$250 5MP Dome camera...any good?

[philjayj 0]

Hi All

 

Long time lurker, first time poster lol

 

I'm in the market for some 5MP outdoor dome cameras, but I don't really have the budget.

 

Browsing the web, I came across these:

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Super-HD-5megapixel-5MP-vandalproof-dome-IP-camera-ICR-4mm-lens-30m-IR-distance-PoE-2/725056_1810717780.html

 

Are they worth the money or am I just waiting it?

 

Cheers

 

Phil

[MaxIcon 0]

Here are some questions to ask:

 

- How is the technical support?

- How is the warranty support, including shipping costs for warranty returns?

- What's the availability of firmware and software updates?

- Is this camera supported by the software you want to use?

 

Firmware or compatability issues with no-name cameras can reduce them to expensive paperweights. Long-term support is also important.

 

I'd recommend avoiding no-name IP cams in general, as firmware is far more important than baseline specs in terms of keeping you from tearing your hair out. Stick with name brands, like Hik or Dahua, and worry more about good support than high resolution.

 

This is something most of us figured out the hard way.

[buellwinkle 0]

I've tested various 5MP cameras and frankly, the only one I would buy for myself is the Axis P3367-VE and it's a little more than $250, just add a 1 to the front. Then when you look deep at actual lines of resolution as Maxicon has frequently showed us on test charts, you'll see the declining value prop as pixels increase. For example, one would thing that 1080P is double 720P, it is in pixels, but the actually lines of resolution is not twice but fairly close, so you get value from that. Going from 1080P to 5MP would seem like you are getting 2.5x more pixels but don't confused pixel count with resolution. The cheaper the camera, the less benefit. So the level of detail you see won't be much different. Frankly I don't see a big difference in detail between a good 3mp camera and a mediocre 5mp camera.

 

The other issues is sensor pixel size. The more pixels on a given chip size, in general, the smaller pixels are, the more light they need to work. So in general, higher pixel cameras do not perform as well as lower resolution cameras of the same quality. For example, the best low light cameras from Axis, Samsung, Bosch are 720P. So at night you may get more detail with less pixels. Technology is improving all the time and someday, 12MP or UHD/4K will be just as good, but that is not there yet.