Worlds First Review - Dahua - IPC-Color4K-X / DH-IPC-HFW5849T1-ASE-LED - Full Color 4K Camera

Wildcat_1

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Yes as I mentioned, I've been filing bugs weekly on this and am glad to see Dahua getting them fixed. One of the bugs RE: image quality is the cam does not adjust well for contrasting scenes, areas of shadow vs light. I reported this back and think this will be in the new FW coming later this week which I will install then. This adjustment I reported is needed for day and night. You'll notice the WDR differences when I upload my day video and how I have to adjust higher (than I would advocate for) WDR to get a more balanced scene during a bright day. I keep looking for any issues and bugs I can find in code and reporting them back as soon as I find them to the Dahua engineers.
 

Wildcat_1

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I'm curious to see what the latest firmware does. Honestly, the 4K does produce very nice video but I still like the video from the 5442 a little more. It seems to have better WDR than the 4K. Maybe it's my tire eyes and lack of sleep today.
yes as I mentioned you do have to crank WDR higher currently but that does match the issue I reported so think we’ll see it balance more in the next release I will test.

The 4K however more accurately represents the color and lighting of the FOV so is doing a very good job with some great video but the WDR should be in line for sure and can impact.
 

Wildcat_1

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All, I will also be posting the night video (long one with time stamps) today showing how this cam currently performs under different lighting (no light, 1 x bulb, 1x 250w spotlight dimmed to different levels, combination of all of the above).

I expect this will improve (but will be testing again) further with the new FW Dahua will be providing me based on the bugs I filed but wanted to share so you can see how this cam handles in these situations vs the 5442.
 

Parley

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What a great review. :clap: There were 3 things that I was watching. Your shoes, hat and the light bulbs. I think they all favored the 4K in detail. However the trees in the back favored the 4mm 5442. For the area I want to install one on the West side of my house it favors the 4K. Also the close ups look real good. That is another thing I was looking for. IMHO it is better than the Hikvision in that respect.
 

Wildcat_1

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What a great review. :clap: There were 3 things that I was watching. Your shoes, hat and the light bulbs. I think they all favored the 4K in detail. However the trees in the back favored the 4mm 5442. For the area I want to install one on the West side of my house it favors the 4K. Also the close ups look real good. That is another thing I was looking for. IMHO it is better than the Hikvision in that respect.
The night one I will post soon so you can see how light affects this at night. That should then give you the light bulb footage you mentioned above. I will then retest later with the new FW
 

Wildcat_1

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Just completing the time stamping for the long night video so will be available REALLY SOON !

I'm also thinking I will publish a list of the larger bugs I found here for tracking purposes and give you the latest on those (fixed vs development etc) if people will find that interesting too.
 

Wildcat_1

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Ok everybody, here's what we've been waiting for, the night video. This is a 22 minute video that I've arranged into 7 sections. The goal of this was to show how the camera (on current FW) handles different lighting situations at night. Therefore, as stated above, you'll see the following light situations tested against:

  • 1 x 100w LED
  • 1 x 250w Spotlight at varying dim (and equivalent wattage) levels
  • Illuminators only (no additional light)
  • Footage that includes a combination of the above
  • Balancing the scene at the end

I also push the camera to absurd shutter levels up to 1/500 which for reference is something I would not expect to pull off in this FOV (1/120 is about the highest I would go with the 5442 on this install) let alone in color and 4K so definitely take a look at that. The camera offers a nice crisp 1/120 as well when balanced so check that out as well.

I've created a ton of timestamps so you can jump to the section(s) you are interested in whether that's the full screen video or the frame synced comparisons. These timestamps are in the YouTube description + appear as chapter markers on the video.

Lastly, just remember this is the current version of FW that still has some critical image impacting bugs (I will create a post below with the bug list I've submitted, focusing on the most impactful ones) and I will retest when Dahua send me the new FW expected this week or next.

I will also post this in POST #2 for reference on the front page

@Parley I make sure I include the distanced (62ft) footage in each test so you can get a better idea there. @cd36 you'll see the lights I used called out in each test + if you skip to 08:26 (also timestamped) in the video you'll see Illuminators only used for a feel of completely dark scene with only on-board light used.

NIGHT VIDEO - Be Sure To Force to 4K

 

Wildcat_1

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Here is the bug list I’ve filed so far as promised. I’ve included status as well. I will keep this updated. I should also mention that the current FW I am running is V2.840.0000000.0.R, Build Date: 2021-05-26 and this is an update from the original shipping version that had bugs 1-3 included. This current version has them fixed as I list below.

Bug List Filed With Dahua

  1. SD Cards Could Not Be Read + FIXED
  2. IVS Rules Would Not Capture / Trigger Video = FIXED
  3. IVS Rules Would Not Allow Appears & Cross To Be Selected = FIXED
  4. Object Placement Would Only Trigger Recording On Boxes Consistently, Not Other Items - IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED TO BE REMOVED FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION
  5. Object Removal Would Not Detect An Object Being Removed From The Scene = IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED TO BE REMOVED FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION
  6. Camera Would Not Adjust Correctly For Contrasting Scene/FOV Where Shadow Area + Well Lit Existed In Same FOV - Affects Day & Night Scenes (ref. WDR in day video) = IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FIX IN NEXT TEST FW
  7. Illuminators on Auto Would Only Come On When Target Was Within 2-3ft of Camera = IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FIX IN NEXT TEST FW
  8. Illuminators Turn On & Off Briefly When Set To Manual And Target Is Close To Camera = IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FIX IN NEXT TEST FW
  9. Custom Video Bitrate Does Not Survive A Reboot = IN DEVELOPMENT
  10. WebPlugin Used on Color4K-X Impacts Older 4K Plugins Causing Blank Screens in IE and Re-Download Prompts. Impacts 1831/2831/5831 models = IN DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FIX IN NEXT FW
 
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ljw2k

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Thanks for the Clips WC and I think Daytime as Sebastiamtombs has already mentioned that I much prefer the 5442 , night time the Dahua4k especially with just the built in illuminators the Image looked really good other than that nothing made me say WOW over what I have now.

I also think Dahua is rushing to get this camera into market place so they don't get left behind by other well know manufactures.
 
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Parley

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Thank you for the testing and all the time and effort you have put into this. The lighting and available light makes a lot of difference. I want one of these for the side of the house where there is currently a 5442-ZE residing. I think the night time makes the difference for me.
 

EMPIRETECANDY

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The firmware wildcat use still the old one, the latest new firmware will make some good changes, not exactly rush, i get the sample at May, and work with wildcat, test it and find out the bugs , and send back the problems we found to dahua. I think still need some time to make it perfect.
The pics has some good improvement, we will see soon. Maybe Friday will get the new FW.
 

Wildcat_1

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Yes, let’s remember that in this case this is what we want to embrace manufacturers doing. Specifically sending out a pre-release version so it can be pulled apart from a HW and FW perspective, tested in a real world setting, bugs fed back to the manufacturer so the final changes can be made before releasing as new products for sale. This is similar to the approach and testing I did for the 8442 before it came to market

This is a great leap of faith by manufacturers that helps them ready a product in final steps of release while giving us the benefit of testing and seeing our feedback and bugs get turned into fixes ready for point of release.

I think this will lead to a better product when final product hits the market soon.
 
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