So I've been playing a bit with a new arrival.  

A number of posters have inquired about the newer Swann, Lorex, and other Hikvision-based IP systems.  They can be found at Costco, Sams, etc.  They're not the standard, $250 analog system-in-a-box deals that you've been able to buy for years-and-years.  They are  full 1080p HD cameras, connected via Cat5/6 cable, and tied into a network NVR.  

Swann

Lorex

Hikvision

Note the striking similarity in appearance to all of those cameras?  Almost like they're the SAME camera?  Well... they basically are.  There may be minor firmware differences though, so don't immediately assume you can swap them willy-nilly for one another.  The point is that their capabilities and picture quality should be very similar.  

These newer systems are MUCH higher-quality in terms of picture, and performance.  They also are higher-priced ($1-2k, depending on number of cameras, and size of NVR).  Replacement cameras are readily available for reasonable money.  

So I thought I'd try one of Hikvision's stand-alone cameras, just to try out the brand, and see how well it works... so I bought this:








That is a Hikvision DS-2CD2732-I(S).  It's a day/night vandal-resistant dome.  It includes an IR-cut filter, IR leds, and I/O for microphones, alarm input/output, and so forth (the "(S)" in the model number denotes the I/O capability... the "I" model lacks those features)



Network connectivity is via a dongle (it takes PoE), and it comes with everything you see here, including a security-Torx wrench to remove the dome.  Interestingly, this camera also takes 12VDC through a barrel connector... so it is more easily usable in a 12V system.  








I'm considering this camera for a remote solar-powered rig, so I wanted to know the power consumption.  It takes 190mA with the IR leds off, and 310mA with IR turned on.








We'll be comparing some pictures from this camera, stacked up against a Mobotix M12 Dual-Night camera, and an Acti E-72 budget-range dome.


TO BE CONTINUED:

What struck me most was this connector:






This is how Hikvision seems to have their I/O connector wired.  It's a tiny little micro-plug... far smaller than even the smallest wire I'd normally use for a sensor or microphone.  






At least they labeled it:






I hunted through the box and tiny ziplock bags, looking for an adapter for that tiny little thing.  They don't include one... so forget the nice, easy push-terminals and screw-down terminals you get with Vivotek, Acti, etc.  Interfacing with this camera's internal logic requires a bit more work.  You can't just strip some Cat5/6 or 18/2 wire, and connect it up to this camera.  

Major design fail, Hikvision.  

I did, however, finally figure out what that connector was.  It's a Pico connector (made by Molex).  Digikey to the rescue!






And that's a ten-circuit female connector Hikvision used:






Fortunately, the male Picoblades can be purchased in strips, so I tried that first:












And Design fail #2:  The "Alarm_in" and "Alarm_gnd" wires are the green and blue... and they are RIGHT next to one another.  Forget just crimping two of these male Picoblades onto the ends of your wires and sticking them into the female connector.  They're going to end up touching one another, and screwing up your alarm contact.  





So we have to use an actual socket, and crimp those tiny little blades onto our wires, and insert them into the housing on the left:








I've done some quick-and-dirty connections, and so far cannot get the I/O logic on this camera to work properly.  It's not sending alert emails, and there's nothing in the internal camera logs to indicate what might be wrong.  In fact, it's not generating any logs at all.  This is decidedly unhelpful, and I'm going to wrestle with it a bit more, just to see if I can make it work.  


As for some sample pictures, I have taken a few screen grabs.

Acti E72:




Hikvision:




Mobotix M12: (taken from earlier this summer):





And just as an exercise for the live studio audience, can you tell me which camera does NOT have wide dynamic range?  

(hint:  it's obvious)

And now for a few night pictures (same illuminator used in all pictures):


Acti E72:





Hikvision:





Mobotix M12:





I have to say... for <$300, I think Hikvision has a winner here.  I can't recommend it yet, because the I/O doesn't seem to work yet.  Presuming I can get that to function properly, this is looking like a very solid budget-range camera.

I also found another review on the same model, done back in November.  On the particular camera that he reviewed, there was no Pico/Molex connector on the wires at all.. they were simply cut/bare.  It may be that Hikvision is still figuring out what to do with that connector block.

Yes... But I am going to go back through and verify that we are using the exact same shutter speed.  If they are different, it might give an unfair advantage to one cam or another.

But even shutter-speed and brightness issues aside, there is a distinct lack of digital "noise" in that Hikvision picture.  I found that fairly striking.

How much did you save doing it that way?

ETA :  wow.... That's almost a $100 savings.  I paid about $300.

Yikes...  The Acti actually had a slower shutter speed (1/15) than the Hikvision (1/60)... so the Acti image should have been better/brighter.  

Here are the comparisons between the two cameras, both at 1/60th shutter speed:


Acti E72, 1/60th shutter speed:






Hikvision, 1/60th shutter speed:




Now don't pay so much attention to the foreground, since the Hikvision image contains IR light from both the Acti camera, and the Hikvision camera.  The Hikvision images were taken when the Acti and the Hikvision were mounted side-by-side, and the Acti image was taken while the Acti camera was mounted solo... so the foreground part of the image in the Hikvision JPG is benefiting from the IR light from BOTH cameras... while the Acti JPG has only its own LEDs.  It shouldn't make a huge difference (since camera IR tends to be weak anyway), but I want to make that very clear from the start.  To truly appreciate the difference, look at the fence area in the background, and the playcenter further away from the camera.  You can appreciate the lack of digital noise/"hash" in the very dark areas of the image.

The Hikvision has better night performance.  Straight up.

OK.  The one I got was several firmware versions behind, so maybe that will fix the issues.

Of course, the current firmware is jacked up enough that you can't update the firmware from the "Maintenance" page; you have to use TFTP to do it.  

Oh well... can't expect total perfection for a couple of hundred bucks.  

Yes it is... and in a cheaper camera too.

And the Acti E72 doesn't have digital I/O.  Or a vari-focal lens.  Or on-board storage via a Micro-SD card.  The cheaper Hikvision cam has all of those things.

I may take some more images, just to see if I can improve on that picture.  Those results just seem too disparate to me.  

Yep.   Link to the news article here.

And that's an inexpensive, basic, analog security camera... probably an entry-level Lorex or something similar:





Without that camera, we wouldn't have been treated to the sight of a moron thug picking up his pistol and heading back into the house after being shot at.  It took a second volley of fire for him to get the message.  

What a dope.  


ETA:  but that article shows why security needs to be in layers.  If you don't already have a reinforced perimeter (like door jamb armor, or a Strikemaster on your front door), you might want to invest in that FIRST...  or maybe some film for your windows to keep thugs like this from busting your window and simply climbing into your living room.  It only took about three kicks for those guys to be in that woman's house.  If she'd been sleeping or otherwise occupied, she would never have had time to reach for that rifle.  

And then her security system would only have shown grainy pictures of the guys arriving/leaving-the-scene of whatever robbery/rape/murder they decided to commit.

I think they knocked on the door.  The victim mentioned having a conversation with one of them, and telling them she had a gun.  They called bullsh*t... until she started shooting.  

I doubt she was using motion alerts, and going-to-guns as soon as she heard it.  Motion alerts have the highest false-positive rate of any alarm modality; they are absolutely NOTORIOUS for false alarms.  If she was reaching for that Hi-Point every time a motion alert went off, she'd be reaching for that thing dozens of times per-day (including every time a car drove by, every time it went from cloudy-to-sunny, every time the wind rustled the trees/leaves, etc).  

They probably knocked on the door to see if she would open it, and save them the trouble of kicking it down.

I've got the I/O working, after a firmware update.  Will have some additional stuff to post later.

Firmware update successful!  

So, our log screen that used to look like this:







Now looks like this!  At last!






We configured the alarm input.  It will take a NO/NC type of alarm contact (Normally-Open, or Normally-Closed).  You can use it to trigger email, FTP, an audible buzzer via that funky Picoblade connector, etc.  The blue in the time/date field indicates that this alarm is active all the time... but you can set it to whatever days/times you want:







Enter our email server info (it's using port 2525 to get past any ISP blocks on mail servers):







Configure an event-triggered snapshot (triggered by the alarm contact, naturally)







Trigger it (by connecting a jumper wire across the blue and green wires in that Picoblade/Molex connector), and viola!  It shows up in our logs:







And in our email:  Three pixelated images of me sitting at my computer






Gentlemen, I think we have a winner in this camera.  Just make sure you are using the latest firmware if you want all the functionality.

No.  I don't use video motion detection for alerts... it generates too many false alarms.

That's not to say VMD is completely worthless.  It's fine for some interior cameras, where the scene doesn't change that much, and there's no wind/rain/cars/birds/insects/etc.  

Outdoors?  Go with actual hard-wired sensors.  You'll be much happier.

I haven't tried the on-board storage yet, but I did put in a micro-SD card and format it.  

It says it records to an NAS, but it didn't give me a lot of info about what KIND of NAS.  Windows/SAMBA share?  NFS?  

I haven't drilled down into that part of it yet.

That.

Those pics are pulled off the network, through a web browser.  

ETA:  usually Firefox, unless it's a manufacturer that requires an ActiveX plug-in (like Acti)

No... I 'm talking about the internal firmware on the camera.  I don't know if Hikvision has its own software.  

The camera allows you to record to a Micro-SD card inside the camera, or to network storage.  I haven't yet parsed out precisely WHAT kind of network storage they support.

Pleased to meet you... hope you guessed my name.

I'm fairly impressed with the new Hikvision cameras.  They provide really good pictures at an affordable price.  

I can't vouch for the quality of the no-brand "mystery cams" you listed first... I'd do the Hikvision cams.

Dahua is the "other" big Chinese cam manufacturer.  I haven't used any of their stuff, so I can't vouch for it.

That said, I strongly doubt it has a better price-for-performance ratio than the Hikvision.

ETA:  check your messages

I haven't messed with Blue Iris much... so its current status is unknown to me.  

I will say that I am fairly gobsmacked when I see software that wants $100-200 PER CHANNEL () for their software.  Cripes... it's like paying for your cameras twice.  Screw that noise... that kind of stuff is for big, fat, corporate budgets, not regular people attempting to secure their middle-class homes.  Milestone and Luxriot are about as high as I go for software (and those are in the $50/channel-or-less price range)

That illuminator probably pulls 800-1000mA, and your camera (depending on type/brand) may pull that much as well.  So let's figure a maximum of 2 Amps of current down that skinny little power wire (which is probably 20 or 22 gauge)  

That's a LOT of current for a 100-foot run, and you're going to lose a LOT of voltage to line loss.  Think of putting a high-pressure stream of water through a skinny little tube (like a straw)... you simply can't force that much down a thin tube.  

Reference this voltage-drop calculator

If you assume that power wire is 20 gauge, you're going to lose 4 volts just from cable losses.  In other words, with a 2 Amp current draw, put 12 volts in the head end, and you get 8 volts out of the other end.  This isn't enough to run most devices.

If you assume that power wire is 22 gauge, it gets even worse.  Now you lose HALF of your voltage from exactly the same cable run.

So skinny wire = bad.

CCTV debunks fake gay-bashing incident

Yes.  I use one of those for my illuminators (I have a half-dozen or so 12VDC-based IR illuminators around the main house, connected to a 12VDC camera PSU).  There are several others that are higher-amperage (and cover larger areas), and those have their own power wiring off household current.

No sweat.  If you have questions, just ask.  Can't promise I'll get to it right away, but I will try.