Hello everyone, I'd appreciate some input and feedback from people who have some experience with Hikvision hardware. I want to upgrade the analogue CCTV system at my parent's house in a couple of months. I will be going with the Hikvision DS-7108N-SN/P 8 channel POE NVR which offers the best value for money with my budget, I'm struggling with choosing cameras however. I will need 4 cameras but I went with the 8ch NVR because, well, you never know I might get ipcamphilia (very likely). What matters probably the most is night vision (up to 15-20m) but the specs don't really tell you much about actual performance if you haven't played around with a few models which is something I won't be able to do. For maximum compatibility I've narrowed it down to the following Hikvisions that pretty much cost the same +/-$10:
It's almost pitch black for 2 and there is some street lighting (with lots of shadows cast by nearby trees) for the other 2. There is also the potential problem of insects in the summer which, based on the current setup, really like to sh** right in front of the lens but not where the IR LEDs are. I would also be grateful if I could get some advice on what lens size (or mix of lenses) would be suitable (0-20m).
I will be ordering from AliEx because that's my only option (outside the US/Europe). I believe they're all Chinese versions and I'm aware of potential issues with firmware upgrades and the lack of support and I'm used to that and fine with it. Some of the cameras have H265 or resolutions higher than what the NVR can handle and that's fine I will be running them at h264 @1080.
I've been reading and searching through the forum for 3 full days straight (seriously!) but sometimes there is no way around asking and getting advice specific to one's situation. So, thank you very much in advance for your input!
| Model | Megapixels | Lux @(F1.2,AGC ON) | Sensor size |
| DS-2CD2120F-I | 2 | 0.01 | 1/2.7 |
| DS-2CD3112-I | 1.3 | 0.01 | 1/3 |
| DS-2CD2110F-IWS | 1.3 | 0.01 | 1/3 |
| DS-2CD3135F-I | 3 | 0.01 | 1/3 |
| DS-2CD3145F-I | 4 | 0.07 | 1/3 |
| DS-2CD3345-I | 4 | 0.07 | 1/3 |
| DS-2CD2232-I3 | 3 | 0.07 | 1/3 |
It's almost pitch black for 2 and there is some street lighting (with lots of shadows cast by nearby trees) for the other 2. There is also the potential problem of insects in the summer which, based on the current setup, really like to sh** right in front of the lens but not where the IR LEDs are. I would also be grateful if I could get some advice on what lens size (or mix of lenses) would be suitable (0-20m).
I will be ordering from AliEx because that's my only option (outside the US/Europe). I believe they're all Chinese versions and I'm aware of potential issues with firmware upgrades and the lack of support and I'm used to that and fine with it. Some of the cameras have H265 or resolutions higher than what the NVR can handle and that's fine I will be running them at h264 @1080.
I've been reading and searching through the forum for 3 full days straight (seriously!) but sometimes there is no way around asking and getting advice specific to one's situation. So, thank you very much in advance for your input!
