Also, how would I determine what fixed focal length to choose? Is there some sort of estimation tool depending on the area I want it to cover?
Which new Intel NUC?
- Thread starter Corvus85
- Start date
Loryta and Empiretech are Dahua OEM sold by Andy. Some of my cameras I have bought from Andy from his Amazon store come as Dahua cams in Dahua boxes with Dahua logos, and some are not logo'd - I think it depends on how many cameras Andy buys if he gets them with the Dahua Logo or not. But regardless, they are Dahua units. If you get a unit that has Dahua on it, then the camera GUI will say Dahua; otherwise it will simply say IP Camera but looks identical except without the logo. Some of his cameras may come with EmpireTech stamped on them as well.
As long you you by from the vendor EmpireTech or Loryta on Amazon (or AliExpress), they are Andy cams.
His cameras and NVRs are international models and many of them are not available through Dahua authorized dealers, but his cameras and NVRs are usually better than what you can find from an authorized dealer.
You can update the firmware on Andy's cameras and NVRs from the Dahua website, thus proving they are real Dahua. But you will find that the firmware we get from him is actually better because many members here provide feedback to Andy and then Dahua makes modifications to the firmware and sends back to him and then he sends out to his customers. These have been great improvements that Dahua doesn't even update their firmware and add to their website. So many of us are running a newer firmware than those that purchase Dahua cameras through professional installers. Smart IR on the 5442 series is one such improvement. Autotracking on the 49225 PTZ is another. We got the next version of AI SMD 3.0 prior to anyone else as well.
Look at the threads here where members are actually testing firmware and improving it for Dahua - find a Dahua dealer with that type of relationship that Andy has with Dahua - I don't think you will find it.
As long you you by from the vendor EmpireTech or Loryta on Amazon (or AliExpress), they are Andy cams.
His cameras and NVRs are international models and many of them are not available through Dahua authorized dealers, but his cameras and NVRs are usually better than what you can find from an authorized dealer.
You can update the firmware on Andy's cameras and NVRs from the Dahua website, thus proving they are real Dahua. But you will find that the firmware we get from him is actually better because many members here provide feedback to Andy and then Dahua makes modifications to the firmware and sends back to him and then he sends out to his customers. These have been great improvements that Dahua doesn't even update their firmware and add to their website. So many of us are running a newer firmware than those that purchase Dahua cameras through professional installers. Smart IR on the 5442 series is one such improvement. Autotracking on the 49225 PTZ is another. We got the next version of AI SMD 3.0 prior to anyone else as well.
Look at the threads here where members are actually testing firmware and improving it for Dahua - find a Dahua dealer with that type of relationship that Andy has with Dahua - I don't think you will find it.
To identify someone with the 2.8mm lens popular in kits, someone would have to be within 13 feet of the camera, but realistically within 10 feet after you dial it in to your settings.
My neighbor was bragging to me how he only needed his four 2.8mm fixed lens cams to see his entire property and the street and his whole backyard. His car was sitting in the driveway practically touching the garage door and his video quality was useless to ID the perp not even 10 feet away from the camera.
Here are my general distance recommendations, but switch out the Dahua 5442 series camera to the equivalent 2MP on the 1/2.8" sensor or equivalent Hikvision works as well.
So you will need to identify the distance the camera would be from the activities you want to IDENTIFY on and purchase the correct camera for that distance as an optical zoom.
My neighbor was bragging to me how he only needed his four 2.8mm fixed lens cams to see his entire property and the street and his whole backyard. His car was sitting in the driveway practically touching the garage door and his video quality was useless to ID the perp not even 10 feet away from the camera.
Here are my general distance recommendations, but switch out the Dahua 5442 series camera to the equivalent 2MP on the 1/2.8" sensor or equivalent Hikvision works as well.
- 5442 fixed lens 2.8mm - anything within 10 feet of camera OR as an overview camera
- 5442 ZE - varifocal - distances up to 40-50 feet (personally I wouldn't go past the 30 foot range but I like things closer)
- 5442 Z4E - anything up to 80-100 feet (personally I wouldn't go past 60 feet but I like things closer)
- 5241-Z12E - anything from 80 feet to almost 200 feet (personally I wouldn't go past 150 feet because I like things closer)
- 5241-Z12E - for a license plate cam that you would angle up the street to get plates up to about 175 feet away, or up to 220 with additional IR.
- 49225 PTZ - great PTZ and in conjunction with an NVR or Blue Iris and the cameras above that you can use as spotter cams to point the PTZ to the correct location to compliment the fixed cams.
So you will need to identify the distance the camera would be from the activities you want to IDENTIFY on and purchase the correct camera for that distance as an optical zoom.
MikeLud1
IPCT Contributor
You can use the below link, find your house then add a camera to see how the different focal length will work. The Loryta IPC-T5442TM-AS is in the list of cameras you can add.
IPVM Camera Calculator
This is the first time I'm using this, and it's surpassed exactly what I've been dreaming of. Thanks!
On the mobile app question - is the official BlueIris app the best way to go about viewing live footage/recordings away from home? It looks kinda.... Janky and horribly-designed.
UI3 developed by a member here is free and part of Blue Iris.
I assure you any "hanky and horribly designed" concerns are more than made up in ease of use and quickness.
I still run an NVR and feed those cameras into BI. I can find and review those camera clips much faster in BI app or UI3 must faster than the glossy modern day NVR app....
Go with an NVR first so you can appreciate BI lol.
I assure you any "hanky and horribly designed" concerns are more than made up in ease of use and quickness.
I still run an NVR and feed those cameras into BI. I can find and review those camera clips much faster in BI app or UI3 must faster than the glossy modern day NVR app....
Go with an NVR first so you can appreciate BI lol.
Right, but BI is the only way to view the cameras on mobile - unless you navigate to the webserver, right?
Why would it be? No less secure than any viewing app...
If you set up OpenVPN then it is more secure than some NVR app using P2P and UPnP or port forwarding to route your creditentials and video through their servers...
If you set up BI correctly it will be more secure than the average Joe buying an NVR and relying on the ease of setup with a QR code....
If you set up OpenVPN then it is more secure than some NVR app using P2P and UPnP or port forwarding to route your creditentials and video through their servers...
If you set up BI correctly it will be more secure than the average Joe buying an NVR and relying on the ease of setup with a QR code....
sebastiantombs
Known around here
The security comes by using a VPN running locally on your router or a dedicated "box", a pihole for example. The same is true for an NVR or viewing cameras directly. Actually, you should not be able to view the cameras directly from the internet because they belong on either a second NIC with a totally different network scheme or on a VLAN that does not allow internet access.
Last edited:
So I'm about to buy 8 Loryta cameras from Empiretech's Amazon store since the sale started today.
Does anybody know how long the sale will be on for?
Does anybody know how long the sale will be on for?
sebastiantombs
Known around here
EmpireTech 6 Years Anniversay Promotion Plan
Hey guys Thanks for all guys support here in the past 6 years, and we move to a new office and new start. We get a lot of support here from IPCT members here and even vistors here. So we decide to make a promotion this time to support our community. Attached file is the Plan. Promotion will be...
Short answer the 25th through the 27th, but based on quantities and stock.
Hey guys,
So I've received my cameras from Empiretech.
I've plugged one in just to play around with its webUI, and it seems.... Basic? For example, there's no Dynamic Range Control (which even the crappy 10+ year old Swann cameras have), and when controlling exposure manually, it only gives me 5 preset options. The picture I'm getting at the moment doesn't allow me to properly exposure shadows without overblowing the highlights. Is there some sort of custom firmware I need to load onto this?
After setting the exposure more to 'auto', I set the exposure compensation slider to 12 to get the highlights exposed correctly.
Here's an example of the highlights being properly exposed, however notice that the shadows in the left are way too dark.
Here's when I increase the same slider to 45 to correctly expose the shadows, however notice how the highlights are now completely overblown.
On the crappy Swann and Annke cameras I've used, there was a feature called 'WDR' which simply brightened the shadows under any exposure level. How can I do this on this camera?
The one I'm playing with is this:
Amazon.com : Loryta Outdoor Security 4MP Ultra Low Light Starlight+ WDR IR Turret AI IP Camera, IP67 Weatherproof, Support POE and ePOE, Built-in Mic, Detection of Vehicle and Human,Fixed Lens IPC-T5442TM-AS 6mm : Electronics
Right now, it's running firmware version V2.800.15OG004.0.R, Build Date: 2020-12-03
So I've received my cameras from Empiretech.
I've plugged one in just to play around with its webUI, and it seems.... Basic? For example, there's no Dynamic Range Control (which even the crappy 10+ year old Swann cameras have), and when controlling exposure manually, it only gives me 5 preset options. The picture I'm getting at the moment doesn't allow me to properly exposure shadows without overblowing the highlights. Is there some sort of custom firmware I need to load onto this?
After setting the exposure more to 'auto', I set the exposure compensation slider to 12 to get the highlights exposed correctly.
Here's an example of the highlights being properly exposed, however notice that the shadows in the left are way too dark.
Here's when I increase the same slider to 45 to correctly expose the shadows, however notice how the highlights are now completely overblown.
On the crappy Swann and Annke cameras I've used, there was a feature called 'WDR' which simply brightened the shadows under any exposure level. How can I do this on this camera?
The one I'm playing with is this:
Amazon.com : Loryta Outdoor Security 4MP Ultra Low Light Starlight+ WDR IR Turret AI IP Camera, IP67 Weatherproof, Support POE and ePOE, Built-in Mic, Detection of Vehicle and Human,Fixed Lens IPC-T5442TM-AS 6mm : Electronics
Right now, it's running firmware version V2.800.15OG004.0.R, Build Date: 2020-12-03
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
Clearly you haven't played with the camera enough LOL....
WDR is under the BACKLIGHT settings and you have WDR, HLC, BLC, SSA to choose from....
And while you are at it, here is how you should properly set up a real camera LOL:
it comes down to configuring your camera and dialing it in to your field of view and using a test subject to walk around while you are adjusting.
Auto/default settings are usually going to be problematic. Auto shutter at night was probably a motion blur ghost and didn't look like a human.
And some field of views will be problematic as well. YMMV.
In my opinion, shutter and gain are the two most important and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies.
Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.
Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-30 (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared.
Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night image results in Casper during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?
So if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.
You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image.
You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.
But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.
Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.
WDR is under the BACKLIGHT settings and you have WDR, HLC, BLC, SSA to choose from....
And while you are at it, here is how you should properly set up a real camera LOL:
it comes down to configuring your camera and dialing it in to your field of view and using a test subject to walk around while you are adjusting.
Auto/default settings are usually going to be problematic. Auto shutter at night was probably a motion blur ghost and didn't look like a human.
And some field of views will be problematic as well. YMMV.
In my opinion, shutter and gain are the two most important and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies.
Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.
Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-30 (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared.
Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night image results in Casper during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?
So if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.
You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image.
You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.
But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.
Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.
That's not true. All I can I see are these options.
These are the only options I have.
I see nothing for a 'ms' option, let alone separate options for day and night. To be clear, I'm not a dummy when it comes to cameras. I'm a long-time amateur photographer so I know my way around basic photography lingo - I just can't see many options here.
Am I looking in the wrong menu or something?
What browser are you using?
These types of cameras are sensitive to browsers and not all the features show using the wrong browser.
Use Internet Explorer. Not Edge, not Chrome with the IE plug-in, plain ole Explorer that is baked into Windows 10 that you do not need to download. Simply type in Explorer in the search bar and it will come up.
These types of cameras are sensitive to browsers and not all the features show using the wrong browser.
Use Internet Explorer. Not Edge, not Chrome with the IE plug-in, plain ole Explorer that is baked into Windows 10 that you do not need to download. Simply type in Explorer in the search bar and it will come up.
And take it off of anti-flicker and use OUTDOOR.
Antiflicker 50 or 60Hz robs you of several features as well because antiflicker sets up the camera to not flicker, at the expense of customizations of other features that might counteract the antiflicker and then flicker...
Antiflicker 50 or 60Hz robs you of several features as well because antiflicker sets up the camera to not flicker, at the expense of customizations of other features that might counteract the antiflicker and then flicker...