Review-Dahua IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M Dual Starlight Cam

jrhoops

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looking at this model to replace 2x IPC-HDW4231EM-AS as I really need an extra cam in the coverage area, would this be an upgrade in quality compared to my current model? I have 4 other IPC-HDW5231R-Z so I would be inclined to just pull more cable and mount 2x of these or the newer IPC-HDW2231R-ZS to achieve the same level of night color, sharpness, etc. I certainly do not want to lose anything
 

Mr_D

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The 4231's all use the same sensors so image quality is the same. The dual model just puts two cameras on one body.
 

hotwire

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btw, it's not too hard to swap out the lenses on these puppies. Mine came with 2.8mm lenses, now has a 4mm and a 12mm (25mm wouldn;t fit, may try a 16mm when it gets here)
I was wondering if you tried the 16mm lens to see if it fit? How’d it go?
 

flynreelow

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A note regarding swapping lenses for longer ones on this dual cam (2231). As LooneyTunes pointed out in my post above, the focus was off on the 12mm eyeball that i converted.
Turns out I had it perfect BEFORE putting the glass dome back on, and the dome messes with the focus. This apparently only affects longer lenses, as the 4mm
doesn't exhibit the same problem (and yes, I cleaned off the domes real well both inside and out.) So focusing with a longer lens is a bit of a trial-n-error p.i.t.a:
adjust, replace dome, remove dome, adjust some more, replace dome to check again, etc... Be forewarned, if you intend to put a longer lens in one of these...
do u have any video samples you can upload with these newly installed lens? Im curious...
 

pozzello

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16mm lens fits (at least the one i tried.) same issue focusing: longer lenses need to be refocused with the glass dome on, making it a bit of a hassle, but doable.
of course, a longer lens gets less photons to the sensor, so there's a trade-off as usual. i wasn't getting the blur-free details i wanted at night, so i moved the double cam over to the front door, where it has a 4mm and a 2.8mm for now and stays in color mode 24/7.
 

hotwire

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Thanks for taking the time to try the other lenses and for sharing what you found out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

beepsilver

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Any updates on how much heat this camera produces? Would those of you who have this camera feel safe mounting it directly to drywall or wood siding?
 

jrhoops

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will the use of pfa137 negate any heat concerns when mounting under soffit?
 

beepsilver

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Sent this to Looney last night...maybe he's still sleeping :D

I'm about to click "send" on my order to Andy, but I have a couple of questions first. I want to use this dual cam (2.8mm) as my doorbell cam. You may remember the photo from my post: Yet Another Doorbell Cam Question

Hopefully I can ask this in a way that's understandable:

This cam has a cut-away on both sides...a wedge so-to-speak. I want to orient the unit on a side wall near my front door (top circle in the photo--see above link) so one of the side cut-aways faces the approach to the front door. In this configuration, both cameras will be stacked vertically. My intent is to use one camera to cover approach and the other to face down for packages. I can easily see that the top camera can point toward the approach with no difficulty (will it aim 90 degrees from the base?). The cut-away removes any lens or IR barrier, etc. Now the bottom cam I want to rotate and aim straight down for packages. Can the lens do this movement and not be inhibited by the lack of a cut-away? Will the package-dedicated camera rotate and point 90 degrees or nearly 90 degrees in this configuration for 100% coverage of the front porch below the camera?

Finally, note the siding on the wall where I intend to mount. The camera fits neatly on one siding board with room to spare--so a junction box with a zig zag mount (like they sell at Home Depot) shouldn't be required, unless, because it's on a slight angle. Will the upper lens be able to be rotated so that the angle is not shown in the FOV? AND will the mounted angle in the bottom camera make it difficult to 'see' the entire width of the front porch below it? Thanks in advance for your help!
 

ck42

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beepsilver: I had the same need (look down for packages - look at oncoming visitors) and went with this:
IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M/M12

Works perfectly! LOVE this thing.

Forgot to mention: Mine is located about 7feet up on the left wall...and about 1foot out from the door.
 
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pozzello

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I have one of these at our front door. It should work for you, but you may need to orient it other than vertically. the individual eyeballs can't go 'cross-eyed' at all.
i have mine at an angle (see photos). the one looking down has a 4mm lens swap (from a Hik cam). the one looking out has the original 2.8mm lens, but should probably also be 4mm (or 3.6 from Dahua) One should be able to achieve similar results on the side wall - I just happened to have the ethernet above the door there already...

We have an LED porch light on at night and a decent street lighting, so i leave the cam in color mode 24/7. the night shot shows a visiting possum... :)
 

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beepsilver

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I have one of these at our front door. It should work for you, but you may need to orient it other than vertically. the individual eyeballs can't go 'cross-eyed' at all.
i have mine at an angle (see photos). the one looking down has a 4mm lens swap (from a Hik cam). the one looking out has the original 2.8mm lens, but should probably also be 4mm (or 3.6 from Dahua) One should be able to achieve similar results on the side wall - I just happened to have the ethernet above the door there already...

We have an LED porch light on at night and a decent street lighting, so i leave the cam in color mode 24/7. the night shot shows a visiting possum... :)
That's the precise info I was looking for Pozzello--thanks for being so thorough!
 

pozzello

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also note I have them both in 'corridor' mode (rotated 90 degrees in the cam's UI).
I'd prefer a 4x3 view (vs 16x9,) but this works OK. ymmv...
 

beepsilver

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beepsilver: I had the same need (look down for packages - look at oncoming visitors) and went with this:
IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M/M12

Works perfectly! LOVE this thing.

Forgot to mention: Mine is located about 7feet up on the left wall...and about 1foot out from the door.
That's very close to the same location for me--thank you for the detail!
 

jarnof

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any idea why i get this when i try to setup ivs rules in smartpss? :update : i can setup ivs with internet explorer.
 
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