Qvis APOIP-MB2 same as Dahua DH-IPC-HFW3200S?

[ukanalyst 0]

Hi all,

 

This is a fantastic resource and I'm so glad I found your forum so thankyou! Although a relative newbie to CCTV (only so far dipped my toe in the water with a Foscam IP Cam), I'm in need of a CCTV system to protect my home following a recent break in and theft of push bikes.

 

I've spent most of today carrying out research (this forum has been invaluable) and visiting Costco, Makro, Maplin and other consumer electronic stores and websites. I believe what would suit me is either:

 

Swann HD IP cams (http://www.costco.com/Swann-1080p-2-Pack-NVR-IP-Bullet-Cameras.product.100039914.html) but I can't find this available anywhere in the UK???

 

OR

 

The Dahua DH-IPC-HFW3200S (http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/ipc-hfw3200s-218.html)

 

I've managed to find the Dahua for £215 which seems to be the cheapest available but then I've found the Qvis APOIP-MB2 (http://www.adata.co.uk/Catalogue/Adata-CCTV/IP-Cameras/BUSINESS-IP-CAMERAS/2MP-IP-CAMERA/2MP-Mini-Bullet-Camera-36mm-Lens-APOIP-MB2) even cheaper and wonder if this is the same camera but rebranded (I've read on some threads this has been the case in the past with Qvis but found another thread that suggests QVis don't rebrand Dahua anymore )

 

So I though I'd ask the community of experts!! Do you know if the Swann HD IP cams are available in the UK and/or do you know if the Qvis cam is the same as the Dahua cam ... if not the same is it as good as?

 

Very many thanks in advance guys!

Edited July 20, 2013 by Guest

[MaxIcon 0]

The Qvis and the Dahua sure look the same. The Qvis spec says it has a micro SD card, and I don't think the Dahua does. Qvis doesn't list this one on their web site, and doesn't appear to supply firmware, but that would be a clue - either the firmware revision, or a firmware download would tell if it's a Dahua or not.

 

The vendor also has one that looks just like the 3200C, so there's a good chance it's a Dahua.

[ukanalyst 0]

The Qvis and the Dahua sure look the same. The Qvis spec says it has a micro SD card, and I don't think the Dahua does. Qvis doesn't list this one on their web site, and doesn't appear to supply firmware, but that would be a clue - either the firmware revision, or a firmware download would tell if it's a Dahua or not.

 

The vendor also has one that looks just like the 3200C, so there's a good chance it's a Dahua.

 

Thanks so much for your super quick reply ... I realised that I forgot to put the link to the Qvis manufacturer spec sheet ... I guess you found the same Vendor I was looking at and what's really odd is the spec sheet on the vendor site differs from the spec sheet on the manufacturer (or distributor?) site ... SD card is mentioned on one and not the other ... very confusing!

 

Here's the Vendor Spec sheet: http://www.wmestore.co.uk/media/APOIP-MB2_Datasheet.pdf

 

Here's the Manufacturer/Distributor Spec Sheet: http://www.adata.co.uk/files/9f0c7955-b9d9-4f4e-9046-a1db00ef2033/APOIP-MB2_V1.pdf

[MaxIcon 0]

You see this a lot - careless spec sheets with minor and sometimes major errors. My guess is there's no SD card, and it's the Dahua. If the vendor can give you the firmware version, that's usually a sure sign, since everyone has different naming conventions.

 

SD cards often get left out of mini-bullets to help save size, and most mini-bullets are a pain to open up, so card access would be difficult.

 

If you go with them, make sure you have good access to firmware updates, as Dahua has non-existent technical support outside of the company you buy from. If they go out of business, you get the Dahua trashcan warranty.

 

It's not a bad camera, based on reports, but I recently chose the Hik 3MP DS-2CD2032 mini bullets (same as the Swann you mentioned) over the Dahua for a variety of reasons, including lower cost and better tech support. There's a lot of discussion on these recently if you search on hik bullet or hik 3mp.

 

Hik has a better presence in Europe than the US, I believe, and you might be able to find them where you are if you google for the UK.

[ukanalyst 0]

Thanks very much again MaxIcon, I have found one UK supplier selling the Hik 3MP DS-2CD2032 but they are quite a bit more expensive than the Qvis ... certainly something to think about. I think I'll try and give the vendors and perhaps Qvis a call on tomorrow and ask if they are rebranded Dahua units. I'll also give Swann and Costco a call I think and see if there are any plans to bring the HD IP Cam across to the UK ... I don't hold out much hope but you never know!

 

Thanks again!

[ukanalyst 0]

Thanks very much again MaxIcon. I made a number of calls this morning and this is what I found out (for the benefit of other UK based people wondering the same thing as me):

 

• Costco UK will be stocking a Swann IP Cam before Christmas but the CCTV buyer was unable to give me any more info (prices/model/dates) as it was early days.
  
• The spec sheet for WME is wrong ... the Qvis bullet doesn't have an SD card ... WME believe they are rebranded Dahua units (not certain though) and Qvis didn't know(!!!) so suggested I buy one and try it!
  
• Swann's head office line is broken (constantly engaged all day) but the tech support line person I spoke to suggested I call Maplin as they would have a better idea if the Swann units would be stocked in the UK! The Maplin CCTV buyer told me they didn't have any plans to stock them.
  

 

In the end I went for two of the Hikvision 3MP DS-2CD2032 bullets to get me started ... looking forward to them arriving and getting them installed now

[buellwinkle 0]

Pricing is all over place with Hikvision because they sell OEM and Hikvision branded cameras, both the same exact camera except for the logo but in the U.S. there's about a $100 difference retail.

[MaxIcon 0]

Sounds good! They're not perfect, but they're my favorite value camera right now. Here's a thread I posted showing mine in a quasi-panoramic setup, with some optimizations for day/night performance trade-offs.

 

http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=4828.0

[ukanalyst 0]

Sounds good! They're not perfect, but they're my favorite value camera right now. Here's a thread I posted showing mine in a quasi-panoramic setup, with some optimizations for day/night performance trade-offs.

 

http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=4828.0

 

Thanks for sharing ... I'm interested to hear what you say about the inflexible brackets ... I was planning to put mine under the eaves but it sounds like that isn't a very good idea

[mroek 0]

I'm also very interested in hearing about those brackets. Are they less adjustable than the brackets on the Dahuas (2100 specifically)?

[buellwinkle 0]

What brackets? Do you mean the mount on the bullet or the 2-axis mini dome installation? When I did the review on the Costco Swann/Hikvision bullet on my blog, it was mounted under the eave of my garage which is about at a 30 degree angle no problems, same as any other bullet I've put there. The mini dome is different, you have to mount it level to the ground facing down. It shouldn't be on a wall or an eave that's not level unless you are cool with everything being on a slant. When I started to review the dome, I put a piece of foam under one side to level it. Hikvision sells a slant mount, have not tried it and they also sell a wall mount bracket but have not tried it either. Finding sources to buy this is the hard part. Distributors stock the cameras, not always all the accessories.

[MaxIcon 0]

Here's a comparison of the day vs night settings on the local forum:

viewtopic.php?p=226232#p226232

 

The mount is similar on the 2100 and the Hik, though the Hik's no-tool adjustment is nice, if a little clunky. If it works well where you want to put it, that's great, but if it doesn't, there's no flexibility. For instance, I can't put mine directly under the eaves without blocking the FOV or losing adjustment range, so I had to mount them on the wall of the house, where they're more visible. YMMV, depending on your setup.

 

Many cameras come with standard screw mounts that allow you to use any of a wide variety of mounts, extenders, elbows, whatever. My Vivotek and Messoa bullets are all like that, and it's very easy to tweak the mount as necessary. Panavise makes an assortment of medium priced mounts that are super flexible:

http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&id1=14&startat=1&--woSECTIONSdatarq=14

 

The new generation of midrange Chinese cams all seem to come with the basic 3 hole mount, with no way to change it or extend it. Need it to stick out 6" further? Too bad. This is the trend now, and I wish they'd put a threaded hole in the body for those of us who want more flexibility.

[mroek 0]

What brackets? Do you mean the mount on the bullet or the 2-axis mini dome installation?

I meant the mount on the bullet, sorry for the confusion. What I really wanted to know, is if the Hik has approximately the same degrees of freedom in the mount as the Dahua 2100 (and probably most other Dahua bullets). I think the Dahua is pretty flexible, so I was hoping the Hik would be similar.

[ukanalyst 0]

Here's a comparison of the day vs night settings on the local forum:

viewtopic.php?p=226232#p226232

 

The mount is similar on the 2100 and the Hik, though the Hik's no-tool adjustment is nice, if a little clunky. If it works well where you want to put it, that's great, but if it doesn't, there's no flexibility. For instance, I can't put mine directly under the eaves without blocking the FOV or losing adjustment range, so I had to mount them on the wall of the house, where they're more visible. YMMV, depending on your setup.

 

Many cameras come with standard screw mounts that allow you to use any of a wide variety of mounts, extenders, elbows, whatever. My Vivotek and Messoa bullets are all like that, and it's very easy to tweak the mount as necessary. Panavise makes an assortment of medium priced mounts that are super flexible:

http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&id1=14&startat=1&--woSECTIONSdatarq=14

 

The new generation of midrange Chinese cams all seem to come with the basic 3 hole mount, with no way to change it or extend it. Need it to stick out 6" further? Too bad. This is the trend now, and I wish they'd put a threaded hole in the body for those of us who want more flexibility.

 

Ahh I think I'll be OK then ... thanks for the clarification