I Have the Amcrest model and the low light is not to bad and was thinking about getting another one but the specs on the other two are similar/better for a bit more money. So if one is better I might order one of them. I have a T5442T-ZE installed and a T5442T on the way from Andy. Just looking for a more budget friendly cam for this part of my house.
I know the bigger sensor is better and the lower minimum illumination better but how does the aperture size affect the low light performance? The 2mp varifocal has an F1.5 while the other two have F1.6 and my T5442T-ZE has a F1.8 I guess the bigger number is better?
Generally, a lower aperture number is a larger opening and gives more light gathering (potentially at least) all else equal. But in this case it's not. It's trumped by the sensor. As you note, the sensor in the 5442 is larger/better. The sensor in the other two are generally equivalent at least in terms of size/back-illuminated design. The difference there is that you have basically the same amount of light hitting a 4MP vs 5MP sensor of about the same size, so each pixel in the latter gets less light.
I have the Amcrest and older versions of basically the same other cams. You'll see a substantial difference between the 3rd and others. And it's varifocal so much more flexible as far as application, A more incremental difference between the 2nd and 1st and they are fixed lens.
Have a look at the 3241T-ZAS. It's the replacement for the venerable 5231 which was king of the 2MP, low light, cameras for a long time. It has better performance than the 5231 and is less expensive, as in under $140. I have two and am quite happy with them and they perform better than the 2231 IMHO plus they have audio.
IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...
I know the bigger sensor is better and the lower minimum illumination better but how does the aperture size affect the low light performance? The 2mp varifocal has an F1.5 while the other two have F1.6 and my T5442T-ZE has a F1.8 I guess the bigger number is better?
As @Mike A. said, lower aperture is generally better, but one thing to note is that most any fixed lens camera will have a lower aperture rating and better low light performance than an equal variable focus lens in the same series with the same sensor. I tested the fixed lens 5442s vs the variable focus some time back and its a clear difference. Review: Dahua HFW5442T-ASE 4MP Starlight+
That said, there is a lot to be said for variable focus lens cameras (I have a bunch of 'em) and being able to dial in your focus point. But if you can get lucky and find the fixed lens covers your scene as you need, go with the fixed lens.
