Looking for an outdoor Megapixel IP camera

[pete_c]

Yup; here compared 720p  to 960p to 1080p.  The sweet spot was 960p and above where as 720p was only OK.
 
The best worker boards was 1080p and above for multiple streaming (HD SD and HD HD streaming).
 
The older Grandstream 1.2 MP HD camera does do 960p just fine.  My older Grandstream OS HD 1.2 MP dome only does up to 720 P such that it is not hitting the sweet spot.  I do dual streaming with all of the HD IP cameras today.  Sweet spot is one 960p stream and one 1080p stream (but that is me).
 
Yeah on the time thing just inserted "CST+6CDT+5,M3.1.0,M11.1.0" which is a PITA.  That said also using internal NTP which works better for me.
 
Yeah price point wise it appears that the Hikvision is priced just right. 
 
Noticing that the 3 MP cams are now priced similarly to the last years 1.2 MP cams and the > 3 MP cam prices are starting to drop which is a neato thing.
 
The Grandstream OS cams that I am looking at are white which works for me as my soffits are also lighter in color (matching the trim but not white).  The 3MP / varifocal lens ones are larger than the regular bullet cams.  I am now doing more stuff with the Grandstream OS (6 GS cams today) is the reason that I have been sticky to the GS OS.
 
Noticed that the HikVision bullet isn't POE where as the dome camera is POE.  I like the SD card thing.  The Grandstream OS boards that I play with have the wiring for an SD card but it is not utilized.  The OS though does have the features set for the SD card.
 
Grandstream OS 3 MP Bullet (no varifocal lens here)
 

 
Grandstream 3 MP bullet (only in black)
 

 
Grandstream OS 3 MP with varifocal lens (only in white)
 

 
HikVision DS-2CD2032 - has very good specs and price point ($165) for a 3MP camera.  (well fixed 4mm lens and no POE that I can see ).  (searching found a similar to HikVision (? clone) 5MP with a 3.6mm lens and POE for $123)
 

 
The Grandstream OS (3MP) cameras are around $180 with POE.
 

 
Searching a bit this morning finding 5MP domes and bullets now for less than $140 ($123) which is really good.  Wow cannot keep up anymore with the changes / prices. 
 
Ideally then the search would be for a 5MP, varifocal lens (or a better choice say from 2.8mm or above lens), POE, IP66 outdoor camera (dome or bullet) with some sort of standard OS for less than $150 and does last for at least 3 years.

 

[drvnbysound]

The Hikvision bullet is definitely POE - I know someone with (3) of these; (2) 4mm, and (1) 12mm.
 
Additionally, I've found information on another forum that stated that you can flip/flop Hikvision and Trendnet firmware between those cameras without issue. However, it was found that the Hikvision firmware has additional features/settings that the Trendnet firmware leaves out.

 

[pete_c]

Ah...didn't see the POE reference in the Newegg site. 
 
Yup; here with the Grandstream OS boards seeing stuff in the OS and on the board that is not present on the Grandstream IP cameras sold here.
 
(initially it was SIP, SD Card, USB connection, et al).  The new stacked mini lens board over OS board is also using a tiny ribbon cable these days versus single wires.  The board has output pins and connectors for power to the LEDs and a night dark sensor pin out.  I keep one MP IP HD board(s) on the workbench to play with.  (very modular stuff).  Tiny boards at around 2-3" in diameter.  The older IP HD camera boards (stacked) were much larger (have one of these from a few years back).  Ideally too integration with an analog PIR sensor would fit nicely.  (IE original combo outdoor cams were Optex Analog with PIR sensors).
 
Thinking the SIP stuff was sort of controversial where as its more common in other parts of the world.
 
The above noted the features sets are approaching the $1000 IP HD cameras (IE: like Mobotix) really fast these days.
 

 

 

[drvnbysound]

Ah...didn't see the POE reference in the Newegg site. 

 
Hmm, POE is all over the product page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881102091&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=Trendnet-_-81-102-091-_-Product

 

[pete_c]

Must have missed it the first time I looked.  I just saw the POE piece on the dome camera and not on the bullet camera.  Just looked at the bullet cam link and see the POE piece.
 
Its a good price and a good features set.

 

[smolino]

I hung two of the TrendNet TV-IP310PI cameras yesterday. They both went up easily and the configuration was pretty straightforward. One of the cameras is performing perfectly, the other has two issues, one in day mode and the other in night mode. In day mode when configured at 2048x1538 resolution, the image "pulses", getting brighter and dimmer, a little more than once per second. If I change the resolution to 1920x1080 the image is fine. In night mode, the image has horizontal gradiations throughout the image. The lines don't move or change, and stay there until the camera goes back into day mode.
 
 
 
I'm thinking this camera may have a bad image sensor or processor?
 
Any thoughts before I put it back in the box and send it back to Amazon?
 
Thanks
 

 

[Monk]

I hung two of the TrendNet TV-IP310PI cameras yesterday. They both went up easily and the configuration was pretty straightforward. One of the cameras is performing perfectly, the other has two issues, one in day mode and the other in night mode. In day mode when configured at 2048x1538 resolution, the image "pulses", getting brighter and dimmer, a little more than once per second. If I change the resolution to 1920x1080 the image is fine. In night mode, the image has horizontal gradiations throughout the image. The lines don't move or change, and stay there until the camera goes back into day mode.
 
 
 
I'm thinking this camera may have a bad image sensor or processor?
 
Any thoughts before I put it back in the box and send it back to Amazon?
 
Thanks

 
Guessing you have already tried swapping them - I had POE troubles once where I was using copper clad aluminum wiring that caused an issue. Caused IR cut filter issues.

 

[smolino]

Monk, yea, swapped the cameras, the problem moved with the camera. Guess I'll send it back for a replacement. I really like the picture quality of (the working) camera and the price is right. I hope I'll have better luck with the replacement.

 

[drvnbysound]

I haven't seen any issues with the Trendnet cameras I've installed thus far, and run all of them at 1920x1080. Having said that, if it were to have any issues I'd certainly be sending it back.
 
One last thing you could check before doing so, is the firmware version. It's possible (unlikely) that it has an older version with an issue and re-flashing the firmware could resolve the problem.

 

[drvnbysound]

(4) Hikvision cameras ordered in the past 24 hours! 
 
(3) 2.8mm models and (1) 6mm model.
 
Now the wait begins... 10-14 days for delivery.

 

[smolino]

You folks who are using the TrendNet or Hikvision cameras, what NVR are you using? I'm currently using a Geovision NVR with a GV-1480 analog video card. Most of my cameras are analog but I'm moving to IP. With the Geovision NVR, you have to purchase a license dongle to run non-Geovision IP cameras. It's not cheap, about $250 for four cameras.  I don't really want to spend that money if there is a better and cheaper (read free) solution. Anyone using the TrendNet NVR software? pros and cons? Does it allow the use of non-Trendnet IP cameras? I'm assuming I could run the Trendnet or other IP NVR software alongside the Geovision software while I migrate to the IP cameras?

 

[ddennerline]

I bought and not yet deployed outside a Hikvision DS-2CD2032. I played around with camera inside house using a Trendnet PoE injector. I really like the day/night picture quality. The camera was very stable for 4 day long test. It has a ton of settings that are easily accessible from a Web browser. It looks like price has dropped over $100 since I bought. My only wish is that it had an alarm input, so I could hook it up to Elk to better control video recording. I was planning on buying Milestone Essentials for NVR software.

 

[drvnbysound]

BlueIris: http://blueirissoftware.com/

 

[pete_c]

If you want to play with Linux; Zoneminder works well too.  It is free.
 
Zoneminder
 

 

[jdk972003]

Just a quick helpful note for everyone on this thread...
 
Do yourself a favor and check out the following site. 
 
http://www.networkcameracritic.com/
 
He does great in depth reviews of cameras mounted from the same positions each time.  Both day and night pics and video as well as setup, features, etc.  He also replies to all questions in the subsequent chat sections.  He has reviewed these cameras you discuss (Hikvision, Brickcom, Dahua, Acti, Mobotix, Etc)  as well as others.
 
GREAT site.  He is a regular over at CCTV forum as well.