voip-ninja

After reading some of this I am quite glad that I gave Dahua a pass.

Do those units have auto on/off based on an ambient light sensor? I might get one since they are pretty cheap just to try it out. Also, I was not aware it was easy to run in-wall 12V cable, I thought 12V was for shorter runs.

Yes, I understand, I don't see those lights for sale on Amazon or eBay at the moment. I have no outlets under the eaves so I would have to have an electrician put them in, for me (telecom guy) running CAT5 is a snap and poe injectors are cheap. Axton makes ones that have great range and viewing angle and use 12 watts. I have been tempted to order one but they are kind of expensive. http://axtontech.com/at-6e-megapixel-ip-infrared-illuminator-850-nm/

My point, I guess, is that if you need a NAS anyway, the Synology is a pretty good option if you have modest needs for an NVR. They provide a decent web app, that for the most part works over the internet. They have free iOS apps that are pretty decent and let you view your cams live as well as your recordings. Your recordings are also stored on a redundant drive array so you don't have to worry about a single disk on an NVR going dead and losing everything. Even if you can get licenses cheap/free for dedicated NVR you are going to spend at least $200 or so on hardware, probably won't have disk redundancy, and of course you get to foot the bill for using a 35-80 watt PC that runs 24/7. I would probably have a "real" NVR if I took security a lot more seriously, but it would also make this hobby more expensive and it's already expensive. I'm also satisfied with the Synology NVR performance. If I needed more than 1080P I probably would not be, but, since I'm not trying to ID license plates and faces from across the street, the resolution that it supports is fine for me.

Buell are you using the ones sold under the brand name "CMVision"? I looked into those but the lack of PoE and the narrow beam field (30 degrees) made them pretty useless for my application. I have seen some pretty good looking IR 90 degree units with 75' range that do PoE and sell for about $300 that I have been tempted to try, since it would realistically cost less than a really good day/night camera with integrated IR. I would probably still have to go integrated IR at my entries since I would need IR that could be motion triggered as well as adjust the intensity to avoid that overblown image exposure problem that seems to plague most IR systems when people are only 5' away from the camera and IR.

I'm not sure I buy the comment that the licenses on the Synology are going to be similar in cost to what a standalone NVR would be. I bought a 4 license pack for my DS1511+ for $139 from eBay and now have a total of five licenses. It is true that the Synology interface is a little slow and it cannot handle anything better than 1080P at this time. However, I have never had issues with camera disconnections or motion events not getting picked up for my two older Panasonic VGA cams and single Vivotek camera. Another bonus for me is that there are zero cost apps for the iPad and iPhone that work quite well for reviewing video clips or watching live feeds. Unfortunately Synology can't display multiple H264/AVC video feeds on mobile devices at this time. I would say that compared to $500-$1500 or more for a good NVR or building another power sucking PC to run NVR software the Synology is a good option if you will also use it as a NAS. My biggest problem with Synology right now is their reliance on Java for the web client, I have problems connecting through a proxy at my work. My wife, at her office, has no issues connecting over the internet to it, although the Java is a little slow to load.

Well, you probably will have to start by providing more information. 1. What is the weather/climate like where you are using these cameras? 2. What is the distance from the camera location to the face/license plate you want identified? 3. How much light is available? Realize that many of the people on this forum are actual professionals who get paid to do this kind of work (figuring out camera resolution, distance, lighting, and pixels per inch to see if a positive ID of a license plate is possible, etc).... and might be willing to help point you in the right direction but only if you do as much of the leg work yourself as possible (draw a diagram or take photos of the area and upload it here, etc). The most challenging operating environment for any of these cameras is at night in poorly lit areas. At the low end you're looking at $400-$600 per unit for cameras that perform reasonably well in "low" light areas... but if the light is "poor" then you will need units that have built in IR illuminators, or you will need separate ambient lights or separate IR lights installed to provide adequate illumination for recognition purposes.

Just a note for anyone that has been interested in the P33 series Axis 1.3MP cameras with integrated IR that were revealed several months ago. I just got off the phone with a contact at Axis who told me that the cameras will be shipping in October to distributors. He said that as mentioned in original information, Axis is approaching the integrated IR differently than other vendors, the camera will adjust the IR between a "spot" beam when the lens is at telephoto lengths to a "wide cone" type of beam pattern when the camera lens is set to wider angle. He was not sure if the camera would have a feature to adjust the beam intensity via proximity sensor or detected over-exposure of a subject. He also said that the IR is supposed to be very efficient and will not require more PoE power than the non IR integrated models, at least that he was aware of. Unfortunately the prices on these cameras will be quite high, but for someone (like me) who might be forced to go the external IR route, it might actually not be cost prohibited if the new IR performs well.

Looking at the pictures of the ipc-hdw2100 I expect it will have the same problems that most IR "domes" have... which is that the IR will be a tight beam spotlight that will be useless if you are using the camera for a wider angle, which is what I typically do. I'm also still trying to find sample video of the Samsung vandal domes because even with a tighter beam there are two locations I have where they would work and they can be found for under $600.

I'm always open to a more economical option. Synology does not support the Dahua cameras but if they are standards based I could probably get it to kinda/sorta work using Synology for the motion capture. One of the concerns (for me) with the Dahua domes is that they don't seem to go to a very low operating temperature.

I would rather see the product launch a few months late than see it launch early with tons of problems. In my experience Axis do a pretty good job of testing this stuff out. I'm just relaying what the rep told me, that they are shipping in October. Not that they are shipping Q3 or Q4, but October specifically is what he relayed to me. I hope you are correct as I have been waiting for this camera to be released for some time now. In August when I asked them why their initial press release stated they would be released in 2nd quarter I was told they would be out in August. When I inquired in August they said September, now they say October. Hopefully their problems are due to manufacturing and not design. Well, they are approaching this completely differently than all of the other manufacturers as far as dome with integrated IR are concerned. They are putting in IR that will adjust from a spotlight to a wide-beam based on the lens focal length. I would imagine that they might be adjusting intensity as well. I suspect that this has been harder to do perhaps than they originally thought. It could be that they could have shipped this product a few months ago but were concerned that the performance was not better enough than other IR integrated domes on the market to justify the price hike, so perhaps they have been fine tuning it. I am very much looking forward to samples/reviews of this camera. It should be pretty good. Whether it's $400-$500 better per unit than offers from Acti, Samsung, Vivotek and others is definitely the real question. Maybe in a few mins someone pops in and says "what about Dahua!"

If reviews/demos come out and the camera is best in class, I won't mind waiting a few months to get them.

I would rather see the product launch a few months late than see it launch early with tons of problems. In my experience Axis do a pretty good job of testing this stuff out. I'm just relaying what the rep told me, that they are shipping in October. Not that they are shipping Q3 or Q4, but October specifically is what he relayed to me.

No one shows stock yet, probably shipping closer to the end of the month. Prices are high but hopefully street prices come down later this winter.

Seeing as this thread was just revived, I'm hoping that someone who has been working on install of the 5080R or 7080R can provide some sample pics/video of the results. 5080R would work extremely well for a few of my locations but I am not willing to pull the trigger without seeing some samples first (especially night time performance). From what I can tell, support and marketing efforts from Samsung are fairly non-existent for these cameras. I would just "buy and try" but all of the places that have the camera available at a reasonable price are charging very hefty restocking fees, or won't even take returns and I don't want to be left holding the bag, which almost happened to me after the purchase/return of a Brickcom unit.

I've just observed that my Synology NAS/NVR now supports many of the newer Samsung cameras, including the SNV 5080R, which looks like it has most of the features I am after, and can be had for under $600... does anyone have any experience with it? If so, I do have a few questions that the manual does not make clear; 1. How well does the auto IR intensity work? I'm surprised that this is available at this price. 2. Similarly how about the various auto iris and dynamic super range, etc features work? 3. Any samples anywhere, I can't find much. 4. It looks like the IR is integrated so that there is not a hood around the lens, can anyone confirm this? How wide is the IR beam pattern?

I noticed on the other Samsung thread that a few installers chimed in that they had installed these. If anyone has put one in I am really interested in seeing some images/videos of day night performance. Buellwinkle, any chance one of your regular suppliers can get you a 5080R for review purposes? It's extremely competitive with other IR domes you've reviewed.

Interesting, I actually had more or less forgotten about that thread, and it looks like the primary issues with these cameras (for me) would probably be the large cable that needs to be hidden, as some of my locations are tight... the narrow IR beam sounds like it's a let down too. I think that the Axis with its dynamic adjustable IRs that are coming to the P33 series will be better, but Axis will not respond to me on when these are coming out even though they were showing them off at trade shows back in April/May! Do you have the latest FW for your camera? If so and it's doing what you say with not overwriting the SD card I would contact their tech support. I'm hoping that someone who out the SND (not SNO) cameras in can provide some demo screenshots and video, especially of night time performance.

Here's the spec sheet; http://www.sourcesecurity.com/docs/fullspec/20110523_SNV-5080R_E_2P.pdf

All I know is that there are lots of posts of Dahua camera screen captures taken in excellent lighting conditions, but I have seen very little in the way of video clips, stills, etc, of night time performance. I also don't believe that they have heaters so they are kind of worthless to me as it gets below freezing for 3-4 months out of the year here. I am sure that for some applications they are great cameras, especially considering that at their price they are effectively disposable. I'm all for a budget solution that will work, but there's probably a reason that most of the cameras that do what I want/need cost $500-$1000 not $150-$250.

I am leaning towards external IR for my front corner mounted camera, but before I spend the money I'm going to see the real world results of the new Axis P33 with its integrated IR. I have high expectations we will see if my hopes are dashed.

Here's what I got. Even after I explained that my NAS NVR does not support Dahua cams; If that's not shilling I don't know what is, other than maybe someone really enthusiastic about a product. Even if I like a product I don't go to the length of sending people a PM about it (pssss... your BMW sucks, buy a Honda, why you wasting money), etc.

I actually mentioned in a thread a couple of months ago that I was looking for some better low-light cameras and was looking into Axis, etc, and someone PM'd me with "why not Dahua, Dahua is a great price". So, if that's not spam/shill I'm not sure what is. The Dahua cameras look like a very good value, but I'm skeptical that they will meet my requirements.

I think your results with the external IR are better than you realize. The integrated IR on the P33 when it becomes available is supposed to adjust intensity and beam spread based on the lens position. Lots of manufacturers show off wonderful looking night video of their cameras that is not realistic for the typical suburban user.

That's interesting as there is no info about it and no demos or screenshots of it with the IR going. It would be very helpful if you could post some screenshots as well as sample video of the performance of the 3364-VE with infrared at night. I am very interested in these as potential replacements for lower end cameras I have in some locations. If the P3364 is not that good with the integrated IR then I am back to looking for a better integrated IR camera or going with a lower end camera and using external IR.