Review-SD4A425DB-HNY 1/2.8" CMOS 4MP 25x Starlight Auto-tracking MiniPTZ

[TechBill]

Almost every dome with IR is inside the dome.

What happens is the seal/gasket rolls or shrinks when someone is taking the dome off/on and that is what causes the IR bleed from within the dome.

Does it fog up in the dome being outdoor where temp is always changing between seasons?

 

[wittaj]

Does it fog up in the dome being outdoor where temp is always changing between seasons?

I have never had a dome fog up outside (knock on wood).

The biggest issue is that domes are not recommended outside unless it is well protected from the elements. The big issue is that the domes will hold onto water droplets much longer than a turret or bullet and thus any dirt on it can then become problematic. And during a rain event with IR, the camera is basically blind...



The domes attract lots of dust. Then rain. Then dirty rain spots. Glare from all angles of the sun. Then over time the sun will "fog" the dome like a car headlight.

But the few domes I have that are under a soffit perform fine.

Now a PTZ dome adds another layer to the mix - as it moves around, it has the potential to pick up reflections from any light source, so depending on the install location, one may experience the occasional glare.

Fortunately in the samples Looney provided, we didn't see that happening, so perhaps the design has been able to mitigate an issue from older dome PTZs

 

[JDreaming]

Does it fog up in the dome being outdoor where temp is always changing between seasons?

I have a Hikvision DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 mini PTZ Dome camera installed near my front door facing the east, never fog up during
the changing temperatures between seasons. But the glare from the sun in the morning usually is pretty bad. Also when it snow
and and temperature drop to freezing level the water and snow will turn into ice and blocking some of the views of the camera
around the dome. ( especially looking down)

I don't use IR on Hikvision ptz since the camera can do 24/7 color with good lights on my block. So, raining is not a problem for me.
But it will pretty much blind the camera if IR is on during heavy rain.

 

[jmcu]

I was able to grab a few clips from yesterday.
Overall it is a real good camera, impressive for a dome at night, needs a few FW tweeks.

 

[looney2ns]

Could you mount this unit directly on a wall vertically without the wall mount arm (that effectively turns it into a regular "horizontal" mount)? Obviously your field of view would be limited to 180 degrees instead of the normal 360 degrees, but does the camera itself have enough movement range that it could effectively cover the area when mounted vertically on the wall?

Nope.

 

[looney2ns]

IR inside the dome? So there a seal between len and the IR lights? I am surprised the IR light doesn't reflect off the dome back into the len.

Look closely at the pictures I posted, you can see the IR seal that fits against the dome.
The dome fits tight enough when installing that it is very unlikely that IR will ever leak.

 

[looney2ns]

Does it fog up in the dome being outdoor where temp is always changing between seasons?

Not had the problem with my sample.

 

[wittaj]

I was able to grab a few clips from yesterday.
Overall it is a real good camera, impressive for a dome at night, needs a few FW tweeks.

Thanks for posting the video.

The autotracking on it is amazing and seems to anticipate where the person would be for when things like branches or lamp posts get in the way. The 49225/49425 does a really good job, but this seems to be an improvement. A comparison of the two would be cool!

Maybe it is just YouTube compression, but the focus still seems soft when autotracking?

 

[looney2ns]

I was able to grab a few clips from yesterday.
Overall it is a real good camera, impressive for a dome at night, needs a few FW tweeks.

How high do you have it mounted?

 

[Mike A.]

Maybe it is just YouTube compression, but the focus still seems soft when autotracking?

I think maybe just a little slow to focus. If the subject stays at the same focal length then once it gets a good lock and if it stays at that same range then it's not bad. If distance is changing seems a little slow to catch up with the focus. Also looks to me to have a fairly shallow DOF so differences show more. Tracking does seem to work very well otherwise.

 

[wittaj]

I think maybe just a little slow to focus. If the subject stays at the same focal length then once it gets a good lock and if it stays at that same range then it's not bad. If distance is changing seems a little slow to catch up with the focus. Also looks to me to have a fairly shallow DOF so differences show more. Tracking does seem to work very well otherwise.

Good point. @jmcu and @looney2ns - did you try this with PFA on and off? I wonder if one would be better than the other based on field of view?

 

[JDreaming]

Thanks for posting the video.

The autotracking on it is amazing and seems to anticipate where the person would be for when things like branches or lamp posts get in the way. The 49225/49425 does a really good job, but this seems to be an improvement. A comparison of the two would be cool!

Maybe it is just YouTube compression, but the focus still seems soft when autotracking?

Yeah, looks kind of slightly blurry to me. Maybe I'm having too high of an expectation for this budget mini ptz after watching too many high end ptz videos
from guys like bigredfish, Parley, ljw2k and tech101. Their ptz videos always looks so sharp.

 

[looney2ns]

Good point. @jmcu and @looney2ns - did you try this with PFA on and off? I wonder if one would be better than the other based on field of view?

PFA on or Off, made no difference here.

 

[looney2ns]

Here is a focus comparison with the dome on and off.
Dome off autofocus.


Dome off Manually focused.


Dome on auto focused


Dome on Manually focused.

 

[wittaj]

Here is a focus comparison with the dome on and off.
Dome off autofocus.
View attachment 148272

Dome off Manually focused.
View attachment 148273

Dome on auto focused
View attachment 148274

Dome on Manually focused.
View attachment 148275

It looks like the firmware is trying to account for the "defraction" of the dome and that is why the autofocus is blurry with the dome off. But the manually focus is sharp.

But that doesn't explain why you can't get the same focus manually with the dome on unless it is at the tilt you mentioned where the curvature of the dome is different and cannot be mitigated manually either.

 

[looney2ns]

It looks like the firmware is trying to account for the "defraction" of the dome and that is why the autofocus is blurry with the dome off. But the manually focus is sharp.

But that doesn't explain why you can't get the same focus manually with the dome on unless it is at the tilt you mentioned where the curvature of the dome is different and cannot be mitigated manually either.

Yep, Engineering admitted this.

 

[Timokreon]

My mini is out for delivery. Of course the weather is crap, but I'll try to get it up this weekend. If not, then might have to wait until a warm day.

 

[wittaj]

My mini is out for delivery. Of course the weather is crap, but I'll try to get it up this weekend. If not, then might have to wait until a warm day.

Tough it up LOL. I have put mine up in snow before LOL.

 

[Timokreon]

I just don't like the wind. Being on a ladder, trying to hold a camera with the wind blowing... Ugh..

 

[wittaj]

I just don't like the wind. Being on a ladder, trying to hold a camera with the wind blowing... Ugh..

Yeah, hopefully this one is easier to install on a ladder than the 49425 all by yourself!