Selecting IP cam for a boat

[Eran]

Hi all,

I am new at this forum, I need assistance for my project selecting the right camera, I believe Dahua has the best cost/efficiency products so I chose to post my question here.


I recently built a small boat that designed to stay inside the water 24/7, the boat is not designed to carry any humans, it has a small PC inside and a cheap Logitech USB camera connected to it, the boat drive & steering is connected to that PC and I am controlling the boat from my home, I am also transmitting the live video stream through a 4G Modem with a signal booster (all components are inside the boat) so I can see where the boat is heading at.


The USB camera obviously does not do the job properly and doesn’t give me any solution to night time, I wish to replace it with a proper IP camera (Wired, no WiFi) so I can get a clear picture when moving the boat from my home, I do not care about zooming, motion detection or any other security features like that, all I care about is get a smooth picture, seeing when birds are lending inside my fish pond & transmit the video with minimum delay time (so I will not move the boat forward when the boat is actually about to crash into rock that I did not see quickly enough on my screen at home), I can add to the boat as many white/IR leds as needed, power consumption is not an issue (I have enough Lipo batteries inside).


Can someone please suggest about a model I should use for this project? Any spatial features I should look for or any spatial configuration I should do?


Thanks for everyone…

 

[nayr]

you should look at what the FPV Flyers are using; analogue cameras broadcasted wirelessly.. there's no latency like IP Based systems; which is critical for piloting via video feeds.. and they have found the chipsets that provide the best dynamic ranges that can go from looking at the sun to looking away from the sun and adjusting quick enough that the pilot dont end up in the dirt.

many of them use antenna tracking gimbals attached to a tripod pole mount combined with a GPS unit on the craft so it can maintain a highly dictional link at all times and really push the bandwidth capabilities to the limits.. its also easy to hook an OSD device up to it that displays the battery voltage, gps data, heading, temps, etc on the video feed.

 

[Eran]

Hi,

Thanks for your comment.
The problem with FPV flying is that the devices on the market support only direct transmitting to a remote receiver, there is no action/FPV camera that is able to transmit RT video over IP or any device that convert that signal to TCP/UDP packets (I am staying ~40 miles from the boat so direct streaming is not an option).


Thanks,
Eran

 

[nayr]

mebe something like this: IPC-HFW4231S

its a starlight camera; so its night time capabilities are very good.. and it supports h265 which can help alot over a low bandwidth data connection.. its also got real WDR so it'll help alot in dynamic lighting environments.

Is this a salt water environment?

 

[Eran]

Thank you very much!
can you please recommand another camera so I will order both and compare the image/performances?

BTW - I cant find that model at Aliexpress

Thanks.

 

[nayr]

I reviewed a camera much like this; with the same sensor here: Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

you can already see a direct comparison to the 3MP and 4MP Dahua's I've provided..

If a bullet dont meet your fancy; here is the whole lineup: Dahua 2MP Starlight Lineup

It used to cost over $350 to get a camera with the same performance as these; your not going to find anything tha'll beat em outright at this point in time.

 

[Eran]

Thank you sir!
Any chance I can get AliExpress links?

 

[Eran]

I cant find these starlight cameras anywhere, specially not at aliexpress... Where can I order one from?

 

[nayr]

whatcha talkin about willis?

Free Shipping DAHUA NEW Product Security IP Camera 2MP FULL HD WDR IR Mini Bullet Network Camera IP67 Without Logo IPC HFW4231S-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

 

[Eran]

Nice!


I will definitely order it.
Can you please also recommend another camera for comparing purposes? Something on a lower budget so I can test both of them and compare the cost/efficiency differences?

I also saw these models below:
HAC-HFW3231E-ZT
IPC-HFW4231S
IPC-HFW4431M-I2
IPC-HDW5231R
they are all starlight cameras and I can’t see any differences between them other than IR length, is that all?


Also - some models have different endings, for example (for the 4231 series):
IPC-HFW4231S
IPC-HFW4231E-S
IPC-HFW4231B-AS
IPC-HFW4231D-AS
IPC-HDW4231EM-AS


Thanks,
Eran

 

[zero-degrees]

Hey @Eran I totally want to see a picture of this boat and images of what it captures when you have some time!!! Sounds like an interesting setup/project.

 

[Eran]

Hi,
Once i install that starlight cam @nayr mentioned I will upload some videos.
Right now i need to understand the diff between all these starlight models i mentioned above so I will get the right model for me.

Regards,
Eran

 

[nayr]

you want the 4231, 4431 is 4MP non-starlight, 5231 is motorized zoom, all the rest are different chassis/cases.. most of the differences I outlined in the post I linked earlier.

 

[Eran]

Thanks,
You recommended the HFW4231S which has 30M IR range while the IPC-HFW4231B-AS has 50M range and the IPC-HFW4231D-AS has 80M range.
For some reason I can only find the HFW4231S at ali’s, any idea where I can get the 80M IR range?

Eran.

 

[nayr]

the cameras are just making there way to market; not all are available at this point unless your willing to wait.

the power of the onboard IR wont make that dramatic of a difference; espically if your willing to add additional visible lighting to supplement it.. you might even determine its better to disable the onboard IR entirely depending on the environment.. fog/rain/etc tends to reflect right back in like running highbeams on your car in those conditions; where as external lighting with a decent enough offset angle largely prevents such problems.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

the cameras are just making there way to market; not all are available at this point unless your willing to wait.

the power of the onboard IR wont make that dramatic of a difference; espically if your willing to add additional visible lighting to supplement it.. you might even determine its better to disable the onboard IR entirely depending on the environment.. fog/rain/etc tends to reflect right back in like running highbeams on your car in those conditions; where as external lighting with a decent enough offset angle largely prevents such problems.

No worry, in first week of Dec i think can get around 80pcs back. But this week or next still can ship 10-15 per week out.

 

[Eran]

ok, If I wait till Dec - where would I be able to purchase this 80M IR starlight cam?
BTW, What would you suggest - add White light Leds or IR Leds? I never understood what kind of external light is better for IR cameras.


Thanks,
Eran

 

[looney2ns]

The easiest is just add IR. But if you want to keep the camera in color mode at night, then add the white light. But I'm thinking that will take much more effort & power to get enough light.

 

[Eran]

I'll guess I go with IR leds then, thanks