Where to get cameras in 2026? (and the future)

C

cheesehead95

n3wb
Jun 1, 2026
2
0
Wisconsin, US
Are we just hosed now as far as getting cameras with a decent megapixel/sensor size ratio without breaking the bank? I want to put some cameras up and my hope was to be able to see moving people and vehicles at night, but $250/cam is a unsustainable.. (Feel free to correct me, if this is a normal price and has been for a long time let me know, there's not much info out there with the great purge of all dahua and hik listings from ebay and other online sellers.) I ordered a IPC-T22IR-ZAS-S3 from Empire last night just to get something that should have decent night performance. I was looking at Amcrest but it looks like they are no longer able to import and have switched thier branding to Helix/Amlink, and all the cameras have horrible sensor sizes for the megapixels they advertise.

Does anyone know of other 2MP / 1/2.8" cameras that won't break the bank, or am I stuck with reolink for sub $150 cameras?
 
$200-$250 has been the normal price for the higher end Dahua 4MP models for some years (5442/54IR)

I haven’t bought it tested 2MP cams in some years except the long range 5442 Z12 many of us use for LPR
 
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I think $250 for a decent megapixel/sensor size ratio camera is a very reasonable price if you compared to the price inflation with everything now a days.

I'm more frustrated with $250 and no improvement with new camera models to buy....:(
 
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bigredfish said:
$200-$250 has been the normal price for the higher end Dahua 4MP models for some years (5442/54IR)
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That's fair then. I suppose I will just try to buy what I can while I can, because if I understand correctly, it's going to be pretty much impossible to get dahua or hikvision once the supply dries up?
JDreaming said:
price inflation with everything now a days.
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The AI bubble and 'military action' can't end soon enough.
JDreaming said:
I'm more frustrated with $250 and no improvement with new camera models to buy
Click to expand...
I was noticing this too in my research, seems like everything is very similar. I remember reading somewhere that Andy mentioned prices would be going up again in early 2027, is that because the older cams are going out of production and he can't get newer models imported due to bans?
 
cheesehead95 said:
That's fair then. I suppose I will just try to buy what I can while I can, because if I understand correctly, it's going to be pretty much impossible to get dahua or hikvision once the supply dries up?

The AI bubble and 'military action' can't end soon enough.

I was noticing this too in my research, seems like everything is very similar. I remember reading somewhere that Andy mentioned prices would be going up again in early 2027, is that because the older cams are going out of production and he can't get newer models imported due to bans?
Click to expand...

Yup. Buy as many 5442's as you can afford before the end of the year

I think most of the price increases coming are due to memory. Costs have exploded.
So far it doesn't appear to be due to improved sensors or image quality :confused:
 
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