Sales/Choosing an IP Camera

Revision as of 00:35, 26 May 2016 by JP (talk | contribs) (→‎WDR, DWDR, Super WDR)

Choosing an IP Camera

When selecting an IP Camera there are many things to consider. We will go over the following criteria to help assess which IP Camera is best for your clients.

Pixel Density and Intended Target

The first consideration when deciding on a camera is the resolution that will be required. The higher the resolution of the camera, the further away the camera can be installed from the area you want to view.

Location

Where will this camera be physically installed? Based on the location, you can best determine what body style will work best for your client.

Dahua cameras come in several different form factors:

  • Bullet

  • Dome

  • Eyeball

  • Box

  • Wedge

  • Fisheye

Image Sensor

Image sensors determine pixel size, and number of pixels. The larger a sensor the larger the pixels.

A common misconception is the larger the image sensor the better low-light performance. Image size does play a role in low light performance, but there are other factors that impact how well a camera's low-light a night vision modes perform.

Image sensors found in Dahua Cameras:

  • 1/1.7"
  • 1/1.8"
  • 1/2.3"
  • 1/2.7"
  • 1/2.8"
  • 1/3" -Most common image sensor for surveillance

Lens and Field of View (FOV)

A camera's lens will determine the Horizontal Field of View, or FOV, based on how far the lens is from the image sensor. The greater the distance the smaller the FOV.

For example, take a look at the images below:

FisheyeModeNoDewarp.png 1.57mm Lens

  • Super Wide Angle: these create a “fisheye” effect and can cover a viewing angle of 180 degrees or more. These are typically in the 8mm to 12mm range.
  • Wide Angle: Lenses covering a viewing angle of between 110 and 60 degrees, representing an effective focal length of 10mm to about 25mm.
  • Standard/Medium: Lenses covering a viewing angle of 60 to 25 degrees, representing an effective focal length of 25mm to about 65mm.
  • Telephoto: Lenses which cover a viewing angle of 25 to 10 degrees, which corresponds to a focal length of 65mm to 160mm.
  • Super telephoto: Lenses which cover a viewing angle of 10 to 1 degrees, ie, 160mm to 600mm focal length.

Outdoor, Indoor, and Vandal Proof

IP rating, or Ingress Protection, will determine if a camera is suitable for outdoor use.

  • The first number represents the level of protection the device has from solids
  • The second number represent the level of protection from liquids.

With both, the higher the number the better the protection.

For example: A camera with an IP rating of IP67

  • The first number indicates that this device is "Dust Tight" which is the highest level of ingress protection for solids.
  • The second number indicates that this device is safe for, "Immersion up to 1m"

WDR, DWDR, Super WDR

WDR, or Wide Dynamic Range, is the ability to produce high quality images despite multiple light sources or light levels. WDR is measured in dB for decibel. The higher the WDR number the better the WDR. Make sure to disable WDR during night time to reduce bandwidth, and maximize low light performance.

  • DWDR -Digital WDR is WDR applied during post-processing
  • 120dB WDR -True WDR
  • 140dB WDR -Best solution for mixed lighting situations

H.264 or H.265

What is H.265?

H.265 systems are starting to hit the market. Dahua systems that are H.265 compliant will also work with H.264 cameras. So you don't need to worry about compatibility issues. You do want to match a H.265 NVR with H.265 cameras if you are dealing with bandwidth constraints.

All Dahua systems are compatible with H.264.

H.265 systems can be found in the following:

Audio Recording

If audio recording is a requirement, you want to consider purchasing an IP Camera that has, "Audio In"

Dahua NVRs do have audio in and out, but those are used exclusively for two-way talk only, and cannot record audio to channel 1 or any other channel.

Frame Rate

The majority of Dahua's cameras will record at 30FPS by default. This value can be adjusted from 1 to 30.

Frame rate is important to take into consideration for two reasons:

1. Fast Moving Objects-The higher the Frame Rate, the clearer a fast moving object will appear. There are other factors to consider, but a higher frame rate will reduce the distortion on fast moving objects.

2. Storage Restrictions-The higher the Frame Rate, the more space required for storage. If your client requires a certain number of days to be recorded and stored, reducing the frame rate can help with meeting those requirements.

3. Bandwidth Restrictions-If the video feeds need to be viewed or sent to a remote location, lowering the FPS will reduce the load on the Internet connection the system is connected to when viewing the system remotely.

Frame Rate, or FPS, is how many individual frame a camera is capable of capturing per second.

Motorized Varifocal, Manual Varifocal, Fixed Lens, and Zoom

IVS Features

IVS features might be a requirement for your client. If that is the case, you can easily identify Intelligent, or IVS capable, cameras by the "-I" appended to the end of the model.

The following are IVS features:

IVS Capable Cameras-Series

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