Where to Buy IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 and Recommendation

[sukafun]

My first post here. I'm looking at buying 2x new cameras.

So I want to replace my rubbish Dlink outdoor cameras. Main reason and only reason really is night vision is almost not there even though they were expensive cameras. I had a look at couple of options Hikvision and Dahua and Dahua from what I read is better when it comes to night vision.

Then had a look at Dahua models and found this one IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 which seems good. I saw videos of night recording and it's much much better that what I have at the moment.

I have two problems, problem one I don't know where to buy them from (in Australia). I found many websites and price varies between one to another. I don't even know if I can buy them locally in Australia.

Problem two I'm already using Dlink CCTV management software which's good enough for me and does everything I want. Now with a different camera model how can I manage it. I saw Blue Iris which's not free and the open source iSpy software but not sure if it's any good.

Also if you can tell me what do you think about the Dahua camera I mentioned that would be great.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Buy from us directly, our model is IPC-T2831T-ZS-S2

Have good review here, we sell dahua oem product.

 

[SouthernYankee]

if you are interested in International Dahua cameras, a forum member sells dahua (and some Hikvision) and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
You can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store. The cameras are fully upgradable, he posts upgrade software when available.

I recommend email andy

Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Amazing prodcuts with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Andy's Amazon store: Amazon.com

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[samplenhold]

Welcome to the forum. Make sure you read the Cliff Notes and check out the WIKI. There is a lot of good info there on all aspects of security cameras.

The IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 is an 8MP cam on a 1/2.7" sensor. Since you said you are concerned with night vision, an 8MP on 1/2.7" sensor will not be anywhere as good as the T5442T-ZE which is a 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor.

The IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 has a smaller sensor and twice the pixel count of the 5442 which means that the night performance will not be as good as the 5442 . Twice the pixels means each pixel gets half as much light on the same sensor, and the 2831 has a smaller sensor so even less light will get to each pixel. Do not chase MP, look for larger sensors if night performance is what you need.

Buy from @EMPIRETECANDY as mentioned above.

 

[sukafun]

Welcome to the forum. Make sure you read the Cliff Notes and check out the WIKI. There is a lot of good info there on all aspects of security cameras.

The IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 is an 8MP cam on a 1/2.7" sensor. Since you said you are concerned with night vision, an 8MP on 1/2.7" sensor will not be anywhere as good as the T5442T-ZE which is a 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor.

The IPC-HDW2831T-ZS-S2 has a smaller sensor and twice the pixel count of the 5442 which means that the night performance will not be as good as the 5442 . Twice the pixels means each pixel gets half as much light on the same sensor, and the 2831 has a smaller sensor so even less light will get to each pixel. Do not chase MP, look for larger sensors if night performance is what you need.

Buy from @EMPIRETECANDY as mentioned above.

Thanks samplenhold. I did not know this one.

I couldn't find anything in the WIKI but I googled and found this: Buying Guide and Best Practices: Improving Surveillance Footage at Night

So really the the main things I should consider for better night vision: image sensor size, IR distance, focal length

 

[bigredfish]

...and lux ratings within the same manufacturer line. Though not as exact as portrayed, within a single manufacturer line there is some consistency. (at a given F stop)

 

[samplenhold]

The Cliff Notes covers MP and sensor size, planning, and resolution considerations.

I believe in fit-for-purpose plans when it come to cameras. You need a plan that describes what each 'view' is supposed to accomplish, a set of requirements. From those requirements you pick the best cam within your budget that fulfills those requirements. You have to decide what is 'better night vision'. Some folks go directly to IR and never consider color at night. But an IR image looses valuable information that a cam in color provides. Specifically color. What color clothing was the perp wearing? Were there brand logos on the clothing? What color was the car they came in? All of that info is lost in the IR view but can be of great importance to the police. Now no cam can produce perfect color with no light available, but some cams do color well in low light situations. That is something one tests for before installing.

That Buying Guide that you posted is written by a company that wants to sell you cams. I did a quick look over and while some of the things they say are correct, other things they say, especially the 'myths', are marketing speak. Like the 'Myth #3'. Partially correct with "...A still scene without any people or cars in it can look beautiful with color night vision, " but the remaining part "people and moving objects look terrible." is not always true. So take that 'guide' with a grain of salt. No one here is trying to sell you anything.

 

[Mojito33]

I can also recommend Andy. I was a newcomer to the forum a year ago and I got in touch with Andy from EmpireCandy and I was happy to find he was quick to ship and reasonably priced when contacting him directly.

 

[sukafun]

The Cliff Notes covers MP and sensor size, planning, and resolution considerations.

I believe in fit-for-purpose plans when it come to cameras. You need a plan that describes what each 'view' is supposed to accomplish, a set of requirements. From those requirements you pick the best cam within your budget that fulfills those requirements. You have to decide what is 'better night vision'. Some folks go directly to IR and never consider color at night. But an IR image looses valuable information that a cam in color provides. Specifically color. What color clothing was the perp wearing? Were there brand logos on the clothing? What color was the car they came in? All of that info is lost in the IR view but can be of great importance to the police. Now no cam can produce perfect color with no light available, but some cams do color well in low light situations. That is something one tests for before installing.

That Buying Guide that you posted is written by a company that wants to sell you cams. I did a quick look over and while some of the things they say are correct, other things they say, especially the 'myths', are marketing speak. Like the 'Myth #3'. Partially correct with "...A still scene without any people or cars in it can look beautiful with color night vision, " but the remaining part "people and moving objects look terrible." is not always true. So take that 'guide' with a grain of salt. No one here is trying to sell you anything.

Thanks again for this valuable information. The Cliff Notes includes everything I can think of, I'll go through it definitely before buying new cameras. I wish I came across this fourm a year ago before I decided to buy the awful Dlink cameras it would of saved me $$$ from having to buy new replacement now.

Before I buy or decide on the new cameras, I'll plan first what I want to achieve, do my research and learning then hopefully this time I make the right decision

 

[sebastiantombs]

Andy is "da man"!!!!!

 

[wittaj]

Another recommendation for Andy here as well - ordered Sunday 10pm Sunday night and got it Wednesday. That is faster than I get some things from Amazon!

 

[shefieldnetworking]

New to the site and doing my research. Everyone talks about Andy, how exactly to you get in contact with him to purchase?

 

[sebastiantombs]

Look in the Wiki in the blue bar at the top of the page. Look in the vendors area for EmpireTechAndy. Look in this thread. Look right here -

IPCT Thread

EmpireTech Andy

Dahua products

ipcamtalk.com

Andy's Store

Amazon.com

Email
Andy Wang kingsecurity2014@163.com

 

[sukafun]

Thank you all for your assistance.
I had a look at Andy's store and found all of his cameras look like Dahua cameras but don't have the logo or some don't even have any logo. Are those the chinese Dahua cameras?

 

[wittaj]

These are international OEM Dahua cameras - I have purchased many from Andy and some come with the Dahua logo and some do not. But these cameras can be updated from Dahua website firmware if needed, a lot of the other cams you find are not and will turn them into a brick.

 

[remsta]

I can also recommend Andy. I was a newcomer to the forum a year ago and I got in touch with Andy from EmpireCandy and I was happy to find he was quick to ship and reasonably priced when contacting him directly.

So everywhere it says 'do not buy hikvision or dahua from ali express, amazon, ebay etc" because of chinese firmware and spying. But then everyone says buy from Andy who has an amazon and aliexpress store and is based out of Hong Kong... can someone explain?

 

[wittaj]

It is because many are not reputable...Andy is proven and trusted here and sells cameras that can be updated.

Regardless of who you buy from, the cameras should be isolated from the internet.

Some will state you cannot update, but many do not:

 

[samplenhold]

So everywhere it says 'do not buy hikvision or dahua from ali express, amazon, ebay etc" because of chinese firmware and spying. But then everyone says buy from Andy who has an amazon and aliexpress store and is based out of Hong Kong... can someone explain?

This was confusing to me when I started back in 2018. I was really skeptical about buying from somebody in Hong Kong (@EMPIRETECANDY ) just on words written in this forum. So I risked buying just one cam for $185 in the beginning. After using that cam for awhile I realized that the advice here about Andy was true. So since 2018 I have purchased over 20 Dahua cams from Andy. That's about $3k (don't tell my wife). I always just email him direct and pay via Paypal. I have never had an issue with anything I have bought from him.

As @wittaj stated above, cams from Andy are full OEM versions with English firmware. He supplies any updates to firmware via this forum. He works with Dahua engineers to give feedback from IPCAMTALK folks that find issues and gets firmware fixed.

Again, as @wittaj stated, always isolate the cams from the internet and the rest of your home LAN.

 

[Teeauu]

I have purchased a couple cameras from Andy via Amazon. He is the real deal and his cameras are upgradable.