Cannot set exposure time to less than 1/30 on Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I

latropa

latropa

n3wb
Feb 13, 2016
28
0
Unlike my DS-2CD2032-I cameras that can go to 1/3 in the Exposure Settings. The 2042 doesn't go any lower than 1/30. Is there some other setting I need to change before it can be set lower or does the 2042 just not support it?


Settings screenshot from DS-2CD2042WD-I with firmware V5.5.0 build 170725:
W2TjrWG.gif


Screenshot from DS-2CD2032-I with firmware V5.4.5 build 170123:
HQsAgZm.gif




Also, on both cameras, the drop down box for Iris Mode doesn't have anything other than Manual as an option.
 
fenderman said:
simple, you need to lower the fps...if you want your exposure to be 1/3 you cannot have an fps greater than 3.
Click to expand...

My fps is 10 and my minimum selectable shutter speed is still 1/30. Changing fps to 8... still 1/30. Rebooting camera... nope... still 1/30. Changing fps to 2. Still 1/30... so what's going on?
 
I may have discovered the issue after a lot of troubleshooting. It seems that turning on WDR disables the longer exposure times. If you turn off WDR then the longer exposure times become available. Hikvision did a terrible job of conveying this to the user... and it costs me a lot of time to figure out... but hopefully this will save others some aggravation.

If you are interested in my weather/sky cam (using a 2042) then you can see it here:
Lantana Sky & Weather Cam

No WDR because that disables the longer exposure times... I did set a custom BLC area though... to try to keep optimum image brightness though that must be hard given the dynamic range of the scene.
 
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TidalWaveOne said:
It seems that turning on WDR disables the longer exposure times. If you turn off WDR then the longer exposure times become available.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That does work. Without WDR enabled the picture looks terrible though. I guess if I want the exposure less than 1/30, I'll have to mess with the other image settings to get as decent quality as I can and then just live with that.



Hikvision documentation is absolutely terrible. I get that these cameras aren't meant to be sold directly to the consumer but you would think the PDF's that we can find would be a little more informative than just a general message about setting that says something other than what you already know... I remember reading a pdf where it was describing the settings and only said things like "Adjust this variable to set the brightness", well no duh. :) :(
 
latropa said:
Thanks! That does work. Without WDR enabled the picture looks terrible though. I guess if I want the exposure less than 1/30, I'll have to mess with the other image settings to get as decent quality as I can and then just live with that.

Hikvision documentation is absolutely terrible. I get that these cameras aren't meant to be sold directly to the consumer but you would think the PDF's that we can find would be a little more informative than just a general message about setting that says something other than what you already know... I remember reading a pdf where it was describing the settings and only said things like "Adjust this variable to set the brightness", well no duh. :) :(
Click to expand...

The long exposure seems to work best at night. Since I am using mine as a sky & weather camera (in day mode so no IR) I think it's worth it using long exposures without WDR... of course I wish WDR was available too. As for documentation, the web interface could have easily made this limitation clear instead of just hiding the longer exposure times for apparently no reason. Of course it wouldn't hurt to also document this limitation in the PDF manual.
 
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