Powered by DarkFighter 8MP or ColourVu 4MP

[coney27]

Thanks for the feedback. Isn't adding IR llumination kind of defeating the purpose of the Colorvu providing a color image though? The IR turns it into a B/W image right?

We don't have any street lights in my area so we just leave our flood lights on all the time. Maybe I should just get one Colorvu and see how it works with house flood lights left on and off (to prevent shining at neighbor houses lol) and with the camera LED on and off.



Thanks. Do you find it beneficial to have the varifocal lens? I know I shouldn't focus on MP but I was hoping to at least get 4MP to provide a better daytime picture plus want to be able to zoom in some if needed. That is one of the reasons I was hoping the Colorvu was good at night plus it was 4MP whereas most "night" cameras that are recommended are 2MP.

I wonder if one of the forum members has the DS-2CD2H25FWD-IZS you mentioned at a cheaper price.

The varifocal lense is good if you cant decide what field of view you ultimately might want. The varifocal is meant to be adjusted during the install process and then left at the same field of view for the duration of the life of the cam. I certainly wouldnt not be adjusting the varifocal constantly as you could end up burning and seizing the lense due to over usage.

Honestly my picture with the 2mp is very good both day and night and I'm happy I went with it. Like I said its considered a older cam since it was introduced 3 to 4 years ago and back then the best night captures were only with 2mp cams.

If your really caught up on MP you could always go with the 4 MP Outdoor IR Varifocal Outdoor Network Turret Camera
It's a 4mp version and isnt considered darkfighter or powered by darkfighter. The main difference between the 2mp and 4mp is the lux where the 2mp is rated at .005 compared to the 4mp which is rated at .009 lux.

Just checked the new 2020 product brochure Hikvision released last week and they are considering the DS-2CD2H25FWD-IZS to be "new". So I'm not sure if they updated it or why they are considering it to be new.

 

[aristobrat]

Isn't adding IR llumination kind of defeating the purpose of the Colorvu providing a color image though?

Yes. If you're going for color images all night long (and don't have enough ambient light for that to happen without extra lighting from the camera), then the IR model doesn't make sense.

My goal for the Dahua "IR" version of the ColorVu was to get better b/w images at night. From the forum reviews I've seen of the new Dahua models using the 4MP 1/1.8" image sensor (same as ColorVu), the b/w image quality in low light was better than what I'm currently getting from my system, which is mostly Dahua 5231s (which are varifocal turrets that use the 2MP 1/2.8" image sensor ... they look a lot like the DS-2CD2H25FWD-IZS that @coney27 mentioned).

I wonder if one of the forum members has the DS-2CD2H25FWD-IZS you mentioned at a cheaper price.

I didn't look spec-for-spec, but the Dahua OEM 5231 model looks similar to it. I think it's around $170.
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

If you don't need sound, this new 2231 model ("S2") uses the same 2MP 1/2.8" image sensor in the 5231 but has a better (lower) min illumination spec. It's around $130.
Review-OEM IPC-T2231T-ZS 2mp Varifocal Starlight Camera | IP Cam Talk

 

[SilkY SliM]

OP how did you go with camera search? im from same country and have same selections... I still havent purchased and ready to buy this weekend.

Spymonkey store another option for us.

 

[lewic]

I have both the darkfighter and colorvu. Depends on what you want it for. Darkfighter if you have the IR light on will be in black/white. If you keep it in day mode (IR off) then it will give you color image at night as long as there is sufficient moon/starlight or anything like a light casting a little glow anywhere in the area. Colorvu's use a white LED instead of IR which is like a small floodlight and will always be in "color" mode. My colorvu has the LED turned off and the only light is the porch light across the street at the neighbor's house about 150 feet away and it sees perfectly and the image like during the daytime except the sky is dark. Darkfighter in the same situation is still in color but image is pixelated and has noise. I would pick colorvu. Darkfighter with IR on will let you see 174 feet away but will will be in black/white.

 

[SilkY SliM]

thanks for feedback, much appreciated

 

[Tolting Colt Acres]

I have 8MP 2385's and I had a 4MP ColorVu for testing for a month.

ColorVu was a nice camera, but really all you're paying for is the camera turns on the LEDs (rather than IR) when it gets dark and doesn't switch over to B&W. Yes, it has a better sensor so w/ the LED lighting you get color pictures at night. You can almost accomplish the same thing with a couple of LED floodlights and setting the 2385 to stick in day mode, if you really want color. For instance, that's what I do in a section of my driveway which is heavily lit at night.

Overall, I wasn't impressed enough to warrant swapping out the 2385's I have for the ColorVu. I can definitely see the benefits for some people though.

 

[Arjun]

Who sells the DS-2CD2385G1-I?

 

[lewic]

Who sells the DS-2CD2385G1-I?

If you want authorized distributor then the easiest is B&H Photo. Other's would be like ADI but you would probably need an account to purchase. It depends on if you value the warranty or access to tech support or not. If not they are sold on Amazon. Next option would be OEM's. I am sure Nelly's or LTS would carry this.

 

[stevenizme]

I'd stay away from ColorVue IMO. I have one and it's nice to have color at night but lacks much more than that. And as @SouthernYankee said MP isnt everything. Do your homework and dont settle on just any camera.

Coney,
What do you not like about the Colorvu camera? I have a standard black/white 12mm zoomed lens pointed at the street and mailbox, but I was looking at Colorvu for my other front yard camera that covers most of the yard. I'd like to get colors on individuals and vehicles going down the street. Any concerns I should be aware of? The 12mm would hopefully grab more detail as the person/vehicle passed (in black/white).

 

[coney27]

Coney,
What do you not like about the Colorvu camera? I have a standard black/white 12mm zoomed lens pointed at the street and mailbox, but I was looking at Colorvu for my other front yard camera that covers most of the yard. I'd like to get colors on individuals and vehicles going down the street. Any concerns I should be aware of? The 12mm would hopefully grab more detail as the person/vehicle passed (in black/white).

IMO the coolorvu has a limited field of view especially with distance from the cam. In my application I probably have 70 to 80 feet from the camera that is viewable but after that it is hard to make anything out. The color is great at night but I also run floodlights to compensate so I have a better picture than just using the built in leds. But overall if you need to view longer distances it definitely lacks if there is no abient light available.

 

[JanekEMS]

Hello Guys! I read this topic very deep because I plan to buy camera in front of my house. All my system is based on Hikvision so I decided to buy new cameras also from Hikvision company. I check deeply all hikvision specyfiactions of all current "good preis" cameras and I found that one model in my country (Poland) have grate parameters - this is ColorVu Ds-2CD2T47G1-L so I ordered it imediatley but later I found model 8MP DS-2CD2T85G1-I5 or I8, so I check interenet and found this topic. Because it was not possible to buy now in my country 8MP model I ordered ColorVu. I'm very intrested in futrure results when I will run this camera. In front of my house is big street lamp (soda-like color, litlle warm-yellow, I think it is very good). There is very bright even at night so we will see. I will check also this camera in back of my hime where is wery dark and we will see. In future I plan to buy next one camera there but I think there (back of home) I need for sure some IR camera in turret - maybe DS-2CD2385G1-I (mentioned 8MP).

P.S. The test will be also interesting because full path of signal from camera to NVR is little long:
1.Camera on building
2.Tp-link Powerline Adapter TL-7017 kit
2.Seconed Tp-link Powerline Adapter TL-7017 kit
4. In-port POE (but POE not inportatnt in this case) in Ubiquiti Accespoint AP LR (because I have this free port - no router in this location jet)
5. Direct from AP signal go to Ubiquity Nanobeam 5AC Gen2 - 5GHz transmiter over trees 300m!! No Line Of View!! but works!!
6. Ubiquity Nanobeam 5AC Gen2 - 5GHz reciever
7.Swith POE
8.NVR Hik 7616NiK2

We will see) Best Regards from Poland!!