Is 5231 and equivalent still better than 5442 due to IR washout
- Thread starter Andydogga
- Start date
I'm curious as well as I have several older 5231's that I am looking to upgrade. Is the 5442 IR the go-to camera these days or is the 5442 AS-LED the one to use? I could definitely see an advantage of having color at night.
I just got my TM-5442-AS-LED turret mounted yesterday afternoon, when it was overcast and quite dim. Previous was a 2231 (budget version of 5231) and the image quality is MUCH better. Working to get pictures uploaded for a comparison. In short, the 5442 sensor size and quality provide a much better image.
Well, darn it, I don't have any JPG captures from the 2231 (just yet). It's still mounted, just no cable connected.
In the meantime, here is a sunny-day image from the TM-5442-AS-LED this morning.
This is 100% raw unedited JPG from Blue Iris.
Tell ya what, here's the driveway (from a 5231) just now, for comparison.
In the meantime, here is a sunny-day image from the TM-5442-AS-LED this morning.
This is 100% raw unedited JPG from Blue Iris.
Tell ya what, here's the driveway (from a 5231) just now, for comparison.
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I'll get some low-light pictures for you this evening.
bigredfish
Known around here
The 5442 is head and shoulders a better image than the 5231 series.
If you need to use IR, there is newer firmware that helps mitigate the IR hot spotting, and by playing with gain, exposure comp, and possibly HLC, you should be able to get it dialed in as your scene requires.
If you need to use IR, there is newer firmware that helps mitigate the IR hot spotting, and by playing with gain, exposure comp, and possibly HLC, you should be able to get it dialed in as your scene requires.
Ok, it sounds like an upgrade to the 5442 is definitely something I will be doing. I just need to decide whether to go with the IR or LED models. If I read correctly it is not possible to have the LEDs come on when motion is detected, correct? That would be amazing if that was an option.
tigerwillow1
Known around here
I have a few 5231s and a few 5442s and rate the 5442s as significantly better in low light situations. I'm using external IR illuminators so perhaps I don't appreciate the internal IR issues. I can't imagine any situation where I'd choose a 5231 over a 5442.
Ok, I knew I shouldn't have hopped back into these forums, as my wallet is now going to be much lighter 
. I was totally fine with my 3 year old 5231's and my 5 year old 4MP Hikvision turrets, until we had a mail theft occur a few days ago. Now that I'm learning about all the new models and how much quality has improved, I've got the camera itch again.
. I was totally fine with my 3 year old 5231's and my 5 year old 4MP Hikvision turrets, until we had a mail theft occur a few days ago. Now that I'm learning about all the new models and how much quality has improved, I've got the camera itch again.
biggen
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Yeah the IR washout is only a problem for those leaving the settings on Auto. Don't do that. Dial your settings in. I'm using all 5442s around my house and they are all on manual IR/gain settings and washout is eliminated this way.
Ubaid Masood
Getting the hang of it
HFW5442 VS HFW5431
AI chipset (people counting, FD, Perimeter Protection )
2x Face Detection processing with Metadata
4x people counting performance
30% more optimized IVS performance than non AI model
AI chipset (people counting, FD, Perimeter Protection )
2x Face Detection processing with Metadata
4x people counting performance
30% more optimized IVS performance than non AI model
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
The 5231 is discontinued.
Ubaid Masood
Getting the hang of it
latest version for HFW5241 and 5442
Ubaid Masood
Getting the hang of it
yes already EoL 2019 replaced with AI Wizmind products in 5 series
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It absolutely KILLS me to replace a perfectly functioning camera. But when two or three generations pass, and quality/detail improves like this, it's worth a shot for one or two most critical cameras. I'm currently working on dialing in my daytime versus nighttime settings for this 5442. I use the ESPHome ambient daylight sensor to determine when it's time to switch, and a Linux/BASH shell script does the job of switching the camera profiles. Now I just need to work out the little bugs and fine detail settings.Ok, I knew I shouldn't have hopped back into these forums, as my wallet is now going to be much lighter
Same two scenes. Back door from 5442-LED with no lights on at all. Driveway from 5231 with no lights on.
And finally, squashed the little bug that should not be a bug.
In the automation, I had the Trigger set for a duration of '3m' and it wasn't firing.
Changed this value to '0:03:00' (hh:mm:ss) and it began switching as expected.
Is there maybe a tutorial for what settings to adjust and how much to try to eliminate IR washout? My 5231s like others do not have that issue but a couple of other cameras, including a not so cheap 180A 4x2mp pano camera washes out my face on IR auto just as I get into close enough range to where I should be able to ID which is so frustrating. I'm just not familiar enough with the other settings to know how to mess with them to correct it.
Without knowing anything about your setup, more than likely the default settings is your problem.
Take it off auto settings at night unless you like seeing Casper and blurring and hotspots. Auto settings in most situations for shutter will produce a great picture, but motion is complete crap with blurring and ghosting.
Go into shutter settings and change to manual and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more and gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you are getting from the infrared.
Now what you will notice that happens immediately is your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night image results in Casper during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?
So if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 30ms as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur.
You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image.
You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.
But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent), but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images.
Take it off auto settings at night unless you like seeing Casper and blurring and hotspots. Auto settings in most situations for shutter will produce a great picture, but motion is complete crap with blurring and ghosting.
Go into shutter settings and change to manual and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more and gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you are getting from the infrared.
Now what you will notice that happens immediately is your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night image results in Casper during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?
So if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 30ms as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur.
You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image.
You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.
But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent), but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images.
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