IPVM 4MP Shootout - Dahua vs Hikvision

[randyth]

So IPVM has done a 4MP shootout with the Dahua IPC-HFW4421S and the Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I !

The test is over here: http://ipvm.com/report/test-4mp-dahua-hikvision

Unfortunately the test is members-only.

Does anyone know the general end-result (was there a clear winner)?

I'm not asking for screenshots and the analysis. I'm just asking if a clear winner came out the test.

 

[obqo]

+1

 

[gwminor48]

I'm curious too.

 

[Dreamboat]

I think there's no clear winner.
In full light / Normal light Hikvision has little advantage.
In low light Dahua has an advantage.
WDR - Hikvision is better.

 

[MartyO]

wow, $200US to be a member for a year.

Interesting that they say these cheap WDR cameras use same sensors that are found in mobile phones, tablets and notebooks.

 

[fenderman]

wow, $200US to be a member for a year.

Interesting that they say these cheap WDR cameras use same sensors that are found in mobile phones, tablets and notebooks.

These sensors are not used in cell phones...the company that makes them, says they are "suitable" for those purposes. I can assure you that no mainstream cell phone uses these same sensors.

 

[badmop]

My dahua 4MP is really great in low light. I would post screen shots to explain, but it wouldn't help.
Here's the deal, I have a building with a 3foot x 2foot window. It has the vertical thick blinds. You can see on the camera the window is glowing when a light is on inside while the blinds are closed. If you are outside, it is pitch black back there, and you can look directly at the window and you can not tell there is a light on. It's just pitch black everywhere. I am so surprised, on the camera the window is lit up like the camera is thermal or something. It's crazy.

 

[obqo]

@ badmop - which cam is that ?

 

[MartyO]

These sensors are not used in cell phones...the company that makes them, says they are "suitable" for those purposes. I can assure you that no mainstream cell phone uses these same sensors.

Don't need your assurances, your just guessing.

 

[badmop]

@ badmop - which cam is that ?

I meant to post it, but forgot. IPC-HDW4421C

 

[MartyO]

When contrast improves WDR was turned on.

 

[fenderman]

My dahua 4MP is really great in low light. I would post screen shots to explain, but it wouldn't help.
Here's the deal, I have a building with a 3foot x 2foot window. It has the vertical thick blinds. You can see on the camera the window is glowing when a light is on inside while the blinds are closed. If you are outside, it is pitch black back there, and you can look directly at the window and you can not tell there is a light on. It's just pitch black everywhere. I am so surprised, on the camera the window is lit up like the camera is thermal or something. It's crazy.

Indoors is very different that outdoors. The walls and objects reflect the IR. Outdoors, asphalt and grass absorb IR light.

 

[fenderman]

Don't need your assurances, your just guessing.

No, im not. If you look at the specs on the cell phones in today's market you will see that the sensors are not the same. I'm 100 percent positive. They have a different line of sensors used in cell phones.

 

[randyth]

It seems no one is able to get a glimpse of the test results.
Too bad because it seems really interesting to all of us.

Maybe there is a way to pay for access to only this specific test result.

 

[fenderman]

It seems no one is able to get a glimpse of the test results.
Too bad because it seems really interesting to all of us.

Maybe there is a way to pay for access to only this specific test result.

It would be cheaper to buy one of each and test it for yourself...

 

[john-ipvm]

Hello, I am the founder of IPVM and happy to share our key findings copied from the test:

Potential Impact
With better WDR performance and improved details in wider scenes at roughly the same cost of low cost 1080p, 4MP cameras have the potential to replace a significant amount of 1080p cameras.
On the other hand, the incremental benefits here show that we are reaching a point where the average indoor area will not see much of a practical difference with increased pixel count.
Key Findings

• 4MP camera models provided modest increases to subject and test chart details delivered for wider FoVs.
• Low light performance of the Dahua 4MP was similar to better than the 1080p models, but the Hikvision 4MP model suffered from IR overexposure.
• WDR performance of the 4MP models was similar to leading (expensive) true WDR cameras using default settings. Increasing WDR settings to their maximum levels improved performance in both 4MP cameras, with the Hikvision performing best of any camera in our test using these settings.
• Full light bandwidth consumption higher than 1080p equivalent models by ~100% in the Dahua cameras and ~25% in Hikvision.
• Low light bandwidth of Dahua's 4MP was slightly higher than 1080p, while Hikvision's 4MP camera was much lower than the 1080p DS-2CD2032-I, ~0.5 Mb/s vs. 12.

Btw, as for the "It would be cheaper to buy one of each and test it for yourself..." A year's membership is $199, both of those cameras (low cost as they are) are more than our annual membership, not even factoring in the cost of one's time. Plus, we have over 375 total tests and 100 in the last year.

Oh and here is our WDR shootout comparison, one of the scenes we tested:

 

[fenderman]

@john-ipvm Thanks John!

 

[MartyO]

"while Hikvision's 4MP camera was much lower than the 1080p DS-2CD2032-I, ~0.5 Mb/s vs. 12."

This is really bad, a lot of pixels all the same.

 

[MartyO]

Hello, I am the founder of IPVM and happy to share our key findings copied from the test:

Potential Impact
With better WDR performance and improved details in wider scenes at roughly the same cost of low cost 1080p, 4MP cameras have the potential to replace a significant amount of 1080p cameras.
On the other hand, the incremental benefits here show that we are reaching a point where the average indoor area will not see much of a practical difference with increased pixel count.
Key Findings

• 4MP camera models provided modest increases to subject and test chart details delivered for wider FoVs.
• Low light performance of the Dahua 4MP was similar to better than the 1080p models, but the Hikvision 4MP model suffered from IR overexposure.
• WDR performance of the 4MP models was similar to leading (expensive) true WDR cameras using default settings. Increasing WDR settings to their maximum levels improved performance in both 4MP cameras, with the Hikvision performing best of any camera in our test using these settings.
• Full light bandwidth consumption higher than 1080p equivalent models by ~100% in the Dahua cameras and ~25% in Hikvision.
• Low light bandwidth of Dahua's 4MP was slightly higher than 1080p, while Hikvision's 4MP camera was much lower than the 1080p DS-2CD2032-I, ~0.5 Mb/s vs. 12.

Btw, as for the "It would be cheaper to buy one of each and test it for yourself..." A year's membership is $199, both of those cameras (low cost as they are) are more than our annual membership, not even factoring in the cost of one's time. Plus, we have over 375 total tests and 100 in the last year.

Oh and here is our WDR shootout comparison, one of the scenes we tested:

For visual comparisiions, monitor shouldn't monitor be pure LED (large dynamic range), how hard is it to do image histogram comparision.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_histogram

Photoshop https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/viewing-histograms-pixel-values.html

 

[MartyO]

Good read:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm