The first thing to do is read the material in the
WiKi, in the blue bar at the top of the page. It may seem like reading "War and Peace" but it is well worth your time. Read it on a real computer, not a tablet or phone.
You'll find almost, literally, everyone here does not view cloud based systems as secure or reliable. Also consider just how much data can be sent by video surveillance cameras. Even "unlimited data plans" have limits and will throttle to limit data.
You'll also find that most, if not all, here do not view Eufy /Ring/Wyse or any of the low end consumer level cameras or camera systems to be effective for real video surveillance. None of them work well at night. My suggestion is to stick with Dahua or Hikvision cameras. Record them locally, 24/7, on either an NVR or a PC based VMS like
Blue Iris. Either of those can be accessed from anywhere in the world but, with cellular, you're stuck behind a CGNAT situation, no real IP address. There are easy workarounds for that using a product like ZeroTier.
You also need to determine exactly where to place each camera and the focal length of the lens for each, specific location. That can be easily done by buying a decent varifocal camera, setting it up in a test rig and using the web GUI of the camera to adjust the focal length and see how each proposed location will work out. Remember, cameras mounted higher than about 7-1/2 feet will not provide good identification shots.
Don't chase megapixels. Chase the sensor size and there is a right resolution for each size of sensor to get the best performance from a camera. 8MP on a 1/2.8" sensor will be basically blind at night, too many pixels getting too little light, versus a 2MP on that same sensor which will get roughly four times the amount of light on each pixel.
Do not get mesmerized by "I have four cameras and I can see everything on every side of the house". While that is probably a true statement you won't be able to see who did what which kind of makes them useless.
The three basic rules of video surveillance cameras-
Rule #1 - Cameras multiply like rabbits.
Rule #2 - Cameras are more addictive than drugs.
Rule #3 - You never have enough cameras.
Quick guide -
The smaller the lux number the better the low light performance. 0.002 is better than 0.02
The smaller the "F" of the lens the better the low light performance. F1.4 is better than F1.8
The larger the sensor the better the low light performance. 1/1.8" is better (bigger) than 1/2.7"
The higher the megapixels for the same size sensor the worse the low light performance. A 4MP camera with a 1/1.8" sensor will perform better than a 8MP camera with that same 1/1.8" sensor.
Disclaimer - These sizes are what the manufacturers advertise and may, or may not, be the true size of the sensor in the camera.
720P - 1/3" = .333"
2MP - 1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet)
4MP - 1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball)
8MP - 1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round)
Focal length, lens size, is another critical element in camera selection. A 2.8mm lens will produce a nice wide view but will be useless for identification at distances greater than abut 10 or 15 feet.
Compiled by wittaj
Love these posts on Nextdoor type apps LOL. This thread will be used for members to post the poor quality consumer grade type camera images that we see people post to the Nextdoor type apps. Can anyone make out this person that went thru their cars LOL.... And this thread is where members...
ipcamtalk.com
Don't believe all the marketing hype no matter who makes the camera. Don't believe those nice night time captures they all use. Look for videos, with motion, to determine low light performance. Any camera can be made to "see" color at night if the exposure time is long enough, as in half a second or longer. Rule of thumb, the shutter speed needs to be at 1/60 or higher to get night video without blurring.
Read the reviews here, most include both still shots and video.
Avoid Reolink, Foscam, SV3C, Nest, and all the other consumer grade cameras. They all struggle mightily at night and never get anything useful on video. Here's a link to a whole thread debunking Reolink in particular.
Compiled by mat200 -
Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...
ipcamtalk.com
I will review and high light some of the image capture issues Reolink has in low light conditions from the following youtube video: ( commentary below ) Reolink RLC-823A Review - 4K IP Camera that has Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Spotlights and Motion Tracking LifeHackster Feb 5, 2022 ref: update: One...
ipcamtalk.com
A collection of various consumer grade failures -
Love these posts on Nextdoor type apps LOL. This thread will be used for members to post the poor quality consumer grade type camera images that we see people post to the Nextdoor type apps. Can anyone make out this person that went thru their cars LOL.... And this thread is where members...
ipcamtalk.com
Avoid WiFi cameras, even
doorbell cameras. WiFi is not designed for the constant, 24/7, load of video that a surveillance camera produces. At best, with two cameras on WiFi, they will still experience dropouts multiple times daily. Murphy's Law says that will happen at the worst possible moment.
Lens size, focal length, is another critical factor. Many people like the wide, sweeping, views of a 2.8mm lens but be aware that identification is problematic with a lens that wide. Keep in mind that it may take two cameras, or more, to provide the coverage you need or desire. Another factor that effects view angles is the sensor size. Typically larger sensors will have a larger field of view in any given lens size.
The 5442 series of cameras by Dahua is the current "king of the hill". They are 4MP and capable of color with some ambient light at night. The 2231 series is a less expensive alternative in 2MP and does not have audio capabilities, no built in microphone, but is easier on the budget. The 3241T-ZAS has similar spcs as the 2231 and has audio. There are also cameras available from the
IPCT Store right here on the forum and from Nelly's Security who has a thread in the vendors section.
Again, courtesy of Wittaj -
At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...
ipcamtalk.com
The 5442 series of cameras by Dahua is the current "king of the hill". They are 4MP and capable of color with some ambient light at night. The 2231 series is a less expensive alternative in 2MP and does not have audio capabilities, no built in microphone, but is easier on the budget. The 3241T-ZAS has similar spcs as the 2231 and has audio. There are also cameras available from the IPCT Store right here on the forum and from Nelly's Security who has a thread in the vendors section.
Review - 8MP 1/1.2" sensor full color camera
Intro I’m excited to be doing another Worlds First Review. this time as I mentioned in the full color thread, I’ve been testing the new Dahua full color 4K camera. This was provided courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY for a fair, honest, no holds barred, unbiased review. I’ll attempt to answer any and...
ipcamtalk.com
Ok, who's ready for not only a review BUT another World's First Review ? You heard it here first, new camera in hands and almost ready to review. Thanks as always goes to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) for providing this camera in exchange for a fair, honest, non biased, no holds barred review. I’ve...
ipcamtalk.com
Hey guys The full color 2.0 has been released. Most cams I already posted here. Like:
IPC-Color4K-X Bullet 4MP Motorized Full color. Today I bring a secret model, 1st release for the Dual-Lens Full color model in the world. Dual-lens Camera( Sample at Early Sep ) Ø Dual light fusion...
ipcamtalk.com
Dual Sensor 4K
Hope all of you are doing well ! Intro Its time to do another review and this time (as you may have seen in my Coming Soon video), we have 2 of them. Both of these cams are from the same MFW-7x42K1 family and feature dual sensors. I have the 7442 (4MP) and 7842 (8MP) versions of these cams...
ipcamtalk.com
5442 Reviews
Review - Loryata (Dahua OEM)
IPC-T5442T-ZE varifocal Turret
IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret Varifocal Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $200.00...
ipcamtalk.com
Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+
All, thanks to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) we have a new 4MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This camera is using the OEM model number of IPC-B5442-ZE which is the equivalent of the Dahua IPC-HFW5442-ZE for reference. The IPC-B...
ipcamtalk.com
Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam
IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ Turret
Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $160 Link to camera...
ipcamtalk.com
Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Turret, Full Color, Starlight+)
Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera 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: link Andy's Email: kingsecurity2014...
ipcamtalk.com
Review: IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI - Dahua Technology Pro AI Bullet Network Camera
Many thanks once again to Andy @EMPIRETECANDY we have for testing the OEM IPC-B5442T-ASE-NI 4MP Starlight+ Full Color bullet. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is a fixed 3.6mm bullet (Pro AI) series with the 1/1.8” sensor. It has no built in...
ipcamtalk.com
2231 Review
Review-OEM IPC-T2231RP-ZS 2mp Varifocal Turret Starlight Camera
Again courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY EmpireTech Andy we have a new cam to look over. Its a new model in Dahua's new Lite H265 Series of cam's. Available for purchase here: Aliexpress.com - Online Shopping for Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Sports, Automobiles and more Price is approx...
ipcamtalk.com
3241T-ZAS Review
IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...
ipcamtalk.com
PTZ Cameras
Hey guys A new PTZ is out now, it's using the new dual light and Polar light new technology, attached PDF file is the details for checking. This model we will bring one for review and for fun.
ipcamtalk.com
180 Degree FOV 4K
The new Dahua 180 degree bullet camera (IPC-Color4K-180) should be available soon from Andy along with its data sheet. Looks like a most interesting camera for many applications.
ipcamtalk.com
