Suggestion for good night vision cameras please?

1

1b1

n3wb
Aug 8, 2021
2
3
Western NY
Now that some Black Friday deals are out I was hoping someone could help recommend a high quality PoE video security nvr system with good night vision. Budget around $1000, but I don’t mind spending more if you believe it’s worth it.

I need to upgrade our current LaView 1080p 6 camera system I bought off slickdeals several years ago and does very poor in low light-

First priority is night vision recording quality. We had our car broken into in the middle of the night and couldn’t get a good picture of the guy with our current system even though our camera was 20-30 feet away.

Needs-
6 to 8 cameras
Dome or bullet, Prefer white
Don’t need audio but would be a bonus for a couple cameras
I already have Cat6 ran to each camera.
I don’t have any sensor flood lights, maybe I should get one for better quality night rewording.

I did recently reach out to Lorex with the same question and they recommended these. I know the lens size is important for low light but they don’t list the lens size so I’m not sure what to do and like your option.

Lorex Nocturnal 3 4K 16-Channel 4TB NVR System with Smart IP Bullet Security Cameras with Listen-In Audio and 30FPS


Your knowledge and help is greatly appreciated.
 
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:welcome:

That particular camera will have very poor night vision performance (4K (8MP) 1/2.8" CMOS) per the mfg specifications.

I recommend you start reading the cliff notes located at the top of the page under the wiki before spending any money. Your budget is too light for what you want to achieve.

Here are two highly regarded low light cams compared, start with learning first but I am adding these to address your request for recommended low light cameras.

IPC-T5442 (4MP) vs. new IPC-Color4K-T?

I guess some time has passed since the new IPC-Color4K-T came out. I was wondering if anyone went from the 4MP IPC-T5442 to the 8MP IPC-Color4K-T? What was your opinion of the nighttime performance? Was it worth the upgrade for you? Any gotchas with the upgrade that wasn't obvious in the...
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Sensor size is important for low light...

Lens size is important for IDENTIFY at distance...

Lorex and most all-in-one box kits do not pair the proper MP/sensor ratio and force all the focal length to 2.8mm which is good for identify at about 10 feet.

You would have better night vision with a 2MP camera as that 1/2.8" sensor is great for 2MP and horrible for 4K....

Do a search here for how many started with a similar Lorex and started replacing within the year...
 
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1b1 said:
Now that some Black Friday deals are out I was hoping someone could help recommend a high quality PoE video security nvr system with good night vision. Budget around $1000, but I don’t mind spending more if you believe it’s worth it.

I need to upgrade our current LaView 1080p 6 camera system I bought off slickdeals several years ago and does very poor in low light-

First priority is night vision recording quality. We had our car broken into in the middle of the night and couldn’t get a good picture of the guy with our current system even though our camera was 20-30 feet away.

Needs-
6 to 8 cameras
Dome or bullet, Prefer white
Don’t need audio but would be a bonus for a couple cameras
I already have Cat6 ran to each camera.
I don’t have any sensor flood lights, maybe I should get one for better quality night rewording.

I did recently reach out to Lorex with the same question and they recommended these. I know the lens size is important for low light but they don’t list the lens size so I’m not sure what to do and like your option.

Lorex Nocturnal 3 4K 16-Channel 4TB NVR System with Smart IP Bullet Security Cameras with Listen-In Audio and 30FPS


Your knowledge and help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Welcome @1b1

I have not seen any Black Friday deals from the usual known by consumers vendors that I like ( i.e. that have larger sensors ) ..

At this time, i would recommend getting the 4MP 1/1.8" sensor cameras from Andy ( EmpireTecAndy here ) .. he's got a few deals out .. and consider a Used PC running Blue Iris and PoE switch .. should be able to reuse the Cat5e cables if they are in good condition from your LaView setup .. remember dielectric gel in the RJ45 boots .. just a little to keep the water out .. I also really like junction boxes ..
 
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You could check with the " Hook Up" on You tube he ranks affordable camera's and the night vision, by running across the driveway at night while his neighbors shake their heads.
Before you buy anything PLEASE stop back here with your ideas....

 
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Wow thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Flintstones 5442's look good. Where could I find more information on them?

mat200, thanks for referring me over here from SD’s last year. It’s nice to still see a helpful forum like this and not taken over by facebook groups. I do have an extra old computer running with windows 7. Maybe it would work with blue iris.
 
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there may be a review in this forum somewhere on the 5442 z4 since it's been out for awhile......
 

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

All, thanks to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) we have a new 4MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This camera is using the OEM model number of IPC-B5442-ZE which is the equivalent of the Dahua IPC-HFW5442-ZE for reference. The IPC-B...
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All flavors -

5442 Reviews

Review-OEM Loryta IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal 4mp camera (Dahua)

IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret Varifocal Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $200.00...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

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

All, thanks to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) we have a new 4MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This camera is using the OEM model number of IPC-B5442-ZE which is the equivalent of the Dahua IPC-HFW5442-ZE for reference. The IPC-B...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $160 Link to camera...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Andy's Email: kingsecurity2014...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

Review: IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI - Dahua Technology Pro AI Dome Network Camera

Hey, this is a wonderful forum, and since I’ve recently purchased a new set of Dahua cameras, I thought I’d share my thoughts and opinions. This camera is the IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI, and it’s actually the fourth camera from Dahua that I’ve purchased for my house over the years. Prior to this, I...
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Just to hijack this thread…

Would there be any alternative suggestions on cameras if one had a more flexible budget?

I’m looking for camera(s) that perform well as per OP’s setting
  • typical residential street (say identifying people approaching the bottom of the drive @ 5metre out to say 25metre distance), with cameras mounted on the first storey eaves (at about 3.5m height)
  • Moderate street lighting but not great
  • can supplement with IR but not willing to light the front of the house up with white light through the night (would look v out of place on the street)

Dahua 5442 series looks to be the main recommendation here, perhaps supplemented by a suitable PTZ camera or 2 in time.

I’m currently running a Swann system but I think the time has come to upgrade to a blue iris approach. Just need to decide on cams.
 
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Frogman said:
Just to hijack this thread…

Would there be any alternative suggestions on cameras if one had a more flexible budget?

I’m looking for camera(s) that perform well as per OP’s setting
  • typical residential street (say identifying people approaching the bottom of the drive @ 5metre out to say 25metre distance), with cameras mounted on the first storey eaves (at about 3.5m height)
  • Moderate street lighting but not great
  • can supplement with IR but not willing to light the front of the house up with white light through the night (would look v out of place on the street)

Dahua 5442 series looks to be the main recommendation here, perhaps supplemented by a suitable PTZ camera or 2 in time.

I’m currently running a Swann system but I think the time has come to upgrade to a blue iris approach. Just need to decide on cams.
Click to expand...

Yeah, with your restriction of not wanting to light the front of the house up with white light, you have to toss any camera labeled as 24/7 color out the window. Street light, while good, provided a backlit condition and the face would be black.

One camera cannot be the be all, see all. It is two cameras to IDENTIFY someone at 5M and 25M

A PTZ camera is a great compliment to an existing fixed camera setup. Autotracking PTZs are great, but they have to be looking where the action is and a fixed cam that can be used as a spotter to point the PTZ is a great solution.

Take a look at this thread that identifies the most commonly suggested cameras based on distance to IDENTIFY. In some instances, 2MP is the better option. That is where most box kits like your Swann fail is that they put in wide-angle 2.8mm cameras that are realistically only good to IDENTIFY about 10 feet out. The cameras suggested in this thread represent the best value in terms of performance (night and day), proper MP/sensor ratio, and cost.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...
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^^^^^^^
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Probably or they sell Reolink LOL, but just in case, Reolink is not a good night performing camera.

The CX410 is one such camera suggested. Let's take a look.

While it is on the proper MP/sensor ratio (4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor) with a large f1.0 aperture, at $95 it would be a steal if it worked like other full color cameras.

Sadly, it appears to suffer from the same issues of reolink, which is poor night quality and ghosting, etc. And look how washed out the camera on the right is when the lights kick on.


1685367607118.png



Is missing a leg normal?

Are these captures that could IDENTIFY a person? Looks like the person is close enough that a Dahua could provide IDENTIFY quality.

But it benefits from the light turning on with motion. Wonder if the camera gets momentarily blinded.


1697896087848.png




Here is the unofficial master thread where people have put up their best attempts at night captures of objects in motion with a Reolink. As you will see, this will only tell the police what time something happened.

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...
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Yucy W Chavez said:
If you want a good night vision security camera, it must be equipped F1.0 Super Aperture, Featuring an extra-large F1.0 aperture that captures four times more light than an F2.0 aperture, and an advanced 1/1.8'' sensor, delivers nighttime footage with true-to-life color details even in extremely low light environments. Reolink CX410 is a good choice. If you want a spotlight security camera, reolink DUO 3 poe is a proper choice.
Click to expand...

Hi @Yucy W Chavez

Why do you say Reolink is a good choice ?

Do you have either ot the Reolink cameras you mention ?
 
wittaj said:
Probably or they sell Reolink LOL, but just in case, Reolink is not a good night performing camera.

The CX410 is one such camera suggested. Let's take a look.

While it is on the proper MP/sensor ratio (4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor) with a large f1.0 aperture, at $95 it would be a steal if it worked like other full color cameras.

Sadly, it appears to suffer from the same issues of reolink, which is poor night quality and ghosting, etc. And look how washed out the camera on the right is when the lights kick on.


1685367607118.png



Is missing a leg normal?

Are these captures that could IDENTIFY a person? Looks like the person is close enough that a Dahua could provide IDENTIFY quality.Are these captures that could IDENTIFY a person? Looks like the person is close enough that a Dahua could provide IDENTIFY quality, but Vosker customer service might have more information on their product's capabilities.

But it benefits from the light turning on with motion. Wonder if the camera gets momentarily blinded.


1697896087848.png




Here is the unofficial master thread where people have put up their best attempts at night captures of objects in motion with a Reolink. As you will see, this will only tell the police what time something happened.
Click to expand...
I need to set up a security system with 5 to 8 cameras to cover two buildings. The cameras should have sufficient resolution to identify anyone who might steal from us. As for cost, I don’t have a specific budget since I’m unsure about my options and what to expect.
 
wittaj

Thread 'The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection'

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP).

I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a forum favorite here @EMPIRETECANDY , but this post will put it all in one place where we can point a NOOB to. The cameras I am highlighting were purchased from @EMPIRETECANDY

Almost every big box store, consumer grade cameras and all-in-one-box kits come with either 2.8mm or 3.6mm...
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