Setup advice and questions

[Slick]

Hello All,

I'm sure all the regulars around here have seen many of these posts. The world of security cameras is, im certain intentionally vague sometimes and so I am looking for assistance as many before me have. Before i get into rest assured i have spent a few weeks now trying to get my head around all this on forums and spec sheets so im not posting before reading. Love the wiki section, IPVM was cool and cliff notes sticky was packed with info.... about dahua.

The Situation:
Single story home way out in a rural area with zero ambient light at night (other than the moon, no lights). Driveway is about 275ft long, and that's where the road is (naturally). House is surrounded by trees as close as 30' in some spots and 200' in others. I have a 60' tower up against the house that a PTZ unit will be placed on, probably at the ~50' height.
I plan for the house to have 6-7 turret style cameras in which 5-6 will be on corners and 1 up higher on a peak. Height for the corner cams will be 10' and 18' for the peak cam. I plan to use HIKvision cameras and software/NVR. I intend to get the most out of acusense as i can. And would like a "secure" was to view the cameras/events from a mobile device.

Question #1: ColorVu vs IR
As I mentioned there is basically zero ambient light. What i don't want is to have a house with 6-7 little white lights on all night trying to see my driveway in color, while color would be great to have for night time i just dont want to have tiny lights on all night.
Are you able to set the ColorVu cameras up in a way that the white lights will only turn on if it "thinks" something is there to see automatically or are they always on if the camera thinks it needs it? If there is a known camera that can do this that would be great, but $$$...

Question #2 NVR vs Software
I have a few good computers laying around that could easily run a surveillance system and I see IVMS-4200 is free and doesnt look too bad ¯\(ツ)/¯
Should I go with an NVR and Computer setup or is me running IVMS-4200 on a computer with 4TB of storage basically the same thing as a NVR minus the PoE switch?

Question #3 Acusense
Related to the above question
Acusense, does it need to have a acusense NVR to use its features or does it have to be on both cam and NVR? Just kinda need that one dumbed down for me.

Question #4 Acusense vs ColorVu
As far as i can tell it seems to be one or the other not both on a camera, is that right, doesnt seem right?


I was trying to stay under ~$1500 for the turret cams and NVR, the PTZ is another matter and that i have "picked out". The PTZ, linked below, looks great and has tons of stuff i like about except the price.

Links:
Cameras

AcuSense 5 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera

Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human or vehicle target classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system can greatly reduce false alarms generated by targets other than humans or vehicles, vastly improving alarm efficiency and...

us.hikvision.com

4 MP ColorVu Audio Alarm & Strobe Light Fixed Turret Network Camera

Hikvision ColorVu technology provides 24/7 vivid colorful images with F1.0 advanced lenses and high performance sensors. F1.0 super-aperture collects more light to produce brighter images. Advanced sensor technology can vastly improve the utilization of available light.

us.hikvision.com

4 MP AcuSense Fixed Turret Network Camera

ds2cd2343g2iu

us.hikvision.com

PTZ money burner

4 MP 42x TandemVu PTZ Camera

The Hikvision 4 MP 42x TandemVu PTZ Camera features a bullet channel and a PTZ channel. Both channels have high quality 4 MP resolution for high quality imaging. The PTZ has a 42x optical zoom and 16x digital zoom. The bullet channel has night view with white light up to 98 feet (30 meters), and...

us.hikvision.com

PoE switch if needed

Smart Managed 8-Port 100 Mbps PoE Switch

Hikvision’s Smart Managed 8-Port 100 Mbps PoE Switch, developed by Hikvision, features easy management and maintenance. You can easily deploy, monitor, and expand your surveillance system anytime and anywhere with our software platforms. You can view the network topology, monitor the health of...

us.hikvision.com

NVR if needed

AcuSense Series NVR

us.hikvision.com

Kits i saw that looked interesting

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1707553-REG/hikvision_eki_k82t46c_value_express_8_channel_8mp.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1540263-REG/hikvision_eki_k82t46_4k_value_express_kit.html

I do wish there were kits that werent value series available from HIKvision
Any help would be appreciated

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

The words Accusense, ColorVu, Dark Fighter, Starlight, etc. are simply marketing hooks and do not represent a specific technology advancement or feature....it is simple a marketing term used to supposedly sell the consumer on the ability to have good night vision. The actual sensors and capabilities of the camera is more important.

I have said this before, but worth repeating. Do not be sold by some trademarked night color vision (Full Color, ColorVu, Starlight, etc.) that is a marketing ploy in a lot of ways lol. It is simply what a manufacturer wants to claim for low-light performance, but there are so many games that can be played even with the how they report the Lux numbers. They will claim a low lux of 0.0005 for example, but then that is with a wide open iris and a shutter at 1/3 second and an f1.0 - as soon as you have motion in it, it will be crap. You need a shutter of at minimum 1/60 second to reduce a lot of blur from someone walking.

All cameras need light regardless of what any marketing claims. I can make a crap camera look like noon at midnight, but then motion is a blur. But with any light at all, this camera does really well.

Sensor size, F number, MP, quality of the lens and sensor and software running the cameras are the real determining factors. And then obviously dial each cameras specific software settings to optimize the image and video. A brightness of 50 for example will look different between two different brands, or even the same brand but different cameras.

It is interesting how many of us experience better camera images with the camera LED off, regardless of whether it is a Hik or Dahua! I personally don't think they cast a far enough light to be effective. They are blinding looking at the camera, but do not project enough light out far enough to be effective. I have 3 different cameras with the LED and I do not run any of them on as I have ambient light that works better!

Unless you know you have enough ambient light or can live with the camera's white LED on, go with a camera that can see infrared. The full color type cameras cannot see infrared, so you couldn't add external IR later.

But in a completely black situation without any ambient light and without the white LED on, it looks like crap and you cannot add external IR as it won't see it.

You need illuminators because EVERY camera needs light, whether it is infrared or visible light. Too many people get burned buying a full color camera thinking it is magic. If you don't have enough visible light or don't want the onboard illuminators on then you need a camera with infrared capabilities.

I have a Full Color type camera and the LED light on it is a gimmick. It helps for a small diameter circle, but it is no different than going outside at pitch black and turning on your cell phone light - it is bright looking directly at the LED light, but it doesn't spread out and reach very far. Fortunately I have enough ambient light that I do not need the little piddly LED light on and it actually looks worse with it on, but it performs better than my other cameras when tested at the same location. But without some light, a camera with IR capability is the safer bet.

Check out this video at midnight. You see this and it looks like daytime and be like WOW I want that camera. But any motion in the frame and it is crap and will be a ghost blur. You notice they do not show anything with motion. I can make crap cameras look like this at midnight with no other light, but we want good motion video, not still images video. This is a very nice camera and with enough light at night, this camera rocks. But all cameras, regardless of what they are called, need light - either white light or infrared. Simple physics.



While this camera is not what we would call a consumer grade camera and this is a really good camera, it is these games played to make it look good at night - but then a person walking by is a blur and people simply say well the camera isn't good at night. If you have the ability to change the settings, you can make it work. Just remember that every increase in shutter speed needs more light. So I can set mine to 1/250 second and eliminate blur at night, but then all that is visible is a 5 foot diameter around the camera IF I have enough light.

If your camera doesn't have enough light, a 24/7 full color camera will not be of much good and now you have a camera with no IR and even if you added external IR, the camera will not see it since it does not have an IR filter.

Most of these are set-up to either have the white light on or off. Some models do give the option to flick on, but it can be problematic because the scene is too dark to identify the motion and if it does, then the camera is momentarily blinded when the light turns on and you miss the great IDENTIFY picture.

We are fortunate so many people here post videos and images where we can see their field of view and available light and we can try to imagine how that stacks up to our field of view and available light and that to me is a much better spec to go by than what is printed on the side of the box.

Do a search here. Many have not been impressed with the Hikvision ColorVu series. Keep in mind that any camera called "full color" or "night color", etc. still require light. They are not magic and do not defy physics.

Many people have come here after buying the Hikvision ColorVu series expressing their disappointment in the picture quality of the camera because they were expecting magic. If you do not have ambient light outside, you are better off with cameras that can see infrared.

Further, it's onboard white LED lights are not as bright as the 4K/X. There seems to be more complaints about the Hik version at night than the 4K/X.

Here is link to a thread that shows the disappointment of many thinking a ColorVu camera was magic and could defy physics. Full Color type cameras are great if you have light, but will be horrible if you do not have enough light.

Initial review of the DS-2CD2347G2-L(U) ColorVu 2.0 IP camera.

What about adding some additional landscaping lighting - this cam is awesome and with minimal light will do great. External lightning will have new power cable and new installation, cost lot of time and extra money. Not everyone like light at night. So select a good cam is very important...

ipcamtalk.com

As far as a computer versus NVR, unless you are going to a VMS like Blue Iris, I assure you that you would not want to run the Hikvision software on a computer - you would be much better with an NVR or another VMS solution.

 

[mat200]

Hello All,

I'm sure all the regulars around here have seen many of these posts. The world of security cameras is, im certain intentionally vague sometimes and so I am looking for assistance as many before me have. Before i get into rest assured i have spent a few weeks now trying to get my head around all this on forums and spec sheets so im not posting before reading. Love the wiki section, IPVM was cool and cliff notes sticky was packed with info.... about dahua.

The Situation:
Single story home way out in a rural area with zero ambient light at night (other than the moon, no lights). Driveway is about 275ft long, and that's where the road is (naturally). House is surrounded by trees as close as 30' in some spots and 200' in others. I have a 60' tower up against the house that a PTZ unit will be placed on, probably at the ~50' height.
I plan for the house to have 6-7 turret style cameras in which 5-6 will be on corners and 1 up higher on a peak. Height for the corner cams will be 10' and 18' for the peak cam. I plan to use HIKvision cameras and software/NVR. I intend to get the most out of acusense as i can. And would like a "secure" was to view the cameras/events from a mobile device.

Question #1: ColorVu vs IR
As I mentioned there is basically zero ambient light. What i don't want is to have a house with 6-7 little white lights on all night trying to see my driveway in color, while color would be great to have for night time i just dont want to have tiny lights on all night.
Are you able to set the ColorVu cameras up in a way that the white lights will only turn on if it "thinks" something is there to see automatically or are they always on if the camera thinks it needs it? If there is a known camera that can do this that would be great, but $$$...

Question #2 NVR vs Software
I have a few good computers laying around that could easily run a surveillance system and I see IVMS-4200 is free and doesnt look too bad ¯\(ツ)/¯
Should I go with an NVR and Computer setup or is me running IVMS-4200 on a computer with 4TB of storage basically the same thing as a NVR minus the PoE switch?

Question #3 Acusense
Related to the above question
Acusense, does it need to have a acusense NVR to use its features or does it have to be on both cam and NVR? Just kinda need that one dumbed down for me.

Question #4 Acusense vs ColorVu
As far as i can tell it seems to be one or the other not both on a camera, is that right, doesnt seem right?


I was trying to stay under ~$1500 for the turret cams and NVR, the PTZ is another matter and that i have "picked out". The PTZ, linked below, looks great and has tons of stuff i like about except the price.

Links:
Cameras

AcuSense 5 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera

Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human or vehicle target classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system can greatly reduce false alarms generated by targets other than humans or vehicles, vastly improving alarm efficiency and...

us.hikvision.com

4 MP ColorVu Audio Alarm & Strobe Light Fixed Turret Network Camera

Hikvision ColorVu technology provides 24/7 vivid colorful images with F1.0 advanced lenses and high performance sensors. F1.0 super-aperture collects more light to produce brighter images. Advanced sensor technology can vastly improve the utilization of available light.

us.hikvision.com

4 MP AcuSense Fixed Turret Network Camera

ds2cd2343g2iu

us.hikvision.com

PTZ money burner

4 MP 42x TandemVu PTZ Camera

The Hikvision 4 MP 42x TandemVu PTZ Camera features a bullet channel and a PTZ channel. Both channels have high quality 4 MP resolution for high quality imaging. The PTZ has a 42x optical zoom and 16x digital zoom. The bullet channel has night view with white light up to 98 feet (30 meters), and...

us.hikvision.com

PoE switch if needed

Smart Managed 8-Port 100 Mbps PoE Switch

Hikvision’s Smart Managed 8-Port 100 Mbps PoE Switch, developed by Hikvision, features easy management and maintenance. You can easily deploy, monitor, and expand your surveillance system anytime and anywhere with our software platforms. You can view the network topology, monitor the health of...

us.hikvision.com

NVR if needed

AcuSense Series NVR

us.hikvision.com

Kits i saw that looked interesting

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1707553-REG/hikvision_eki_k82t46c_value_express_8_channel_8mp.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1540263-REG/hikvision_eki_k82t46_4k_value_express_kit.html

I do wish there were kits that werent value series available from HIKvision
Any help would be appreciated

Welcome @Slick

Dahua OEM products we have a good source thanks to Andy ( @EMPIRETECANDY ) and thus we have more reviews of those products, and a good selection of products.

Hikvision OEM also has newer models with larger sensors which do well, however as far as I know we do not have as good of a chance to get their products .. ( anyone please let me know if that has changed )

Blue Iris is well like here, and can handle a mix of OEMs that meet ONVIF specs .. so you can mix and match Hik and Dahua OEM ..

In general, recommend picking up one decent varifocal and start playing with it before jumping into a complete kit ..

 

[Slick]

unless you are going to a VMS like Blue Iris

Blue Iris is well like here, and can handle a mix of OEMs that meet ONVIF specs

So I am intending on reading up on Blue Iris and what its capable of but didn't know about it until i searched through here and my brain can only take so much of one subject in a day.

In Blue Iris are you able to retain the features of the cameras connected? I would imagine there has to be some bell or whistle that gets lost in translation

 

[wittaj]

Most of the functions of a camera will work, but there are some compromises that may or may not be deal breakers.

You can use motion detection and AI from the camera to trigger alerts in BI. But you don't get the cool little icon that would be in an NVR of a vehicle or person to search by. But you could add AI from BI in to do that if that is important to you.

 

[Alaska Country]

If considering an NVR, match the NVR brand with the camera brand. Often, camera functions will be lost if using a Dahua NVR with Hikvision cameras or the other way around.

The nice part of an NVR is that it is just about plug and play. It is a good way to start to learn the system. How to setup the cameras, setting up detection zones, etc. Many newer NVR's have built in POE camera power along with a network switch. Some start with an NVR and after 6 months to a year move on to Blue Iris. In addition, the NVR will require an added WD Purple hard drive for recording.

Blue Iris software on the other hand has a steeper learning curve and is not free. However, the price is a bargain for how well it works. It can be purchased on this site.

The BI software will require a computer that is new enough to handle the camera/s video processing. The WD Purple hard drive can be moved from the NVR to the BI machine if the NVR has no further use.

In addition, BI will require a POE switch. Many buy a 24 port POE switch for future growth. Or one could use POE injectors to start off along with a non POE switch. Or a smaller 4 to 8 port POE switch to start off again depending on budget and system design. Some also add a second NIC to the BI computer to isolate the cameras from the internet.

 

[Slick]

Question #1: ColorVu vs IR
Seems like there is no point in my scenario getting a camera that focuses on color at night. Too dark where i live and i dont want the house looking like a lite brite at night

Question #2 NVR vs Software
Seems like the best way here is to get a computer and run HIKvisions software on it with a PoE managed switch. This does a few things for me, 1 new cable run to office vs running 8 new cables and allows easier upgrade to BI if I want later.

Question #3 Acusense
Gathering from answers above, Acusense only needs to be on the Camera but it might not "work" to assist with events if i run BI or other non hikvision software.
Does anyone here have Hikvision cameras with Acusense and run Blue Iris? if so, have you noticed a decrease in target identification or an increase in false targets?

Question #4 Acusense vs ColorVu
Answered in the ColorVu vs IR question.

@wittaj "You can use motion detection and AI from the camera to trigger alerts in BI. But you don't get the cool little icon that would be in an NVR of a vehicle or person to search by. But you could add AI from BI in to do that if that is important to you."
So im getting that without BI AI there is no eventing in the recordings even with the camera sending triggers?

 

[wittaj]

Your thoughts to Q1 is correct - if you don't have enough light or don't want the camera white lights on, then stick with cameras with infrared capabilities.

Your thoughts on Q2 is incorrect - either get an NVR or use a different VMS. The free programs that Dahua and Hik use for computers will absolutely drive you bonkers and you will be switching in short order. They are fine for one, maybe two cameras, but after that, forget it. They are slow, hard to navigate, etc. so if you go this route, make sure you get a computer that is capable to run BI because you will be moving to that fast LOL.

Your thoughts on Q3 is partially correct - Acusense is simply a marketing term, as is IVS for Dahua - it is the capability of each camera to trigger an event based on their algorithm. You can absolutely pull these triggers into BI with no problem. IN BI you check the box pull ONVIF triggers from the camera - if the camera triggers, so will BI. What you don't get from that is the ability to search by trigger that you can in an NVR...but more on that next...

Your comment at the end is addressed in Q3 - you can absolutely pull the triggers from the camera into BI and will get event recordings based on the camera triggering. What you don't get is the ability to search it by human or vehicle trigger like you can with the Hik NVR unless you add Deepstack or SenseAI to the mix. That may or may not be of importance.

Here is when I added Deepstack to it so that I can search by vehicle or person:



But I don't do that to all my cameras. For example at the front door I have only set it to trigger for humans as a car shouldn't be at my front door LOL, so no need for the little orange person icon LOL - if the camera triggered it was because of a person. Same with indoor cameras.

You will find BI has way more flexibility and customization than an NVR. As someone who went the NVR path, then the camera software path on a computer, and then BI, I find BI to be the best solution. To get the basics going, I find that I can set BI up faster than an NVR. YMMV.

 

[DanDenver]

Running an NVR generally locks you into a specific brand of cameras.
Generally NVR’s don’t provide you with as much configuration flexibility as might be possible with a given camera (NVR approved brand or not)
Most people want or need a little more flexibility in those areas.
But I guess some people don’t care about those concerns so you just have to stack rank your priorities.

 

[Slick]

Here is when I added Deepstack to it so that I can search by vehicle or person:

Are you able to see those event markers in the Blue Iris App?

Which GPU are you using? i have a 980Ti laying around, if not good enough I could go full crazy and throw a 3070 at it, lol

Do you notice a difference in target detection on cameras that have it built in vs using deepstack? Seems like if I am going to run AI on the video and the AI is good enough maybe I dont need to worry about cameras with target identification built in....?

@Alaska Country I am interest in your statement about getting a PCIe NIC to isolate the cameras from the internet but still having internet on the same computer that has communication with the cameras. Are there any guides to that that you know of that were helpful?

 

[wittaj]

Yes you can see the event markers in the app. Keep in mind most do not use the paid BI app as it is only really needed if you use the push notifications or have two-way talk cameras. Otherwise, use the built in UI3 browser.

You only need a GPU if you use Deepstack or SenseAI.

Most of us prefer the in-camera AI. Like I said, it comes down to what you have and your goals. If you don't care about the little icon of a person or a car, the camera AI is more than enough. Or if you have stupid cameras and want to use BI and the "built-in" AI of BI then you can do that as well. Most here would suggest you get it with the camera that has AI. If you run BI with AI on every camera, it can be a load if you don't have a powerful enough computer.

Who uses Dahua AI capable cameras? Reliable AI for triggering events? Pro's/con's?

It has come to my attention that certain Dahua cameras come with built in AI that distinguishes between human & cars. I was unaware of this. Well, always saw the AI word used in the reviews but never really thought about it because I thought it was a Dahua NVR integration only. I am currently...

ipcamtalk.com

Most of us here operate BI with a dual NIC system. You put all the cameras on one ethernet card and the internet on another. This keeps the cameras off the internet and not allowing them to phone home. Of course there is a guide on it:

Dual NIC setup on your Blue Iris Machine

In making your system more secure this is a great option to eliminate your cameras calling home / connecting to the internet This is a great place to start to setup a bit more secure network and learn more about IP/Subnets etc. before adding dual NICs: Router Security - Subnets and IP addresses...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Slick]

OK, ill cross the Deepstack bridge when i get to it. Im not worried about an icon as much as I would love the ability to sort/search video by events later. After an incident at work which we had to review 6 days of video to try and catch an event. We didnt know when it happened but if the system would have been searchable by any event at all that would have turned days of reviewing video into a much more manageable task.

I have decided to, as suggested, just buy 3 cameras i was thinking of and just test them out and see which one works best for my location. Hate to waste the money but in the end I can just relocate the "extra" cams to less important areas in the end and still use them.

Thanks for the NIC link.

 

[looktall]

If considering an NVR, match the NVR brand with the camera brand. Often, camera functions will be lost...

i'll offer a perfect example here.
I have a Uniarch NVR.
I added a Dahua camera to it and while the NVR picked the camera up just fine and it allows me to record etc, the NVR does not recognise any of the IVS functions of the camera.
I can set those functions in the camera of course, but my only source of recording is the NVR so i get nothing from it.
No alerts, nothing.

The best i can get from it is the standard motion detection which does work and does give me alerts but is harder to nail down the config to avoid false alerts.

 

[Slick]

i'll offer a perfect example here.
I have a Uniarch NVR.
I added a Dahua camera to it and while the NVR picked the camera up just fine and it allows me to record etc, the NVR does not recognise any of the IVS functions of the camera.
I can set those functions in the camera of course, but my only source of recording is the NVR so i get nothing from it.
No alerts, nothing.

The best i can get from it is the standard motion detection which does work and does give me alerts but is harder to nail down the config to avoid false alerts.

From what im getting in this thread, maybe if you have a spare or not so busy computer you could do a trial run of Blue Iris.
Or on that spare comp maybe run DMSS but from the looks of it DMSS might have a subscription, not sure but worth checking out



And I Just realized the typo in the thread Title >.<

Now looking for PoE+ managed switches. Gotta love all the ones I find with "30W per port" and then say 55w total budget right after for an 8-port switch. Ugh, so 1-30w port and 3.5W for the other 7 each. Time to start crunching numbers on camera models, yay.

 

[looktall]

From what im getting in this thread, maybe if you have a spare or not so busy computer you could do a trial run of Blue Iris. Just a thought

i'm considering it.

 

[Slick]

@wittaj
You mentioned that you went from NVR to comp with software and then to BI. Do you still have the NVR on the network and you use BI as a remote/vms "off to the side"? or are you you running everything to your BI machine and nothing else...
just trying to clarify.

Got my three test cameras in and night testing is done, now time to wait for the AM to test quality over distance in regards to face/plates

 

[wittaj]

@wittaj
You mentioned that you went from NVR to comp with software and then to BI. Do you still have the NVR on the network and you use BI as a remote/vms "off to the side"? or are you you running everything to your BI machine and nothing else...
just trying to clarify.

Got my three test cameras in and night testing is done, now time to wait for the AM to test quality over distance in regards to face/plates

I am using the NVR as a POE switch and providing the camera feed thru the NVR into BI. It also serves as redundant storage in the event the BI computer fails.

 

[Slick]

After looking at my 3 cameras im testing it is clear ill need a couple of specialized cameras if i am going to get the results that I want.

Large sensor high IR 2MP for 2 main areas to monitor at night
at least 1 high(er) res camera with a ~6mm lens for a tight view on vehicles driving down the driveway for LP reading and driver identification
Smaller sensor high(er) res cameras for the 2 main areas to cover the daytime with more clarity and help cover the sunset/sunrise transition with better clarity

My next task is going to be to identify a good camera to use for identifying license plates better at night (trying to figure out what a V12 cam is atm, ive seen it referenced here) as well as the daytime higher res camera with the tight view angle for driveway monitoring. Thinking of one of these two, thoughts anyone? mostly for daytime, im thinking ill need one i can set up for the super dark reflection only type images but still not sure if thats worth it considering my non existent traffic at night

8 MP AcuSense Motorized Varifocal Turret Network Camera

Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human and vehicle targets classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system focuses on human and vehicle targets, vastly improving alarm efficiency and effectiveness.

us.hikvision.com

AcuSense 8 MP IR Fixed Bullet Network Camera

Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human or vehicle target classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system can greatly reduce false alarms generated by targets other than humans or vehicles, vastly improving alarm efficiency and...

us.hikvision.com

Here are the 3 cameras that I am currently testing.

https://www.amazon.com/Hikvision-compatible-Microphone-Weatherproof-Compliant/dp/B08P12BRVF?pd_rd_w=WSXjL&content-id=amzn1.sym.bcca84ef-5f4d-4682-852e-b0b38f16e8ba&pf_rd_p=bcca84ef-5f4d-4682-852e-b0b38f16e8ba&pf_rd_r=76CH0YXX1M3VTJ3QAQD6&pd_rd_wg=Lrl6g&pd_rd_r=1e0f6245-5a44-4d92-ad91-9b536cbf2684&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_csi_pb_allspark_BIA_0_t

2 MP AcuSense Fixed Turret Network Camera

ds2cd2323g2iu Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human and vehicle targets classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system focuses on human and vehicle targets, vastly improving alarm efficiency and effectiveness.

us.hikvision.com

AcuSense 5 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera

Empowered by deep learning algorithms, Hikvision AcuSense technology brings human or vehicle target classification alarms to front- and back-end devices. The system can greatly reduce false alarms generated by targets other than humans or vehicles, vastly improving alarm efficiency and...

us.hikvision.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

Don't get hung up on megapixels, especially for good night performance. There is no 5MP camera that will perform well at night simply because there is no sensor of an appropriate size in 5MP cameras. Chase sensor size to resolution for the best performance. Not that 3MP and 5MP are not listed below because there are no cameras using an appropriate sized sensor.

Disclaimer - These sizes are what the manufacturers advertise and may, or may not, be the true size of the sensor in the camera.
720P - 1/3" = .333"
2MP - 1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet)
4MP - 1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball)
8MP - 1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round)

 

[Slick]

So i would think the larger sensor would gather more light while a smaller sensor would be able to collect less light but faster, reducing blur. I do get that higher MP cameras basically suck at night, and thats me looking to my left to see my 2MP, 4MP and 5MP cameras all mounted together looking at the same thing and yes the 2MP has the best sharpness/movement blur tradeoff. My 5MP is actually crisper but its basically a slideshow as many have said here.

the 2MP has a 1/3" sensor according to spec. So probably the usable sensor area is closer to ~1/2.85" while the "package" size is 1/3". At least thats how i see the companies selling it

Looking into a camera now to find something that works for me

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E-Starlight-Network-English/dp/B07RJQT9NB/ref=sr_1_5?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1648519191&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-5&tag=ipctk-20

p.s.
sure wish there was a way that i could use IPVM without paying for the subscription (from what i can tell so far [more than 2 cams that is]