Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

This mic is still generally recommended as per the Cliff Notes. You will need a PoE splitter to power the mic

Midway said:
The review thread for the Microseven M7WP-MIC Waterproof Outdoor Microphone started in 2016. Is this still the preferred mic for the IPC-B5442E-ZE or are there other better options?

Bullet Mic Review

I ordered one and will see how it works. I am using an NVR5216-16P-4KS2E with PoE. Will the mic work passive? Will it work with a PoE splitter fed off the NVR PoE port?

One of my cameras happens to be installed a few feet from an electrical outlet that I installed high under the eaves in order to plug in Christmas Lights. I ordered a DC12V 1A Switching Power Supply Adapter to provide local power to the mic if needed. I will not have as convenient access to provide power to my other bullets if I decide to add mics to them. I may not need to.

Amazon.com: DC12V 2A Switching Power Supply Adapter, Security Camera Power Adapter, CCTV Power Supply, 100-240V AC to 12V DC 2Amp (2000mA) Charger Cord for Security Dome/Bullet Camera, Led Strip Lights, Wall Plug: Home Audio & Theater

Thank you.
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Wildcat_1 said:
Thoughts / Findings / Conclusion

After spending over a week with this cam, I wanted to post some thoughts, pro’s, con’s and my conclusion for what its worth. I’ve marked in bold and * those issues I think/am hopeful can be fixed/tweaked in future firmware. @EMPIRETECANDY hopefully this feedback regarding firmware can be useful for future firmware updates/releases.

Warning all, long read but hopefully useful.

Pro’s
  • Sharpness of the 5442. It looks over sharpened or as if I have added sharpness but this is all default, the edge detailing is much crisper than the 5231 which is a plus especially as that gives you room to decrease some sharpness as you see fit
  • The sharper image does help with ID work and as you can hopefully see from the pictures I uploaded, adds much needed detail in a number of situations
  • ID is assisted further by the fact that you can effectively digitally zoom (not recommended) a little more after image capture, benefiting from double the MP resolution on the 5442. That said Optical Zoom is of course always the better way to go when you can plan ahead
  • B5442E-ZE is more vibrant, doesn’t seem to crush colors as much as the 5231
  • B5442E-ZE is much more responsive than the 5231 in terms of WebUI performance (compared both bullet cam & turret 5231s). Accessing images from storage, moving from menu to menu, saving changes etc. This is potentially due to the SOC used in the cam plus the additional RAM/ROM but this thing feels much snappier than the 5231 in navigating around the camera. Even when layering multiple AI or IVS rules this camera just keeps up, even when recording to on-board storage plus offloading streams to NVR as well
  • AI, it works ! The object filtering for Human & Vehicle works very well. The Face Detection, Loitering etc all do what they say they will and don’t skip a beat
  • SSA is present ! Great to see this in the 2.6.xxx firmware, hope this remains as always nice to have this option
  • 20k bitrate ! Although most won’t or generally don’t use this I can say that from my testing, having more headroom on the bitrate does help in reducing some of the noise seen on the 1/1.8” sensors. both @wopi82 and I mention this in our reviews/thoughts on the 1831 & 2831 respectively that having the higher bitrate option does help albeit is not the end solution. Therefore hope this bitrate remains in firmware revisions to come and is re-introduced on the 1831/2831 firmware
  • Can take on and even surpass (in my testing) the image from a 5231 even at night
  • Brings a usable 4MP image. We all know that Megapixel (MP) is not a game you want to chase for the sake of it, luckily with this specific cam it doesn’t come at the sake of too many compromises

Con’s (but not necessarily dealbreakers)
  • 1/1.8” sensors are noisy (I commented on this on the 1831/2831 as well) especially when the lights go down. This can be overcome when dialing in (more below) which is needed so you don’t lose detail to noise. Noise is never great BUT if you can mitigate it then that can help and hopefully what I share here can help. Hoping that more work can be done in firmware to improve the 1/1.8” performance in this area.
  • Continuing the point on noise, these sensors ‘pulse’ more than on the 1/2.5” but in raising bitrate, reducing gamma and playing with NR you can make this a more ‘pleasant’ noise. With the 1831/2831 this pulsing is more evident but through the tweaking on this cam turns into more of a crawl in the 5442
  • B5442E-ZE is a little less bright than the 5231 with identical shutter speeds, this of course is most evident at night. Therefore if running at a 1/120 on the 5231 you would ideally (if you don’t want to mess with Gain, artificial brightness etc) run the 5442 at 1/100 to achieve roughly the same image
  • On the subject of the shutter speed differences, you can adjust for the issue above using exposure & picture settings if you wish In my testing add about 8 to 10 on gain to the 5442 if you want to run at the same shutter speed but achieve the same overall brightness. Understand this will of course introduce some noise and therefore dialing down gamma a tad (-5) and potentially raising NR 1-4 points will again achieve roughly the same image
  • 5442 leans towards Red when using Auto White Balance (WB) therefore adjustment using manual WB is currently the best option to correct

Neutral
  • H265 encoding DOES make a difference to the image and not necessarily a great one. Specifically on the 1/1.8” sensors I notice that black details (especially shadows) are impacted a lot when using H265 therefore have moved back to H264H for these specific cams. Hope the algorithm could be fixed in firmware, if not then can mitigate using H264H
  • Auto Iris or recovery is slower to respond in IR situations, therefore image can (if too close) be washed out with IR and take approx 2 seconds to adjust. Could be fixed in firmware to adjust sensitivity and therefore response time
  • The AI IVS type of Fast moving only seems to capture in center of the image which isn’t great because your capture window is vastly reduced. Hoping this can be tweaked in firmware to detect outside of the center point and take into account motion detection on the edges of the cam
  • The IR on the B5442E-ZE is super powerful. At times it can easily wash out the image on Auto. I found Manual or ZoomPrio to be the best options and dial in accordingly. Don’t get me wrong, would prefer strong IR in case needed but Auto is definitely a wash out with spot focus in the center of the image. This again hopefully can be tweaked in firmware for the Auto setting only
  • The 5442 model is only available in fixed lens turret but is available in varifocal in bullet & dome. Can be a pro or con depending on your situation therefore marking neutral


Conclusion

So the question that a lot of people have asked me is ‘would you choose this over/or to replace a 5231 ?’. The answer to that is a little complicated. Let me break this out a little more:
  • Do I think this camera (B5442E-ZE) can go toe to toe with a 5231 ?, YES.
  • Do I think the B5442E-ZE image is on par with the 5231 even at night ?, YES and to be honest I think its better in part due to the sharpness, edge detail (that you can tweak of course) and gaining double the resolution giving you a little more to play with in a final captured image for ID etc.
  • Would I recommend purchasing this over a 5231 bullet, vari cam ? YES (if not in the market for the Z5 or Z12 variants as they don’t current exist in the 4.0 series for 4MP’s although there is a 5MP in the Z5 variant but different sensor with different specs)
  • Would I recommend anyone in the market to purchase a 5231 or replace one instead purchase a 5442……..DEPENDS


Let me first state that the DEPENDS answer is not based on this camera per se but more on the body / style options currently available in this line (4.0 AI Pro) and your specific needs.

This is where I say its complicated in that unfortunately the current model lineup for the 5442 is somewhat limited (depending on your installation needs) in that you are having to choose between fixed lens for turrets and move to a bullet cam for vari. For me this more than works for a driveway/parking lot/backyard/side of property kind of installation without any issue and I also made this work on the porch (for testing) by putting ‘mr camera’ in the face of everyone coming up to my door. However turrets generally look better in a porch/enclosed/discrete kind of situation plus you gain the benefits of in-cam audio. For some, turrets is the only body type they will use for discretion, cleaner install, finished look etc no matter where they are installing and therefore may be a dealbreaker having to opt for bullet cams or domes (which as we all know can be very limited from an install location perspective) to get varifocal.


Turret Shoppers - For turret uses specifically, If you know your installation site well, can accommodate one of the 3 fixed lens options (2.8, 3.6, or 6mm), have no need for optical zoom then I would absolutely looking at the 5442 turrets.​
​
Bullet Cam Shoppers - For those in the market for a bullet style vari-cam and were considering a 5231 then in my opinion the B5442E-ZE is a definite replacement and I would recommend purchasing one (taking into account the caveats above). Just remember that right now a Z5E (5x) and Z12E (12x) does not exist but I hope Dahua will bring these to market as would be a great potential successor to the 5231E-Z12E for LPR duties.​


So in short, YES I personally believe (from my testing at this time) that this is in line to be a 5231 successor (again with the caveats above) and provides a great image. With that said, I really hope Dahua focuses on expanding the 1/1.8” sensor cams into further options in the lineup (motorized, optical turret, Z12 options etc) for both 4K and under so we can gain the benefits these sensors are starting to offer but with more installation options.

Hope that helps and if anyone has any questions or anything else they want to see, please let me know. Will post all of the videos as soon as the Youtube account issue gets resolved.
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impressive review, it definitely helps making a choice on what to purchase. Too bad most of the Pro's and Con's comparison is about the 5231, I wish there was more text about the 2831 as it seems you think both the 2831 and 5442 are pretty close contenders
 
entreri said:
I wish there was more text about the 2831 as it seems you think both the 2831 and 5442 are pretty close contenders
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What's going to be interesting with the 2831s is that most of the threads are referencing the original models which are now EOL. There are newer 2831 models ("S2"), but they have a different image sensor (smaller 1/2.7" vs the bigger 1/1.8") and a different min. illumination spec. Hopefully more 2831 S2 reviews will be coming to see how that new sensor performs.
 
I'm looking at maybe buying this for being able to see license plates at a distance, and people who walk nearby, how easy (or hard) is it to configure this kind of camera to do all of that?
 
Given that an LPR camera is very specifically configured just to read license plates, especially at night, no camera will do both. Read the LPR thread here on IPCT to find out why.
 
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sebastiantombs said:
Given that an LPR camera is very specifically configured just to read license plates, especially at night, no camera will do both. Read the LPR thread here on IPCT to find out why.
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That being the case, would I be better off with just a fixed lens 6mm for distance and a different camera with a 2.8mm lens for up close?
 
Define “distance”
 
64mm seems a bit much, I'm almost able to read the plates with a 3.6mm lens.

EDIT: Then again, that is with a 4k resolution.
 
Suggest you do some research in the LPR forum

Here are two shots of my LPR cameras and their companion Overview cams side by side on the same pole. The LPR capture point is 120ft on both


Overview cameras - 6mm lens 1/1.8" 4MP sensor (Dahua 5442 series)

HOA Entr_Entrance_main_20200118184115_@3.jpg
HOA Rear_Overview_main_20200118184106_@4.jpg


Dahua 5231/5241 2MP 64mm lens zoomed 85%
120ft to capture point

HOA Entr_EntrTag_main_20200301220849_@3.jpg

HOA Rear_Tag_main_20200229214218_@4.jpg
 
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And here's two 5241 Z12's i installed for a buddy....

The little red barn houses the two LPR cams. Capture point is 100ft on #1 and 60ft on #2

IMG_0639.JPG


PeteNSheri_CAM12_main_20190928123220_@12.jpg

PeteNSheri_CAM 11_main_20190929084940_@12.jpg
 
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