Which 180 degree camera to pick + other questions

B

blocksog

Getting the hang of it
Jul 4, 2024
79
25
Northeast
Hi all,

I have my eyes on 180 degree cameras to replace some old stuff. I wanted to get some thoughts or maybe new ideas. I have read several threads here and used @wittaj list in the thread here, but still need input.

1. The primary candidate is Emprietech Color4K-T180 1/1.8 sensors. I can manage the lack of IR and have some motion sensor lights nearby. I also like the Dahua interface and can move around them easily. But I hate the distorted aspect ratio mentioned by @bp2008 in this other thread. I use a Synology NVR, and it is not possibe to adjust the aspect ratio manually. @EMPIRETECANDY suggest to pick another resolution, which brings it down to something like 3k x 1k, very low comparable to the next one.

2. The NCD800 by Ankee is something other people use. The price of $300 is high but people can find it on sale for lower occasionally. The sensor is still 1/1.8 and @bp2008 said good things about it. I don't like much hikvision stuff, but I can handle it. In terms of smart motion detection, I don't know how it compares with Dahua's IVS.

3. The FCD600 by Ankee, on sale for just $80. Sensor is not great 1/2.8 but I don't know how bad would be for me. On one end I am thinking I need spotlights anyway and this camera has IR, but on the other side I know IR is crap for recognizing anything and having color view is more useful so not sure.

4. Anything else you suggest?




Bonus question: Does anyone know why the Emprietech B54IR-Z4E S3 (4MP 1/1.8 sensor) costs less ($250) then the Emprietech IPC-B52IR-Z12E S2 with worse sensor size and resolution (2MP, 1/2.8 sensor, $260)? Is the hike due just to the higher varifocal zoom in the older camera?
 
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I have learned to deal with the distorted aspect ratio - it is for OVERVIEW and not IDENTIFY so I am ok with it.

The 4MP Z4E is a focal length of 32mm, or almost half the focal length of the 2MP Z12E at 60mm. The Z12E also has a newer chipset, so similar to the Z4E it is essentially a newer model.

But both are on the ideal MP/sensor ratio.

They used to be the same price, but I suspect not as many are buying the Z12E anymore so it carries a higher cost as he isn't buying as many in bulk than the Z4E.
 
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blocksog said:
Hi all,

I have my eyes on 180 degree cameras to replace some old stuff. I wanted to get some thoughts or maybe new ideas. I have read several threads here and used @wittaj list in the thread here, but still need input.

1. The primary candidate is Emprietech Color4K-T180 1/1.8 sensors. I can manage the lack of IR and have some motion sensor lights nearby. I also like the Dahua interface and can move around them easily. But I hate the distorted aspect ratio mentioned by @bp2008 in this other thread. I use a Synology NVR, and it is not possibe to adjust the aspect ratio manually. @EMPIRETECANDY suggest to pick another resolution, which brings it down to something like 3k x 1k, very low comparable to the next one.

2. The NCD800 by Ankee is something other people use. The price of $300 is high but people can find it on sale for lower occasionally. The sensor is still 1/1.8 and @bp2008 said good things about it. I don't like much hikvision stuff, but I can handle it. In terms of smart motion detection, I don't know how it compares with Dahua's IVS.

3. The FCD600 by Ankee, on sale for just $80. Sensor is not great 1/2.8 but I don't know how bad would be for me. On one end I am thinking I need spotlights anyway and this camera has IR, but on the other side I know IR is crap for recognizing anything and having color view is more useful so not sure.

4. Anything else you suggest?




Bonus question: Does anyone know why the Emprietech B54IR-Z4E S3 (4MP 1/1.8 sensor) costs less ($250) then the Emprietech IPC-B52IR-Z12E S2 with worse sensor size and resolution (2MP, 1/2.8 sensor, $260)? Is the hike due just to the higher varifocal zoom in the older camera?
Click to expand...

Annke typically sells Hikvision OEM products.

In general if you are looking for Annke, get on their email promo list and wait for a deal.

A number of members have picked up Annke as well as Dahua OEM 180 degree cameras, and honestly I would be looking at a model based on the 4MP 1/1.8" sensor at this time for better low light performance.

If you are on a tight budget a lower resolution / smaller sensor model could work well enough if imho you have at least one 4MP 1/1.8" sensor model to get a good image of any suspect in low light.
 
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wittaj said:
The 4MP Z4E is a focal length of 32mm, or almost half the focal length of the 2MP Z12E at 60mm. The Z12E also has a newer chipset, so similar to the Z4E it is essentially a newer model.

But both are on the ideal MP/sensor ratio.
Click to expand...

What does S2 and S3 mean in the model name?
 
It simply means it is a different chipset than the previous version that would also entail a different firmware.

But sometimes Dahua skips S2 and goes to S3 lol if the S2 stays with same firmware.

In the case of these models, the previous chipset is the old black/orange/Grey GUI and the new chipset is the blue/white GUI.
 
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wittaj said:
It simply means it is a different chipset than the previous version that would also entail a different firmware.

But sometimes Dahua skips S2 and goes to S3 lol if the S2 stays with same firmware.

In the case of these models, the previous chipset is the old black/orange/Grey GUI and the new chipset is the blue/white GUI.
Click to expand...
So the more expensive Z12E has an older chipset (S2) than the less expensive Z4E (S3), right?
 
blocksog said:
So the more expensive Z12E has an older chipset (S2) than the less expensive Z4E (S3), right?
Click to expand...

No, that is why I said they sometimes skip an S# LOL.

The Z12E-S2 and the Z4E-S3 use the same firmware from the Riemann Platform series - that is more of an indicator than the S#.

Essentially the same chipset just with different MP/sensor combos.
 
FYI - also sometimes other specs on the camera changes, so do pay attention to the details when comparing S# variations
 
blocksog said:
The FCD600 by Ankee, on sale for just $80. Sensor is not great 1/2.8 but I don't know how bad would be for me.
Click to expand...
For the price of it, it's actually a really good camera.
I wouldn't worry so much about the sensor size though because unlike the others you mention, this a 6mp camera (2 x 3mp), so those sensors (which are actually 1/2.5 according to the specs) are just fine for 3mp.

I have one in my backyard which is quite narrow from the back of the house to the fence so it's perfect for it.
I haven't tried forcing colour at night, i'm happy to use B&W with the IR, but it would probably work.
I did try using the onboard white lights but i found it created a hot spot in the middle of the image. leaving the edges quite dark.
Maybe more tuning might have helped.
 
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looktall said:
For the price of it, it's actually a really good camera.
I wouldn't worry so much about the sensor size though because unlike the others you mention, this a 6mp camera (2 x 3mp), so those sensors (which are actually 1/2.5 according to the specs) are just fine for 3mp.

I have one in my backyard which is quite narrow from the back of the house to the fence so it's perfect for it.
I haven't tried forcing colour at night, i'm happy to use B&W with the IR, but it would probably work.
I did try using the onboard white lights but i found it created a hot spot in the middle of the image. leaving the edges quite dark.
Maybe more tuning might have helped.
Click to expand...
u have any day and night vid samples?
 
Nothing handy.

There's a few users of that camera (and other OEM versions of it) on the forums.
They might find this thread and link some vids.
 
Ok, I bought the FCD600 from ANNKE, and turned out to be faulty.

I set it up for testing purposes for a couple of days in a basement. The left camera has some sort of random flicker that triggers the basic motion detection. I have not tried putting the camera out to detect humans and cars because basically this is faulty camera. The model is I51DW. Here is the video of the flicker issues I am talking about.


View attachment 2025-02-17_21h58_56.mp4

Yes, the firmware is up to date.

What are the odds of trying an ANNKE camera for the first time and getting a bad one? Pfff...
 
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I would try a different field of view first.

The problem with the dual lens is if the light is different on each side, weird things happen.

You have a lot of infrared bounce on that left side and I think it is the camera trying to adjust.

Take it outside and try a day and night and if the light is more balanced it will probably not happen.
 
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blocksog said:
Ok, I bought the FCD600 from ANNKE, and turned out to be faulty.

I set it up for testing purposes for a couple of days in a basement. The left camera has some sort of random flicker that triggers the basic motion detection. I have not tried putting the camera out to detect humans and cars because basically this is faulty camera. The model is I51DW. Here is the video of the flicker issues I am talking about.


View attachment 214823

Yes, the firmware is up to date.

What are the odds of trying an ANNKE camera for the first time and getting a bad one? Pfff...
Click to expand...
why wouldnt you try a 180 cam from Andy?
 
wittaj said:
I would try a different field of view first.

The problem with the dual lens is if the light is different on each side, weird things happen.

You have a lot of infrared bounce on that left side and I think it is the camera trying to adjust.

Take it outside and try a day and night and if the light is more balanced it will probably not happen.
Click to expand...
@wittaj there is nothing moving or changing, not even bugs. Why would the camera try to adjust when nothing changes? I can flip the camera upside down to see if that side still continues to flicker when on the other side.
 
flynreelow said:
why wouldnt you try a 180 cam from Andy?
Click to expand...
Which one you suggest? The good 1/1.8 sensor has a distorted aspect ratio that I don't like, and costs 3-4 times this one from ANNKE. On top of that, the Empiretech has no IR or light, just external lighting. So, this cheaper ANNKE was not that bad on paper.
 
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