Looking for a Quality Replacement for a Dome

[dortoninternet]

I currently have an Amcrest IP8M-2493EW and I'm 40% happy with it.... the daylight image quality is fantastic. The night time image quality is unusable. If its raining during the day the image quality is unusable as the dome just becomes blocked with rain drops. I also regret not going with a built in mic but that isn't a deal breaker. I figured a turret would solve most of problems.

I've been looking at options like the DS-2CD2H86G2-IZS and DS-2CD2385G1-I and some other Amcrest options.

Things I'm struggling with:

ColorVu vs DarkFighter (or similar)
Resolution vs Sensor Size. I was originally searching for the largest sensor and 8mp but then started reading comments that large sensors didn't work well with 4K?
I'm still not sure how important built in mic or varifocal are for this camera. Built in mic would definitely be nice and varifocal would be added bonus I guess.

 

[wittaj]

It is simple LOL do not chase MP - do not buy a 4MP camera that is anything other than a 1/1.8" sensor. Do not buy a 2MP camera that is anything other than a 1/2.8" sensor. Do not buy a 4K (8MP) camera on anything smaller than a 1/1.2" sensor. Unfortunately, most 4k cams are on the same sensor as a 2MP and thus the 2MP will kick its butt all night long as the 4k will need 4 times the light than the 2MP... 4k will do very poor at night unless you have stadium quality lighting (well a lot of lighting LOL).

Sensor sizing can confuse a lot of people LOL.

Is a 1/2.8" sensor bigger than a 1/1.8" sensor? Most people say yes LOL. But it is a fraction, so the 1/1.8" sensor is the bigger of the two.

What are you trying to accomplish? OVERVIEW to observe stuff, or IDENTIFY people?

A mic is nice to be able to hear what is going on.

A varifocal is nice to be able to optically zoom in to the area you want to cover, but these are a set it and forget it. If you want to be able to zoom in and out to watch or see something, then you need a PTZ.

More than likely, you will want to get more than 2 cams believe us....

Arlos and most consumer grade cameras are 2.8mm wide angle cameras that will let you see a lot, but not be able to identify a lot...

To identify someone with the 2.8mm lens that is popular, someone would have to be within 13 feet of the camera, but realistically within 10 feet after you dial it in to your settings.

Main keys are you can't locate the camera too high (not on the 2nd story or above 7 feet high unless it is for overview and not Identification purposes) or chase MP and you need to get the correct camera for the area trying to be covered. A 2.8mm to IDENTIFY someone 40 feet away is the wrong camera regardless of how good the camera is. A 2.8mm camera to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet is a good choice OR it is an overview camera to see something happened but not be able to identify who.

Do not be sold by some trademarked night color vision (Full Color, ColorVu, Starlight, etc.) that is a marketing ploy in a lot of ways lol. It is simply what a manufacturer wants to claim for low-light performance, but there are so many games that can be played even with the how they report the spec numbers. They will claim a low lux of 0.001 for example, but then that is with a wide open iris and a shutter at 1/3 second and an f1.0 - as soon as you have motion in it, it will be crap. You need a shutter of at minimum 1/60 second to reduce a lot of blur from someone walking. And if you do not have enough light for the camera, then you are screwed because the camera doesn't see infrared.

 

[dortoninternet]

This camera is mounted right above my door in the back yard. Its mainly used for keeping on eye on the feral cats I take care of. BI has a hard time detecting movement at night due to the bright spot in the center from the IR/Dome.

I do have multiple cameras but the others are in locations that aren't subject to direct rainfall. This one is also center pointed at concrete which is creating a bright spot from the focusing of the IR through the dome. It works great with dome removed but obviously can't leave the dome off or the rain will kill it.

Do you have examples of a 4K camera with a 1/1.2" or larger sensor? The largest I've found so far was the 1/1.8". That even seems overkill though. If I remove the dome on my Amcrest it actually does yield a really nice image at night and that's 4K with a 1/2.7" sensor with F2.0 lens. Looks pretty bad on paper but actually has nice image quality. Just the dome ruins it once darkness or rain falls.

 

[wittaj]

Well if you are only using it to watch cats and not worried about identify purposes then almost any camera will do.

And an image of any camera can look good despite its specs on paper - it is how it performs with motion that is the concern. I can make a cheap $40 camera look like noon at midnight and have a nice bright image, but as soon as there is any motion, it is a blur and ghost.

If the dome camera looks better with the dome off, then you are getting IR bounce off the dome and the camera lens protective seal to block out the IR is compromised - make sure it hasn't rolled over or popped off.

Now rain will be an issue with a dome and sometimes can be with other cameras as well based on direction rain comes from.

Here is a 4k camera with a 1/1.2 sensor, but it is overkill for what you are trying to do: DS-2CD2087G2-L(U)

 

[dortoninternet]

Yeah I agree its overkill but I really like the 4K quality with the wide angle. Being able to pinch zoom real quick and still have great sharpness is really nice.

So, yeah I've found a couple real nice bullet cams and I have a couple but I need a dome or turret style for this location as the bullet style can't capture the back cat house and my door. Sometimes the cats creep along the side of the house and just wait right outside the door. So bullet and dome are the only style that can mount close enough to the wall to actually see the bottom of that same wall. Yeah I know you could angle a bullet in certain directions but there is a specific location where
its currently mounted that I can capture everything with 1 camera with a turret/dome.

It seems there aren't any turret cameras with a sensor that large so you think a 4mp with a 1/1.8" sensor would be a better option?

People reading this probably thinking I'm crazy...

 

[wittaj]

Yep, currently not a turret on the larger sensor.

The 5442 series from Dahua is probably your best bet as it is the current optimal 4MP on 1/1.8" sensor.

Purchase from Andy here and it will come with Smart IR that does a really nice job of knocking down IR hotspots. His firmware is more recent than Dahua puts out. These are Dahua OEM cameras, which Dahua also makes Amcrest and Lorex, so the camera userface will feel similar to you!

Amazon.com: Loryta IPC-T5442TM-AS 2.8mm Fixed Lens 4MP Starlight+ WDR IR Eyeball AI Network Camera English Version: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: Loryta IPC-T5442TM-AS 2.8mm Fixed Lens 4MP Starlight+ WDR IR Eyeball AI Network Camera English Version: Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

 

[dortoninternet]

Awesome I'll check that out. Great info. Thanks for you help.

 

[wittaj]

The 5442 is a great camera. I have one and my neighbor has a Lorex 4k camera and the 5442 blows it out of the water. My neighbor actually has started to replace with Lorex 4K with 2MP and this 4MP because he now realizes that the sensor size is more important than chasing MP!

 

[dortoninternet]

It looks like for an extra $30 you can get built in mic and varifocal? Think varifocal would produce a lower quality image at 2.8mm vs. fixed?

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-IPC-T5442T-ZE-Vari-Focal-Eyeball-Starlight/dp/B08C77TNY9/

 

[wittaj]

The varifocal will produce slightly less image quality as you zoom it in. If you know 2.8 is what you want, then get the fixed.

Personally, I want more zoom and the tradeoff is not that big to me.

 

[dortoninternet]

Sounds good. Thanks again for the great info.

 

[looney2ns]

See this: