Anyone interested in reviews of other brands?

[wopi82]

Hi everyone. It's over 3 years I've joined this forum. During this time I had a chance to learn a lot from other users experience, as well as share some of my knowledge. My reviews of Dahua cameras, gained great interest from all of you. Common Issues Guide also had a lot of positive feedback as well as Smart IR issue and other threads. Looking back at my reviews, you might notice, I almost always choose cameras with different image sensors to make sure reviewing such models makes sense. Although Dahua's offer is versatile, all of their cameras are based on roughly 10 - 12 different CMOS sensors. In my opinion there is no need to test all of available models as the results would be very similar to each other, while creating such in-depth reviews is time consuming.

Based on what I observe on Dahua's webpage, for the last year they have not introduced any camera model, that would be based on new image sensor (and the list of available sensors - from eg. Sony - has grown significantly). At the end of last year I've asked Andy, for HFW7842H-Z model, to test its IVS functions. Although I have a full set of tests of the camera itself, to fulfill testing I need to pair it with AI NVR.

Meanwhile I came to an idea. I would love to test other brands, and see how they are doing compared to Dahua. There are no tests of for example AXIS or Bosh on the internet whatsoever. IPVM of course does their testing, but these test are... well, far from "in-depth". Two years ago I spoke with AXIS people during Security Trade Fair here in Poland. They said there is no problem to test AXIS equipment, and that Dahua will fall far behind. But when it came to renting, it turned out the cameras are not available, nobody wants to cooperate and so on. Everyone was playing ostrich.

So I decided to set up a Patreon account. This way I would be able to buy/rent cameras of any brands and also finish my recent review. If you are interested in reading/watching more reviews as you've seen so far, you might donate my work. You guys are the biggest and most active group of people on the internet, that might be interested. That's why I'm posting it here. If it works, I would post some backstage stuff on Parteon but all final reviews would appear of course here, on the forum. Please, let me know what you think of this idea. Also you are welcome to visit my Parteon page. Here is the link:

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[biggen]

Axis is excellent. I have one of their PTZ's and its impressive for only ~$800. But even their fixed cameras are in the same price range or higher which puts them out of pocket book range for nearly everyone that has a camera addiction. I'd welcome Bosch reviews. Never used any of those.

 

[john-ipvm]

IPVM of course does their testing, but these test are... well, far from "in-depth"

Have you seen our tests? If not, here is out Integrated IR shootout unlocked Integrated IR Camera Shootout 2020 - Avigilon, Axis, Bosch, Dahua, Hanwha, Hikvision, Panasonic, Uniview, Vivotek We bought and tested 20+ cameras over a month with the type of detail that is unparalleled in the industry.

We have a total of 860+ tests.

 

[bp2008]

There is plenty of interest in camera reviews of other brands, however you must consider the audience and price range. I think Dahua starlights are already on the high end of what most people are willing to spend, at just $130-180 USD per camera. Those who are willing to spend a lot more will typically be paying a system integrator for a turnkey solution that they don't have to think about. In that case, the customer doesn't care to read camera reviews. I think most system integrators couldn't care less either. They'll trust their own experience when making selections for their customers. And more importantly, they will just listen to their usual supplier and probably won't care if the cameras are using the best sensors available at the price point. Of course, I could be full of it. I mean, ipvm charges more than typical consumers would be willing to pay for review content, and they are still around.

 

[samplenhold]

Have you seen our tests?

No.

That is due to the cost of your membership. I am not complaining about it. I am not a 'system integrator' or a 'security camera reseller' or 'installer'. I am just a home owner with a hobby, which is what IPCAMTALK is all about. IPVM is not geared towards us hobbyists or DIY types. So what @wopi82 is talking about may be more in tuned to our needs. But as @bp2008 states, the price points that folks here are interested in is not the >$250 prices, with a few exceptions of course (mostly for nice PTZ cams).

Look at all of the NEWBIE posts that come across. They are looking for a kit that has 6-8 cams for <$500. It takes post after post for them to finally understand that if that is all they want to spend, they are not getting anything that will give them good video, especially at night. Some never get to that realization and still go get the Costco kit.

 

[wopi82]

@john-ipvm Sure I've seen them. Otherwise I wouldn't dare to give an opinion. You've got plenty of tests and reviews, but to me these are superficial. The thing is, you never go beyond your procedure. It's always... this camera is behaving like this in our hall test, and like this in our another test. For a person reading such review, final verdict is based on a few pictures of a guy standing somewhere in this hall or walking by. There is no real data. There is no analysis of camera software and how it behaves at different settings. One can say of course, that at this amount of equipment, you test monthly, it would be hard to provide such details. But on the other hand... this is what this service is about. And that's what readers are paying for. That's why I'm not paying anymore

@bp2008 You are right. That's exactly how it works. But I'm not targeting this message to super rich people who give no sh...t, about such reviews, but to all forum users who might be driven by curiosity of how other equipment is doing. I conduct these reviews, just because I like it. And because I have a knowledge in digital imaging, I can do it more precisely than some other people. That's it. If this idea doesn't work, that's ok. It's worth trying anyway.

 

[bp2008]

I do appreciate how you really go into all the nerdy details @wopi82. Including all that information in image/video overlays is great for helping people learn what things are and how they work.

example:


Nobody else I've ever seen includes that level of detail.