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Next best thing under 100$ to Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

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Janek

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HI Guys

so i spent about a week reading through all many posts regarding dahua cameras and all the great things abou the varifocal starlight but i just cant seem to spend 170$ on 11 of these for the house.
so im in search of something that comes close and can be a reasonable alternative to the 170$ price tag.

maybe for the front door i woudl get the IPC-HDW5231R-Z but for the rest of the house coverage i would like to be in the sub 100$ region per camera.

i have been looking at the IPC-HDW4431C-A for about 65 $ from Ali, or the IPC-HDW2320R-ZS for about 103$ from Aliexpress or even the IPC-HDW4300C for around 62$, or the IPC-HDW4233C-A for 63$ which is also not bad.

but honestly, i have no idea. i've tried to find videos and some picture comparisons, but its really hard to judge the performance from what is available on the net.

so im reaching out to you guys for some help and some suggestions on setting up a system with turret cameras preferably in the 60-90$ range.

i know Nayr will recommend mainly the Starlight Vraifocals, but i wonder if any of you have any other alternatives worth considering for someone who cant spend 2$k on a camera system.

8 outdoor cameras and 3 indoor cameras = 11 x 170$ for the Starlight and it sure adds up quick.

please help a fellow newbie pick the right camera :)

thanks guys.

JD
 
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Solar Deity

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Janek

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thanks for the tip Camit.
was hoping for either a dome or a turret type of camera.
anything from this segment?
the Domes are more prone to IR reflection, but not sure if all of the are like that. have seen few domes with only one IR led, so maybe its not as bad like the formerly ring type IR leds.

hopefully there are some alternatives in the dome/turret segment too.
thnx
 
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The thing with the IPC-HDW4431C-A is they only seem to come in 2.8 or 3.6 mm, so it depends if you can live with that. Really only good for up close images.

I have a 4431r-z, and my problem with that is if you have it zoomed out, images up close at night get washed out. The IR on it can be too strong. So again, depends on application.

Randy
 
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I have the dahua 4431 turret and I don't like it,the fact that it only comes in 2.8 or 3.6 is a deal breaker for face Id.. with a varifocal lens you can go from 2.8 to 12mm
 
hmjgriffon

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better to spend money on a small number of GOOD cameras in GOOD strategic locations than a bunch of shitty ones, and add more cams as you can afford, or you can waste time and money like others never being happy with your system and then shell out later. :p
 
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How about going a little over budget, you could get a IPC-HFW4231S or IPC-HFW4231M. Around $120 per.

But I'd recommend buying one IPC-HDW5231R-Z, and trying it out. See how it looks during the day, and at night.
Mount on a 2x4 and you can locate it where you planning to put your cameras.
 
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randytsuch said:
How about going a little over budget, you could get a IPC-HFW4231S or IPC-HFW4231M. Around $120 per.

But I'd recommend buying one IPC-HDW5231R-Z, and trying it out. See how it looks during the day, and at night.
Mount on a 2x4 and you can locate it where you planning to put your cameras.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I'd do.... start with one varifocal Starlight turret that can be moved around to help you figure out the rest of your install...

Use to that figure out where best to mount your other cameras, and since you only get one chance to order the correct lens for non-varifocal cameras, you should be able to get a good feel for what best to order (by using the zoom feature of the varifocal).

As anxious as I'd be to install an entire system at once, I'd hate to spend 80% of what a non-varifocal Starlight turret costs for a camera that doesn't do well in low-light situations (unless you have some areas that are never low-light).
 
mat200

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Janek said:
..
maybe for the front door i woudl get the IPC-HDW5231R-Z but for the rest of the house coverage i would like to be in the sub 100$ region per camera.

i have been looking at the IPC-HDW4431C-A for about 65 $ from Ali,..
Click to expand...
I also have been looking at my budget get out of wack and looked at various alternatives in less critical spots.

I really like the suggestion by aristobrat to buy one varifocal starlight HDW5231R-Z and use it to determine where and what type of lens you may want in that spot - with that information you can pick the fixed lens starlight ( about $120 iirc ) or decide on an even cheaper option - or forgo a camera for now and wait for your next couple of paychecks.

I also looked at cheaper cameras, the IPC-HDW4431C-A ( and now I see a IPC-HDW4431C-A-V2 out ) fit my budget better ( at about 1/2 the cost of the fixed lens starlight ), however the plastic base maybe an issue in the long term especially if it is exposed to UV/sunlight as well as the issues of firmware and it's P2P communication issues ( ? calling home ? ). Have not yet decided if I will try that camera out in a less important location(s). I've still got some more reading to do on it.
 
just some dude

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You're going to want Starlights! See these reviews.
nayr said:
Most of these cover the new 1/2.8" Sony Exmor-R Starlight (Eco Savvy) powered cameras that are considerably more affordable than the previous 1/1.9" Sony Exmor Starlight (Ultra) lineup. Most of the Eco Savvy 3.0 cameras street prices are very comparable to there non-starlight counterparts and totally worth the extra money spent given the performance gained.

I've already reviewed the performance of the:

Varifocals:
Ultra Varifocals:
  • Ultra Starlight Bullet w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (4.1mm-16.4mm) IPC-HFW8232E-Z
  • Ultra Starlight Dome w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (4.1mm-16.4mm) IPC-HDBW8232E-Z
  • Ultra WDR Bullet w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (2.7mm-12mm) IPC-HFW8231E-Z
  • Ultra WDR Dome w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (2.7mm-12mm) IPC-HDBW8231E-Z
  • Ultra WDR Z5 Bullet w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (7mm-35mm): IPC-HFW8231E-Z5
  • Ultra WDR Z5 IR Dome w/SD, External Audio & Alarm (7mm-35mm): IPC-HDBW8231E-Z5
Fixed Bullets:
Fixed Turrets:
Domes (not recommended outdoors):
PTZ and Others:
  • 30x Zoom Bullet (4.5mm-135mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SDZW2030S-N
  • Covert Pinhole Camera (2.8mm F2.4) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: IPC-HUM8230-E1
  • CS Mount Box Camera (no lens) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: IPC-HF5231E
  • 180 Degree Panoramic MultiSensor w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: IPC-PFW8601-A180
  • Black Face Lite PTZ 25x (4.8mm~120mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD49225T-HN
  • Black Face Lite PTZ 12x (5.3mm~64mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD49212T-HN
  • White Face Intelligent PTZ 30x (4.5mm~135mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD6C230U-HNI
  • Black Face Intelligent PTZ 30x (4.5mm~135mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD59230U-HNI
  • Black Face Intelligent PTZ 25x (4.8mm~120mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD59225U-HNI
  • Ultra Starlight Dome PTZ 30x (6mm-180mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD65F230F-HNI
  • Ultra Starlight Laser IR PTZ 40x (7.9-316mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD6AL240-HNI
  • Ultra Starlight Laser IR PTZ 30x (6mm-180mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD6AL230F-HNI
  • Ultra Starlight IR PTZ 30x (6mm-180mm) w/SD, External Audio & Alarm: SD6AE230F-HNI

    plus more non-IR indoor dome PTZ's that are not appropriate for outdoor use and I cant imagine will be very popular here.
For people new to the video surveillance game, I strongly recommend the varifocal turret to start off with; that way when someone steals your stuff and you come to the realization that wide angle views are not all they are cracked up to be; you can zoom it without replacing the camera.. The varifocals are also the only fixed cams that provide up to 12mm optics..

Unless specified these are all international models and may be avilable in either PAL or NTSC formats (it makes no difference); english firmware should come from factory and they are firmware updatable.
Click to expand...
 
just some dude

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I didn't want to spend a bunch either, but I knew I wouldn't be happy with the performance of cheap cameras. Currently have 6 Dahua 4231's, waiting for 4 HDW5231R-Z's. Still bench testing and getting familiar with Blue Iris. Hope to get them installed soon.

Interesting fact, I have a bunch of cameras all in the same area including a couple older a couple Foscam. Under the same lighting conditions the Starlights stay in color (while the cheap cameras have to switch to ir) and have much better images.

Perhaps Nayr could show comparisons (day and night) between a $60 camera and $120 4231? That would likely solve any indecision : )
 
hmjgriffon

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J

Janek

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Well, Thanks a lot guys :)
geeez, this is what i was afraid of.
oh well, one varifocal starlight for me, then do some testing and buy the rest fixed focals.
maybe one bullet IPC-HFW4431R-Z, well see.

thanks for the input from all of you guys.
if by some miracle anything else reasonable comes up, please do let me know :)

thanks again

JD
 
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