IPC-HDW2439TP-AS-LED-S2 WDR? How?

[alecz]

I have a IPC-HDW2439TP-AS-LED-S2 (IPC-HDW2439T-AS-LED-S2? - not sure what the extra T means) and it's supposed to support WDR, HLC, and BLC as "Backlight" compensation.

However, when I go to Backlight, the mode is Off, and the only option is WDR, but when I select it nothing happens and if I attempt to save, I get a message saying "Save failed!"
If I go to exposure > Shutter Priority > Customized Range > 0 ~ 25 ms, then the WDR option disappears completely and the only Backlight mode is Off.

I would like to know:

1. If anyone else (that has this model or IPC-HDW2439T-AS-LED-S2) experiences the same behavior.
2. Is there any documentation from Dahua (or even 3rd party) that says which settings are (in)compatible with Backlight compensation modes such as WDR? Any limitations such as exposure?

Firmware version is V2.820.0000000.60.R, Build Date: 2023-10-21

 

[alecz]

FWIW, I have another camera of same model, but an older firmware and it has the full "Backlight" compensation options. So I think the first camera is either defective or needs a hard reset.

 

[bigredfish]

I dont have that specific model but it could be Shutter Prio disables WDR, which kinda makes sense.

FWIW I've yet to find a valid reason to use Shutter Prio and when I've tried it it was always a worse picture than Manual fixed or range

 

[alecz]

Thanks for the reply. Definitely shutter prio does something to backlight compensation (on both cameras). I rememer it was suggested to me to set the shutter priority to something like 25ms to reduce motion blur at night, but I ended up leaving it on auto because the image is much better day an night and the is very little motion blur at night.

 

[bigredfish]

If you have enough light great.

If you decide in the future you need a faster shutter, try using Manual 1/60 (16ms) or even 1/120 (8.33 ms)

Faster shutter can reduce or eliminate motion blur. Even in daytime many of us use a fast shutter to get as crisp an image as possible for face and license plate ID.

 

[wittaj]

^THIS

You may think you have very little motion blur at night because you recognize everyone that goes by.

Then one night a perp goes by and you realize the video is useless.

Most people over-estimate the quality of their video until something bad happens.

Most people do not have enough light to run in color - if you make the shutter 1/120 does the camera stay in color or does it switch to B/W?

Post a video sample of night video with motion and see if we agree the motion blur is minimal...

 

[alecz]

Awesome idea. Most "interesting" things around here happen during the day (I mean really 2-3 burglaries that I know of happen during the day when people are at work).
So I can set a faster shutter during the day, for crispier images and a slower one at night - until the image gets too dark.
Will see if I can post a clip.

 

[alecz]

This is a capture from Feb 25th at 4 AM with only ambient light.
I attempted an export from Blue Iris... I had to transcode it, otherwise, the clip would be mostly blank with the occasional inserted frame. I find the transcoding reduced the quality compared to what the camera records directly to NAS:

Surprise visit at night

Captured with a IPC-HDW2439T-AS-LED-S2 on Feb 25th at 4 AM with only ambient moonlight from the back and some parasitic blue light from the neighbour's glass...

youtube.com

This is the .dav file uploaded to YouTube:

I find both look more blurry on YouTube than on actual screen:

Camera's own JPG capture:

 

[alecz]

Same visitor, much darker night:

Same visitor, much darker, rainy night

same HDW2439T-AS-LED-S2. Much less ambient light, dark cloudy rainy night. 3 AM.

www.youtube.com

 

[bigredfish]

I know we like to be all hi-tech around here but sometimes a simple $39 solution helps.

This would buy you 20 seconds of good focused light in that dark corner and as you’re already running color no downside of having the camera switch modes on you. I use them in a couple of places, work great.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Beams-Performance-Wireless-Spotlight/dp/B01LWV1X4Z/

 

[alecz]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking about adding motion lights, but this camera has two (bright enough) LEDs. Even when I run them 1/100 intensity it is enough for the camera to see very well.
I would like to configure Blue Iris to actually turn them on on movement, so I would get the benefits of that light without the extra gadget.

It's not that much about money as it is about aesthetics and of course the WAF!