IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV Video Quality

[jibran.aziz]

Hi All,

I have recently installed Dahua IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV, 2.8mm (8MP, full color, active deterrence) cameras. The overall video quality is good but I cannot read number plate for cars passing down the road (approx 11 meters away) or identify people properly. Is it the expected behavior? What should be a good distance to identify object characteristics? Also, the moving objects (like cars) are a bit blurry in the videos.

Apologies if that is a newbie question.

 

[wittaj]

That is totally expected with a 2.8mm lens. They are a good overview cam or if the subject would be within 4 meters of the camera.

Too many people get fascinated with 4K and the wide angle views that 2.8mm can provide and chase megapixels. But the picture is really no different than taking a pic from the same place with a cell phone - take that picture and then zoom in and it is a pixelated mess.

11 meters for a 2.8mm lens with 8MP will be almost worthless at that distance to identify people and plates. You need a varifocal camera. You can non-blur by taking shutter off of auto and setting to manual at say 1/120 of faster. Unless the car comes to a stop, you will not get plates until running a shutter of over 1/2000.

As I tell my neighbors with their 2.8 mm cams on their house saying they can recognize people at the street, I am like that is only possible if you already know the person and be able to recognize them based on their walk, clothing, body type, etc., but put a total stranger in the frame and the picture will be fairly useless. I recognize most of the people I see on my 2.8mm overview cam, but a total stranger goes by and not much you could tell the police, maybe clothing color, but nothing to identify them.

 

[jibran.aziz]

Thanks.. Great info!

 

[samplenhold]

That cam has 8MP shoved on a 1/2.8" sensor. It will never get good low-light color video at those distances with a 2.8mm lens. Even 8MP on the latest 1/1.8" sensor will not do as well as the 5442 series having only 4MP on that same sensor.

A larger sensor gets more light. Having more pixels on a given sensor means that each pixel gets less light.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

This mistake happen frequency, lots of people think they use a high resolution camera can make a digital zoom can watch everything clear, that is not right, have to calculate the distance correctly, or else will think the camera has hardware issue.

 

[jibran.aziz]

Thanks all for your responses.

@EMPIRETECANDY: Andy, what are your thoughts on IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV?

 

[AveryFreeman]

Thanks all for your responses.

@EMPIRETECANDY: Andy, what are your thoughts on IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV?

I like the disco light feature to freak people out. I'd probably buy it just for that.

In all seriousness, I have a camera overlooking an alley where any car who gets close enough to worry about would be backing into my fence less than 20ft away. I'm not super confident I'd be able to pull a license plate, but it is a good angle and they're sure to be driving slow.

The area is always lit by street light. It's limited to one cable unless I put in new conduit, so for something like that the wide angle would be helpful to view more area since I can't easily install another camera.

Given my constraints, the fact that I'm more lazy than picky, and have plenty of other stuff to do, a 2.8mm camera would fit well in my situation. And the freak-out lights are definitely icing on the cake.

Or use the speaker to yell at homeless people if they stoop behind the fence to smoke crack or something...

Basically, the point is, it all depends on what you want to use it for.

Oh, and one last thing - you can always reduce the resolution of an 8MP camera if you want fewer pixels.

 

[wittaj]

Reducing the resolution from 8MP to something less does't reduce the pixels - the pixel count stays the same in the camera as that is a fixed "pixel screen", so the only thing you are reducing is the amount of storage space needed by dropping the resolution. If the alley is dark, you will want a lower MP deterrence camera because the higher the MP, the more light that is needed.

Unless you have the camera at plate level or slightly above, I doubt you would be able to read a non-moving plate during the day more than 6-8 feet away, and at night not at all unless.

Here was my comparison of a 2MP deterrence camera versus a 4MP deterrence camera, so an 8MP would be even darker at night:

Review: Dahua DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV 4MP TIOC Active Deterrence Camera

DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP Active Deterrence Network Camera with Blue and Red LED Strobe lights Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[AveryFreeman]

Reducing the resolution from 8MP to something less does't reduce the pixels - the pixel count stays the same in the camera as that is a fixed "pixel screen", so the only thing you are reducing is the amount of storage space needed by dropping the resolution. If the alley is dark, you will want a lower MP deterrence camera because the higher the MP, the more light that is needed.

Well, I read your review and the 2MP looked darker to my eye - but there's lots of other factors that could have been involved, the camera's light brightness, the aperture (possibly, although I don't personally know how), the fact that it has a different lens and sensor.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of two different cameras that are essentially the same except for resolution. I'm not saying I disagree with you, as I don't know enough about the mechanics, but let's just say I'm reserving my skepticism.

Unless you have the camera at plate level or slightly above, I doubt you would be able to read a non-moving plate during the day more than 6-8 feet away, and at night not at all unless.

Totally, getting a good plate shot without being at the perfect angle is hard af. Thankfully this camera's ~10 ft at 30 deg or less, depending on distance, so it's at least possible. I have another camera pointed straight at where they'd drive through the fence as a backup (it does happen)

 

[wittaj]

Yeah, at first brush the 4MP does appear brighter, but as you said, they have a different aperture and once you dial them in, it is darker. But even in that setup where the 4MP appears brighter, it had more difficulty picking me up. Plus that location benefits from a large floodlight. If you look at the bottom video dialed in without the floodlight and using just the LED of the cam, it is dark.

I don't have a video of the 2MP at that location anymore with just the LED and no floodlight, but it was brighter than the 4MP at that location.

Oh I certainly believe you that people have drove thru your fence - people are drunk and are oblivious LOL.

 

[Gaspa]

Hi guys do you think with excellent lighting is it worth buying the 8mpx or am I going for the 4mpx?

 

[wittaj]

Until the next bigger sensor comes along, 4MP on the 1/1.8" sensor is the best option. You will be shocked how much light is needed. My 4MP on the 1/2.8" struggles and I thought I had a lot of light. An 8MP on the same sensor will be worse.

 

[samplenhold]

Hi guys do you think with excellent lighting is it worth buying the 8mpx or am I going for the 4mpx?

"Excellent lighting" is subjective. Define it. The only way to know for sure is to buy that 8MP cam and try it out at night. But given all of the collective experience here on IPCAMTALK, the recommendation is NOT to chase MP, go for larger sensors and less MP so that each pixel gets as much light as possible.

 

[wittaj]

I have 4 house lights on the front, each putting out 5,400 lumen. I have a yard lamp putting out 5,400 lumen. I have a floodlight with two Night Chaser bulbs putting out 6,000 lumen.

So I have 33,000 lumen radiating off the front of my house. Most would think that is a lot.

It is not enough light for my 4MP on a 1/2.8" sensor for an image at the end of my driveway 50 feet away. I have to run a way slower shutter (1/50) than I would like and a higher gain (70) to make it work if I want it in color. And I have to force it into color as well as that is not enough light for the camera to automatically stay in color.

I would hate to see what an 8MP on that same 1/2.8" would need to run.

Here is a nice side-by-side comparison @bigredfish did with two 4MP cameras - one with a larger 1/1.8" sensor and the other with a 1/2.8" sensor. His has what most would think is adequate light that is not just radiating from one location like it does off the front of my house, and you can see how the 4MP with the smaller sensor struggles.

REVIEW: SD6AL445XA-HNR-IR 4MP 45x Starlight IR AI PTZ

Yep the AI on this one and the extra zoom are nice though. The only thing it lacks is the 1/1.8 sensor. The same model with the bigger sensor and laser IR is my next purchase.

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Madgame87]

I really want to opt for the Dahua 5442 but the lack of active deterrence means it's difficult to consider. I am looking at the DS-2CD2T86G2-ISU/SL, with the 1/1.8" sensor, though it's only at a 8MP, not 4mp.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

That cam has 8MP shoved on a 1/2.8" sensor. It will never get good low-light color video at those distances with a 2.8mm lens. Even 8MP on the latest 1/1.8" sensor will not do as well as the 5442 series having only 4MP on that same sensor.

A larger sensor gets more light. Having more pixels on a given sensor means that each pixel gets less light.

 

[wittaj]

8MP on a 1/1.8" sensor is going to be somewhat equivalent to a 4MP on a 1/2.8" sensor. The optimal MP on the 1/1.8" sensor is the 4MP variety. You would probably get better nighttime performance with a 2MP on a 1/2.8" sensor than a 8MP on a 1/1.8" sensor.

Go with Loryta Active Deterrence Camera IPC-T5241H-AS-PV that is the 2MP or the DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV that is 4MP

 

[Madgame87]

Thanks for reply. The only thing about this model is the blue/red lights! Sorry, I know I’m being picky.

I believe there’s a 5mp 5541? That has a normal light, but I think the image quality isn’t as great.

8MP on a 1/1.8" sensor is going to be somewhat equivalent to a 4MP on a 1/2.8" sensor. The optimal MP on the 1/1.8" sensor is the 4MP variety. You would probably get better nighttime performance with a 2MP on a 1/2.8" sensor than a 8MP on a 1/1.8" sensor.

Go with Loryta Active Deterrence Camera IPC-T5241H-AS-PV that is the 2MP or the DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV that is 4MP

 

[wittaj]

The IPC-T5241H-AS-PV does not have the blue/red lights but the DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV does have the blue/red lights.

 

[Madgame87]

Image-wise, how would these fair in low-ish light conditions? Say a street lamp that's about 15-20m in front of the camera, as well as surrounding lights from neighbours etc. This model is 5mp with a 1/2.7” sensor.

The IPC-T5241H-AS-PV does not have the blue/red lights but the DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV does have the blue/red lights.

 

[wittaj]

You will find all cameras suffer from needing more light at night. If you are not concerned about trying to get color video at night, then you will be fine.

Here is a little review I did where I compared the 2MP and 4MP in color. It doesn't have neighbor lights or street lights, just the one flood light I provide in the area. Up close it does a good job, but you can see how you don't have to be very far from the camera and it is dark.

Review: Dahua DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV 4MP TIOC Active Deterrence Camera

DH-IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP Active Deterrence Network Camera with Blue and Red LED Strobe lights Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store...

ipcamtalk.com