Review- OEM IPC-T2831T-ZS 4k varifocal starlight turret & PFB203W Wall Bracket.

[looney2ns]

OEM IPC-T2831T-ZS 4k from EMPIRETECANDY
8MP WDR Turret Varifocal Network Camera

Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Purchase IPC-T2831T-ZS from the IPCT Store
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link
Andy's AliExpress store: link
Andy's Amazon store: link

Price Approximately US $160.00 shipped.
Purchase from Amazon here: TBD
Andy's Aliexpress store here: Link
Wall Bracket here approx $17.00: Link
(prices and links valid 3/26/20)

8MP, 1/2.7" CMOS image sensor, low illuminance, high image definition
Outputs max. 8MP (3840 × 2160) @15 fps, and supports 2688×1520 @25/30 fps
H.265 codec, high compression rate, ultra-low bit rate
Built-in IR LED, max IR distance: 40 m
ROI, SMART H.264/H.265, flexible coding, applicable to various bandwidth and storage environments
Rotation mode, WDR, 3D DNR, HLC, BLC, digital watermarking, applicable to various monitoring scenes
Intelligent detection: Intrusion, tripwire
Abnormality detection: Motion detection, video tampering, no SD card, SD card full, SD card error, network disconnection, IP conflict, illegal ac cess, voltage detection
Supports max. 256 GB Micro SD card
12V DC/POE power support
IP67 protection

Camera
Image Sensor	1/2.7” 8Megapixel progressive CMOS
Effective Pixels	3840 (H) × 2160 (V)
ROM	128 MB
RAM	256 MB
Scanning System	Progressive
Electronic Shutter Speed	Auto/Manual 1/3 s–1/100,000 s
Min. Illumination	0.008 Lux@F1.5
IR Distance	40 m (131.23 ft)
IR On/Off Control	Auto/Manual
IR LEDs Number	2
Pan/Tilt/Rotation Range	Pan: 0°–360° Tilt: 0°–78° Rotation: 0°–360°
Lens
Lens Type	Motorized vari-focal
Mount Type	φ14
Focal Length	2.7 mm–13.5 mm
Max. Aperture	F1.5
Field of View	Pan: 113°–31° Tilt: 58°–17° Diagonal: 138°–36°
Iris Type	Fixed
Close Focus Distance	0.8 m–0.8 m (2.62 ft–2.62 ft)
DORI Distance	Lens	Detect	Observe	Recognize	Identify
W	85.3 m (279.9 ft)	34.1 m (111.9 ft)	17 m (55.8 ft)	8.5 m (27.9 ft)
T	280 m (918.6 ft)	112 m (367.5 ft)	56 m (183.7 ft)	28 m (91.9 ft)
Smart Event
General IVS Analytics	Tripwire; intrusion
Video
Video Compression	H.265; H.264; H.264B; MJPEG
Smart Codec	Yes
Video Frame Rate	Main stream: 3840 × 2160 (1 fps–15 fps) 2688 × 1520 (1 fps–25/30 fps) Sub stream: 704 × 576 (1 fps–25 fps) 704 × 480 (1 fps–30 fps)
Stream Capability	2 streams
Resolution	3840 × 2160 (3840 × 2160); 3072 × 2048 (3072 × 2048); 3072 ×1728 (3072 × 1728); 2592 × 1944 (2592 × 1944); 2688 × 1520 (2688 × 1520); 3M (2048 × 1536); 2304 × 1296 (2304 × 1296); 1080p (1920 × 1080); 1.3M (1280 × 960); 720p (1280 × 720); D1 (704 × 576/704 × 480); VGA (640 × 480); CIF (352 × 288/352 × 240)
Bit Rate Control	CBR/VBR
Video Bit Rate	H.264: 32 Kbps–8192 Kbps H.265: 12 Kbps–8192 Kbps
Day/Night	Auto(ICR)/Color/B/W
BLC	Yes
HLC	Yes
WDR	120 dB
White Balance	Auto/natural/street lamp/outdoor/manual/regional custom
Gain Control	Auto/Manual
Noise Reduction	3D DNR
Motion Detection	OFF/ON (4 areas, rectangular)
Region of Interest(RoI)	Yes (4 areas)
Smart IR	Yes
Image Rotation	0°/90°/180°/270° (Supports 90°/270° with 2688 × 1520 resolution and lower.)
Mirror	Yes
Privacy Masking	4 areas
Network
Network	RJ-45 (10/100 Base-T)
Protocol	IPv4; IPv6; HTTP; HTTPS; TCP; UDP; ARP; RTP ; RTSP; RTCP; RTMP; SMTP; FTP; SFTP; DHCP; DNS; DDNS; QoS; UPnP; NTP; Multicast; ICMP; IGMP; NFS; PPPoE; 802.1x; Bonjour
Interoperability	ONVIF(Profile S/Profile G/Profile T); CGI; P2P; Milestone; Genetec
User/Host	20
Edge Storage	Cloud; FTP; SFTP; Micro SD Card (support max. 256 GB); NAS
Browser	IE Chrome Firefox
Management Software	Smart PSS; DSS; DMSS
Mobile Phone	IOS; Android
Certification
Certifications	CE-LVD: EN60950-1 CE-EMC: Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU FCC: 47 CFR FCC Part 15, Subpart B UL/CUL: UL60950-1 CAN/CSA C22.2 No.60950-1-07
Power
Power Supply	12V DC/PoE (802.3af)
Power Consumption	< 7.6W
Environment
Operating Conditions	–30°C to +60°C (–22°F to +140°F)/less than ≤ 95% RH
Storage Temperature	–40°C to +60°C (–40°F to +140°F)
Protection	IP67
Structure
Casing	Metal
Dimensions	108.3 mm × Φ122 mm (4.26" × Φ1.80")
Net Weight	0.69 kg (1.52 lb)
Gross Weight	0.88 kg (1.94 lb)

Wall mount Bracket PFB203W


Back of bracket


Set screw that releases the mounting bracket.



Mounting bracket removed.



Space inside.



Ready to mount camera base to wall bracket



Camera base mounted with included stainless steel screws.



Run pig tail through hole and out the back.



Mount bracket to wall with tabs up.



After proper water proofing of the connection, organize cables inside wall bracket prior to mounting.

 

[looney2ns]

Some still shots are varying focal length. I think my method of capture caused the slight lack of sharpness in the chart.


Camera settings at factory default, except time and channel name.
Recorded and exported from Blue Iris.

When it's at it's widest FOV, to me the image looks a tad soft. But then at other times it looks good. Doing an auto focus doesn't always seem to help.
But nighttime for a 4k, holy starlight sensor batman!

I'm impressed at the night time video's, again everything at defaults. 1/2.7 sensor shines.

Be sure to choose 4k in youtube player.



At a few different settings, including IR off.

 

[bigredfish]

Real good to see they seem to have SmartIR working on the last few cams you've tested @looney2ns

 

[bp2008]

Your snapshots of the eye chart are only 1920x1080.

 

[Jessie.slimer]

Is this the same physical size as the 2231?

 

[flynreelow]

def looks impressive

 

[djernie]

def looks impressive

Really nice. Thanks looney2ns.

 

[foghat]

I just bought three 5442’s (and a nvr) from Andy this past Saturday. Figures.

I think 2k of the 5442 will be fine for me, but a little upset I could have gotten these with varifocal for pretty much the same price I paid for the 5442.

how do you feel these comapre to the 5442 in low/no light situations?

 

[Arjun]

What do you think of the sensor, this 8mp 1/2.7 vs 4mp and 8mp 1/1.8 models?

 

[Schnoidz]

Thanks for the review. Night video is very impressive. I'm curious about the wobble or camera shake. Is that from a loose mount?

 

[Arjun]

A comprehensive comparison would be nice especially comparing to the 5442 and 5231 at night. If you can fit a 1/1.8 sensor in a fixed lens turret, I’m certain there could have been a way to fit it into this varifocal model as well. Seeing that this is a lite series model, this could have been a cost saving measure for budget users in mind. I have a funny feeling we may be seeing a 8mp 1/1.8 varifocal turret soon. I like the fact that Dahua is catering to all users in mind (I.e. budget users, pro users, etc). This model looks like a refreshed model of its predecessor.

Also,

Dahua 8mp Turrets - "low illuminance"

Dahua has released several 8mp turrets with the 2831 model name, however, they sport the 1/2.7" sensors vs the 1/1.8" sensors in the 2831 bullet cams. Dahua is marketing these cams as "low illuminance". There are two fixed turrets - T and M models (the mounts look different and the T has plastic...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Arjun]

We need a comparison between the HDW5831 (includes HDW5830) Varifocal Turret and this IPC-T2831T-ZS I have a couple of IPC-HDW4831EM-ASE's and are not Starlight-certified

edit: 0.008 Lux@F1.5 (2831) vs 0.05Lux/F1.8 (5831)


Here are the lux ratings for the HDW5830,

0.05Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/3s,30IRE)

0.2Lux/F1.4 (Color,1/30s,30IRE)

0Lux/F1.4(IR on)

Dahua HDW5831R-ZE review

Hi everyone. This time I would like to present you a review of Dahua HDW5831R-ZE. This is my second security camera. The first one is HDW4231EM-AS the review of which can be found here. I purchased HDW4231EM-AS from official Polish reseller while the second one was bought directly from Andy...

ipcamtalk.com

Note: Both models do not have AI. AI typically featured on the Pro models.

 

[looney2ns]

Is this the same physical size as the 2231?

Yes

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks for the review. Night video is very impressive. I'm curious about the wobble or camera shake. Is that from a loose mount?

It's from 25mph wind gusts. I have it mounted on a portable test rig, with extra support, but the wind still affected it. It was either review it in the rain, or review in high winds. We've not had much choice of late.

 

[Schnoidz]

Thanks! I'd guessed it was a test rig in the wind. No sound so I wasn't sure.

 

[looney2ns]

What do you think of the sensor, this 8mp 1/2.7 vs 4mp and 8mp 1/1.8 models?

My 2 cents only, I hope a 5442 turret varifocal is on it's way, I think that is the sweet spot everything considered, storage size, bandwidth, Bi CPU utilization, etc.

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks! I'd guessed it was a test rig in the wind. No sound so I wasn't sure.

Yeah, no sound on this cam.

 

[looney2ns]

Your snapshots of the eye chart are only 1920x1080.

Doh! Once the sun returns and the wind drops below 30mph, I will re-take those shots.

 

[aristobrat]

It's from 25mph wind gusts. I have it mounted on a portable test rig, with extra support, but the wind still affected it. It was either review it in the rain, or review in high winds. We've not had much choice of late.

Glad to see @EMPIRETECANDY’s review units still summoning the bad weather!

 

[CrusaderNZ]

I just bought three 5442’s (and a nvr) from Andy this past Saturday. Figures.

I think 2k of the 5442 will be fine for me, but a little upset I could have gotten these with varifocal for pretty much the same price I paid for the 5442.

how do you feel these comapre to the 5442 in low/no light situations?

I bought a 5442 from him as well a couple of weeks ago and wanted one of these in addition to it and he said he wouldn't have stock till next month.