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

[beingaware]

I have a 2MP Dahua "Eco Starlight" varifocal IPC-HDW5231R-Z from BEC Technology on aliexpress, as well as the 4MP IPC-HDW4431C-A from ebay. I have tested both of them at 1920x1080 resolution, looking at the same area. In both cases the camera's internal IR illuminator was turned off because I use other illumination (I do think the starlight's built-in illuminator is stronger). In my usage, the 4431 image quality is as at least as good in daytime, and it is good enough at night. The starlight cost more than 2x as much (some of that being the varifocal lens I don't need), and for my application the 4431 is the better value.

If you have the area flooded with IR light and/or external lighting, then yes the cameras will look closely matched BUT the starlight would handle movement a lot better, you'll notice the 4mp will blur on fast motion in low light.

If he is after low light performance on a budget, the IPC-HDW-4231EM-AS would suit.
Be mindful you will need to know what lens zoom they will need.
Eg 2.8mm is great for an overview camera that isn't needed for ID OR for up close cameras, eg carport, inside garage, by the front door etc.
3.6mm also fits for up close and personal or overview watch.
6mm will be better for ID on choke points, eg foot paths, gates, etc.

Otherwise he will need to look at a VF.

Day time, then yes 4MP cameras will be better for ID due to extra detail but I rather be at 6 or 12mm with a 2mp camera then 2.8/3.6mm with a 4mp camera.

 

[muddypuddle]

It all depends on the application

for me I don't need night-time - unless I want sharper wildlife images,

That's why the cheap daytime ones are fine

I'm more worried about daytime with someone turning up in a car

I used to like the bullet cams best but now I have gone off them as yet again I have another spiders web across the front which triggers the motion detection and means I have to go out with a long stick to get rid of it

there is one thing though, both cameras blast IR which makes big bright blooms at the ground, there is no way to turn down the intensity? just night or day?

 

[cam235]

The ebay $65 Dahua IPC-HDW4431C-A offers several choices for control of the IR light: under "Setup - Camera - Conditions - IR Light" are three options: a manual power level control you adjust to your preference; a "Smart" IR which automatically turns down the light if someone approaches close enough to get blown out, and finally the one I use which is "OFF" because I use a separate external IR light so the spiders go there, and not in front of the camera.

 

[Go3Team]

I got the Dahua IPC-HDW4431C-A from ebay seller "monitech_cctv". Firmware is non-upgradable but that's the only drawback I see. Price is better than for the other similar options. I took mine apart and replaced the 2.8mm lens with a 25mm for ALPR use (to make it fit, I had to remove the round window in front of the camera, using a scribe to scrape off the glue, then a heat gun, was able to pop it out). Shipping estimated to take 10 days but it arrived here (California) in 3 days.

Example image in 1920x1080 mode, which is all my backend can deal with for now. That chimney is about 80 feet away.
View attachment 18475

Where did you get the lens? What type?

 

[cam235]

Where did you get the lens? What type?

This camera, and most other small security cameras, dashcams, and action cams use M12 type lenses (aka M12x0.5 or S-Mount or "board camera" lens.) The factory lens has a blob of clear material like 5-minute epoxy on the threads, holding it in place. I used needle-nosed pliers to shred it off, then I could unscrew the lens. For longer ranges I have used 25mm and 16mm such as:

1/2" 25mm Board Lens 5MP Lens M12 for HD CCTV Camera 1/3" & 1/2" CCTV IP Camera | eBay
HD 5mp 16mm lens IR Board CCTV Lens M12x0.5 MTV view 50m for Security IP Camera | eBay

It's not accurate to specify a particular megapixel count on a lens and ebay isn't known for accuracy in advertising, but I have had better results with so-called "5 MP" lenses than the other lenses that say 3MP, 1MP, HD or nothing at all.

The 25mm M12 lens extends several mm too far to fit inside the closed case, so with some effort I removed the glass window in front of it, then built up my own, hopefully adequate moisture seal around the lens using foam and several coats of outdoor paint. It might work to put a spacer inside to set the camera further back from the window, I'm not sure. If you do that, consider also the camera generates some heat and wants a good thermal path to the case. I measured a draw of 2.2 watts (180 mA at 12.4 V, without the IR light) but the 82mm diameter metal housing exterior does get slightly warm.

 

[Go3Team]

This camera, and most other small security cameras, dashcams, and action cams use M12 type lenses (aka M12x0.5 or S-Mount or "board camera" lens.) The factory lens has a blob of clear material like 5-minute epoxy on the threads, holding it in place. I used needle-nosed pliers to shred it off, then I could unscrew the lens. For longer ranges I have used 25mm and 16mm such as:

1/2" 25mm Board Lens 5MP Lens M12 for HD CCTV Camera 1/3" & 1/2" CCTV IP Camera | eBay
HD 5mp 16mm lens IR Board CCTV Lens M12x0.5 MTV view 50m for Security IP Camera | eBay

It's not accurate to specify a particular megapixel count on a lens and ebay isn't known for accuracy in advertising, but I have had better results with so-called "5 MP" lenses than the other lenses that say 3MP, 1MP, HD or nothing at all.

The 25mm M12 lens extends several mm too far to fit inside the closed case, so with some effort I removed the glass window in front of it, then built up my own, hopefully adequate moisture seal around the lens using foam and several coats of outdoor paint. It might work to put a spacer inside to set the camera further back from the window, I'm not sure. If you do that, consider also the camera generates some heat and wants a good thermal path to the case. I measured a draw of 2.2 watts (180 mA at 12.4 V, without the IR light) but the 82mm diameter metal housing exterior does get slightly warm.

How did the 16mm work out?

 

[cam235]

I have not used the 16mm on this specific model, only on another camera. The shorter focal length may enable it to fit inside without modifications, but I am not sure. I can tell you the 25mm is good for getting detail on vehicles. Here is a crop from a 1920x1080 video frame where the truck is about 100 feet away, and the stop sign partly visible in the distance is 400 feet away, from HDW4431C-A using 25mm lens.

 

[cam235]

Update, I got a second camera of the same kind and installed a 16mm lens on this one. It does fit inside the case, with a few mm to spare. There is no guarantee you get the same thing on an ebay reorder, but the lens I used was from this link: 2X HD 5mp 16mm cctv lens IR Board 1/2.5" M12x0.5 view 50m for Security IP Camera | eBay actually a pair of them.

I put images from the two different lenses on this post, so you can see them side by side.
Next best thing under 100$ to Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

 

[Go3Team]

Update, I got a second camera of the same kind and installed a 16mm lens on this one. It does fit inside the case, with a few mm to spare. There is no guarantee you get the same thing on an ebay reorder, but the lens I used was from this link: 2X HD 5mp 16mm cctv lens IR Board 1/2.5" M12x0.5 view 50m for Security IP Camera | eBay actually a pair of them.

I put images from the two different lenses on this post, so you can see them side by side.
Next best thing under 100$ to Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

I just bought some. How long did it take to get it?

 

[mando209]

Is Andy away on weekends? Trying to order a starlight turret from him.

Sent from my Z978 using Tapatalk

 

[cam235]

If you mean the $65 4MP Dahua, I've ordered twice and both times it came in 3 days.

If you're talking about the 16mm lens on ebay, I ordered them April 23 and got them on May 6. Note the lenses I received have no markings at all, and do not match the photo on that ebay listing, so your mileage may vary. The 16mm lens measures 13.3 mm in overall length (so it is physically shorter than the stock 2.8mm lens), and adjusted for infinity focus it does not thread quite as far down into the holder, but it fits OK inside the case. I had no problems closing it up.
EDIT: comparing the 25mm and 16mm lenses, I think these particular 16mm lenses I got are not as good quality, center is OK but image is a little more blurry in the corners. I'm going to try a different vendor and see if I can get a better one.


16mm lens after closing up the case

 

[cam235]

Mostly a note to myself for later. I like to adjust camera settings remotely from a script so I can set based on the exact time of sunrise/sunset.

The Dahua IPC-HDW4431C-A-V2 camera (and I guess most of their line) has three register banks for exposure settings: "Normal", "Day", "Night" plus a fourth, temporary set.
Assuming you want Manual Exposure using "Normal" mode on Dahua IPC-HDW4431C-A-V2
Note: ExposureMode: 0 = Auto, 4 = Manual, 7 = Gain Priority, 8 = Shutter Priority
Note: ExposureValue2 is the upper limit of exposure time in msec, and should always be = or > than ExposureValue1
From the linux command line, use these commands to change to a manual exposure range of 1.0 msec to 8.33 msec (= 1/120 sec), of course substitute your camera's username, password and IP address .

wget http://admin:secret@192.168.1.10/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&VideoInOptions[0].NormalOptions.ExposureMode=4" -q -O -
wget http://admin:secret@192.168.1.10/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&VideoInOptions[0].NormalOptions.ExposureValue1=1" -q -O -
wget http://admin:secret@192.168.1.10/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&VideoInOptions[0].NormalOptions.ExposureValue2=8.33" -q -O -

Partly based on the Dahua_HTTP_API v1.37 document that nayr posted here
Dahua 2MP 25x Starlight IR PTZ Network Camera (SD49225T-HN)
but also requiring some trial and error.

 

[Go3Team]

Did I get some crappy lenses, or am I missing something when focusing? The zoomed in camera gets blurry the farther away you go. The other may need more adjusting.

 

[cam235]

If you have the HDW4431 camera like mine, which is available stock only with wide-angle lenses, I assume you replaced the stock lens with a 12mm, 16mm or longer lens? If so, your image looks typical of what you get when the lens is focused at short range, close to the camera. The wider lenses spoil you with the deeper depth of focus. When using a more telephoto lens that is fixed-focus, you always have to decide at install time where you want the focus to be, close, medium or far, and anything at other ranges get more blurry the farther they are from the focus point.

If I'm correct, just screw in the lens a little more, and you'll move the best focus point a little further out towards the driveway..

 

[Go3Team]

If you have the HDW4431 camera like mine, which is available stock only with wide-angle lenses, I assume you replaced the stock lens with a 12mm, 16mm or longer lens? If so, your image looks typical of what you get when the lens is focused at short range, close to the camera. The wider lenses spoil you with the deeper depth of focus. When using a more telephoto lens that is fixed-focus, you always have to decide at install time where you want the focus to be, close, medium or far, and anything at other ranges get more blurry the farther they are from the focus point.

If I'm correct, just screw in the lens a little more, and you'll move the best focus point a little further out towards the driveway..

It's an 8mm lens that's in the "Zoom" photo. The other pointed at the road is a 6mm. I tried the 16mm, but could not get the camera pointed where I wanted. I'm going to try another mounting position, but I need a taller ladder to get to it.

 

[cam235]

If anyone else is playing this game- I decided I didn't really like the 16mm lens I used before. I had two samples, but both were a bit blurry, especially towards the left side. So I got a different lens from Ebay: HD 5mp 16mm lens IR Board CCTV Lens M12x0.5 MTV view 50m for Security IP Camera . Unlike the older 16mm I had, which was shorter, this new one is slightly longer than the stock lens (about 17.4 mm instead of stock 17.2 mm) but it sits up taller from the mount when focused. It also did not thread very easily, as if the thread profile was slightly wrong for the mount. So the bad news is the lens sits a few mm too tall to fit inside the case, and I had to break out the window to allow me to close up the case (using just the black foam donut ring around the lens to sort-of fill in the gap). The good news is this new lens does have better image quality, all across the field.

 

[Go3Team]

Is it literally breaking the window out? I was trying to figure out how to remove it so I can adjust the lens as it is mounted to get a good focus. As it is, I'm going up and down the ladder opening it up and making fine adjustments to it, to try and get it to look right.

I did get 2 lenses with the Ebay 2x 16mm lens. One was bigger than the other, but only the smaller of the 2 fit in the Dahua. The other fit fine in a older Vivotek I have.

 

[cam235]

On one of my cameras, I carefully scraped off as much as I could of the glue bead around the window, then heated the case up with a heat gun and was able to pop the window out in one piece by pressing on the front with a dowel of the right size. The second camera I got more impatient, didn't scrape out the glue, and pressing on the window just shattered it. Either way, yes I've just got a hole there now for the lens.