Thoughts on Lorex E893DD

JonSnow

Getting the hang of it
Dec 10, 2019
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Winterfell
This camera was cheap for a 4K camera, thought I got a good deal but maybe not. As it can only do 4K/15fps which I can live with.

When testing with BI, I noticed fps/key was 15/0.50, but I have no option in Lorex firmware to adjust the I-Frames.

This is a Dahua IPC-HFW3841EN-PV-S2-cayenne under the hood and will replace a Dahua IPC-HDW2431T-AS-S2.

low fps I can live with but locked I-frame is kind of a deal breaker.

Thoughts?
 
Personally I would be more concerned about the poor night performance given it is 8MP on a sensor designed for 2MP.

The iframe isn't as much of an issue now if you are using the camera AI for triggering BI.

The iframe is only an issue if you are using BI motion, but at a KEY of 0.5 it would mean it might be 2 seconds before motion starts getting detected, which for most field of views isn't an issue.
 
Yes, one of the main reasons to get it was the built-in AI to prevent false positives, the camera will look over a driveway. I have streetlights so it's not super dark at night.

As long as it performs better than HDW2431T during the night I'm okay with it, currently I have HDW2431T set to color night mode and a speeding car will be a blur but someone on my driveway it's okay.

Based on specs alone do you think it will perform better or worse than the HDW2431T at night?
 
The Lorex is 1/2.8" vs my current 1/3”, so isn't the Lorex sensor bigger thus meaning it will capture more light?

What if I run it at 6MP or 4MP?
 
Yeah but it is 8MP on a sensor designed for 2MP. It may be slightly better than your existing unless you have a ton of light. But I wouldn't expect leaps and bounds improvements. At the end of the day they are both budget cameras shoving too many MP on the sensor.

Downrezing a camera does not work - It is still using the 8 million pixels - the camera doesn't change the "pixel resolution screen" on the camera when you go from 8MP to 4MP. The sensor still needs 2 times the light going from 8MP to 4MP, so the native 4MP camera will result in a better image at night. The firmware will make some algorithm attempt at downrezing it, but it could be a complete crap image or a somewhat usable image, but if there is a concern that the 8MP isn't performing or wouldn't perform well at night, then it is better to go with the 4MP.

I have a 4MP and 2MP on the same 1/2.8" sensor and the picture quality is quite different between the two and the 2MP kicks it's butt at night.

In most instances, you want to get a camera that will perform at your location for the worse situation, which for most of us is at night when it is dark and there is little to no light. If a camera performs at night, it is easier to tweak settings to make it work during the day than it is the other way around.

My 2MP cameras outperform my neighbors 4K (8MP) cameras....why....because they are both on the same size sensor.

When we had a thief come thru here and get into a lot of cars, the police couldn't use one video or photo from anyone's system but mine. Not even my other neighbors $1,300 8MP system provided useful info - the cams just didn't cut it at night.

My neighbor tried the "I will just downrez the 8MP to 2MP" and the image was a soft dark mess.

His system wasn't even a year old and after that event has started replacing with cameras purchased from Andy based on my recommendation and seeing my results. He is still shocked a 2MP camera performs better than his 4k cameras and he cannot figure out why downrezing from 8MP to 2MP doesn't work properly... It is all about the amount of light needed and getting the right camera for the right location and downrezing doesn't change the physics of the camera.
 
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Thanks for the info, guess I'll stick it in front of a window to test the color night vision at the very least.

The camera is mounted really high so would only replace it if it's better than my current.
 
Yeah probably good to test it.

And make sure not to use on default as that always gives a brighter picture but results in motion blur.
 
Cars driving by are a blur, the picture quality at night is better but overall, it's not what I was hoping for with a 4K camera.

4K means more storage but not a significant improvement in image quality.

I have two HDW2431Ts but one has become really slow and crashes, resetting has not helped so was looking forward to replacing it.
 
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Yep.

If you want 4K, you need to get one on the 1/1.2" sensor. Amy other size and it will struggle at night to be a big enough improvement over what you have.

But most feel like for these kind of cameras 4MP on the 1/1.8" sensor is the sweet spot based on the tech used on these cameras.