Budget Dahua Cams or china alternatives under $100?

[wetto]

Well here we go. I dont see anywhere more approriate to discuss this. Ive been messing around with putting together a cctv system for close to 3 years now. Ive bought everything i needed and also bought 2 cheap cams from a third party seller on walmart. Those cams cost me a grand total of $50 for both with included hardware. I am quite happy with the video quality those cams put out @that price. (it was a special deal therefore its not currently at that price or id buy more) I also dont live in the fanciest of neighborhoods and the main reason im installing these cameras is to monitor any suspicious activity throughout the perimeter of the house. I get the whole idea of being able to ID a person being critical but i also have a budget in mind.

From looking at all the camera talk ive seen on these forums i thought sticking with dahua might be the best choice for me. However, i dont think i have the budget of most people here and therefore i am looking for dahua or chinese alternativees that would rank in under $100 each. I do plan on buying a starlight or two in the future for key areas but not right now. I also realize people are going to say "but a starlight is only $50 more" and the point is i want something under $100, $100 is my max and id prefer to be under that. I just want to start setting up these cams so i can have a basic functional cctv system. Since Dahua is basically a wholesaler it is very confusing not to be able to choose a product by sorting by price/features. And as someone who isnt an installer or doesnt turn this into a hobby, that is where i start getting lost and ultimately just put this whole idea on the backburner everytime im back here. I figure everyone here has already had experience with dahua or copycat chinese cams and so thats where im asking for help.

I see the low cost entry dahua N22AL12 but that is a dome cam and id rather stay away from domes and stick to turrets/bullets. I am currently monitoring the ipc-t2431t-as-vs-chinese-hdw4433c thread but would appreciate any other suggestions.

 

[samplenhold]

For under $100 the IPC-T2431T-AS-S2 is a pretty good camera. I just picked up one from @EMPIRETECANDY for $79 a couple of weeks ago. This is the second one I have and am using them in my garage, both are 2.8mm lenses. Below is a comparison to the IPC-T5442TM-AS, quick and dirty snapshots from BI.

These are taken at night. I was walking from left to right here. There are coach lights on either side of my garage and a street light at the top right. The 5442 definitely is superior, but at almost half the price ($79 vs $154) the 2431 does a decent job if all you want is to monitor the exterior. Depending on the amount of light, you might still get good facial features if the perp pauses long enough. I did not try to adjust the setting for the best possible shot, just have everything on defaults.


Here is a day shot. Again I was moving.

 

[TonyR]

FYI, amazon has this rebranded Dahua, the "Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera with Mic/Audio, 5-Megapixel, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) " for $60, I tried a Promo Code I got a week ago for $10 and it was still good on Wed. 5/13 @ 0735 Central. The code is LH4QSBYQ . Hard to beat a POE turret with Starlight tech & built-in audio for $50 plus tax, IMO (not to take absolutely anything away from Andy or @samplenhold 's great endorsement).

 

[StratRider]

FYI, amazon has this rebranded Dahua, the "Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera with Mic/Audio, 5-Megapixel, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) " for $60, I tried a Promo Code I got a week ago for $10 and it was still good on Wed. 5/13 @ 0735 Central. The code is LH4QSBYQ . Hard to beat a POE turret with Starlight tech & built-in audio for $50 plus tax, IMO (not to take absolutely anything away from Andy or @samplenhold 's great endorsement).

man, I hate when y'all post this kind of stuff - it comes to $54.11 to my door and I don't need it - but I am sooooo tempted to just get it anyway.

 

[sdkid]

man, I hate when y'all post this kind of stuff - it comes to $54.11 to my door and I don't need it - but I am sooooo tempted to just get it anyway.

Agree. I bought it. I have a 1.3mp 8 year old mini-bullet to retire....

 

[TonyR]

Agree. I bought it. I have a 1.3mp 8 year old mini-bullet to retire....

I put in the promo code at 7:30 AM to see if it worked (it did) before I told ya'll.
I've been gone all day, went and got a haircut, bought some bagged topsoil, moved a yard of dirt with the tractor, cut/hauled limbs, etc.
Read your post just now at 4:00 PM Central and said to myself "...Tony it's been 9 hours, if that $10 promo code still works then order it, if not, no biggie."
Well, I'll bet you already know....just got it for $53.99 delivered.
Even if its low-light performance isn't that great it'll be OK as it'll be looking at Old Glory which is lit dusk to dawn.

 

[sdkid]

...
Even if its low-light performance isn't that great it'll be OK as it'll be looking at Old Glory which is lit dusk to dawn.

What an AWESOME purpose for that cam!! a Flag Cam!! Love it!

 

[sdkid]

FYI, amazon has this rebranded Dahua, the "Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP Turret PoE Camera with Mic/Audio, 5-Megapixel, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording (256GB), White (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) " for $60, I tried a Promo Code I got a week ago for $10 and it was still good on Wed. 5/13 @ 0735 Central. The code is LH4QSBYQ . Hard to beat a POE turret with Starlight tech & built-in audio for $50 plus tax, IMO (not to take absolutely anything away from Andy or @samplenhold 's great endorsement).

I may have discovered why this one is Soooooo cheap...

This apparently is a native 4:3 sensor, and they "squeeze" the image into a 16:9 aspect.
Here is a shot from my cam with the "default" resolution of 2688x1520.
I am 6'2" and 225-- and "squished" in this pic.


I noticed this, and messed with resolutions. Another resolution on the cam is 2592x1944 I think this is the TRUE native sensor resolution...



So my guess is that they got these sensors for dirt cheap and slapped them into a compatible Dahua board/processor. I would be OK if this camera CROPPED the image to give a 16x9 ratio--- but Compressing/Distorting is crapola!

On a side note.... it's time to stain the deck again....

 

[fenderman]

A 4:3 aspect ratio is preferred in many applications. The issue with the sensor is that it’s not a good low light performer.

 

[sdkid]

A 4:3 aspect ratio is preferred in many applications. The issue with the sensor is that it’s not a good low light performer.

Interesting-- I thought 4:3 was essentially dead. Don't you find it odd that they compress the pixels to 16x9 instead of cropping them?
My old 1.3mp Dahua bullets (from 2012-- still have 3 working) display at 1280x960 or 1280x720 (70 pixels cropped top and bottom). That kind of cropping makes more sense to me than distorting the image.

 

[fenderman]

Interesting-- I thought 4:3 was essentially dead. Don't you find it odd that they compress the pixels to 16x9 instead of cropping them?
My old 1.3mp Dahua bullets (from 2012-- still have 3 working) display at 1280x960 or 1280x720 (70 pixels cropped top and bottom). That kind of cropping makes more sense to me than distorting the image.

Dahua has a bunch of new cams with 5mp 4:3 sensors. Remember amcrest doesnt build anything. Dahua makes it for them. 4:3 is preferred over 16:9 in areas where you want to get more high in the image particularly near the camera, front door, a full room etc..

 

[sdkid]

Dahua has a bunch of new cams with 5mp 4:3 sensors. Remember amcrest doesnt build anything. Dahua makes it for them. 4:3 is preferred over 16:9 in areas where you want to get more high in the image particularly near the camera, front door, a full room etc..

Yup-- I knew Dahua made this one-- it matches the 4mp cheap ($80) one I bought from Andy, and the Amcrest firmware is clearly the Dahua firmware with a new "skin" applied. I wonder if a pure Dahua firmware on this would give me an undistorted cropped 16:9 ratio image resolution... hmmmmmmm. If I knew a given Dahua firmware would work and not brick the thing, it would be worth it to me for that.

 

[area651]

For under $100 the IPC-T2431T-AS-S2 is a pretty good camera. I just picked up one from @EMPIRETECANDY for $79 a couple of weeks ago. This is the second one I have and am using them in my garage, both are 2.8mm lenses. Below is a comparison to the IPC-T5442TM-AS, quick and dirty snapshots from BI.

These are taken at night. I was walking from left to right here. There are coach lights on either side of my garage and a street light at the top right. The 5442 definitely is superior, but at almost half the price ($79 vs $154) the 2431 does a decent job if all you want is to monitor the exterior. Depending on the amount of light, you might still get good facial features if the perp pauses long enough. I did not try to adjust the setting for the best possible shot, just have everything on defaults.
View attachment 61606View attachment 61607

Here is a day shot. Again I was moving.
View attachment 61608View attachment 61609

You grew up watching The Price is Right didn't you?

Seriously though, I really like ana appreciate how you did the comparison shots. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[Safetyfirst]

I paid 60 and I am pretty happy with that cam. Wish they had a 4mm option or 6mm but it's relatively new. For $60/50 you can't beat it. If it's defective out of the box Amazon can rma it.

 

[TonyR]

Wish they had a 4mm option or 6mm but it's relatively new.

FWIW, there's also a 3.6 (IP5M-T1179EW-36MM), I got the 2.8 (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) .

 

[Safetyfirst]

FWIW, there's also a 3.6 (IP5M-T1179EW-36MM), I got the 2.8 (IP5M-T1179EW-28MM) .

Yes I have the 3.6mm version. I'm hoping it popular and later they add a 4/6mm option if the volume is enough.

 

[zape]

Did anyone try to convert it to Dahua firmware
I assume it's N53AJ52 OEM model

 

[techguypaul]

Did anyone try to convert it to Dahua firmware
I assume it's N53AJ52 OEM model

N53AJ52 firmware failed. But the firmware for the IPC-HDW2531T-AS-S2-same camera??-works.
Shows device type as IP5M-T1179E.
I have yet to test anything other than logging in to a Dahua menu so proceed with caution.

 

[Safetyfirst]

N53AJ52 firmware failed. But the firmware for the IPC-HDW2531T-AS-S2-same camera??-works.
I have yet to test anything other than logging in to a Dahua menu so proceed with caution.

Very interested in if that works. What's necessary to install it?

 

[techguypaul]

I did have to do a factory default after the firmware update to remove the Amcrest logo.
Just keep in mind you'll revert to a static IP that's likely outside of your subnet.
You can use the Dahua config tool to find the camera and change the IP. Dahua Wiki