Anyone with experience with Dahua box cameras?

Merlin93

Merlin93

Young grasshopper
Jul 23, 2017
62
25
San Francisco (bay area)
Hey folks,

I'm considering picking up a IPC-HF81230E 12MP box camera but I am having trouble finding much in the way of documentation to help with determining what I need to order. I already have picked out a lens, external housing, and a mount which should all be compatible with the camera listed above but I'm not sure if there is anything else I need.

For this specific camera, I'm looking at the following accessories...

PLZ20C0-L - 12MP DC-Iris 7-34mm f/0.9 lens
PFH610V-IR-POE - 14" vandal proof (IP67+IK10) housing, with 100m IR and PoE support
PFB604W - wall mount bracket for 14" housing
(optional) PFA162 - 3-axis housing mount bracket

It seems like that should cover everything needed for a single camera, but I'm not sure. I have a handful of specific questions since the available documentation I can find online is rather limited, and the documentation I have found seems somewhat ambiguous in some areas. It could be that the translation just needs a bit of finesse, so I'm hoping someone here has some experience working with these things as an consumer or installer, or knows someone who does.

For the housing:
  1. The data sheet for the PFH610V-IR-POE housing says it consumes 25.5W @ PoE+ without camera. That doesn't seem reasonable to me... those IR LED's should not be using more than 5-10W at best. What else could be using that kind of power if not the camera (which uses <8W in this case)?
  2. If that housing uses 25.5W PoE+ by itself does that mean I have to run two PoE cables, one to the housing and another to the camera? The data sheet suggests the camera plugs into a power module within the housing and the the IR driver board in the housing plugs into the camera. So it sounds like there should be a single PoE+ run to the camera. It also suggests that the 25.5W just means the max potential draw over PoE+ and includes the camera. Can anyone confirm that?
For the mount bracket(s):
  1. From the data sheet I cannot tell whether the PFB604W bracket is adjustable. For example, is the part of the mount the camer attaches to on a ball joint so the camera can be pointed in different directions? Its hard to tell anything from the picture, but it doesn't look like it.
  2. Dahua also offers a 3-axis housing mount (PFA162). It seems too small to support much adjustability on a 15+ inch housing, so I'm not sure if it is meant to be used directly with the camera, or if it is meant to be used with the PFB604W bracket. Based on the data sheet they should be compatible mounting wise in the latter case. The Assessory Selection chart suggests they are both meant to mount directly to the camera itself.
  3. Speaking of mounting, per the data sheet the PFB604W mounting holes are 70.7mm between screws, which is a non-standard size (70.0mm is the standard.) Is that a typo or is that accurate? If accurate it means it's incompatible with most of the Dahua mounting accessories. If that is the case, is the mount not intended to be used with things like junction boxes, or it is meant to use the PFA162 as an adapter (since that does have standard mount distances.) The Accessory Selection chart shows the PFB604W being compatible with the PFA150 pole mount only.
For the lens:
  1. The housing is 404mm (15.9") from front to back (despite saying it is a 14" housing)
  2. While the housing is pretty long, it feels like the lens should sit outside the bulk of the housing (though I'm not entirely sure of that), otherwise I don't see how it should be waterproof. If it does sit outside, is there anything else that needs to be added to make sure the lens is properly protected from the elements? A lens shroud for example?
Beyond that, I think I have a pretty good handle on what needs to be done. But before I pull the trigger on my order with @EMPIRETECANDY I want to be pretty confident of the details so I don't mis-order anything.

Thanks!
 
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Seems you are the first one in the world to make this super system, aha
 
I don't see a non heated version listed.

It also has a cooling fan.

It appears you simply run poe+ to it. Then plug the cam into a jack inside the housing. So one network cable.
 
looney2ns said:
I don't see a non heated version listed.

It also has a cooling fan.

It appears you simply run poe+ to it. Then plug the cam into a jack inside the housing. So one network cable.
Click to expand...
Hmm, when I look at the options it shows the -H models are the heated models. Looking at the spec sheet for the PFH610V-IR-POE I don't see the heater or a fan listed. Where do you see those items listed?

Yeah, I pretty much came to the opinion on my own that I just need to run a single POE+ to it... then I found more documentation by looking at the US version of the camera and it confirmed that you plug the camera into the housing and the housing into POE+ so I think I'm good there.

As a followup to my earlier comments, given the concerns with the flexibility of the wall mount I am now leaning towards mounting the camera under my deck and using the PFB600W ceiling mount instead which does show that it has 70 degree vertical adjustment.

Andy sent along my other questions to Dahua sales support, so we'll see what they come back with... if anything.

Thanks!
 
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