Most Discrete 6mm Camera for Front Door

Jose R.

Jose R.

Getting the hang of it
Mar 14, 2019
111
83
Miami, FL
Fellas!

I need a small starlight or equivalent front door camera (CAM 1 in diagram) with a 6mm lens. I want this lens as I use it to focus tight on a choke point in my entryway for Face ID. I have an overall front door cam behind this one (CAM 2) for packages, etc. This would also double as a good truck watcher cam with the tighter FOV.

The issue is this guy is front and center so a smaller form factor or something more discrete than my 2231's would be preferred here.

I was gung-ho for the wedge 4231 with this lens but Andy reports he can't get 'em. He recommended the (EDIT) IPC-T5442TM-AS which is a 4MP Starlight+ turrent but it's smaller than the 2231's. Any reviews on these yet?

Any other suggestions?

Sample shot is from a 2231 in the proposed location at half zoom (approx 6mm).
 

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According to the Dahua catalog (here: Dahua IP Catalog 201902 Q1) Andy is recommending the IPC-HDBW4231F-AS because it is a 2MP Starlight (the 4MP is IPC-HDBW4431F-AS). You more than likely want that one if you want compact, but without going doorbell size. It is a dome camera, but if its by a door and out of direct sunlight would probably work well enough.
 
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Jose R. said:
Any reviews on these yet?
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Not yet, but soon. Andy shipped the review units earlier this week, but AFAIK they have not been received yet. The low-light specs on these look amazing, I'm anxious to see how they perform.

If you wanted to see the size of it, Andy posted a pic in the thread here of it next to a 5231 (which IIRC is the same size as the 2231).

Jose R. said:
I was gung-ho for the wedge 4231 with this lens but Andy reports he can't get 'em.
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That sucks to hear... those are excellent for doors/patios/etc.
 
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Jose R. said:
My apologies, I linked the wrong cam
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Oh that will be a bummer if Andy can't get the wedges anymore, specifically for those use cases where you need something small, like door/package cameras :/
 
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Thanks, guys... To be clear, I am talking about the 6mm version. The 2.8 and 3.6mm versions are still available as far as I know. They are just too wide for my choke point. Half the image will be walls if I use those.
 
Jose R. said:
Thanks, guys... To be clear, I am talking about the 6mm version. The 2.8 and 3.6mm versions are still available as far as I know. They are just too wide for my choke point. Half the image will be walls if I use those.
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Oh! What a lot of folks will do in this case is physically rotate a 2.8mm or 3.6mm lens 90' so the image goes from wide to tall. That used to be referred to around here as "corridor mode", but I haven't seen it mentioned much lately.

Jose R. said:
How does Darkfighter compare to Starlight?
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IMO, they're about the same (when comparing models that use the same sensor size, like this Hik and the Dahua mini-wedge).
 
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Jose R. said:
Great form factor on that one. 110mm diameter so a tad larger than the wedge but smaller than the standard turrets. 360-degree rotate so no issues using upside down on a ceiling.

How does Darkfighter compare to Starlight?
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Every bit as good. I have both but I would give a very slight edge to the Hikvision. Generally you have to pay more for the Hikvision so that has to enter into the equation. I currently have 7 Dahua's and 9 Hikvision cameras. All Darkfighter or Starlights. Let me also say my Dahua's are plenty good enough for the location they are in and I will not be changing them out.
 
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aristobrat said:
Oh! What a lot of folks will do in this case is physically rotate a 2.8mm or 3.6mm lens 90' so the image goes from wide to tall. That used to be referred to around here as "corridor mode", but I haven't seen it mentioned much lately.
Click to expand...

I tried the corridor mode in this location and it gave me a couple of issues. First, the white floor blew out the upper half of the frame where the ID takes place. So the part I need is lost. This also loses the car surveillance in the background. In regular mode, I get more pixels on the subject and the bonus of more view of the cul-de-sac behind.

Lastly, going to 3.6mm in corridor mode would cost me many pixels in the important places. I found in my testing, the 6mm area was the sweet spot. I don't need to see the perp's shoes, I can get that in CAM 2 after he's passed this cam and been ID'd.

This exercise if anything has proven that TESTING CAMERA POSITIONS DAY AND NIGHT IS CRITICAL.

Newbies, if you are reading this, for the love of trekking hot attics, TEST FIRST. You are tempted to skip this, I was too. And I paid for it in other places. Test, test, test your locations first!!
 

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Parley said:
Generally you have to pay more for the Hikvision so that has to enter into the equation.
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It's currently $129 at B&H. So it's not any more than the wedge. Is this a sale price or unusually low for this cam?
 
Jose R. said:
It's currently $129 at B&H. So it's not any more than the wedge. Is this a sale price or unusually low for this cam?
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Maybe a sale price? If you look at the 2.8 mm and 4mm versions they are priced over $150. I paid $156 for my 2.8 mm. The 6mm version looks like a damn good price to me.
 
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VorlonFrog said:
Any chance you could buy the 4231 wedge and swap the lens?
It's not the most reliable method, but often works a treat.
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I could do that, are they easily available and affordable? Considering the Hikvision version is 6mm from factory for about the same price, probably best to just do that one and not crack anything open, no?
 
Jose R. said:
Considering the Hikvision version is 6mm from factory for about the same price, probably best to just do that one and not crack anything open, no?
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If you're running Blue Iris (or have a HikVision NVR), that's what I would do. If you have a Dahua NVR, then it gets a little more tricky because Hikvision's Smart Events (better motion detection, similar to Dahua IVS) won't work with the Dahua NVR.
 
Yep, running Blue Iris. Thanks, everyone, just ordered this camera. Will be nice to concentrate on another location, as I'm currently pulling my hair out trying to sort tree shadows on my driveway with another cam, hah. Luckily there's already lots of info on here about that.

Thanks again!
 
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