Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
- Thread starter looney2ns
- Start date
Yes. Stationary items are fine. The object moving is clear until it’s paused, then it gets blurry and distorted. It’s on playback and mainstream, so it’s at max resolution.
I am having the same issue. Interested to hear about the best practices here.
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bigredfish
Known around here
If you could post a short clip at full res it would be helpful, do moving things close to the camera (say 6-10ft) also do this? Or is it just things further away?
Are you using IR or forcing color at night? Color mode at night requires a lot more white light than most think.
The two most common things to improve low light performance are light and exposure.
> More light. Add IR or white light. This is the #1 issue at night. Cameras need light.
> Faster Exposure. Try setting to 1/30 or even faster gradually and test results. Night exposure usually needs a faster shutter than daytime where the Auto setting usually suffices.
Are you using IR or forcing color at night? Color mode at night requires a lot more white light than most think.
The two most common things to improve low light performance are light and exposure.
> More light. Add IR or white light. This is the #1 issue at night. Cameras need light.
> Faster Exposure. Try setting to 1/30 or even faster gradually and test results. Night exposure usually needs a faster shutter than daytime where the Auto setting usually suffices.
Thanks. I will grab a sample tonight. As far as exposure, when I’ve tried to adjust night, but then when day rolls around, it’s over exposed and I can’t seem to figure out if you can set night and day setting and get them to switch automatically.
bigredfish
Known around here
You can. Install the latest firmware. Then on the profile tab bigredfish shows above, an additional auto day/night setting will appear. Before you set it to auto day/night, go to the conditions tab, and set the day exposure and night exposure, then go back and set the profile to auto day/night.
In additional the the faster shutter speed at night, you can try reducing the 3D NR (noise reduction) that's in the same area. Try reducing it until you start to notice a negative impact on the image. Default value is 50, I'm able to run most of my 5231s significantly lower, but I do have a good amount of street lights in my area.
Some of the newer firmware versions have an option where the camera will automatically switch between DAY and NIGHT mode based on how bright it is outside. This may be easier than using the scheduled option as the time of sunrise/sunset is always changing. A 3rd option (if you have an always-on Windows PC) is to use the DahuaSunriseSunset tool that @bp2008 wrote. In addition to switching between profiles at sunrise/sunset (or some offshoot of those values), it can also change your cameras zoom/focus values at that time.
Some of the newer firmware versions have an option where the camera will automatically switch between DAY and NIGHT mode based on how bright it is outside. This may be easier than using the scheduled option as the time of sunrise/sunset is always changing. A 3rd option (if you have an always-on Windows PC) is to use the DahuaSunriseSunset tool that @bp2008 wrote. In addition to switching between profiles at sunrise/sunset (or some offshoot of those values), it can also change your cameras zoom/focus values at that time.
bigredfish
Known around here
Forgot the new ones had the new Day/Night schedule, thanks @Walrus
But yeah, same theory. I'm guessing the Day/Night profile makes the transition more automatic based on the sensor deciding when to switch to IR/B&W vs using "Schedule" which dictates the time of the switch..
But yeah, same theory. I'm guessing the Day/Night profile makes the transition more automatic based on the sensor deciding when to switch to IR/B&W vs using "Schedule" which dictates the time of the switch..
Awesome, thanks guys! I will give all of the above a try. I’m nervous about updating the firmware because of some of the horror stories I’ve seen, but I will give it a shot.
Once nice thing is that the 2231 is a popular model, so any firmware thread that Andy started with the update attached should have a lot of replies from the folks who went first. Those threads should give you a better feel for how stable the firmware is.
Got everything squared away. I now have all the settings saved separate for night and day with the auto night/switch selected. Things are pretty clear now. Still messing with it a little due to getting some light flicker from the street light at different shutter speeds. Only other question I have, if I go down in FPS, will that also help to clear the picture up in conjunction with shutter speed adjustment? Or should I say, is it easier to dial in a clear still picture with a slower FPS? I’m talking about just overall clarity and noise. Thanks
There is an anti-flicker setting in the camera settings, I think the choices are outdoor, 60hz, 50hz. Try playing with those.
bigredfish
Known around here
Ok, that’s kinda what I figured. I was hoping the garage lights and street lights would be enough. It’s all a learning experience. Thanks for all the help guys!
bigredfish
Known around here
Of course you could play with a faster exposure, and make sure you have DNR as low as you can stand it. No WDR at night, and I prefer max bitrate.
Two 1200 lumen coach lights, the 3400 lumen flood makes the difference. Street lights also help a lot also
(Be sure and change the YT player to 1080p)
Two 1200 lumen coach lights, the 3400 lumen flood makes the difference. Street lights also help a lot also
(Be sure and change the YT player to 1080p)
So I played around with the settings and I don't feel that I have made an improvement. Still getting blurry images when pausing on moving objects (me walking past the camera) at night. What am I doing wrong here?
Oh wow, try reducing that 3D NR Grade to as low as you can before the image starts getting too noisy for you. Most of my cameras have that set to under 10.
Try changing the Mode to Shutter Priority and then changing the Shutter (a new setting that will show up when you change the mode) to 1/50 or 1/60. Test. If still blurry, you can try increasing the shutter speed, but you'll see that the "catch" for that is that the sensor has less time to capture light, so the image becomes darker as the shutter speed increases.
Try changing the Mode to Shutter Priority and then changing the Shutter (a new setting that will show up when you change the mode) to 1/50 or 1/60. Test. If still blurry, you can try increasing the shutter speed, but you'll see that the "catch" for that is that the sensor has less time to capture light, so the image becomes darker as the shutter speed increases.
bigredfish
Known around here
^^^^^^
THIS
As I said in my last post, "...DNR as low as you can stand it" I run mine at about 30-50
@fastsvo post an image. You have to start with how much ambient light you have. Its all about light. Are you running B&W with IR or forced color?
Auto exposure wont get it at night unless you have a metric shit ton of white light. (Like daytime)
I prefer CBR and I see a difference in video image quality between 4096 and 8192, especially video at night using forced color mode.
THIS
As I said in my last post, "...DNR as low as you can stand it" I run mine at about 30-50
@fastsvo post an image. You have to start with how much ambient light you have. Its all about light. Are you running B&W with IR or forced color?
Auto exposure wont get it at night unless you have a metric shit ton of white light. (Like daytime)
I prefer CBR and I see a difference in video image quality between 4096 and 8192, especially video at night using forced color mode.