ACTi vs Dahua - reliability

[nicksti 0]

I have used ACTi indoor and outdoor cameras for a year now and have had no problems (other than the 2.3 NVR software being terrible but that is all fixed in 3.0).

 

I hear such good things about Dahua in here, then I hear about the reliability and I am worried. What is the failure rate on these cameras? I have a 16 camera job to do and I was considering Dahua.

 

If i buy them thru Empire do they warranty them? How long is the warranty typically on the Dahua cameras? And are they that fragile?

 

Should I just stick with ACTi?

[thewireguys 3]

Dahua does NOT warranty the cameras the supplier you purchase they cameras though does. My question is what happens if your supplier goes out of business? Who will support the cameras.

[nicksti 0]

This sounds like one of those rhetorical questions. And not the good kind either

 

So your vote would be no. Do you have an option around the same pricepoint? IP PoE Dome indoor MP?

 

The Dahua price is so tempting and the quality of the images look decent. So what are all the people in here who love them do? Eat the cameras?

[techwhizard 0]

If you buy the Dahua cameras from a reputable supplier, then you don't have anything to worry about in terms of support or warranty. Nellysurplus and Empiresecurity have been around for a while, haven't they?

[nicksti 0]

I dunno but I see wireguy's point. If they fold tomorrow and your cameras start dropping like flies you are screwed. And that is your reputation at stake.

 

When you see one pinto blow up after a rear collision...

[buellwinkle 0]

This is the price you pay. People look for the free lunch, there's isn't any. It costs ACTi, Axis and most companies a bunch of money to provide offices and a staff in the U.S., provide support and customer service.

 

Dahua has a different model, you buy the camera with none of the support, service or U.S. presense, in return, you get a lower price. Don't know if you can have it all, but I haven't seen it, a Dahua price with service of others.

 

All said, I accept the risk because my attitude is cameras are disposable. It's like PC's, televisions, digital cameras, and cell phones. If I get 3 years out of camera, I'm moving on to the next new camera. There was a time during the intial growth of digital cameras where I would buy a new camera every 6 months because technology was changing that fast. Not so much now, so I have a quality camera that I expect to get several years out of. I don't think surveillence cameras have peaked, theres new stuff coming out every year. How can I be happy with a Dahua 1080P camera 3 years from now when they have a 10MP camera out?

[akelley 0]

In my opinion Dahua cameras haven't been used long enough to determine their reliability. I would be interested to know if anyone has one in operation 24/7 for more than 6 months at this point.

[buellwinkle 0]

Dahua has been around a while selling analog cameras. You can probably find someone in the analog camera part of this forum that has had Dahua cameras for way over 6 months.

[akelley 0]

Agreed, buellwinkle, but IP cameras are a whole different beast than analog. Unlike analog, IP cameras require a lot more technical support from the manufacturer and alot more can go wrong with the camera's electronics.

[thewireguys 3]

I don't see us winning ANY of the large projects we have if I would have tried to sell them Dahua cameras.

[buellwinkle 0]

I agree on that. I would never use Dahua on a project. First, the cost of the cameras is a fraction of the total job costs. For example, had someone bid OpenEye because it was cheap. The cameras performed poorly, sort of made Foscam look good. They had to rip them out, replaced with Mobotix D14s. Now Mobotix are not cheap, but overall the project was only 10% more but you can actually read license plates now and they actually stay up and not die when temps go up.

 

But that's different than putting one in your driveway to catch someone breaking in your car and it's your labor, your time and $350 sounds way better than $1,500.

 

I just think that the big names are coming out with some competitive pricing and the difference is getting smaller. Take the new Axis 5MP hemispherical dome for a list price of $599. Makes paying for $350 for 2MP not seem like such a bargain anymore.

[fran 0]

Acti looks better

[SportPlumber 0]

But the amount of activity in these forums alone indicates that the Dahuas are clearly a game changer.

 

Pretty nice little cameras at a market disruptor price level. That is powerful.