Recommendations for outdoor cams

[chadman]

I'm looking for a good recommendation for some IP cams. I initially thought I wanted a Ubiquiti NVR and camera setup. I bought these products and found I made a mistake. I have a Ubiquiti UNIFI AP's, gateway, and POE switch and love them. Easy to setup and manage. I was not as happy with the Camera/NVR system. Camera quality was poor and night vision was almost unusable. I returned that setup and got a Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I. Image quality was night and day. I also decided to build my own NVR and use Blue Iris software.

So are the Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I a good choice? I'm happy with the day/night vision when testing indoors in my unfinished basement. I have not had a chance to test them outdoors. I plan to have 4 cameras located outside my house and was looking in the 100-200 price range for each camera. These do not have audio and at first I thought that was silly, but wonder if that is worth considering. What do you guys think? Is the Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I at around 120.00 a good model to use or would you recommend other options in my price range?

 

[fenderman]

Buy a turret not the bullet

 

[chadman]

Buy a turret not the bullet

Do you have some good recommendations? I'm new to this and don't have anything to compare this bullet too. I really bought it based on reviews. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also why would you prefer the turret over the bullet?

 

[fenderman]

Do you have some good recommendations? I'm new to this and don't have anything to compare this bullet too. I really bought it based on reviews. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also why would you prefer the turret over the bullet?

The hikvision turret...same as the bullet specs but in turret form.

 

[Del Boy]

DS-2CD2342WD-I is the turret model

If you're using Blue Iris then also consider Dahua 4421C

 

[chadman]

DS-2CD2342WD-I is the turret model

If you're using Blue Iris then also consider Dahua 4421C

any advantage between the 2 brands? Also I see a bunch of 4421 models, but not a C model. Also why do prefer the turret style?

 

[fenderman]

any advantage between the 2 brands? Also I see a bunch of 4421 models, but not a C model. Also why do prefer the turret style?

Turret prevents spider issues - big problem. Turret is more vandal resistant.

 

[Kawboy12R]

Turret also has the EXIR LED setup. Wide even spread of light. Not quite as good as the Hik promo videos show but still nice.

 

[chadman]

Thanks! Going to check out the Hikvision turret.

 

[Del Boy]

Dahua has EXIR too, called CXIR I think (it is a turret too!). http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Dahua-IPC-HDW4421C-A-Mic-Built-in-IR-IP-Camera-4MP-Full-HD-Network-security/32615814327.html

Anyway, you already have a Hikvision so I'd be tempted to stick with Hikvision in case you end up with a Hikvision NVR.

 

[chadman]

Is the picture quality about the same for both? Seems like those little lenses in the turrets would not work as well as the bullet. Then again I have no idea

 

[nayr]

yeah picture quality is about the same.. turrets and bullets of the same generation all have the same lenses and hardware, just different enclosures.

image quality between Hik and Dahua is equivalent among comparable models, they use the same base image sensors provided by sony.. the firmware is what separates them, and Dahua's is arguably better.. mainly because of Hik's regional nonsense.

 

[chadman]

Dahua has EXIR too, called CXIR I think (it is a turret too!). http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Dahua-IPC-HDW4421C-A-Mic-Built-in-IR-IP-Camera-4MP-Full-HD-Network-security/32615814327.html

Anyway, you already have a Hikvision so I'd be tempted to stick with Hikvision in case you end up with a Hikvision NVR.

This seems so much cheaper than the Hikvision I was looking at, but they ship from China. I understand Hikvision is also from China, but the ones I was looking at ship in the US and had US firmware on them. What's the deal with these and the vendor selling them? Website looks a little sketchy. How would these compare to the Hikvision DS-2CD2342WD-I?

Again I appreciate all the help. I'm slowly getting there!

 

[ENiGMA]

Hik has been cracking down on aliexpress sellers periodically, that's why the prices seem higher, the cheap sellers (the big sellers) have been reported and banned. Dahua, not so much on cracking down resellers on aliexpress. If you're in US, you might want to look at https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/257-Good-source-to-buy-IP-items-at 's thread, or Nelly's they both sell US Hik rebadged cameras, with US warranty and such. The Hiks from aliexpress are for chinese market (so called "grey market" when they sell to overseas buyer), you can't upgrade the firmware the normal way or it will default to chinese language.

 

[Del Boy]

yeah picture quality is about the same.. turrets and bullets of the same generation all have the same lenses and hardware, just different enclosures.

image quality between Hik and Dahua is equivalent among comparable models, they use the same base image sensors provided by sony.. the firmware is what separates them, and Dahua's is arguably better.. mainly because of Hik's regional nonsense.

They're not Sony, they are Omnivision which is decent during day but not as good as Sony at night. But yeah, they use the same so there is barely any difference between Hikvision and Dahua picture quality unless you are really really really picky and have them side-by-side.

Also Dahua is ONVIF and despite Hik claiming it's ONVIF, it's a crap implementation of ONVIF.