Review: Dahua DH-IPC-HFW5842E-ZE-S2 - 8MP / 4K Vari-Focal Bullet Cam

EMPIRETECANDY

IPCT Vendor
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Messages
8,259
Reaction score
23,719
Location
HONGKONG
A
Hi Andy
Du you have it in Black ? ;) View attachment 116359
No black buddy, full black need Minimum order QTY 300pcs, this bullet can't sell such big in BLACK Color, white one is more popular. Full black for outdoor using, sunshine heat is too hot for black cams.
 

garycrist

Known around here
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
2,274
Reaction score
6,698
Location
Texas
Thank you @ Wildcat_1. It is the 4K-X, I'll work on the settings more and see what I can do better with your suggestions.
In B/W mode it is a killer with an ability to see down to a magnitude of 5-6ish!
 

garycrist

Known around here
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
2,274
Reaction score
6,698
Location
Texas
Once more thank you for the tips. After another hour I have some outstanding images on the TV.
A miracle worker for sure! Now can you do something about the clouds? Might you look into some "cloud removal" setting too?:rofl:
 

Wildcat_1

Known around here
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,047
Reaction score
5,865
Location
US
Once more thank you for the tips. After another hour I have some outstanding images on the TV.
A miracle worker for sure! Now can you do something about the clouds? Might you look into some "cloud removal" setting too?:rofl:
Hahah. Glad it helped @garycrist, enjoy ! I’ll send you the photoshop filter for CCTV to take care of those clouds for you ;)
 

danvet

n3wb
Joined
Jan 28, 2022
Messages
2
Reaction score
3
Location
USA
Noob here (first post no less) - so apologies if these questions are basic.

First - THANK YOU for the great reviews. They are incredible helpful!

I think this camera (or the turret version you reviewed a few months ago) would fit my needs very well. My questions are:
  • What are the differences between this and the turret version? The lack of microphone on this one seemed to be the only difference I could find. How should I decide between the two?EDIT: I've done my best to highlight some of the differences below - but I'd still be interested on how people generally decide between turret or bullet style?
    • MODEL: TURRET vs BULLET
    • Max. Aperture: F1.4 vs F1.2
    • Close Focus: W 1.0m / T 1.0m vs W 1.75m / T 5.21m
    • Min Illum.: 0.004 lux vs 0.003 lux
    • IR Illuminators: 2 vs 4
    • Illum. Distance: 50m vs 60m
    • Privacy Marking: 4 areas vs 8 areas
    • Audio: Built-in mic vs Line in
    • Protection: IP67 vs IP67, IK10
    • Operating Temp: -30c to +60C vs -40C to +60C
    • Gross Weight: 828g vs 2400g
  • What is the Z4 variant you mentioned? EDIT: Got this one figured out - it's 8-32mm rather than 2.7-12mm.
  • You mentioned a tip about using PFA121 & PFA122 junction boxes and quick switching the plates - I couldn't find the tip so could you tell me more? EDIT: I think figured this out too. The faceplates on the square boxes are interchangeable, whereas on the round they are not. So better to use a square junction box (either PFA 121 or PFA 122 depending on camera) so you can easily swap out the camera in the future without having to remove the box (just mount the new camera onto its new faceplate and be certain you can mount onto the existing box). At least I think this is right.
 
Last edited:

Wildcat_1

Known around here
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,047
Reaction score
5,865
Location
US
Noob here (first post no less) - so apologies if these questions are basic.

First - THANK YOU for the great reviews. They are incredible helpful!

I think this camera (or the turret version you reviewed a few months ago) would fit my needs very well. My questions are:
  • What are the differences between this and the turret version? The lack of microphone on this one seemed to be the only difference I could find. How should I decide between the two?EDIT: I've done my best to highlight some of the differences below - but I'd still be interested on how people generally decide between turret or bullet style?
    • MODEL: TURRET vs BULLET
    • Max. Aperture: F1.4 vs F1.2
    • Close Focus: W 1.0m / T 1.0m vs W 1.75m / T 5.21m
    • Min Illum.: 0.004 lux vs 0.003 lux
    • IR Illuminators: 2 vs 4
    • Illum. Distance: 50m vs 60m
    • Privacy Marking: 4 areas vs 8 areas
    • Audio: Built-in mic vs Line in
    • Protection: IP67 vs IP67, IK10
    • Operating Temp: -30c to +60C vs -40C to +60C
    • Gross Weight: 828g vs 2400g
  • What is the Z4 variant you mentioned? EDIT: Got this one figured out - it's 8-32mm rather than 2.7-12mm.
  • You mentioned a tip about using PFA121 & PFA122 junction boxes and quick switching the plates - I couldn't find the tip so could you tell me more? EDIT: I think figured this out too. The faceplates on the square boxes are interchangeable, whereas on the round they are not. So better to use a square junction box (either PFA 121 or PFA 122 depending on camera) so you can easily swap out the camera in the future without having to remove the box (just mount the new camera onto its new faceplate and be certain you can mount onto the existing box). At least I think this is right.
Glad you find the reviews and tutorials useful @danvet. In answer to your question. Turret vs Bullet cam can be down to preference, install location, size of the 2 units for a more inconspicuous vs deterrence approach. What I also caution / remind people about though is remember that the bullet cams also feature more IR LED's (in the majority of cases) therefore if you know you need IR illumination due to installing in questionable, low or no light then having the 4IR LED's can assist vs the 2, just something else to consider when planning your overall install.

With regards to junction boxes, YES as I've recommended many times, I prefer the square PFA-121 and 122 due to the interchangeable faceplates. I will post a video on this too so it goes in line with what I've been talking about for the past year or so. This really is a game changer for fast switching of cameras at an install location and allows you to do all the hands on work on the ground before installing in place.

HTH
 

danvet

n3wb
Joined
Jan 28, 2022
Messages
2
Reaction score
3
Location
USA
Thanks for the detailed, helpful and friendly reply.

This camera will be pointing at the bird table - so minimum focus distance may be the most important thing for me when deciding between the two.

Having said that...I'm afraid I may catch the bug and have a house surrounded with cameras before I'm done.
 

Wildcat_1

Known around here
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,047
Reaction score
5,865
Location
US
Meant to say, still planning to do a follow up with latest FW (to show SmartIR improvements) + vari / zoom at night. Will setup to capture these when snow is complete in the next week or 2
 

ver

n3wb
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
7
Reaction score
3
Location
EU
Thank you Wildcat for your work. Reviews and demo videos like this makes purchase decisions much easier.
But why YT videos are not public? ;)
 

tech101

Known around here
Joined
Mar 30, 2015
Messages
1,472
Reaction score
2,125
Location
SF BayArea, USA
Thank you so much always for such an quality in depth detail analysis of these cameras. This helps so much, So we can make right decision when picking out the cams.

by the way again thank you a ton for last year for helping me dial my cams.
 
Last edited:

Wildcat_1

Known around here
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,047
Reaction score
5,865
Location
US
Thank you so much always for such an quality in depth detail analysis of these cameras. This helps so much, So we can make right decision when picking out the cams.

by the way again thank you a ton for last year for helping me dial my cams.
Thanks for the kind words. Absolutely welcome, glad I can help. Always feel free to reach out if you need assistance.
 

pinko

Known around here
Joined
May 26, 2017
Messages
385
Reaction score
623
Location
Australia
Thanks for the review.

Looks like we are both using the same video editing program. It's pretty awesome. :)
 

wittaj

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
24,436
Reaction score
47,560
Location
USA
@Wildcat_1 - any chance you can go bare feet LOL and do a running test at 25 feet to compare a dialed in camera to the default auto settings The Hookup used?

Here are two freeze frames and while he is beyond the distance I think one could IDENTIFY a person, I know this camera is more capable than this:

1648404017439.png

1648404043358.png


 

Wildcat_1

Known around here
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
2,047
Reaction score
5,865
Location
US
@Wildcat_1 - any chance you can go bare feet LOL and do a running test at 25 feet to compare a dialed in camera to the default auto settings The Hookup used?

Here are two freeze frames and while he is beyond the distance I think one could IDENTIFY a person, I know this camera is more capable than this:

View attachment 123411

View attachment 123412


Challenge accepted. I may not do the bare feet in the snow @wittaj but will schedule a test like this :)
 

Balex

n3wb
Joined
Jun 29, 2022
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
Location
Russia
Response to your question on 7842 vs 5842

In order to give you the best answer I really need to know the following as in some respects these cameras are very similar but in others there are a number of feature differences:

  • Anything specific you require from this camera ?
    • Do you need audio capture ?
    • Are you limited in space to install location ?
  • Do you prefer turret or bullet cam or don't mind ?
  • Is this replacing or augmenting a current setup, any other cams covering this FOV ?
  • What target type are you trying to capture (human, vehicle, both) ?
  • What is the distance to target (avg speed if wanting vehicle capture) ?
  • Do you have any special target application requirements (ANPR, Face Detection, Face Recognition) or just regular IVS, SMD Human/Vehicle captures ?
  • Budget for the camera itself ?

General Thoughts

As I don't have the info above from you yet, let me answer more generally for now. If you take a look at my threads and reviews of the 7x42 series you’ll see I do recommend these and have always been a fan or that range. Very good build quality, excellent sensor/optic/SOC pairing and great capture results. There are however a couple of things that I never liked:
a) the proprietary mount that you can’t change for others therefore have to accommodate differently on install​
b) while the AI on cam is good (very good in some cases especially with the improved security algorithms) it still needs work to make it great​

An example of where b above is an issue is ANPR, while the camera is great at processing metadata on camera, Dahua did not (has not yet) incorporate(d) US plate formats at a more detailed level into the current algorithms. Therefore you often end up with hit or miss AI caps that something like an LPR cam can do accurately in its sleep AND through glass (as I showed in my ITC LPR 237 review. Now, based on your use case scenario of a 5842/7842, ANPR may not even be a requirement therefore this 2nd concern may not be important to you but mentioning just in case.

In short, I still love the 7x42 range, so much so that I’ve recommended that Dahua spend more time building out the algorithms and enhancing the offering of this range as it goes forward. I'm hopeful I might see results of these recommendations this year but will update when I hear more. Also, I would NOT recommend buying the current 7842 as the S2 version should be available this year so for now I would say wait (if you must have a 7x42) and let’s see what the 2nd Gen version looks like (hopefully I’ll get my hands on one for a review).


A quick rundown of some of the key differences and similarities include:

The 5842 (both turret and bullet cam versions) are incredibly powerful and really do a great job. The extra cost, proprietary mount and size of the 7842 in comparison has to be considered by yourself as well. You should also focus on overall target and AI requirements for the cam you are purchasing per my questions above.
  • 5842 and 7x42 both come in Z4 (4x) variants so even if you want /need more reach, both ranges (7x and 5x) have you covered.
  • The 5842 is the only 1 of the 2 that comes in a turret, the 7x42 is limited to bullet cam, box or dome (don't recommend the dome for outside)
  • The 7x42 use the new Web 3.0 version of the GUI which has more granular controls and an enhanced feel to them that hasn't made it into the 5x42's yet
  • The 5x42 support SMD 3.0, 7x42 does not support SMD at all
  • 7x42 supports up to 60 fps, 5x42 supports up to 30 fps. While not a deal breaker for most, the 60 fps can be incredibly useful to have that headroom if primary target capture requirements are vehicles
  • 7x42 supports 1Gig Ethernet, 5x42 is 100 Mbps Ether, again not a huge deal but can assist if streaming live OR wanting to offload multiple sub streams to different platforms etc. This is where the memory difference can also assist in the 7x42 if you are offloading to multiple platforms
  • 7x42 supports additional special capture rules such as Video Metadata, ANPR, Face Detection, Face Recognition on camera, 5x42 supports SMD 3.0, Face Detection, Smart Object Detection
  • 7x42 supports an external wiper and external light (should you need it) controllable through the GUI, 5x42's do not
  • 7x42 offers audio via a 3.5mm audio jack vs line in on 5x42
  • 5x42 turret has built in audio (bullet cam does not), 7x42 does not feature built in microphone / audio on any cam in its range

In most cases the 5842 will be more than enough for most people if you don't have specific needs I mentioned above. You'll benefit from turret or bullet cam and Z4 or standard variants along with on camera audio (turret version) and at a more affordable price. The 7x42 is still a fantastic range of cams but depending on your needs, might be overkill

HTH
Wildcat, please tell me why you do not offer a dome on the street?
 
Top