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

[Wildcat_1]

Hi Wildcat, I would be very interested in the 5231 comparison using each camera's IR only. I have been installing the 5231 bullets in rural settings and very impressed with them but would like a bit more resolution during the day.

Andy, will do as part of the comparison

 

[Wildcat_1]

IPC-B5442E-ZE comparison to IPC-HDW5231R-ZE

All

Well, my OCD was well and truly triggered today as I went about moving the B5442E-ZE for this comparison. As @mat200 knows, I usually like to keep my installs clean, using junction boxes and conduit where I can BUT in this case I wanted to get the comparison to the 5231 up as quickly as I could as I know this is important to a lot of us considering these 4MP cams as potential 5231 replacements / successor. So, please forgive the roughness of the install and enjoy the comparison

As I now start the comparison over the next day and night (testing the scenarios I did above on the 2831 and also those raised by the community here) I wanted to get some initial info and pics up for you.

First off, I wanted to get the cams as close together as I can (knowing one is a turret and one a bullet cam as my 5231 bullet is pulling other duty) so here is an install pic for reference of distance apart.

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I then wanted to dial in the Field Of View (FOV) to be as identical as I could make it.

• Here is the view from the 5231 for FOV reference. Quick reminder that zoom capability is very similar but for completeness the 5231 has 2.7mm to 13.5mm

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• Here is the view from the B5442E-ZE for FOV reference. Zoom capability on the 5442 is 2.7mm to 12mm

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UPDATE 6/22/19

All

After 2 - 3 days of night testing, I am pleased to be able to put up some motion caps from both the 5231 & 5442 as part of this comparison. This first section is out of the box with only changes being to shutter speed (set to 1/100 for this first set). I've blurred street names only as they were legible on the 5442 especially. I’ve included multiple captures per testing session that are clearly listed below. As always the times are accurate and channel names included to help differentiate between the images. The bulb in place is 1 x 100w for reference and porch is 18’ (from camera to end railing).


Bulb Only - Forced Color

5442



5231





Bulb Only No IR - B&W

5442



5231



Bulb + IR - B&W

5442



5231





IR Only - B&W

5442



5231



Dialed In

I also wanted to show some dialed in 1/60 (lowest I would personally use for walking/car images without inducing too much motion blur) images from the 5442. This is just with a little tweaking (as mentioned in the image title) to Gain & NR. I will upload some others tonight that show what are possible at 1/100 dialed in as well.

Bulb Only - Forced Color

5442

 

[ThomasPI]

Nice please post up actual video for comparison and not screen caps etc.

 

[Bubs]

what is model number and cost of fix turret thanks

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

what is model number and cost of fix turret thanks

There is no motorized lens turret, only fixed lens, you can check IPC-T5442TM-AS.

 

[aristobrat]

what is model number and cost of fix turret thanks

If you haven't seen this already:
Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+

 

[IAmATeaf]

The 4Mp cam definitely has the edge over the 5231 judging by the screen caps. Look at the shelf under the coffee table and you see the lattice work on the 4Mp cam whereas on the 2Mp the detail just isn’t there.

 

[Wildcat_1]

Nice please post up actual video for comparison and not screen caps etc.

@ThomasPI thanks for your reply. Yes I am capturing all videos as I test multiple conditions however due to Youtube account issues I cannot currently get those posted so will update with those later. In the meantime I am capturing directly from the video, so motion oriented capture frames to at least show what this cam is capable of and more importantly what opportunity for item/person identification exists in the different tests I'm running. This is in an effort to show a real-world scenario of when footage needs to be reviewed and we look to identify an individual / item what would we have to look at etc. Hopefully this helps for now as I continue to push the Youtube piece. More updates coming today, will upload to post#22 the first, non dialed in night shots from the new location for direct comparison to the 5231. I will then dial this in further tonight to show those as well

I will also be updating my thoughts/findings so all understand the Pro's/Cons/Asks for this cam as I go through this test.

Thanks

 

[Wildcat_1]

Please compare resolution against 2831 camera in the daylight

@zape

This updates for you. Specifically daytime motion captures comparing the B5442E-ZE (4MP) vs the 2831T-ZS (8MP / 4K) image quality. I tested at full wide, 50% optical and 100% optical zoom for you. All images are direct from the cam with the only editing being the blur of house numbers for privacy of neighbors etc.

5442 Images always on the left (but channel labelled anyway)


Full Wide - 2 Per Cam




50% Optical Zoom - 2 Per Cam





100% Optical Zoom - 2 Per Cam

 

[Wildcat_1]

All

Didn't want you to think I've left ya hanging out for the night comparison and final thoughts etc Wanted to get a couple of nights testing in first and comparison of out of the box vs dialed in. Will be updating today.

 

[Wildcat_1]

As promised, night captures added to post #22. Will be uploading some further daytime images as well but wanted to focus on night first due to the comparison to the 2MP 5231 and its historic performance during that time of day. Will also be updating post 3 with my thoughts, findings etc later today.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Thanks for sharing, please get us some videos when you finish the comparison , lol.

 

[Wildcat_1]

All, posted my thoughts/findings & conclusions in post #3 (Post 3 Link). Will continue to test different locations and put some more daytime image captures up later (from the current porch installation) as well. Hope the information in this review has been helpful. Let me know with any questions

 

[giel]

All, posted my thoughts/findings & conclusions in post #3 (Post 3 Link). Will continue to test different locations and put some more daytime image captures up later (from the current porch installation) as well. Hope the information in this review has been helpful. Let me know with any questions

Thank you so much for your hard work - although it doesn't make the decision necessarily easier as the answer, as always, is "it depends" .

One thing I was thinking while reading through all of it was - what if you set the stream resolution to 1920x1080, so 2MP. Would you take advantage of the bigger sensor while not incurring so much noise, and maybe get higher light sensitivity? Or would it just be crudely downscaled somewhere in the camera getting the worst of both worlds?

 

[Wildcat_1]

@giel Thanks for your reply. You'll never better the optics and sensor combined within the unit so therefore in answer to your question you wouldn't really gain all that much reducing it to 2MP. As noise is present due to the nature of any capture device you would basically end up with a downscaled version with approximately the same noise albeit that it could appear amplified or more present on the lower res image. In this case with this camera, the noise is workable (as showed with Gamma, NR, Gain, Exposure settings) therefore no reason to compromise on scaling down to 2MP in my opinion.

Now back to the 'it depends' comment. As I mentioned in my summary (post 3) this camera in my opinion IS a replacement for the 2MP 5231 as long as you don't need a varifocal turret/eyeball or a Z5 (5x) or Z12(12x) bullet, the latter 2 being that these bullet cam variants don't exist.....YET. If you can live with a varifocal bullet (to 12mm optical) OR a fixed turret (2.8, 3.6, 6mm) which a lot of people can make work then in my opinion absolutely run, don't walk to get one of these 5442's and start enjoying what they can offer. They really are great and very responsive cameras. Now in some situations varifocals are necessary to 'dial in' a specific shot in problem installations but as many have stated on this forum, varifocal cams are a set and forget, dial in the view and leave it alone. Therefore after dial in they become a static camera from an FOV perspective. Similarly others have mentioned how varifocals are great in that over time you get to appreciate/understand what FOV and therefore fixed lens will work in an environment/installation location and that then can help you determine the fixed lens equivalent at certain locations through real-world use. This then leads you to be able to more accurately select a fixed lens cam (in this case you can get 5442 turrets as reviewed by others) and still benefit from what this particular camera series brings to the table.

Hope that helps. Let me know with any other questions and glad you found the review helpful.

Thank you so much for your hard work - although it doesn't make the decision necessarily easier as the answer, as always, is "it depends" .

One thing I was thinking while reading through all of it was - what if you set the stream resolution to 1920x1080, so 2MP. Would you take advantage of the bigger sensor while not incurring so much noise, and maybe get higher light sensitivity? Or would it just be crudely downscaled somewhere in the camera getting the worst of both worlds?

 

[fixxxer0]

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

Do you or anyone else know if blue Iris recording playback works with 264h?

I know it does not with 265+

EDITED TO ADD: I ended up just changing over my 8231 to H.264H and it does record correctly in BI... and wow I'm glad I did... the night time forced color I have been using was terrible looking with H.265, I never bothered to try H.264, but it is such a huge improvement.

Thanks for mentioning that!

 

[reeves1985]

Food for thought this is as I definitely like the look of the real world snaps.

I do prefer a varifocal camera especially at the moment where we will be looking to move house. As it just gives you that little bit of extra flexibility.

Severely tempted to get one now.

Mind you I'm not sure I need another camera!

Although my old hik 2032 cameras are a candidate for replacement

 

[QuantumCam007]

@zape

This updates for you. Specifically daytime motion captures comparing the B5442E-ZE (4MP) vs the 2831T-ZS (8MP / 4K) image quality. I tested at full wide, 50% optical and 100% optical zoom for you. All images are direct from the cam with the only editing being the blur of house numbers for privacy of neighbors etc.

5442 Images always on the left (but channel labelled anyway)


Full Wide - 2 Per Cam

View attachment 43748 View attachment 43750 View attachment 43751 View attachment 43752


50% Optical Zoom - 2 Per Cam


View attachment 43753 View attachment 43754 View attachment 43755 View attachment 43756


100% Optical Zoom - 2 Per Cam

View attachment 43757 View attachment 43758 View attachment 43759 View attachment 43760

Great review. What are thoughts on 4mp (5442) vs 8mp (2831/5831), specifically at night. I have a camera mounted up high near roof (cosmetic reasons I know not ideal) and during day really would want the 8mp to cover the street, during night there is some street lighting so can trade some performance. Impressed by the 5442, but tempted by the 5831 but it's the older 1/2.5 sensor not the 1/1.8 in both the 5442 (4mp) and 2831 (8mp).

 

[fixxxer0]

Great review. What are thoughts on 4mp (5442) vs 8mp (2831/5831), specifically at night. I have a camera mounted up high near roof (cosmetic reasons I know not ideal) and during day really would want the 8mp to cover the street, during night there is some street lighting so can trade some performance. Impressed by the 5442, but tempted by the 5831 but it's the older 1/2.5 sensor not the 1/1.8 in both the 5442 (4mp) and 2831 (8mp).

My 5831 is pretty ghosty and laggy at night with motion.

Doesn't really compare to these. Maybe there are other 8mp models that do better

 

[Wildcat_1]

@QuantumCam007 thanks for the reply. I own 1831/2831 & 5831s as well so have tested this even though focused the direct comparisons on the 2831 here. The x831's (specifically 1831/2831) are coming along well however unless you have great light they still play 2nd fiddle (in my opinion) to the 2MP, now 4MP cams. 8MP/4K cams in the series I mention are phenomenal during the day and give you the luxury of after capture digital zoom (when needed but not recommended) due to the resolution but taper off quite quickly to the 2MP / 4MP's even in the same lighting. You'll lose some detail to noise on the x831's (as I mentioned before) and other due to light sensitivity differences due to the higher MP / sensor combo.

Therefore my overall recommendation today is to blend your installs with 4K (where needed) such as overviews or where you can get one directly in close distance of your target (say 6 to 8 ft) and 4MP (now) for overall flexibility and great night image capture. With all of that said, if you have an amazingly well lit install location (I mean either flooding it with well positioned IR or some high lumen and decent LED lighting) then you can make the 4K's work but getting them close and personal with great light is key for night time. I believe the 4K cams will get better, look at the SD8A840VI-HNI PTZ for example, that one is a beast with low light (on the wide end of the FOV), however temper the improvements that can be made to 4k with how long the 5231's have remained supreme until this new 5442 series just came out.

WRT the 5831, its an ok (clean image) cam but bested in my testing by the 1831/2831 cams. This is in part due to the lower illumination afforded by the 1831/2831 and its 1/1.8" sensor.

HTH

Great review. What are thoughts on 4mp (5442) vs 8mp (2831/5831), specifically at night. I have a camera mounted up high near roof (cosmetic reasons I know not ideal) and during day really would want the 8mp to cover the street, during night there is some street lighting so can trade some performance. Impressed by the 5442, but tempted by the 5831 but it's the older 1/2.5 sensor not the 1/1.8 in both the 5442 (4mp) and 2831 (8mp).