Review-Dahua SD1A203T-GN Starlight Mini PTZ

[Arjun]

@looney2ns , thanks for sharing your videos. To anyone watching the first video be sure "not" to wear headphones,
The PTZ at first sounds like a screech, and in another video sounds like after eating the first satisfying meal of the day

edit: since the plate over the IR is plastic, hopefully its resilient to summers' heat

 

[TechBill]

I am surprised the camera didn't shift back into day mode when the car pulled in. There should been enough light in there to shift it back.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

I agree with @tangent I would not mount this cam in any orientation other than on the bottom of a flat horizontal surface, like a ceiling or sofit.

Mounted correctly, I see no reason for it to not be used outdoors, other than the normal issue's with domes outdoors.

Yes the black plate over the IR's is plastic.

Can be a good one for front door using.

 

[Arjun]

Good point, were the settings adjusted manually?

I am surprised the camera didn't shift back into day mode when the car pulled in. There should been enough light in there to shift it back.

 

[Arjun]

Can the plate be painted for it blend in with let's a ceiling? Also, how can this camera be affixed to a ceiling or soffit in which there is no clearance from above? Does the metal plate get affixed first followed by twist and turning of the main camera unit (similar to a carbon monoxide alarm)?

 

[tangent]

Can the plate be painted for it blend in with let's a ceiling? Also, how can this camera be affixed to a ceiling or soffit in which there is no clearance from above? Does the metal plate get affixed first followed by twist and turning of the main camera unit (similar to a carbon monoxide alarm)?

Yes the metal plate is affixed first, the camera rotates on, and is secured by a screw. Look at the pictures above and in my Review: Dahua Starlight Mini PT Dome SD12200T-GN

The mounting plate is not visible after installation.

 

[aristobrat]

I am surprised the camera didn't shift back into day mode when the car pulled in. There should been enough light in there to shift it back.

Yeah, mine is weird with shifting too.

I received the camera today and got it mounted (on my L-shaped front porch) this evening. Had to run to class after that, so I've only had a few minutes to play around with it.

I'm running this with the IR disabled. The columns and ceiling on the porch are shiny white and do a great job of reflecting the IR back. This camera is replacing a Hik 3MP dome that I also ran with IR disabled. Not surprisingly, this Starlight looks a ton better.

Going back to @TechBill's point about the camera not switching back into day mode, ... at 3:55 on my video below, I flip the outside lights on. I would expect the camera to flip to color mode, but it doesn't. At 4:35, I manually switch it to color mode. At 5:20, I switch the outside lights off, and the camera stays in color mode. Weird.

Here's a video of me PTZ'ing around for the first time. Nothing exciting. If you want to see how the video looks when the IR is turned off, here you go. I've never used a PTZ before, so I'm getting used to the fact that when you let up the pan/tilt for even a second, the camera will stop to focus, and you're waiting until that's done before you can resume panning/tilting.


Night snapshot from 3MP Hik dome (with IR disabled):
<this is the camera being replaced>


Night snapshot from SD1A203T-GN dome (with IR disabled):
<new camera>


Snapshot from SD1A203T-GN dome (with IR enabled):
(note: this glare is from my poor camera placement, plus the construction of my porch)

 

[Al*_*]

I received the camera today and got it mounted (on my L-shaped front porch) this evening. Had to run to class after that, so I've only had a few minutes to play around with it.

You received it and managed to review, post images and a clip (even in color!) on the same day! Respect I'm sure Andy will be thankful as well seeing a review about his camera before the camera goes EOL (lol). This is what this board makes so great. Friendly enthusiasts sharing the same interest and helping each other out.

The other day (cannot find the post atm) i've read a post from you where you wrote you would 'never ever' buy a dome for outside use again. You talked about the ir washing out the picture. Seeing the picture of your hikvision I see what you meant. I am glad you re-considered what the dome concerns and decided for this one. Seems to be very nice camera. When I buy one I probably go for the one with ir. I like the looks of the black plate and one can always decide to switch of the internal ir. At least I'll have it in case I want to sell the cam later. Seems a good selling pitch, people find it very important. Oh well, it can't hurt...

Thank you @aristobrat

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

You received it and managed to review, post images and a clip (even in color!) on the same day! Respect I'm sure Andy will be thankful as well seeing a review about his camera before the camera goes EOL (lol). This is what this board makes so great. Friendly enthusiasts sharing the same interest and helping each other out.

The other day (cannot find the post atm) i've read a post from you where you wrote you would 'never ever' buy a dome for outside use again. You talked about the ir washing out the picture. Seeing the picture of your hikvision I see what you meant. I am glad you re-considered what the dome concerns and decided for this one. Seems to be very nice camera. When I buy one I probably go for the one with ir. I like the looks of the black plate and one can always decide to switch of the internal ir. At least I'll have it in case I want to sell the cam later. Seems a good selling pitch, people find it very important. Oh well, it can't hurt...

Thank you @aristobrat

yeah, that would be great, i tested in my house need around 10 seconds to change back to Color mode, looney's video taken when the car light on, and the cams at the corner, maybe the light not strong enough, so can't back to color mode in time.

 

[Arjun]

perhaps future software update may be able to rectify the IR switch delay

If one chooses to Disable IR, can we replace the front cover with a different color to blend in with ceiling and/or wall?

just noticed no autotracking feature on this model, can't something similar along the lines be configured through IVS?

 

[aristobrat]

The other day (cannot find the post atm) i've read a post from you where you wrote you would 'never ever' buy a dome for outside use again.

I guess I should have known better than to say "never ever"...

If one chooses to Disable IR, can we replace the front cover with a different color to blend in with ceiling and/or wall?

I'd guess "yes", but I don't know for sure. FWIW, Dahua has another model (SD12203T-GN) that doesn't have IR, so the casing is all white. That might be more of a better color match for some folks (assuming they don't need IR).

Click on the Spoiler button below to check out the cool Googlesheet that @tangent made. If @EMPIRETECANDY had the SD12203T-GN available now, I would have gone with that.

Spoiler

just noticed no autotracking feature on this model, can't something similar along the lines be configured through IVS?

IVS (or maybe BI) being able to trigger the camera going between preset positions is exactly why I wanted to get this camera. I'd like to keep it more zoomed out normally (which catches part of the front yard), but have it swing more towards the porch as someone walks towards the front steps. We'll see how do-able this is, and how well it works.

I don't think I'll have much time to play with this feature before Friday, which is going to drive me crazy waiting so long. Ugh. lol

 

[TechBill]

I suspect that if the sensor is behind the dome then it is possible that the dome is bending most of the lights away from the sensor which would require more lights to shift it into the color mode.

 

[aristobrat]

I suspect that if the sensor is behind the dome then it is possible that the dome is bending most of the lights away from the sensor which would require more lights to shift it into the color mode.

This makes sense. I installed a Starlight mini-wedge (which has a dome about the same size as this SD1A203T-GN) on my back patio Monday, and it reacts the same way in regards to being more hesitant with switching from b/w to color (vs what I'm used to with Dahua Starlight turrets).

 

[tangent]

IIRC, it defaults to the Day profile which is set for automatically switching between day and night. There are settings to adjust the sensitivity and delay before it switches.

(note: this glare is from my poor camera placement, plus the construction of my porch)

It would be nice to see a photo of it installed next to a dark colored house, during the day and at night with ir on.

I know this isn't an option, but it would be nice to have the option to control the 3 ir leds individually. I'd be curious how much it would reduce reflection if you masked off the led(s) closest to the wall/beam with some tape.

I'd like to keep it more zoomed out normally (which catches part of the front yard), but have it swing more towards the porch as someone walks towards the front steps. We'll see how do-able this is, and how well it works.

I think it will work pretty well, but I think you'll want to set the PTZ to it's highest speed:


When you manually adjust the PTZ you can choose speeds 1-8 in a drop down menu.

These speeds are a fraction of the low/mid/high setting above. It moves to presets faster than it moves during manual control.

Don't forget to turn on the built in mic:

 

[Guido87]

@aristobrat

At 4.40 in colormode the left black car looks dark...
But at 5.50 with outside lights off the cars is really bright and good.
What's the reason off this?
Also looks like you still have a light on before you'e garage door...

Very good and nice video!
At my work the use the axis p1357e 5mp. I saw in specs this is 0.2 lux color. Cost around 1200 usd. I saw the image in dark... I was really disappointed. The dahua starlight are way better!!

 

[Terk]

It looks like he was messing with the IR, back lighting, and force color settings trying to find the best combination.

 

[aristobrat]

I setup some presets (and followed @tangent's suggestion to set the PTZ Speed to High). Here's a quick one minute video of the camera PTZ'ing between the presets -- I'm selecting them manually using the cameras web interface, this isn't an automatic tour.

I know for you folks that have followed the other Starlight PTZ threads, this is probably old news. Those cameras were out of my price range (or not really water proof) so I didn't pay much attention to those threads, so this is all new to me.

 

[aristobrat]

At 4.40 in colormode the left black car looks dark...
But at 5.50 with outside lights off the cars is really bright and good.
What's the reason off this?
Also looks like you still have a light on before you'e garage door...

I do have a light outside of the garage door that is on during the night.

As for the 4:40 color mode <making the left black car look dark>, I'm not sure what the technical term for that is, but this situation usually happens in reverse with this camera during the day. The driveway/front yard is usually very bright with the sun, which makes the porch look very dark. I know I can play around with WDR to help reduce that contrast and brighten the porch.

 

[tangent]

Now will it stop if it see motion while going through those presets?

IVS rules are preset dependent. Camera must be at a preset for IVS rules intended for that view to work.

I don't think @aristobrat was running a tour, just manually changing presets.

 

[looney2ns]

Yeah, mine is weird with shifting too.

I received the camera today and got it mounted (on my L-shaped front porch) this evening. Had to run to class after that, so I've only had a few minutes to play around with it.

I'm running this with the IR disabled. The columns and ceiling on the porch are shiny white and do a great job of reflecting the IR back. This camera is replacing a Hik 3MP dome that I also ran with IR disabled. Not surprisingly, this Starlight looks a ton better.

Going back to @TechBill's point about the camera not switching back into day mode, ... at 3:55 on my video below, I flip the outside lights on. I would expect the camera to flip to color mode, but it doesn't. At 4:35, I manually switch it to color mode. At 5:20, I switch the outside lights off, and the camera stays in color mode. Weird.

Here's a video of me PTZ'ing around for the first time. Nothing exciting. If you want to see how the video looks when the IR is turned off, here you go. I've never used a PTZ before, so I'm getting used to the fact that when you let up the pan/tilt for even a second, the camera will stop to focus, and you're waiting until that's done before you can resume panning/tilting.


Night snapshot from 3MP Hik dome (with IR disabled):
<this is the camera being replaced>
View attachment 28259

Night snapshot from SD1A203T-GN dome (with IR disabled):
<new camera>
View attachment 28260

Snapshot from SD1A203T-GN dome (with IR enabled):
(note: this glare is from my poor camera placement, plus the construction of my porch)
View attachment 28261

I think part of the problem with the day/night change is that we are used to the sensor pointing the same direction as the lens. In this cam, the light sensor is pointing straight down. The day/night setting is adjustable.

I think @aristobrat will find that people's faces will be blurred when moving without any ir.

Here is the location of the light sensor, circled in red.