the ones that a dahua tec support recommend to me based on my requirements. :

USA/IPCamera/Lite/N41BK22 - Dahua Wiki

USA/IPCamera/Pro/N84CL52 - Dahua Wiki

Also what's your opinion on the NVR they recommended :
USA/NVR/Pro/N52B3P - Dahua Wiki

Welcome @Garrett_777

Do take some time to figure this out.

As fenderman implies, that sort of 4MP Dahua is not well liked by members here due to poor performance / and thus poor value. ( 1/3-in. 4 MP Progressive-scan CMOS Sensor ), also domes are not preferred in general for outdoors.

Lots of good information in the cliff notes, so do look at those.

Also look at the various reviews by members, as well as look for Southern Yankee's welcome message which has a good list of bullet points you want to pay attention to.

 

[reeves1985]

Welcome @Garrett_777

Do take some time to figure this out.

As fenderman implies, that sort of 4MP Dahua is not well liked by members here due to poor performance / and thus poor value. ( 1/3-in. 4 MP Progressive-scan CMOS Sensor ), also domes are not preferred in general for outdoors.

Lots of good information in the cliff notes, so do look at those.

Also look at the various reviews by members, as well as look for Southern Yankee's welcome message which has a good list of bullet points you want to pay attention to.

At the moment if it was me advising you.
I would say aim for the 2mp starlight 5231R-ZE turret cams.

They are varifocal and are tried and tested and work well.

There's some new starlight+ 4mp versions just released that have just had a first review from @looney2ns who is a well respected reviewer, but his review is one of the first and it's still in its infancy.

The cameras I've mentioned won't steer you wrong and ate a good all round choice.
Especially if you are specifically looking at 2mp.

NVR I can't really help as I actually run a hikvision NVR still as it fills my needs so I haven't needed to upgrade yet.

As for domes, I wouldn't really bother outdoors as the turrets perform better with less issues e.g. it reflection etc.

I'd even go bullet form over dome personally.

 

[VorlonFrog]

5231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP varifocal camera, including a microphone.
2231 Starlight turret is the next step down 2MP varifocal, with no microphone.
4231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP fixed focus camera, including a microphone.

ALL of these 2MP Starlight cameras will outperform absolutely almost everything else, especially the newer 4K and 8K cameras. Higher pixel density is a very difficult thing to achieve, and the current high-resolution sensors do not perform nearly as well as these 2MP Starlight cameras. Don't chase resolution/pixels thinking they are Nirvana, you'll lose because you're playing the wrong game.

 

[reeves1985]

5231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP varifocal camera, including a microphone.
2231 Starlight turret is the next step down 2MP varifocal, with no microphone.
4231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP fixed focus camera, including a microphone.

ALL of these 2MP Starlight cameras will outperform absolutely almost everything else, especially the newer 4K and 8K cameras. Higher pixel density is a very difficult thing to achieve, and the current high-resolution sensors do not perform nearly as well as these 2MP Starlight cameras. Don't chase resolution/pixels thinking they are Nirvana, you'll lose because you're playing the wrong game.

What the man said ^^^^^

 

[Anthony Kennedy]

What the man said ^^^^^

5231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP varifocal camera, including a microphone.
2231 Starlight turret is the next step down 2MP varifocal, with no microphone.
4231 Starlight turret is the top of the line 2MP fixed focus camera, including a microphone.

ALL of these 2MP Starlight cameras will outperform absolutely almost everything else, especially the newer 4K and 8K cameras. Higher pixel density is a very difficult thing to achieve, and the current high-resolution sensors do not perform nearly as well as these 2MP Starlight cameras. Don't chase resolution/pixels thinking they are Nirvana, you'll lose because you're playing the wrong game.

I’m sold that the 5231 starlight turret is the top of the chain. If I wanted to run 5 Dahua turrets outside which NVR from Andy would work with them to full potential? I’m keen on an NVR and not bi.

 

[reeves1985]

I’m sold that the 5231 starlight turret is the top of the chain. If I wanted to run 5 Dahua turrets outside which NVR from Andy would work with them to full potential? I’m keen on an NVR and not bi.

I wish I could help on that one, but I still run a hikvision NVR as it still serves my purpose.

I'd ask Andy for a reccomendation and then ask on here if anyone has one for a general review.

I like you didn't want to run BI.

My advise would be whichever you choose, make sure it can handle the full bandwidth of the cams you intend to run, and also more because 99% of the time you will at some point want to add to the system. There's nothing worse than having the NVR restrict you in that respect.

Don't skimp on the NVR because it's one of the most important things you'll buy

 

[VorlonFrog]

Avoid 4-port NVRs because 4 cameras are never enough.
While 8-port NVRs are attractive on price, they are clearly limited.
16-port NVR would be your best choice, or 8-port NVR if you're budget-minded.

 

[reeves1985]

Avoid 4-port NVRs because 4 cameras are never enough.
While 8-port NVRs are attractive on price, they are clearly limited.
16-port NVR would be your best choice, or 8-port NVR if you're budget-minded.

I forgot to add I'd not advise a low NVR either for reasons mentioned above.

It gives you more scope for expansion and also there's no hassle accessing individual cameras for beginners

 

[Anthony Kennedy]

I forgot to add I'd not advise a low NVR either for reasons mentioned above.

It gives you more scope for expansion and also there's no hassle accessing individual cameras for beginners

Thank you reeves1985 and Vorlonfrog! Appreciate it! Andy recommended NVR5208-8P-4KS2E but I’m worried about your comments on the NVR handling full bandwidth of the cameras. I’m a little confused. Could you elaborate please?

 

[reeves1985]

Thank you reeves1985 and Vorlonfrog! Appreciate it! Andy recommended NVR5208-8P-4KS2E but I’m worried about your comments on the NVR handling full bandwidth of the cameras. I’m a little confused. Could you elaborate please?

Basically the IP cameras will be able to run at a maximum bitrate for a given resolution.
You then multiply all these together and you'll get a maximum bandwidth that the cameras can produce (barring firmware upgrade that unlocks more bitrate etc or obviously adding more cameras to the setup)

Each nvr will have a maximum bandwidth that it can handle at a given resolution and frame rate. And also a maxim amount of cameras it can handle

So I'm basically just saying you need to make sure that the nvr can "cope" comfortably with what you want by looking at the specs and making sure its ably to do it comfortably.

I'd not advise buying a nvr that will be maxed out with the initial camera configuration. Because then if you ever add more cameras or upgrade to higher resolution in the future the nvr will restrict what you will be able to record

 

[bigredfish]

NVR5208/16-8P-4KS2E
8/16 Channel 1U 8PoE 4K&H.265 Pro Network Video Recorder

> Smart H.265+/H.265/Smart H.264+/H.264
> Max 320Mbps Incoming Bandwidth
> Up to 12MP Resolution for Preview and Playback
> HDMI/VGA simultaneous video output
> All PoE ports support ePoE & EoC