Suggestions for US Dahua Camera

M

mercfh

Getting the hang of it
Nov 5, 2018
51
26
United States
Before I go any further, this isn't for me (I will be eventually getting some Dahua camera's) but for my parents (They are building a house, and wanted to get some cameras installed...basic stuff nothing fancy). They looked into a "Security Installer" but it was ridiculously expensive.

I have some networking knowledge enough to at least get some basic camera's going with an NVR. Regardless they want to have a Warranty to be able to send it back. (Not that I don't trust Andy as an seller, but they are pretty adamant on wanting a Warranty-able one). This will still be useful for me though because i'll probably order the same (International ones) from Andy when I get mine (Since they want the same setup).

Basically they have a House with 2 entrances, both are covered with a porch-type roof. The Cameras will sit underneath. The front one will need to identify mostly someone at the front door.

From my understanding, 4MP isn't really worth it over 2MP? What if something like a Floodlight is on? I'd ideally like to get at least 1080p. Also from my understanding the Varifocals are better and worth the slight price increase (Pretend im on a strict budget: If you HAD to recommend a fixed focal length, what would you recommend?, since based off US resellers the Varifocal's are much more expensive)

Is this statement basically true when it comes to Focal Length: The Higher the focal length, the smaller the FOV but better the details in that (better resolution)

I've checked out the cliffnotes, and basically i've heard that turrets are better than Domes or Bullets. I like the look of Domes and Bullets better...are they that bad? (I know they attract spiders, but it's not a huge deal for me to clean cobwebs every so often).

Anyways what i've looked around on U.S. retailers (B&H seems popular here, are they ok? besides the price premium?) and these are the ones that seemed decent for the price (These are all fixed ones, since the varifocals were a little outside price range:

N44BB33 or N44CB33 (Bullet, whats the difference? my switch provides 802.11af, does ePoE help at all?)
N44BG53 (Turret)
N44BL53 or N44CL53 (Dome, again I can't find a difference)

then there are the N24BL53 (Dome) N24BB33 (Bullet) and N24CB33 (Bullet) which are more expensive by about 50 bucks. Im guessing because they are 2MP?

All the naming schemes get confusing ha. Are any of these decent? Pretend I have to get U.S. only cameras at least for my parents, so im trying to stick to the U.S. model #'s.
 
Welcome Mercfh,

"I've checked out the cliffnotes, and basically i've heard that turrets are better than Domes or Bullets. I like the look of Domes and Bullets better...are they that bad? "

The cliff notes represent a significant amount of invested time to create from the knowledge and experiences of those here who have shared their expertise here at ipct. The notes are significant resources which will guide you into further research here, and yes - the domes will eventually go bad exposed to heat and UV exposure over time - they are bad ( under those conditions ) if you want to reduce your troubles avoid domes outdoors. Same with the bullet styles if you use the IR LEDS in the bullets and live in a "bug" area.

The most important thing during the new house build is to get the home properly cabled and decent placement of cameras.

USE quality cat6/5e cable w/solid copper wires - run N+1 runs - now while the runs are easy and affordable to do in the new construction.

Once the framing is up start testing locations which you have considered. Please see the 'bucket" test rigs people have been using here.

Remember it is better to over cable .. I recommend using N+1 rule - add one more cable line to each location - it is cheap to do now.

See the Cliff Notes on cabling.. also remember you want to do more than just security cameras - also alarms, other IoT stuff ( voice? multimedia controls,.. "smarthome" sensors and the like.. )

In the end, if you've done a good job cabling you can easily swap out the particular models of cameras and recorders - so at this time you really should focus on cabling.
 
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For whatever reason, Dahua US (and its resellers) only seem to carry a small number of the models that most folks here recommend. Folks have been going bonkers over the Starlight varifocal turret here since 2016 (buying them from Andy). Last time I looked, there was no way to get that model from Dahua US... Crazy (and irritating). I think that if anyone is going to pay the extra $$$ to buy a Dahua-logo'ed product in the US, they should be able to buy the same awesome Dahua models available in other markets.

My experience buying Hikvision from B&H (my first camera) is that even though B&H is an official reseller, that doesn't give you (as a consumer/end-user) the ability to get tech support (or warranty services) directly from Hikvision. Neither Hikvision nor Dahua deal with consumers, ... they only deal with installers. So B&H would have to provider the warranty and service. This forum has answered all of my tech support questions, so I can't say as to how good B&H is with offering support for IP cameras that they sell.

Andy warranties his units. There just may be extra time in shipping to get them back to him. Out of the 10+ IP cameras I've purchased over the last three years (the majority from Andy), none have required warranty work.

Regarding 4MP vs 2MP, ... that statement is specifically about 2MP cameras that use Sony STARVIS image sensors (which are typically only found in Dahua Starlight and Hikvision Ultra-Low Light models, but there are a few other manufactures out there starting to use those sensors). The combination of a 2MP lens + the STARVIS image sensor makes for about the best low-light image quality, which is why these cameras are so popular on here. If you have a scene that has a flood light that's on full-time at night, you might be able to get by without a Starlight model... but if it's a flood light that triggers via motion, by the time the camera auto adjusts its settings from "it was just dark outside and now it's really bright", anyone moving quickly through the scene will probably be gone...

The higher the focal length, the FOV Is usually more narrow, but that can vary, so it's useful to check the official specs of the camera. Resellers will often goof these up, so it's best to look at the manufacturers site.

My experience with domes is that if you're going to point them at something large that can bounce the IR back at the camera, it can hit the dome and wash out/ghost the image. There is a foam ring around the lens that's supposed to reduce that... if the ring starts to deteriorate or won't sit literally flush against the inside of the dome, you can also get a washed out/ghosted image.

As for recommending a fixed-lens size to someone, that's not possible without knowing the scene it's pointing at. Just know the smaller the size (i.e. 2.7mm) will give you the widest FOV, but the tradeoff is that details start to fade sooner. For example, a 2.7mm fixed lens camera may only be able to ID someone at 15 feet, where a 6mm camera may be able to ID an extra 15 or 20 feet further. There's an awesome way to try before you buy: IPVM Camera Calculator V3 Type in your address, let it pull up a Google map of the property, add a camera model (and lens size) that you're interested in on the map, then pin the camera on the map. It will show you simulated camera images from various distances (i.e. 5 feet from the camera, 20 feet from the camera, 50 feet from the camera, etc). You should be able to make smart decisions by using that tool.
 
The U.S. ones mainly im interested in (for my parents) for the firmware updates for english firmware. What exactly is it about the "Starlight" models that make them so good? Regardless im just going by what my parents are specifically looking for (Not that I necessarily agree, but I understand what they are saying). I imagine for me the 3.6mm lens would work best since both locations I don't need the FOV super huge (I also messed around with the camera calculator and it told me similar). Lets pretend for this thread though that I "have" to have a U.S. reseller for warranty work/returns (and for english firmware). (Not that I agree with it)

I've decided against the domes though based off what i've seen. But i'd still be curious what models of each are decent. Also a lot of these questions are for me as well (Since I will also be buying cameras for similar locations). There are soooo many models it's very confusing.
 
mercfh said:
The U.S. ones mainly im interested in (for my parents) for the firmware updates for english firmware. What exactly is it about the "Starlight" models that make them so good? Regardless im just going by what my parents are specifically looking for (Not that I necessarily agree, but I understand what they are saying). I imagine for me the 3.6mm lens would work best since both locations I don't need the FOV super huge (I also messed around with the camera calculator and it told me similar). Lets pretend for this thread though that I "have" to have a U.S. reseller for warranty work/returns (and for english firmware). (Not that I agree with it)

I've decided against the domes though based off what i've seen. But i'd still be curious what models of each are decent. Also a lot of these questions are for me as well (Since I will also be buying cameras for similar locations). There are soooo many models it's very confusing.
Click to expand...
there are a bunch of threads that explain why starlights (specifically the 2mp versions - there are 5mp starlights that are useless Dahua New 5MP Starlight line up?) are good. There is only a fixed turret design 2mp starlight in the US. Carried by b and h.
If you think you will just be able to return installed cameras, if you dont like it, think again.
You seem to be misinformed about the firmware. International cameras, like the ones being recommended here are fully upgradable with English firmware.
So aside from paying significantly more (50-75%) there is no benefit to US region cameras. You would need half your cameras to fail to make it worthwhile. That wont happen.
 
mercfh said:
The U.S. ones mainly im interested in (for my parents) for the firmware updates for english firmware. What exactly is it about the "Starlight" models that make them so good? Regardless im just going by what my parents are specifically looking for (Not that I necessarily agree, but I understand what they are saying). I imagine for me the 3.6mm lens would work best since both locations I don't need the FOV super huge (I also messed around with the camera calculator and it told me similar). Lets pretend for this thread though that I "have" to have a U.S. reseller for warranty work/returns (and for english firmware). (Not that I agree with it)

I've decided against the domes though based off what i've seen. But i'd still be curious what models of each are decent. Also a lot of these questions are for me as well (Since I will also be buying cameras for similar locations). There are soooo many models it's very confusing.
Click to expand...

Hi Mercfh,

The Dahua OEM international models all have English included as a part of the multi-language firmware. It is the Chinese Market ones which can be problematic w/regards to firmware updates.

What makes a Starlight 2MP so good.. well you really should look at the reviews here by numerous members who have taken their valued time to test, review, post videos.
 
Oh I didn't realize the international versions could GET english firmware. I guess I thought they only accepted chinese firmware or something (Basically I want to be able to update firmware myself with english firmware if possible).

So the ones I get from Andy are the international ones I assume? (Do they ship pretty quickly I guess?)

Assuming I go ahead and get them....any suggestions:

1. For Varifocal (I assume the starlight 2mp)
2. If I wanted a cheaper fixed lens ones...is there a certain model?

For bullet the N25CB5Z would be the one i'd want or the N24CG52 for turret?

I wonder why U.S. retailers don't carry the starlight...that's super weird.
 
mercfh said:
Oh I didn't realize the international versions could GET english firmware. I guess I thought they only accepted chinese firmware or something (Basically I want to be able to update firmware myself with english firmware if possible)
Click to expand...
They are 100 percent upgradeable. No issues.
 
Awesome! so now is just the matter of what I actually get ha!

As a side-question: The international versions....who would typically even sell those in the outside worlds?
 
After doing an extensive amount of research on the web and mostly this forum I just put together a small order of 16 channel Dahua NVR and a couple of turret cameras to play with. I am ordering from Andy. The international version of the NVR was 60% cheaper than the US version. I’ll use that $200 savings to buy a nice 8 TB hard drive. This is my first time buying from Andy or going international over US for anything so it’s a little out of my comfort zone. In the end the cost savings was too much to ignore.

Good luck with your decision.
 
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cuz said:
After doing an extensive amount of research on the web and mostly this forum I just put together a small order of 16 channel Dahua NVR and a couple of turret cameras to play with. I am ordering from Andy. The international version of the NVR was 60% cheaper than the US version. I’ll use that $200 savings to buy a nice 8 TB hard drive. This is my first time buying from Andy or going international over US for anything so it’s a little out of my comfort zone. In the end the cost savings was too much to ignore.

Good luck with your decision.
Click to expand...

Go @EMPIRETECANDY go! :goodpost:
 
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