Recommendations for an Outdoor Cam

[saggybeans]

Hello Everyone!

I'm new to the security camera scene and have been doing research and I am slowly zoning in on what I should get based on my requirements. Before I order something I wanted to ask the community for their opinions/recommendations. After doing research I have discovered that Dahua seems to be a very good choice when it comes to features, build quality, etc which has lead me to this forum.

For a bit of background, I live in Canada so it gets pretty cold in the wintertime (as low as -30 degrees C) I intend to use the camera outdoors, right in the soffit of my front entrance way, pointed at my laneway/street. The laneway would be ~8 feet away to the left and the street is about ~25 feet or so. I am getting this camera as there have been people breaking into cars at night so it is important that I get something that has very good low light capabilities. Based on my research I found the HDW5231R-ZE to be a good choice since it has the starlight feature and is varifocal capability. Having the capability to view on my phone is a must and it would also be nice to have alerts when there is movement. I see some cameras are even capable of distinguishing faces, cars, etc which would also be awesome.

Here are some questions I have:
1. What is the difference between the HDW5231R-ZE and HDW5231R-Z?
2. Will the motorized lense be an issue in Canada when it is extremely cold?
3. Is there a disadvantage of getting the turret style vs bullet?
4. What model # would you guys recommend I get? I don't necessarily need to go with the HDW5231R-ZE, is there a better model with more features you would recommend?
5. What software would I need on my PC/phone in order to view and get alerts and also record 24/7.

Thank you very much for your time, hopefully this will also help other new members who are just starting out.

 

[looney2ns]

Welcome, on a real computer, start your journey here: Cliff Notes.
And here: Dahua Technology - Leading Video Surveillance Solution Provider with CCTV Produc

 

[aristobrat]

The R-Z is the current version, it replaced the R-Z model a few years back. IMO the biggest difference is the appearance. There are a few functional differences (I think covered in the review here), but not in things that most folks use.

The 5231 is probably the most popular model here and I haven't seen anyone callout having problems with the varifocal lens in cold weather, most folks don't adjust the lens often after it's initially set. The varifocal lens may make this camera seem like a PTZ, but remember that you have to P and T it by hand (when installing it), and although you can change the Z at anytime electronically, this model takes a lot longer to auto-focus than a real PTZ camera would.

 

[TonyR]

Here are some questions I have:
1. What is the difference between the HDW5231R-ZE and HDW5231R-Z?
2. Will the motorized lense be an issue in Canada when it is extremely cold?
3. Is there a disadvantage of getting the turret style vs bullet?
4. What model # would you guys recommend I get? I don't necessarily need to go with the HDW5231R-ZE, is there a better model with more features you would recommend?
5. What software would I need on my PC/phone in order to view and get alerts and also record 24/7.

1. ZE is ePOE, meaning cable can be up to 800 meters in length; the Z is 100 meters.
ZE has a little more focal length range of 2.7 mm to 13.5 mm, the Z is 2.7 mm to 12 mm
2. Unlikely as you set it up initially and leave it (for the most part); it's not meant to zoom in/out like a PTZ.
3. Bullets get spider webs, hence false alerts.
4. Go for ZE
5. Blue Iris on PC with Intel i5 gen 3 or above, 8 GB RAM or better, SSD for Win10 & Blue Iris program and database, surveillance-rated HDD (like WD Purple) for video clips.
Blue Iris app for iOS or Android.
Read Wiki at top for choosing PC hardware and optimizing Blue Iris.

 

[saggybeans]

1. ZE is ePOE, meaning cable can be up to 800 meters in length; the Z is 100 meters.
ZE has a little more focal length range of 2.7 mm to 13.5 mm, the Z is 2.7 mm to 12 mm
2. Unlikely as you set it up initially and leave it (for the most part); it's not meant to zoom in/out like a PTZ.
3. Bullets get spider webs, hence false alerts.
4. Go for ZE
5. Blue Iris on PC with Intel i5 gen 3 or above, 8 GB RAM or better, SSD for Win10 & Blue Iris program and database, surveillance-rated HDD (like WD Purple) for video clips.
Blue Iris app for iOS or Android.
Read Wiki at top for choosing PC hardware and optimizing Blue Iris.

Thank you very much for the reply. Are there any other models out there besides the 5231 that you would recommend for my application? I know there are higher MP versions like the 8 and 4MP but they lack the starlight feature so I didn't look too much into them. They also make the eco-savvy 4.0 which seems to have AI but I'm not sure if they are better or not. Thanks again for the help everyone.

 

[aristobrat]

The Eco-savvy 4 with the Smart AI stuff is pretty new and reviews are mostly focusing on image quality of these cameras (as some of the 4MP models are listed as Starlights), ... no in-depth reviews of the AI part yet.

I run Blue Iris on an older PC for my alerting and 24/7 recording. It somewhat recently added the ability to shoot images over to other services to identify things. Right now I think Sentry (a subscription service) is the only choice (and they only look for people), but I'm sure others will come.

 

[saggybeans]

The Eco-savvy 4 with the Smart AI stuff is pretty new and reviews are mostly focusing on image quality of these cameras (as some of the 4MP models are listed as Starlights), ... no in-depth reviews of the AI part yet.

I run Blue Iris on an older PC for my alerting and 24/7 recording. It somewhat recently added the ability to shoot images over to other services to identify things. Right now I think Sentry (a subscription service) is the only choice (and they only look for people), but I'm sure others will come.

I just looked to see if they make a 4MP that is varifocal with starlight in turret but it doesn't seem to exist. Do you know if the 4MP starlight performs better than the 2MP starlight at night?

 

[saggybeans]

I think I'll just go with the HDW5231R-ZE, seems to be the best choice for me. Do you guys know if I need to buy a backbox to install on a soffit or can I install directly?

 

[aristobrat]

Do you know if the 4MP starlight performs better than the 2MP starlight at night?

That's the million dollar question. Some folks say yes, some folks say no. 4MP Starlights have only been out for a month or two, so not many folks running them yet. No varifocal turrets. There are two reviews of the 4MP Starlights in the Dahua forum here:

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+
Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

For mounting to the soffit, you can mount directly, but the hole you cut in the soffit will need to be around 3/4" in order to fit the waterproof ethernet connector on the camera end through. If you use a junction box you can cut a much smaller hole through the soffit (1/8"?) as you only need to get an Ethernet cable through... the camera's big waterproof connector will fit in the junction box.

 

[saggybeans]

That's the million dollar question. Some folks say yes, some folks say no. 4MP Starlights have only been out for a month or two, so not many folks running them yet. No varifocal turrets. There are two reviews of the 4MP Starlights in the Dahua forum here:

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+
Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

For mounting to the soffit, you can mount directly, but the hole you cut in the soffit will need to be around 3/4" in order to fit the waterproof ethernet connector on the camera end through. If you use a junction box you can cut a much smaller hole through the soffit (1/8"?) as you only need to get an Ethernet cable through... the camera's big waterproof connector will fit in the junction box.

From what I can see I would either stick with the HDW5231R-ZE, go with the upgraded 4MP HFW5442E-ZE (but it's bullet form) OR I can give up the varifocal and get a full colour HDW5442TM-AS-LED ... too many choices
My problem is that I don't know if the 2.8mm would be good for me so I'd be taking a chance. I'm also not a huge fan of the bullet cam look so I'll probably stick with the HDW5231R-ZE

Would be awesome if they made a HDW5442TM-AS-LED with varifocal lense.. then the decision would be easy

 

[TonyR]

For mounting to the soffit, you can mount directly, but the hole you cut in the soffit will need to be around 3/4" in order to fit the waterproof ethernet connector on the camera end through. If you use a junction box you can cut a much smaller hole through the soffit (1/8"?) as you only need to get an Ethernet cable through... the camera's big waterproof connector will fit in the junction box.

+1^^^ regarding using mounting box.
FWIW, a 3/8" bit will allow CAT-5e and 6 thru and it's HALF the size of a 3/4" hole needed for that pigtail.

 

[aristobrat]

My problem is that I don't know if the 2.8mm would be good for me so I'd be taking a chance.

For any future cameras where you have that question, play around with IPVM Camera Calculator V3 You should be able to use it to pull up a Google Maps image of your property, add a camera to the image, set the model, position it around the house and then see an estimate of the image quality. Great tool.

 

[saggybeans]

For any future cameras where you have that question, play around with IPVM Camera Calculator V3 You should be able to use it to pull up a Google Maps image of your property, add a camera to the image, set the model, position it around the house and then see an estimate of the image quality. Great tool.

That’s an awesome site! Thanks for telling me about it. I had another question, I have two wall lights outside my house with 5000k led bulbs that are on an astronomical timer from sunset to sunrise. One is on my porch on the wall next to my door and one is on the wall next to my garage door. The camera will be soffit mounted which means that the light on my porch will be behind it and slightly lower, the other light would be out of line of sight to the left side of the camera view shining on my laneway. I wanted to know your thoughts and if this is a problem or if will actually be better the cam? Any recommendations or tips would be helpful as I’m not too sure how this type of lighting affects the image.

 

[aristobrat]

The cameras will generally adjust their exposure around the brightest part of the image, which usually causes the other parts of the image to be darker. It doesn't sound like either of your lights will be directly in the image, which is helpful. If you have a few bucks and some patience, the safest way would be to use a test rig to temporarily mount the camera and verify there are no major issues before drilling through the soffit. A simple test rig is just a 5-gallon bucket, a 2x4, and a bag of rocks to hold the 2x4 in place in the bucket. For quick testing, you can run an ethernet cable through a door/window.