Dahau camera availability

[EricB]

I am new here and have no experience with security cameras other than what I have read on this site.

In the Cliff Notes, the recommended cameras are Dahua sold by ipcamtalk store and/or EmpireTech.

When going to those sites, I do not see any Dahua cameras. Are these no longer recommended or are there other recommended cameras at this time or is it a supply chain issue?

What other camera lines would be comparable?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[wittaj]

These cameras are Dahua OEM.

Andy's (Empirtech) cameras are Dahua and Hikvision OEM equipment sold under the names Loryta and Empiretech. He also supplies them to the ipcamtalk store.

Some of my cameras I have bought from Andy from his Amazon and AliExpress store come as Dahua cams in Dahua boxes with Dahua logos, and some are not logo'd - I think it depends on how many cameras Andy buys if he gets them with the Dahua Logo or not. But regardless, they are Dahua units. If you get a unit that has Dahua on it, then the camera GUI will say Dahua; otherwise it will simply say IP Camera but looks identical except without the logo. Some of his cameras may come with EmpireTech stamped on them as well.

As long you you buy from the vendor EmpireTech or Loryta on Amazon (or AliExpress), they are Andy cams and Dahua or Hikvision OEM.

His cameras and NVRs are international models and many of them are not available through Dahua and Hikvision USA authorized dealers, but his cameras and NVRs are usually better than what you can find from a USA authorized dealer.

You can update the firmware on Andy's cameras and NVRs from the Dahua and Hikvision website, thus proving they are real Dahua and Hikvision. But you will find that the firmware we get from him is actually better and more recent than what is on the Dahua website because many members here provide feedback to Andy and then Dahua makes modifications to the firmware and sends back to him and then he sends out to his customers. These have been great improvements that Dahua doesn't even update their firmware and add to their website. So many of us are running a newer firmware than those that purchase Dahua cameras through professional installers. Smart IR on the 5442 series is one such improvement. Autotracking on the 49225 and 49425 PTZ is another. We got the next version of AI SMD 3.0 prior to anyone else as well.

Look at the threads here where members are actually testing firmware and improving it for Dahua - find a Dahua dealer with that type of relationship that Andy has with Dahua - I don't think you will find it. Look at the Dahua 4k camera on the 1/1.2" sensor as an example - Dahua provides cameras to Andy to sell before Dahua even made it available and look at all the improvements being made to the firmware from input from customers right here on this site. And the kicker is, we are not Dahua's target market - it is the professional installers...

You do have to be careful with some rebranded cameras purchased from other vendors as they are cameras that are for the Chinese region but have been hacked into English but then are not able to be updated or they will brick. Buying from a reputable source is key to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

[EricB]

wittaj,

Thanks for the information, that is really good to know. Also thanks for all of the other information you have provided in the forums. I spent 2 weeks doing searches and reading vendor information trying to figure out which cameras were worth using and which were crap before finding this site. In less than a day I learned more than I had during the prior 2 weeks, and figured out why I was having issues with the Wyze Cam V3 that I purchased to test with along with Blue Iris. And your posts about ReoLink, wireless and other stuff really helped out (along with the Cliff notes, Newbie Starter guide, Focal Length, Resolution and other posts).

These cameras are Dahua OEM.

Andy's (Empirtech) cameras are Dahua and Hikvision OEM equipment sold under the names Loryta and Empiretech. He also supplies them to the ipcamtalk store.

Am I correct in my understanding that the Loryta are Dahua and the Empiretech are Hikvision?
Is one brand better (or preferred) than the other?
It kind of seems like the Dahua OEM cameras are probably the preferred cameras based on your post.

I learn best by actually doing and making mistakes that I have to figure out rather than just reading about something , that makes me think I should get a camera to play with (along with Blue Iris) as I am doing a more thorough reading of the material on this site.

From what I have read so far I am pretty sure I am going to need 3 cameras on the front of the house and at least the same on the back of the house do to how it is built. In the front, I have a covered porch (high vaulted ceilings) that is approximately 25' wide x 6' deep with 4 3' brick columns on the edge (away from the door) that is closed on the sides. The walkway from the driveway to the porch is about 10' long.

So, I am thinking for DORI, I am going to need a camera above the door with a wide field of view to see the entire porch area and anyone coming up the walkway, and longer-range cameras to see down both parts of the driveway (it is a long egg-shaped driveway) for Detection and Observation, but not identification.

Based on this description, a question I have right now (I am sure I will have a lot more in the future as I start getting into the meat of the camera installation/setup) is this:

If this makes sense, and I am correct, what camera would you suggest for above the door that would be good for testing and training purposes (both camera configuration and Blue Iris learning) that would still be able to be a useful part of the system I have just suggested?
Or is there a better camera for initially leaning to use the cameras and the software?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[wittaj]

Glad to help you!

The names Loryta and EmpireTech stem from how Amazon makes vendors do business, so to say one is Hikvision and the other is Dahua is not entirely accurate.

You need to look at the descriptions and do a search here if you cannot figure out which OEM it is. It used to be easy and if the camera started out IPC or DH then it is Dahua OEM and D/S is Hikvision, but most of what is on his Amazon store is Dahua OEM.

Dahua and Hikvision are comparable cameras. Kinda like difference between Honda and Toyota. A lot here go with Dahua as the userface seems to be easier to use.

You are right that it is best to purchase one camera and learn with it and test it out at different spots.

The 5442-ZE is a great camera for that task. It is a varifocal so you can adjust the optical zoom and help figure out what you need and where.

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-IPC-T5442T-ZE-Vari-Focal-Eyeball-Starlight/dp/B08C77TNY9/ref=sr_1_1?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1673109123&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-1&th=1

 

[Rob2020]

Welcome, just going to offer some of my experience. When I came here I was set on Hikvision, which are very good cameras. I also planned on buying a NVR. After lots of reading, and lots of questions, I went with Dahua and Blue Iris. The majority of my Dahua are Loryta/Empire Tech, and a few OEM Dahua labels that Andy did not have available (like the HFW1831 which was still available online but EOL). I have six active cams of which three record 24/7/365, no hiccups, no issues, 100% happy.

My only mistake was buying too small of a POE switch as I planned on four cameras max, so I bought a 5 port switch. It was an easy fix to add a switch but a bigger POE switch would have been better. I have three other new cameras I have not found permanent homes for.

A Dahua varifocal was my first camera (2231) which at the time was the common forum recommendation. As mentioned above this is a great way to start.

 

[Flintstone61]

i bought most of my cams from Empiretech or Loryta or Amcrest, ( all Dahua OEM's)
Here are some of my previous orders. made after learning of this site. ( except for the "Jidetech")
and usually from Amazon.
Amcrest maintains an Ebay presence and an Amazon presence and their own site. But inventory varies from site to site.

 

[EricB]

Thanks for the recommendation. I will order that camera and the wall mount. Last initial testing setup question. For my testing, I am thinking I should just purchase a single cat 5/6 cable for use with the PoE switch and the camera rather than building one. Do you have a recommendation on a pre-made cable?
The switch I am thinking of getting is this one since I have TP-Link router and have had good experiences with TP-Link in the past

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Ethernet-Protection-Isolation-TL-SF1009P/dp/B08J88BHGK

.

Thanks again,

Eric

 

[EricB]

Rob2020, Flintstone61
Thanks for the information, that will definitely be helpful.

Flintstone61
If you don't mind, why did you go with the Amcrest Doorbell rather than the EmpireTech one (

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09V7NR8X9

)?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[Flintstone61]

It came out first

 

[Flintstone61]

they are the same thing

 

[Mike A.]

The switch I am thinking of getting is this one...

I've had that same switch for a while. It's been fine. Decent deal for 8-port POE+. I use it in a shed to power several cams and illuminators and network for some other things. 10/100 and not a big power budget overall but as long as you're just doing normal cams it will be fine to get started with for not much money. Assume that you'll likely replace it with a bigger Gigabit POE+ switch at some point.

 

[EricB]

Mike A.
I plan on replacing it either with a better switch or an NVR with LAN ports, this is just for my testing at the moment.

It might be moved out to the barn when I get to the point of cameras out there.

I also haven't decided whether or not I want to just use Blue Iris with dedicated HDD for 24x7 recording or get an NVR with HDD & LAN ports for 24x7 recording and use Blue Iris for recording video based on alerts. I just have to play more with Blue Iris and the cameras to get a better feel for what I want to do.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[samplenhold]

Get the 5442 varifocal for testing. Try it out in different positions. No need to actually mount it. Use a test rig as described in the WIKI. Below is my test rig:

click to enlarge.

I learn best by actually doing and making mistakes that I have to figure out rather than just reading about something

I had a great plan at the beginning. It was way better than any of the plans even the most seasoned IPCAMTALK member had. Or so I thought (not really). The point is no matter what you think, how much you plan, as you gain experience with cams, you will change that plan. So do not be tied with the concepts of NVR vs BI, 24/7 vs alert recording, etc. Just get that first cam and try your ideas out. It is easier in the beginning to just load BI on a computer and test it out. It does not need to be your final BI rig. I just used a laptop for the first few weeks to see how it would all work.

As far as POE switches are concerned, I am partial to Netgear, but really any good name brand switch will be fine. Do not be alarmed about the possibility of needing more switches if you decide on more cams. I spread out my cams on different switches which gives me a fall back if one dies. So my cams at my front door are not all on the same switch, just like my cams at my driveway are not all on the same switch, and my backyard cams are not all on the same switch. If a switch goes down, I still have some coverage in each zone.

Here are a few threads that might help you think of ways to cover certain areas:

Why I Like Redundant Views/Multiple Cam Views

A lot of newbies ask for help with their camera setups and most think that they can get by with a single cam to cover quite a bit of area. While that is possible if all you are interested in is a wide-angle overview, it usually will not give you a great chance of getting a face shot good enough...

ipcamtalk.com

Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)

So a guy came to the door yesterday, and while my wife did not open the door, it kind of spooked her out. She said he seem suspicious saying he found a driver's license on the lawn and wanted to know if it belonged to her. So when I got back from the range, I checked out the cams. This is one...

ipcamtalk.com

Use of Overview and LPR Cams to Document Midnight Vehicle Distributing Offensive Flyers on Lawns

We were out of town and I was checking my cams remotely one morning and noticed one of the Deputies that regularly patrol my subdivision had been at my front door. She has come to me a few times requesting video as she knows I have fairly good coverage of the streets at my corner. I noticed that...

ipcamtalk.com

LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results

Introduction This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[looney2ns]

Camera Suggestions

 

[EricB]

samplenhold
looney2ns
Thanks for the info.

samplenhold
I ordered the camera suggested by wittaj along with the TP-Link switch, the doorbell suggested by @Flintstone61 and a pre-made cable to get me up and testing. It is funny you mentioned the test rig, I had just finished scanning the "Newbie Starter Guide" that discusses test rigs.

I am trying to not get hung up on the NVR thing (yet), it's just one of the many thoughts that I have rolling around my brain regarding possible options for all different parts of the setup. The reason for getting the camera and software is so that I can start testing to determine what works best for my situation and to determine what I have not even thought about that will jump up and bite me. This seems to be one of those subjects where the more you learn you realize the more you need to learn!

I thought I was going to use and older Surface Pro with an external hdd until I started reading and found multiple references to not using external HDD, then I thought of another old machine I had and dug it out and fired it up and realized that it had an AMD Phantom II XA 955 with 16gb RAM and a 512 SSD primary drive, which I don't think will meet the Blue Iris specs (but I still have to check to be sure). For testing I will use the Surface Pro, then as I do more research (lots of good information about hardware here on the forums) and determine what machine to get.

Thanks again,

Eric

 

[Rob2020]

Monoprice is the place to get pre-made cables, make sure you get solid copper not CCA.

It is not hard to make your own cables, I was skeptical to try it but I am glad I did.

After research I chose the Klein VDV226-110 ratcheting pass through crimper and Klein pass through modular data plugs, pay attention to wire sizes if you go this route.

 

[wittaj]

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the BI spec "requirements" do not take into account the use of substreams. If you enable those, it can make an old machine very capable, or certainly enough until you get some experience and enough cams to justify a newer machine.

 

[Rob2020]

One other thing to mention, the Dahua turrets on the correct PFB Mount makes for a very neat, clean, and professional looking install. On the camera you are buying, just check the spec sheet and it will show the correct mount for that particular camera.

 

[EricB]

Rob2020
I figure when it comes time to run cables to the actual locations where the cameras will be, I will run all of them (possibly to jacks from the router to the wall and to jacks where the cameras will go rather than directly from the router to the camera). This is another thing I need to look into. I did order the mount that was listed with the camera, but did not get a junction box because that did not seem to be required.

wittaj
I keeping reading about substreams, but really have no idea what they are or how to use them yet. That is another thing I figured I would learn during testing BI and the cameras.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[looney2ns]

Rob2020
I figure when it comes time to run cables to the actual locations where the cameras will be, I will run all of them (possibly to jacks from the router to the wall and to jacks where the cameras will go rather than directly from the router to the camera). This is another thing I need to look into. I did order the mount that was listed with the camera, but did not get a junction box because that did not seem to be required.

wittaj
I keeping reading about substreams, but really have no idea what they are or how to use them yet. That is another thing I figured I would learn during testing BI and the cameras.

Thanks,

Eric

Baby steps.