Dahua WizColor 5x59-PRO and SmartLight 5x59-IL new series
- Thread starter steve1225
- Start date
New slogan for the 54PRO series.....
"Almost as good as a 5442 S3"
"Almost as good as a 5442 S3"
Chokolinho
Getting comfortable
Sorry to say, but I tend to agree at this point. Of course, what do I know... I'm almost at the point with my learnin' here where I can almost start brickin' stuff.
CameraGuy123
n3wb
As many of you have issues with this new cam... is there a better alternative with same features?
I search good cams for a new system. The cams should be good at day and night. In the night i would like to have color mode and ir mode. Best would be IR and if something is beeing recognized to turn warm light on. In the area is not much light from other sources and warm light couldn't turned on the whole night cause of neighbours. The price should be 200-300 € per cam. A new NVR is also needed for 24/7 surveillance.
I search good cams for a new system. The cams should be good at day and night. In the night i would like to have color mode and ir mode. Best would be IR and if something is beeing recognized to turn warm light on. In the area is not much light from other sources and warm light couldn't turned on the whole night cause of neighbours. The price should be 200-300 € per cam. A new NVR is also needed for 24/7 surveillance.
The 4M-T
EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP Smart Dual Light Active Deter
4MP 1/1.8" CMOS Built-in multi-core light, Max. IR distance is 30 m, Max. warm light distance is 30 m Intelligent monitoring: Intrusion, Tripwire Supports max. 512 G Micro SD card Built-in dual Mic Support two-way talk IP67 protection Sound and light alarm (red and blue lights) SMD 4.0
empiretech01.com
^^^^
This.
Though admittedly even it has the AI fuzzys, just not as bad as the 54PRO
Bottom line is people are demanding and manufacturers are thus putting out, cams with white LED's in an attempt to get "night color".
This isnt new, it's been going on for at least 5-6 years.
The bottom line is you can either do it with either superior optics such as the 5442 and off-camera white lights
OR
you can use on board LEDs and the newer tech used to artificially "brighten" the image, but with increased digital noise on moving targets like the 54PRO
Getting GOOD COLOR video, free of artifacts and noise on the moving target is HARD. It takes a shit ton of light and very sensitive sensors.
People are drawn to the color night image regardless of how poor quality it is
So when asked what is the Best camera for nighttime?, the question really is:
Do you want color over quality or vice versa?
Then the choice can be made for either the newest tech or traditional good optics with added external white light
This.
Though admittedly even it has the AI fuzzys, just not as bad as the 54PRO
Bottom line is people are demanding and manufacturers are thus putting out, cams with white LED's in an attempt to get "night color".
This isnt new, it's been going on for at least 5-6 years.
The bottom line is you can either do it with either superior optics such as the 5442 and off-camera white lights
OR
you can use on board LEDs and the newer tech used to artificially "brighten" the image, but with increased digital noise on moving targets like the 54PRO
Getting GOOD COLOR video, free of artifacts and noise on the moving target is HARD. It takes a shit ton of light and very sensitive sensors.
People are drawn to the color night image regardless of how poor quality it is
So when asked what is the Best camera for nighttime?, the question really is:
Do you want color over quality or vice versa?
Then the choice can be made for either the newest tech or traditional good optics with added external white light
CameraGuy123
n3wb
Thank you. You think, that at the moment theThe 4M-T
EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP Smart Dual Light Active Deter
4MP 1/1.8" CMOS Built-in multi-core light, Max. IR distance is 30 m, Max. warm light distance is 30 m Intelligent monitoring: Intrusion, Tripwire Supports max. 512 G Micro SD card Built-in dual Mic Support two-way talk IP67 protection Sound and light alarm (red and blue lights) SMD 4.0
- EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-TZ
is better than the new
- EmpireTech IPC-T54PRO-ZE
Edit:
For me is b/w at night with IR totally okay, but i would like that the on board white led turns on when something is detected and than maybe the mode switch from b/w to night color.
Thanks
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Read my post above
They're very close in performance. It will depend on your scene like most cameras.
There is no "Better or Best"
Here is my 3449 TIOC PRO fixed 3.6mm. I like it but its still not as good of an image as the 5442 S2 it replaced.
View attachment Best-192.168.1.110_ch12_20250322221210_20250322221312.mp4
They're very close in performance. It will depend on your scene like most cameras.
There is no "Better or Best"
Here is my 3449 TIOC PRO fixed 3.6mm. I like it but its still not as good of an image as the 5442 S2 it replaced.
View attachment Best-192.168.1.110_ch12_20250322221210_20250322221312.mp4
And here it is with added external white light.
Like ALL cameras, adding white light at night helps. There is no magic
View attachment AFSA-ON-FloodON-192.168.1.110_ch3_20250321211834_20250321211909.mp4
Like ALL cameras, adding white light at night helps. There is no magic
View attachment AFSA-ON-FloodON-192.168.1.110_ch3_20250321211834_20250321211909.mp4
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I am 50/50 on whether this can be fixed with firmware, if the sensor is good enough then technically it should be yes. The real question is even if they can fix our issues...do they want to?!? Obviously they should but who knows at this point. @EMPIRETECANDY throw us a lifeline here please 
Keep in mind that @bigredfish has ideal conditions with a tightly defined area that benefits from light reflection, along with lights other than the camera white LEDs.
If you don't have a similar field of view, these dual light cameras may struggle.
As he pointed out, the 5442 series still does better.
Color isn't always better, especially if you don't have the light to allow it to sufficiently run in color.
What many people do is run the 5442 for the clean B/W images and then another camera set up as an overview to capture the color.
It has been proven that motion activated lighting doesn't deter the perps.
CCTVCam
Known around here
- Sep 25, 2017
- 3,053
- 3,959
I never said it was better. I said it's more profitable as it suits most consumers, and it is also cheaper. As for whether it can never beat physics... Laws of physics are also changing as we learn more, so that's not something we can be certain of.
The Laws of Physics are not changing, they never change.
What we're seeing in my opinion is most likely automated video editing that pushes the boundaries of adjustments such as contrast, brightness & colour etc far beyond the point at which artefacts are created, and which then uses AI to detect and remove the resulting artefacts using intelligent interpolation or something similar. If this is what's going on then I'd describe it most likely as an advanced form of cheating / editing rather than any actual gain in anything.
The only way you get real gain in low light is by increasing the chip's sensitivity to light with a more sensitive coating or by increasing it's light gathering ability by making each pixel sensor larger so it's more likely to get struck by a photon of a strength that's registerable, and that's what a physically larger sensor achieves. There isn't any oither way around it that I'm aware of it, which is probably why the real low light monsters are 35mm sensors or larger.
It's interesting to see there's a new AI version of the Sony A7s, the A7sV. Maybe this will increase the chance of a sensor such as the A7sII making it's way to CCTV at an affordable price point.
CameraGuy123
n3wb
Is there an easy possibilty to activate external light with the integrated alarm/power out signal? With easy i mean no home assistant or whatever. Maybe the NVR or a simple relay? So i could turn much more light on if the cam detects something and with the added light the color night is good enough.
Sure. I’m not an an electrical guru, @TonyR would be better at explaining how but the alarm output of the camera or NVR should be able to be used to activate an external light.
I just use good motion activated floods
I just use good motion activated floods
CameraGuy123
n3wb
Thanks. Yeah, but normal motion activated floods aren't good enough. Too many false alerts with trees, cats and so on... ;-)
CCTVCam
Known around here
- Sep 25, 2017
- 3,053
- 3,959
I never get false activations on my motion sensor light. I always buy a light then a separate motion sensor as the sensors usually wear out / degrade in detection way before the lights need replacing. It's also gives you the freedom of choosing your sensor.
This is what I'm currently using although it isn't a recommendation:
www.toolstation.com
I tend to just buy relatively cheap ones. I don't have trees in range although occassionally I may leave washing out overnight on the line and have never known it trigger it. There is an alternative to PIR's I haven't tried and that's microwave based sensors. Some report these as more resistent.
This is what I'm currently using although it isn't a recommendation:
V-TAC PIR Motion Sensor IP44
• 360° detection range, 12m detection distance• IP44 rated• Adjustable time delay 10sec to 15min• Adjustable LUX setting
www.toolstation.com
I tend to just buy relatively cheap ones. I don't have trees in range although occassionally I may leave washing out overnight on the line and have never known it trigger it. There is an alternative to PIR's I haven't tried and that's microwave based sensors. Some report these as more resistent.
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