After roughly two weeks playing with the new ColorVu G2 / 2.0 with Acusense I have created a 4k video which depicts some of the capabilities of the camera. Leave any comments, questions or requests below. BTW this is my first edited video in over 15 years so please bear with me lol. Enjoy!
Overview / Testing Video of the New Hikvision ColorVu G2 with Acusense Hikvision DS-2CD2347G2-LU
- Thread starter coney27
- Start date
Thanks a bunch for the video. I'm in the process of upgrading a couple cameras and am just now starting my research. I have a couple older bullet cameras 1-Dahua DH-IPC-HDW5231R-ZE and 3-TRENDnet Outdoor 3 MP PoE - TV-IP310PI. One thing I've learned is to turn off all camera LED/IR lights and try to use ambient light. I've set my video quite a bit darker than yours and as a result, the details of a person's face are quite clear. A person is fairly easily recognizable and is more than adaquate to turn over to police. With IR on, I've never been able to get a good facial image. It always looked washed out and like a ghost. I don't have spotlights but I do have a few coach lights outside and have put 100w equiv LED bulbs in them. They provide just enough light to get decent image quality. I've also reduced image to 1920 X 1080 on all cameras. This has also helped improve the quality of the low light video. Thanks again!
Unfortunately ColorVus don't deal with IR which is why I'm constantly experimenting with the settings. My biggest concern with the G1 ColorVu was that the depth of the picture was extremely diminished and could only see up to the end of my driveway. My issue in my neighborhood is that we don't have street lights and none of my neighbors leave their lights on overnight. So trying to dial in a camera that only uses ambient light was frustrating to say the least.
As I stated in the video I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to dial the ColorVu G2 so that I can see well past 120 feet and was avoiding washed out faces once the subject gets closer. CCTV is more of an art than anything but with the introduction of AI like Acusense the ColorVu is looking much more promising.
As I stated in the video I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to dial the ColorVu G2 so that I can see well past 120 feet and was avoiding washed out faces once the subject gets closer. CCTV is more of an art than anything but with the introduction of AI like Acusense the ColorVu is looking much more promising.
alastairstevenson
Staff member
You've actually done a really good job on the video.
It demonstrates a really wide set of potential ways to use this camera and how they affect the end result, for your specific use case.
I think it also shows how difficult it is to avoid facial washout.
In your test at 9:38 the facial features are good.
You presumably had the residential lights still on - did you also have the camera LEDs set to smart / auto-brightness?
Image | Day/Night switch | Auto | Smart supplement light On | Supplement light mode White Supplement light | Light briightness control - Auto
A question - in the Image | Day / Night switch settings, if you select Night, does the camera change to B&W?
And what version of firmware is the camera using?
alastairstevenson
Staff member
As you approach the camera, it looks like the ambient light level drops.
Love the vehicle test!
Yes I had the residential flood lights on and the cameras LEDs were set to auto brightness. As I was conducting that test I noticed the LEDs dim and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. After reviewing the video its evident the LEDs dimmed after recognizing my face was overly lit, which is pretty cool.
As for B&W I didn't test that setting yet. I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Firmware:
I thought it was pretty funny the Acusense recognized the LittleTikes car as a car lol
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alastairstevenson
Staff member
I found that firmware a bit buggy - this updated version was better :
DOWNLOAD EU PORTAL
I think it made a useful improvement to the facial detail.
@alastairstevenson
When I get home in a bit ill take a b&w video for you.
For the time being here's a shot after a recent snowfall. Picture looks amazing with all the light reflecting off of the white snow
When I get home in a bit ill take a b&w video for you.
For the time being here's a shot after a recent snowfall. Picture looks amazing with all the light reflecting off of the white snow
So I ran one test last night where I forced the camera into Night mode in the day and night mode setting with the scene still on backlight. All residential lights were turned off, with the camera's LEDs off and my neighbor had one light on that was well over 400 feet away.
I'll run another test with the same settings except with the scene changed to low illumination and see if there's a difference.
I'll run another test with the same settings except with the scene changed to low illumination and see if there's a difference.
alastairstevenson
Staff member
Yea I couldn't see 5 feet in front of me. Shutter was set at 1/30th. Ill try and see if the low illumination scene improves that at all
alastairstevenson
Staff member
Curiously, even after a full 'reset to default settings', the review DS-2CD2347G2-LU that I'm testing does not go into B&W mode when manually set to Night in the Image settings. It just stays in colour.
Your video certainly looks like it's in B&W - but any chance you could check that with the residence light on?
After forcing it into night setting it would not change to B&W. I believe the camera cannot be forced into B&W at all. My video is still in color albeit in a very dark capture.
alastairstevenson
Staff member
OK, thanks for checking.
At least both cameras behave in the same way.
A flaw in the firmware in that it still provides that setting.
Or maybe even a bug where it doesn't action it.
You could argue about the benefits or merits of using a ColorVu G2 camera in B&W - and they are probably limited, just about taking advantage of the ultra-low-light sensor in a different use case.
At least both cameras behave in the same way.
A flaw in the firmware in that it still provides that setting.
Or maybe even a bug where it doesn't action it.
You could argue about the benefits or merits of using a ColorVu G2 camera in B&W - and they are probably limited, just about taking advantage of the ultra-low-light sensor in a different use case.
Yea I'm not quiet sure why that setting is there either. I'd assume Hikvision left it in there just because. I'd love to be able to see a B&W picture with the 1/1.8th sensor which im sure would be comparable to a Darkfighter. Maybe test the low illumination scene setting? I'd bet there would be an improvement over my video which was set in backlight scene setting.
scooter_trash
n3wb
Awesome demonstration of night capabilities. I paused at each on-screen explanation of the upcoming test. You really laid it out nice, and didn't manipulate too many variables at once.
I'm wondering, how bright are these supplemental LEDs to human eyes? Can you see your way by these lights, walking out your drive?
I'm wondering, how bright are these supplemental LEDs to human eyes? Can you see your way by these lights, walking out your drive?
The LEDs are pretty bright. If I were to turn off all my floods I would easily be able to see the main portion of the driveway without issue. They work pretty well for two small LEDs. And thanks for the kind words.
@alastairstevenson Night setting with low illumination scene with no ambient light and no LEDs. Shutter speed is at 1/30th