Review-SD4A425DB-HNY 1/2.8" CMOS 4MP 25x Starlight Auto-tracking MiniPTZ

[Timokreon]

I'll probably do this in 2 stages. Looks like the mounting ring comes off, so will take that off the camera, measure it up to the soffit with aluminum stock I'm using, bring it all in to drill the necessary holes in the aluminum bar stock.
Install the stock bar to the soffit, then bring all the wiring and camera together.
This way I'll be able to take a break in-between everything. lol..

 

[looney2ns]

Yep, the mount ring comes completely free from the cam with a loosening of one screw, then a twist of the ring.

 

[jmcu]

How high do you have it mounted?

I have a standard ranch style house so I am guessing about 9-10'

 

[jmcu]

Thanks for posting the video.

The autotracking on it is amazing and seems to anticipate where the person would be for when things like branches or lamp posts get in the way. The 49225/49425 does a really good job, but this seems to be an improvement. A comparison of the two would be cool!

Maybe it is just YouTube compression, but the focus still seems soft when autotracking?

I have a 49225 right next to it and this mini tracking is much better, tracks much longer and like you said does a good job around objects.

The focus on all of my smaller PTZs work the same, they are not completely focused unless the subject stops for a second while tracking or if it has clear focus prior to tracking, even my large older 10A248 does this.

 

[looney2ns]

Note: the day/night change over is still not reliable via schedule with the latest firmware.

 

[Timokreon]

Mini showed up awhile ago. I MIGHT be able to get part of the install done later today. Boss lady has a meeting, so good time to do sneaky things.
If I can at least get the hole punched for the wires, and get the aluminum bar drilled, I'll call that successful.

 

[Timokreon]

Got it installed, sort of. It's up and mounted, wire is ran. But I didn't have time to make all the connections proper, so I'll do that tomorrow.

First impressions, without dialing anything in... nice compact size, quiet. It does focus a bit slow right out of the box. I think with a few firmware adjustments, the focus speed could be improved.
I think it will be a great camera once things are dialed in/adjusted to my liking, and the firmware matures.

I'll spend a bit of time tonight adjusting things, setting up a few presets, etc.. see how things go.

 

[Timokreon]

Hey @looney2ns and @jmcu Would you guys please post your settings?

I'm curious how you have things set compared to my quick setup. I know I'll have a few more questions in the coming days for you guys as well.
Thanks much for all your work on this so far.

 

[Frogman]

Hey @EMPIRETECANDY , any idea when you will have more of these in stock. I like the fairly small form factor for a PTZ and I’m definitely considering one!

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Will have more stocks after Christmas. We still work with dahua for some issues on the ptz, hope to make them perfect.

 

[CanCuba]

Note: the day/night change over is still not reliable via schedule with the latest firmware.

I've been following this forum for a while. It seems that Dahua has continually had issues with day/night.

Seems kind of strange as this certainly isn't rocket science. How can they have such great autotracking and yet night/day continues to be a struggle?

 

[wittaj]

I've been following this forum for a while. It seems that Dahua has continually had issues with day/night.

Seems kind of strange as this certainly isn't rocket science. How can they have such great autotracking and yet night/day continues to be a struggle?

I think the biggest reason is we are not their intended audience and the audience they cater to simply doesn't have the same needs we do.

At retail, warehouses, businesses, etc., they usually have a lot more light to deal with day and night, so most just run one profile and it works fine in that application if it simply goes from color to B/W with IR if the light is reduced.

We on the other hand are using them in residential settings where the lighting will be orders of magnitude less than at a business, so we do everything we can to tweak optimal performance out of them and that usually requires very different settings for day and night.

For outside purposes, the 4K/X and 4K/T are the first cameras I have that based on my field of view I can run one profile.

 

[looney2ns]

Hey @looney2ns and @jmcu Would you guys please post your settings?

I'm curious how you have things set compared to my quick setup. I know I'll have a few more questions in the coming days for you guys as well.
Thanks much for all your work on this so far.

 

[Timokreon]

Thank you for your settings @looney2ns.
Day/night schedule took a bit getting used to. Need to left click and hold on the schedule to bring up the time settings.
I am really impressed by the auto-tracking on this camera. I just watched it track a woman walking past on my sidewalk, tracked her through my tree (without leaves) but lost focus, then returned to its normal position.

Focus during the day seems much faster/better, than at night.
I'll see about a video later on today.

 

[CanCuba]

I think the biggest reason is we are not their intended audience and the audience they cater to simply doesn't have the same needs we do.

At retail, warehouses, businesses, etc., they usually have a lot more light to deal with day and night, so most just run one profile and it works fine in that application if it simply goes from color to B/W with IR if the light is reduced.

We on the other hand are using them in residential settings where the lighting will be orders of magnitude less than at a business, so we do everything we can to tweak optimal performance out of them and that usually requires very different settings for day and night.

For outside purposes, the 4K/X and 4K/T are the first cameras I have that based on my field of view I can run one profile.

Looking at it like that, it makes sense. Is there a way to push them as what people describe seems to be more a bug than lack of design commitment.

 

[jmcu]

Hey @looney2ns and @jmcu Would you guys please post your settings?

I'm curious how you have things set compared to my quick setup. I know I'll have a few more questions in the coming days for you guys as well.
Thanks much for all your work on this so far.

My settings are all default for testing except I turn up the Tracking Target Size Ratio..

 

[wittaj]

Looking at it like that, it makes sense. Is there a way to push them as what people describe seems to be more a bug than lack of design commitment.

We have sent them the info, it just isn't a priority since we are not their target audience:

Program for flipping cameras to day/night on Linux

I got tired of fooling with my Dahua cameras scheduling profiles for Day/Night. I know that @bp2008 has a handy Windows program that accomplishes a similar purpose but I needed something for Linux. Thanks for writing that for the community by the way, @bp2008! I dug into your source to find...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Timokreon]

Also got the global face detection to work. Will see how accurate that is in the next few days.

 

[Arjun]

Can this be mounted vertically or only for soffit applications?

 

[mydanielcreg_3]

this weekend based the issues looney talked. Web5.0 will be the main in 2023, but i will keep the web 4.0 gui on the 5442, 5842 .

Speed Test​