Indoor PT camera recommendations

[Kristan]

Hi,

I've used BI for years and love it, but my old Foscams are dying (one is dead!) and want something to replace them. I want a decent brand, good image quality and with PT and IR and not too expensive (~£100?).

I was looking at a DS-2CD2F42FWD-I 4mm - it's a bit over budget but if they're solid cameras I don't mind paying a bit extra.

Any other options or opinions?

Thanks!

 

[nayr]

I like my Dahua SD29204S-GN, it gives you zoom and wideangle + audio + IR, and its in the same price range as that hik

 

[bp2008]

I also chose Dahua SD29204S-GN. Ordered precisely 3 weeks ago from Shenzhen Kingstar International Trade Co., Ltd. on aliexpress and it is on schedule to arrive at the local post office tomorrow. ePacket shipping...

 

[nayr]

yeah I am ordering another one of these for the kids room soon, were thinking of adding another kid to the mix and I realized how awesome the audio detection would work to zoom in on the crib when the lil shit starts wailing hehe

better do it now while I have some disposable income still..

 

[Git]

Is this the link? (any particular reason you bought it from them?)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Dahua-SD29204S-GN-2Mp-Network-Mini-IR-PTZ-Dome-IP-Speed-Dome-4x-optical-zoom-English/32653882496.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_8,searchweb201602_3_10057_10056_10065_10068_10055_10067_10054_10069_10059_10058_10073_10017_10070_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_4&btsid=6233cc3f-f1b2-485d-8a95-982d6cf72742

I am interested - but I don't know very much about Dahua. Is the interface similar to a Hik?

 

[nayr]

yeah, no reason other than they are the cheapest.. if your importing its not like you get support, so might as well save as much as possible.

interface is not like hik's at all, but overall quality/features are comparable.. Dahua is the king of PTZ's when it comes to quality/features.

 

[fenderman]

Dont think any of those are table mount, if thats what OP wants....consider a 1080p hikvision/laview cube camera with wide angle lens...will cover the entire room, no need for pt..

 

[Kristan]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I really like the idea of full ptz but would prefer a table top. Though I can't see really why one of the above wouldn't work in that situation - I could probably just 3D print a mount if I really needed to fabricate something.

 

[nayr]

you can flip and rotate the image in the settings, but it does not have any uptilt.. so when reversed on a table top it will look out straight or up but not down.. so on a dresser it'd not be very usefull unless you tilted it so it could see down.. then the panning functions would be all screwy.

it'd work best mounted on the celling or with a wall mount bracket.. for a nany cam I'd rather it be on the celling.. before I put a celing mount camera in the kids room my son would unplug and fuck w/the audio monitor all the time.. I had to hide his BEHIND the dresser so he would not try to play with it.. then he got older and started tossing stuffed animals around the room and anything was fair game, even the roof mount camera's taken a few hits.. replaced the glass light fixture cover with a plastic one too.. boys, sigh.

 

[nbstl68]

Does anyone offer this camera (or other Dahua cams) in a "US" \ "Western" + warrantied version vs. the ali-x Chinese versions?
I believe the US cams sellers here, (milkisbad, nelly's westwood) do offer are all Hickvision or Hick rebrands only.

 

[nayr]

they sure do, but you wont get it for $160 shipped.. for the price of this from a US Vendor, I could buy 2 from china and have a on-hand spare.

this is the us model: http://dahuawiki.com/USA/IPCamera/PTZ/Lite/DH_SD29A204SN_GN

and here is what your going to pay for it: https://www.amazon.com/Dahua-DH-SD29A204SN-GN-2MP-PTZ-2-7-11M/dp/B01KWAHB3G

 

[nbstl68]

Geeze, that's nuts the cost diff. No wonder so many people here do the China Gamble.
So can I assume: [h=2]DH-SD29A204SN-GN vs DH-SD29204SN-GN
I guess the "A" = "American" or something?[/h]

 

[nbstl68]

Do they make an outdoor rated model like this?...meaning without the dome, (people say the domes cause IR reflection and other issues)?
...Or anyone make a decent and small outdoor rated PTZ that is not a beast?
(other than the Huisun bullet thing of course)

 

[nayr]

only the big black face dahua, they do have some recessed mount domes that can be pretty low key if you can recess them.. they dont have IR built in so you have to use external lighting.. and they wont do good in direct sunlight, they need to be installed in shaded areas.

The infamous Huisun Mini-PTZ might be an option for you, spec wise they are great.. hardware/software wise they fall short on quality but many can get them to work if you dont have high demands out of them or use them for critical applications.

 

[nbstl68]

Thx,
I hear you talk about the "Big Black Face Dahua" a lot...I'm sure I've seen it but do you have a model# for it to save me the forum search time??
How "Big" is it? I can look at specs but something like a pic with a normal hand next to it, (not a Trump sized hand, ha-ha) if you happen to have something like that available for reference would be helpful.
Were you saying the BBFD has no IR though?

The Huisun Mini-PTZ looks like fun to play with from what I've read here but I don't want to trust something like that for an eye on my garage or front door....maybe as a general neighborhood\nature cam.

 

[nayr]

see sig, its the SD59212S-HN 2MP 12x.. been discontinued and replaced with newer models.. mine's 2 years old and never had an issue.

attached are some pics Ive taken of it over the years its not mini.. about normal size, but people are so used to seeing cameras and ignoring them now days you'd be amazed what you can get away with.. I had one neighbor whom saw some footage I posted on nextdoor come over and talk to me about it in person, after seeing the video from my front door camera, and standing at my front door and talking to me about it for half an hour she asked me where the camera was.. I laughed and pointed above my shoulder by about a foot, never took any steps to hide it yet it rarely register's in people's heads..

every once and a while someone will ring my doorbell and my PTZ will move to get a better view automatically and the'll wave at it.. but I think thats more because they heard its motors fire up while they were intensively listening for any activity.

I dont think many criminals pay too much attention honestly, they likely have a few cheap cameras of there own setup and know how shitty most people's capabilities are with residental video surveillance.

 

[nbstl68]

That would not be too bad from my 2nd story.
2MP more than enough in your opinion for decent ID facial recognition day \ night, (a lot of marketing push for the 4-5MPs out there these days it seems)?

 

[nayr]

with enough zoom yeah 2MP is adequate for facial ID.. Mine is 2 stories higher than the sidewalk level and because its so far away on the back side of my house the angle is not much different than an 8ft cam on the front of the house.. only once did a pair of criminals spot the camera, and they came prepared with bandana's on their faces.. They may have known about that camera due to video I've provided the neighborhood or just been really good at what they do.. my cars were locked and they left the area keeping there faces turned away from my property.

I leave mine parked tightly on a vehicle at night, during the day it'll zoom out and get most of the yard but at night it zooms in right on the car doors and I try to keep the front/rear reflectors out of frame.