Infrared and full color cameras

[Bradyboyy88]

What are the latest turret hikvision and dahua cameras that feature both infrared and full color night vision/led? I want to narrow it down to 4mp ( 1/1.8 sensor) or 8mp (1/1.2 sensor) but I am having trouble finding these specs as it’s hard to know which has both IR and full color night vision.

thanks!

 

[wittaj]

There are not any currently on the 1/1.2" sensor that can see infrared.

People that have both the 4MP and the 8MP on the 1/1.8" sensor say the 4MP is a better night performer, so stick with the 4MP if you need infrared.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

which 4mp model has both IR for super low light conditions and all full color at night/led?

 

[wittaj]

Full color cameras are designed with built-in white LED and cannot see infrared.

Good low light cameras that can see infrared do not also have white LED. The 5442 series has cameras that have infrared or white but not both on same camera.

The cameras that have both white light and infrared are not known for super low light performance - most are on that active deterrence/tioc cameras and those serve a different purpose and low light performance isn't one of them.

 

[looktall]

Most of the cameras I've seen that have IR and white LEDs for night time colour are the tioc types and they tend to be 5mp or higher with 1/2.8" sensors which is not very good for quality night recording.

I feel like I have seen some 4mp cameras with 1/1.8" sensors that have IR and white LEDs though.
But can't be sure.

 

[bigredfish]

The exception other than the TIOC stuff, is the D2, there’s a bullet and a turret.

IPC-HDW5449H-ASE-D2 - Dahua International

IPC-HDW5449H-ASE-D2

www.dahuasecurity.com

Mine’s in a box somewhere collecting dust. I don’t recommend it.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

The exception other than the TIOC stuff, is the D2, there’s a bullet and a turret.

IPC-HDW5449H-ASE-D2 - Dahua International

IPC-HDW5449H-ASE-D2

www.dahuasecurity.com

Mine’s in a box somewhere collecting dust. I don’t recommend it.

Why keep in a box lol? The idea sounded good but I guess the implementation is crap. Side ranger: Personally I always had hikvision but I’ve read so many cctv companies that have been hik guys switching over to dahua because of This ir/led features. I guess it’s just all hype. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a dahua 180 deg cam and a few color4k-t to try out and be done with it. Then I can decide for myself if dahua has surpassed hikvision and give up trying to find these unicorn cams with high mp and night vision and large sensors with ir and full color.

 

[wittaj]

Yep LOL.

I have that camera @bigredfish mentioned. It works well in a truly backlit condition, but it isn't going to be as crisp as a comparable single lens only sees infrared or white light camera.

Just keep in mind that the 180 and 4K/T do not see infrared, so if you do not have enough white light or do not want to use the built-in white LED, then it is the wrong camera choice.

Further, many are seeing that the larger 1/1.2" sensor cameras have a VERY shallow focus depth and anything short or long of that distance will be blurry. You can really tell they are not infinity focus.

If your IDENTIFY distance isn't about 18 feet, then it isn't the right camera for you unless it is for overview purposes.

As such many are using them solely as OVERVIEW cameras to compliment their existing cameras by providing color due to such little light needed.

No need to chase MP.

Optical zoom beats digital zoom ALL NIGHT LONG and usually ALL DAY LONG.

I will take a 2MP camera that has optical zoom capabilities to IDENTIFY at 95 feet than a 8MP 2.8mm fixed lens camera trying to IDENTIFY at 95 feet all day and all night.

That is also a big misconception people have is that the higher MP means you can digital zoom. Not really as these sensor are still small. You might get away with a little bit during the day, but not at night.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Bradyboyy88]

So let me ask you this. Is the sensor the same in the color4k-X (I think that’s the 4mp version) and the latest 4mp ir version such that they both can see color the same at night when the led or ir is disabled? Or does the color one have a different processor and software to make nighttime color a thing.

Also I’d love some input on cameras for my setup. I do have one 8mp colorvu hikvision camera mounted on the left soffit but I might to be smarter about this all and can move it. Which cameras would you suggest for this setup out front? I was thinking of putting a color4k-t on the soffit center above that garage light but the more I read sounds like I should stick with the 4mp and idk if worth it or not to stick with IR if I always keep that garage light on. I set from dusk till dawn and keep that pole lamp on too. Was also think the 180 panoramic cam there as well but I didn’t want the entire right side to be my brick steps. I also park my truck on the curb about 10 ft in front of the mailbox (wifey gets the driveway ha).

 

[bigredfish]

Color 4K-X (Bullet) Or Color 4K-T (Turret) are 8MP/4K cameras. Same series different form factor.They have 1/1.2" sensors.
They DO NOT have nor can they see IR.
They have white light LEDS to help add light to a scene that needs it.
If you have enough light, you may not need to run the LEDs
Nighttime color is possible with most ANY camera, it just depends on how much light you have and how big the sensor is, ie; how well it picks up light.

The better 4MP cameras are the 5442 series,.
They have 4MP 1/1.8" sensors (smaller)
They do very well at night and come with IR lights and can see IR light. So if there isnt enough white light in a scene to run color, you can switch to B&W/IR

Generally speaking the 4K series can pick up light a bit better than the 4MP 5442 series, but there are tradeoffs.

As mentioned, ANY cameras (well most) can run "color at night"
The trick is to do so and get a crisp image and not a big motion blur blob.
Just because you can run a camera in color at night doesnt always mean its a good idea.

Broadly speaking, to reduce motion blur at night in color mode, you need
A) a buttload of light and
B) a shutter of min 1/60 and preferably 1/120 (or if you have enough light, 1/250 is even better)

 

[wittaj]

It comes down to what is your goal of the camera?

For OVERVIEW?

To capture color?

To IDENTIFY? If so at what distance?

Parking your truck on the street means that you toss out any 4K camera (except for an expensive PTZ) as a fixed lens 4K camera will not cut it at that distance.

Remember one camera cannot be the be all, see all.

In most instances you need multiple cameras, each camera selected for a specific purpose.

I have several of each camera you talked about (4K/X, 4K/T, and 180T) and they are all used as color OVERVIEW cams to compliment my other cameras. None of them I would reliably use for IDENTIFY at night beyond 15-20 feet.