Worlds First Review - Dahua DH-IPC-HDW5842T-ZE-S2 / IPC-T5842T-ZE - 8MP / 4K Vari-Focal Turret

Wrap Up Conclusion

Thought it was time to wrap this one up.

Summary

While many of the cams I’ve reviewed recently have special application features that are impressive such as the Dual Lens fusion cam HERE and the Full Color 4K HERE, this cam doesnt. Its just a regular vari-focal 4K turret cam. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this is like previous 4K generation cams because what it lacks in 'special' features, it makes up with in performance.​
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I’ve never been an advocate for pushing pixel density on sensor (as you may have read in my previous posts) as I’m a firm believer in matching sensor size carefully to megapixels for the ultimate in image quality. This would generally mean that I would like to see 1/1.2” sensors on 4K’s ideally. However as I’ve also said in the past, 4K / 8MP is doable BUT is also the absolute maximum I ever want to see on these 1/1.8”s. Early iterations of this size have led to a lot of noise or have pushed AGC to increase brightness at the expense of image quality and frame rate. This 5842 finally seems to blend all of these without much compromise. Certainly if you want to nit pick, the blacks (even with exposure comp dialed back) still get crushed a little more than the 5442 and the image sharpness falls off a little quicker at further distance at night (when only using IR) in comparison. However, the fact that this cam can pull off an almost identical night time image with the same or in my opinion less noise (even at low NR, set to about 36/38) than its lower pixel dense brother, while gaining added clarity and resolution from the 8MP / 4K config, is for me the most impressive feature this cam brings.​
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A Portfolio With Some Great Options

As I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread (told you I would bring it back for the conclusion) :) It's taken a while to stabilize (not all models are created equal ;)) but we are now starting to see the benefit that Dahua is bringing to the portfolio is that there are now good choices of camera for each environment that complement your overall setup and most importantly each other and come in at a range of budget options. For example:​
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  • Dual Lens (Fixed) - Great for traditionally dark areas, benefits from a small amount of light, allows for color capture where possible and fuzed image ensures you don’t have to choose Color vs B&W but let the cam try and capture what it can in either. Great for music videos too ;)
  • Color4K-X (Fixed) - Phenomenally good at what it does, 4K in full color all the time with a larger sensor that benefits from extra light which also does not attract bugs !
  • 5842 (this cam) (Vari) - Benefits those with little to no light that want 4K quality but have to rely on IR. don’t want a ‘fuzed image’ as above but want low noise, usable caps
  • 5442 (Vari) - A leader in its own right, well tuned at the 4MP/1.1/8” pairing and offering a cheaper option than the cams above with similar great quality and allows for traditional IR

Therefore, with the above cams + any speciality application requirements (LPR/ANPR, PTZ, Face Recognition, Access Control etc) you have some great cams available to you that suit most deployments. This also gives you the ability that I call out many times and that is to have a staggered setup of B&W vs Color cams covering a given area and gaining you both color (lost in areas only covered by IR) + details (lost in dark areas when capturing in color) which increases your chances of critical ID. It also increases your ability for good PTZ activation (if you’ve seen my posts on PTZ call to preset in single, triangulated or quad rollouts) as you’re improving quality of target acquisition by your non PTZ cam. All of this with a choice or blend of Turret vs Bullet and Fixed vs Vari cams to fit your needs.​
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Could you have done this before with older cams, absolutely but now you have the ability to do it with a base of 4MP and up to 4K (now with very usable quality) and that takes this up a level IMO. This is great to see that we are moving towards a more consistent (HW wise but FW needs work ;) ) approach to cams in series and with less compromise as an end user or installer.​

Final Thoughts

In closing, the 5842 actually impressed me in how well it handled noise at night, it is definitely a move in the right direction for these newer generations 4K's and lets be honest has been 1 of the primary stumbling blocks (night performance + noise) that has stunted their deployment in some installs. Also, never forget you need light, these cams are getting better and require less of it BUT you'll always improve your target caps and increase the cam's ability to do what it does best, when you add light to your FOV.

Does this mean you should place 4K's everywhere, absolutely NOT as I've mentioned before, build a blended deployment (for yours or others needs) utilizing the right cam (including special application cams) for the FOV, location and target requirements. However, should you be in the market for adding a 4K into your environment / deployment AND want a performant turret, well this one follows hot on the heels of its 4MP brother, and in some cases surpasses it with resolution and improved noise handling. In other words you really don’t compromise much quality by moving from (or adding in) a 5442 to 5842 at equal target distance / similar FOV at night.​
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------ WC ------

Hope you enjoyed following along as I put this one through its paces. Will be reviewing another unit soon so stay tuned !
 
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As always you're insights and analysis are always appreciated Wildcat. Thanks for taking the time and effort you put into these reviews that benefit everyone that reads them.
 
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The smart IR Beta FW for this 4K will can be ready to test today. I will ask @Wildcat_1 to make a testing, if any one want to try, just contact me via DM or send me emai kingsecurity2014@163.com

This wonderful 4K cam badly lack of chips, bulk stocks will be ready after Christmas.
 
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EMPIRETECANDY said:
The smart IR Beta FW for this 4K will can be ready to test today. I will ask @Wildcat_1 to make a testing, if any one want to try, just contact me via DM or send me emai kingsecurity2014@163.com

This wonderful 4K cam badly lack of chips, bulk stocks will be ready after Christmas.
Click to expand...

Andy, any word on the Dahua 2022 catalog? I am interested in the 4K varifocals and other 4K cameras.
 
There has a bullet IPC-HFW5842E-ZE, i will ask wildcat to make some testing with the Full AI NVR5216-16P-I/L, 1st time we get a 16CH Face Recognition NVR in. Let's see how is working .

1639451670871.png
 
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Just get the smart IR firmware for this IPC-T5842T-ZE, anyone want to try, just contact me.
A special one for the 4K model, not suit for others.

General_IPC-HX5XXX-Volt_MultiLang_NP_4K Stream3_V2.840.15OG007.0.R.211213.bin
 
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EMPIRETECANDY said:
Just get the smart IR firmware for this IPC-T5842T-ZE, anyone want to try, just contact me.
A special one for the 4K model, not suit for others.

General_IPC-HX5XXX-Volt_MultiLang_NP_4K Stream3_V2.840.15OG007.0.R.211213.bin
Click to expand...

I just loaded this and it works so far. Loaded from the Dahua Cinfig Tool.
Thanks to all an Merry Christmas....
 
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ljw2k said:
I will stick to what Wildcat always states in many threads that a 8mp with a 1/1.8” is not going to work well at night and the Max he recommends is 4mp with the 1/1.8" Sensor like the 5442. Daytime any cheap 8mp look good even Reolink :)

5842 Wins hands down in Daytime.
Click to expand...
5842 wins hands down in daytime. Would that also be true for well lite night time?
 
1fxman said:
5842 wins hands down in daytime. Would that also be true for well lite night time?
Click to expand...

I would go with a larger sensor BIGGER is ALWAYS better along with a low apature lens F1:0 . My favourite camera to date is the new or should I say now old Hikvisions with the 1/1.2″ sensors and F1:0 lens which produce an excellent image at night with very little light and considering the price and performance not seen another camera to date to compete with it for around £112 price range here in the UK.
 
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1fxman said:
5842 wins hands down in daytime. Would that also be true for well lite night time?
Click to expand...
Actually speaking, this 4K one can do near same good as the IPC-T5442T-ZE now. Best 4K IR cam we have now.
The full color model IPC-Color4K-X is the best full color cam we have now.
 
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All, I wanted to let you know how my testing went with the new 21-12-13. I'm very happy to report that Dahua took on board the feedback I gave around SmartIR and this version really helps knock it out of the park. Specifically, in working with Dahua I asked that they tune the SmartIR inline with ensuring that the cam would adjust well at just beyond Close Focus Distance point (6ft is closest I recommended and I based this on a 3.3ft CFD and a useful choke point on approach). I then provided detailed feedback on what to adjust in algorithm and config to accomplish this with quick processing of targets. The other crucial thing was to allow good coverage of IR (even in complete darkness) but with the critical ability to hit a solid middle ground on the SmarIR using the recommendations that could then be adjusted programmatically outward towards focal points using the tele end of the zoom. I'm glad to say that in my testing of this FW after the adjustments were made, this is almost spot on IMO. Realistically there is probably a few points of Exp. Comp that could be tweaked further but I do mean just a few. The nice thing is that this gives the user the ability to tweak the final configuration based on their deployment. For example with this FW if you want less blow out closer still, say 4 ft, then dial down Exp Comp by 5-8 points i.e. 42-45. If you want to push the exposure a little further with accompanying IR coverage (say 8ft) then increase to around 58 - 62 on exp comp. Really nice to have this SmartIR configured per the feedback and recommendations I gave to allow us to now dial in as each individual needs for a given install. Therefore SmartIR + Auto (Exp and Illuminator menus accordingly) work very well together now. The cherry on the cake is that this FW now also adjusts quickly between foreground and background IR needs as targets enter and leave the scene.

I highly recommend this FW at this time. Thanks @EMPIRETECANDY for also helping prioritize this with Dahua engineering from his side too. I'm pleased that Dahua engineering found the feedback and recommendations useful and hopefully any of you that deploy this cam will enjoy this new FW and the tweaked SmartIR function.

HTH, let me know with any questions
 
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ljw2k said:
I would go with a larger sensor BIGGER is ALWAYS better along with a low apature lens F1:0 . My favourite camera to date is the new or should I say now old Hikvisions with the 1/1.2″ sensors and F1:0 lens which produce an excellent image at night with very little light and considering the price and performance not seen another camera to date to compete with it for around £112 price range here in the UK.
Click to expand...

Which models are you talking about?
 
HIKVISION DS-2CD2087G2-LU 8mp Bullet style 1/1.2″ Sensor F1:0 ( Fixed Lens ) 2.8mm or 4mm

HIKVISION DS-2CD2387G2-LU 8mp Turret Style 1/1.2″ Sensor F1:0 ( Fixed Lens ) 2.8mm or 4mm

DAUHA DH-IPC-HFW5849T1-ASE-LED 8mp Bullet style 1/1.2″ F1:0 ( Fixed Lens ) 2.8mm or 4mm
 
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Get a trade account if you can if you or a family member has a trade it works out much cheaper than eBay or market places and AliExpress.
 
EMPIRETECANDY said:
Just get the smart IR firmware for this IPC-T5842T-ZE, anyone want to try, just contact me.
A special one for the 4K model, not suit for others.

General_IPC-HX5XXX-Volt_MultiLang_NP_4K Stream3_V2.840.15OG007.0.R.211213.bin
Click to expand...
Hi Andy, is there any news of the new firmware for the T5842T-ZE?Is it already fit for release?
 
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