Expert's guide to SECURITY CAMERA SETTINGS. WDR, BLC, HLC, and SSA Explained.

Everything you need to know about improving security camera night vision performance: Focal length explanation, sensor size discussion, resolution tradeoffs, detailed settings, and even IR flood light testing. This video was sponsored by EcoFlow and the new EcoFlow Delta Mini Power Station, check it out using this link to support this channel: us.ecoflow.com/?aff=312
Recommended cameras for infrared night vision performance:
8MP Annke AC800: amzn.to/3CokrRe
4MP Dahua T5442TM: amzn.to/3AglbFn
Recommended cameras for color night vision performance:
8MP Annke NC800: amzn.to/3K7mISB
4MP Hikvision 2CD2347G2: amzn.to/3KbbxrR
IR Flood Light Equipment:
12 Watt Infrared Flood: amzn.to/3QDEi39
21 Watt Infrared Flood: amzn.to/3pEN4le
PoE Splitter: amzn.to/3dL3OVv
Barrel Jack Splitter: amzn.to/3QWBDRn
*As an Amazon Affiliate I earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you*
Visit my website: www.TheSmartHomeHookUp.com
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Support my channel directly:
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Music by www.BenSound.com
Support my channel:
Patreon: / thehookup
Music by www.BenSound.com
00:00 Intro
00:33 Camera Basics
01:08 Focal Length Explained
02:00 Image Sensors Explained
03:30 Resolution Explained
04:20 Camera Recommendations
05:00 Exposure Basics
05:20 Sensor Gain Explained
06:03 Exposure Time Explained
07:01 Aperture Explained
07:30 Camera Settings (Dahua, Amcrest, Lorex)
13:46 Camera Settings (Hikvision, Annke, Nellys)
16:27 Camera Settings (Reolink)
18:18 Supplemental Lighting
19:35 Night Performance Examples
19:22 Camera Recommendations
20:42 Ecoflow Portable Power Station Sponsor

[@metarichard]

There are lots of channels providing reviews and entertaining overviews, but this channel is always the go to for useful and detailed information without wasting time with filler content or silly gags. You are a true Master Teacher, thanks!

[@TheHookUp]

Everybody's got their niche!

[@trudyandgeorge]

You legitimately save me time. You've got such a good channel; excellent explanations with no ego attached.

[@andrewgrantlee2646]

Bam! I've been playing with the settings on my Dahua Starlight cameras for a while. This video allowed me to tweak the settings I was afraid to play with (shutter range, gamma range, etc) and the video is 10x better now! Thanks for much! - A new subscriber

[@BrianSimmons]

Great video. You covered a lot of complicated information and presented it in a very understandable way. My only comment is regarding focal length. While it is true that a wider angle will allow the camera to absorb more light, the number of pixels that will actually cover a subject is more important. You know, the whole "DORI" calculations. So depending on how far away a subject is going to be from the camera, a wide angle lens may not be the best option. The farther away a subject is going to be from the camera, the narrower you want the field of view to ensure a higher number of pixels on the subject which results in clearer and more identifiable subjects. For example, if a subject 25' from a 2.4mm camera only fills up 10% of the 2k resolution, that's only 200k pixels being used on the subject. On the other hand, if a subject 25' from a 6mm camera fills up 30% of the 2k resolution, that's over 600k pixels covering the same subject meaning there will be 3 times the level of detail on the 6mm camera vs the 2.4mm camera in this scenario. Obviously the 6mm camera is going to provide much clearer images day or night (all things being equal).

[@irgtk]

The Reolink RLC-820A reviewed here in a prior video has been an excellent camera for the price. Nighttime video has met my needs. Thanks for the review!

[@san3har]

Incredibly useful once again, thank you!

[@yourpalfranc]

At long last!! The video I've been waiting for!! Thanks, Rob! I'll be watching it a lot!! ~Frank

[@seatslider]

Awesome content and quality! Great job. Thanks for making it 👏🏻👏🏻

[@DurhamGuy84]

Thank you so much for this informative video, I've been looking forever for a video like this!

[@etzard]

Excellent detail on the camera settings...

[@74357175]

This sort of thing makes me so happy to be a patron 👍👍

[@andrewgeorgelang]

Thank you for sharing this video. Helped me out BIG time 👍

[@vladiesc]

Excellent video! Keep em coming

[@tekjoey]

Incredible video with great details, as always. Your explanations of the photography concepts was quite excelent!

[@TheHookUp]

Thanks!

[@justatiger6268]

I thought I knew my cameras - but then I watched this video. Great job Sir! 👍

[@ronm6585]

Great info Rob, thank you.

[@Tailhook69]

Great video that any professional installer would do well to watch!

[@guyaldrich5878]

Thank you for the video , it helps me understand these camera's !

[@wantafastz28]

Thank you for this, you are awesome.

[@belnea406]

Thanks for this video 🙂 Hello from Paris

[@jview70]

thankyou for covering reolink camera settings. i appreciate that

[@markd.songsandstuff7728]

A great informative video, very detailed. I use Reolink cams, I like them, hopefully they'll work to expand their night vision settings.

[@dtkywtan]

Thanks for your very informative explanations. I'm glad that I only bought one Reolink, and was under false impression of excellent image quality during daytime or night time without IR mode for steady scene.

[@argentinomacrifuevidaltamb3772]

Excelente video, gracias por compartir.

[@johntoal9449]

Another good thing about using an IR flood light, no spider webs!

[@samsen3965]

This was great. Thank you.

[@MichaelBurko]

Another HUGE benefit to using an external IR illuminator is that it helps to get rid of spiderwebs (by turning off build in camera IR). Thanks for the idea on using POE splitters for the external IR illuminators! I was about to wire it for 110v adapter.

[@elesjuan]

Something else to keep in mind. I tested my Amcrest PoE cameras, and when PoE is applied, the barrel jack port on the camera had +12v present.. so I might try to add on some IR floods using that instead of the splitter.

[@rkparis3064]

Thank you. Nicely done.

[@Mahesaparabolacctv]

thanks for the explanation, I like this video

[@BumpNrun69]

Thanks!

[@babylonfive]

YEA another video!

[@CraigMullins1]

What an amazing video, I've struggled to understand some of this stuff and you cleared it right up! You are such a great teacher and video producer. :) I'd love a continuation of this video: comparing 850nm vs 940nm infrared lighting How do you determine what ir illuminators are good? I’ve bought a dozen and some didn’t do anything to my picture quality at night. How to know what cameras will work with 940 for covert recording. narrow view vs wide field of view ir illuminators How do some of these cameras have great night vision out to over 1,300 feet? I have a pair of night vision binoculars (has a built in screen) that are absolutely amazing out that far. It's almost like daytime except black and white. And they were only $200 bucks.

[@TheHookUp]

850nm is the standard and 99% of security camera sensor are particularly sensitive to 850nm, so much so that they need an IR cut filter to show normal color images during the day. 940nm is desirable because it's not visible to the human eye (doesn't glow red), but lots of cameras won't be sensitive to it because their sensors are specifically tuned to 850nm. As far as the distance thing goes, it's about lensing. A 1300ft IR beam will be extremely narrow and would be useless for lighting up a nearby scene. The ones I linked are 90 degree spread.

[@RJ_Cormac]

Rob's day job is a high school teacher in Florida last I knew. He's definitely using those teaching skills with his KZbin videos.

[@Dfynfyimgtbjufjiyffvjogfsdgyjb]

Very good one

[@SpaceStrike]

Hey would you recommend the Wyze vacuum? You should make a video comparing stick vacuums

[@Baku-oc5fc]

Excellent video and content. Where do Speco cameras fall in terms of the features/functions you discussed? Thanks

[@Sym0nd0]

Rob, any recommendations for IR floodlights to use with security cameras in near pitch dark?

[@Sp-nd6uj]

Great video. Great information. Only thing is now I’m back to square one picking a cameras. It’s seems most everything now is 4K (8mp) yet most sensors or 1/2.8. Not even close to the minimum size you mention for night vision.

[@marcusstephens2517]

Honey…that neighbor with 15 doorbells on his porch is running around in the dark again.

[@steven871]

Thanks for This piece. Do You have a view on Axis and their color night vision? Looks fantastic to me.

[@TheHookUp]

I've only ever tested one Axis camera (P3248-LVE) and it was REALLY good, at least twice as good as every other camera in the test, the problem is it was 5x more expensive as the rest of the cameras: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KsdX6ffsp7e5o

[@robertoviola9514]

So would you recommend setting WDR to less than 45% on a Dahua camera so that it uses software WDR (hence less fuzzy boarders and motion blur)?

[@ruinfox4108]

i wish i could hire you to suit up my house here in the UK, unless you guys have a branch in the UK?

[@manny1524]

On my ac800 connected to my annke NVR I can’t seem to switch the daytime/switch or shutter etc only contrast, brightness etc. and backlight. Why can’t I find the rest of the options like you have?

[@VoodooZ]

Amazing information as usual. Thanks for that. Somebody noticed some suspicious character at 4am so that might be the time to pull the trigger. I'll have to review your old NVR review too I guess as I'm not paying for stupid subscriptions.

[@TheHookUp]

Brand new all encompassing NVR review covering basically every NVR solution on the market is coming in 2 weeks.

[@VoodooZ]

@@TheHookUp You da man! Unlike the other youtube posers, who simply regurgitate available information, you go all the way and do extensive testing. Can't beat that. thanks for what you do.

[@PeterShipley1]

also different wavelengths of light have different focal points. a lens focused for visible light will not be perfectly in focus for infrared or ultraviolet. red green and blue are fairly close (approx 440nm to ~680nm) although in high end cameras you will have separate lenses for each. lenses focused for visible light will be slightly out of focus with much longer wavelength (800nm -> 1000) infrared

[@mattrogers6565]

Hi Rob, thanks for this video it helped understand some of the technical terms available to configure my cameras. I have a pair of Annke NC800 cameras, they do very well during the day and are mostly ok by night, however the image at 30 feet (around 10 meters) isn't quite good enough to read a number plate. I've changed some of the settings based on your recommendations and will see if this helps.

[@TheHookUp]

LPR is really hard to do, here's a quick overview of how I set up my LPR cameras: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKLGYqihp9CAo6ssi=T_6OTcy9c2jpQix9&t=1014

[@mattrogers6565]

Thank Rob, yes I have the issue you mentioned on this video, my house is at a right angle to the road, so I have to look to get the details once the vehicle is either coming past, or has already past (In the UK we have a plate on the front and back). It's still not 100% as theres a very small area where the plate gets caught by the camera. Any way I'm still testing this and hopefully will see it improved.@@TheHookUp

[@mikewashington4188]

Could you recommend outdoors solar powered wireless security cameras? Thanks for your assistance.

[@TheHookUp]

My favorite solar power camera right now is the Reolink Duo Battery (records to SD card): amzn.to/3Afq6Gk But I feel the need to also mention that solar powered cameras will never be as good as wired cameras, or even powered wifi cameras.

[@SteveVickAK]

Need a good camera to capture wildlife movement at night. We don't want the camera to use any supplemental light (not even the camera light) as the light would scare the wildlife. Also, we are looking for a good camera to capture the Aurora (northern lights) Again - no supplemental light on the camera. We don't care is the camera comes with a light, we just want it to work WITHOUT the light being turned ON. Any recommendations on which camera would work best. Thanks. Thanks.

[@Airbag888]

Saving my first spot XD Typo at 4:48 when you speak about the size of the 4Mpx sensor (screen says 1/1.8" but you said 1/2.5") The massive regret of buying a reolink kit is real.. not to mention the NVR is not very friendly with other brand of cameras...

[@mikeclites8407]

I noticed this too. Surprising there is no post production overlay edit to clarify.

[@TheHookUp]

@@mikeclites8407 Confusing maybe, but not an error. 1/2.5" is the smallest sensor I'd recommend, but the camera I do recommend the 5442 has a 1/1.8" sensor.

[@picardo5397]

My reolink camera that a massive issue with blur at nigh.however,I could fix it by changing the exposure to manual on the reolink client app.

[@Airbag888]

@@picardo5397 what setting was it on then? What about when it's day time?

[@eset7708]

Y r u not making videos on new shelly devices?

[@samsen3965]

I wish to see more advanced, smart (Sensable Auto EV) external IR illuminators that can work with solar panels, thus can be put up a lot closer to action & zone of interest, or powerful enough wired ones...

[@20truck]

I have interlogix 4K bullet cameras at my business and during the day if somebody is driving by the camera it's a blurry image. On my cameras the only things I can change is the resolution, bit rate, And I can change the frame rate. I know when these cameras were originally installed I could get good pictures of cars going by but something has changed and I don't know what it is. Also to let you know this is the settings I can change on the DVR, I do not get a laptop and go into the camera IP address and change settings there

[@MichaelBurko]

@TheHookUp, just FYI, the Barrel Jack Splitter Amazon link is broken

[@TheHookUp]

Thanks, fixed!

[@ChadFlynt]

Hey Rob, was wondering if you had a recommendation for a long range night vision camera. If it did great for daytime too great, but I have Reolink Duo's for my main cams everywhere with some 810's and such. But would like to have something that could get a decent pic of something in my front yard towards the road which is about 300-400' from the house. The Duo's pick stuff up but obviously Reolinks typically suck for nighttime as you have stated many times ha. But most of your tests are like 25-50' so was wondering if one camera is better suited for that range. Thanks

[@TheHookUp]

For 400' you're going to need a PTZ camera, not because you need the pan and tilt, but because they have good zoom and very strong IR LEDs. I'd recommend this one at the low end: amzn.to/3QEpws4 or this one on the high end: amzn.to/3RKzqtA

[@ChadFlynt]

@@TheHookUp Thanks for taking the time to reply, will def check it out, don't mind the higher end being I don't need it for all my cams just want it for going down the driveway and covering most of the front yard. Thanks again.

[@nickieshadowfaxbrooklyn5192]

It looked as if for dahua/annke IR illuminator was of different wavelength, not 940 but 850, didn’t see any difference, and in reolink case WDR adjustment resulted in spotlight effect for central zone. Great overview, though. Even with current technology, Night time results still do always require tinkering with settings, given the product fits the purpose in the first place.

[@PMat-pf9dt]

Hello Where can I change the setting of the camera Dahua? On the video you seems to have much more options to set then I have ? Is it with a the configtool or nvr recorder or ? Grtz

[@TheHookUp]

All the settings in this video are being adjusted in the web interface.

[@Philkolbo]

Great content as always. One quick note, when talking about light hitting the sensor vs. pixels, keep in mind an 8MP image is 2x as many PIXELS as a 4MP but each pixel is 4x the AREA. So an 8mp needs 4x as much light per pixel to equal a 4mp in performance light/pixel.

[@TheHookUp]

That would be true going from 1080p (2MP) to 4k (8MP), but not from 4mp to 8mp. The area of an 8MP pixel is half the area of a 4MP sensor. An 8MP image is 3840x2160 while a 4MP is 2688x1520.

[@Philkolbo]

@@TheHookUp Shoot, you're right.

[@BigMikeECV]

I'm confused about the barrel splitter at 19:01. If I connect a single IR illuminator to a POE splitter/adapter, why would I need a barrel splitter? Isn't the 48V POE power passed to the camera via the RJ45 plug?

[@TheHookUp]

It usually is not passed through to the rj45

[@ColdChills01]

😁 I'm wondering now if you have a lengthy & detailed 2023 video 👀 or up-to-date video, on the best commercial-home security surveillance systems in 4k or higher. Includes all the bells and whistles, for 360 degree multiple cameras angles, and no blind spots around the home. Without paid service subscription fees and can be saved on the cloud on a home network.. NAS or other. Can be fine-tuned and have multiple add-ons like the IR floodlight etc... also can view from your phone, computer etc anywhere! 👍🏾 😃

[@IowaLR4]

I've been really happy with my Unifi Protect setup, but I know that Rob is not as much a fan of it anymore. The quality, at-home-dvr, mobile app and hardware is fantastic IMO. Price is a bit high, but for how easy it is to setup and manage a Protect setup I feel like it has been worth it.

[@DYLDYL91]

You don't want much

[@DYLDYL91]

The answers no, compromises will be made. Depends if your willing to spend the big bucks

[@ColdChills01]

@@DYLDYL91 I am, yes!

[@JWill6969]

In my opinion, your best option is Reolink cameras in combination with Blue Iris recording software on a server/nas of some sort. That's my plan.

[@joebrewer5885]

If Dahau makes Amcrest and Lorex, do they sell cameras or do you have to go to Amcrest or Lorex to get them? Are you getting the same exact camera with a different name on it?

[@TheHookUp]

You are getting the exact same camera hardware, but sometimes with some convenience features added or advanced features removed in firmware. The main reason that Amcrest and Lorex exist and are popular is that Dahua (and Hikvision) cameras are region locked to make sure proper import taxes are paid. That means if you buy a Dahua camera from a random seller on eBay (or sometimes even Amazon), it might not have been meant for the US market and there is a chance that you could brick the camera by installing firmware updates. With Amcrest and Lorex you know that the cameras were licensed for international markets and firmware will be safe to install.

[@damustermann]

I use a Hikvision ColorVu cam with the craziest night color mode, have you tested one before? They are not cheap, but I think they're worth it. They come with a 1/1.2” sensor and F1.0 aperture.

[@TheHookUp]

The camera I recommended in this video (Annke NC800) is a Hikvision ColorVu OEM camera. Same stats, 8MP, F1.0, 1/1.2".

[@damustermann]

@@TheHookUp Oh, I didn't get, sorry. Thanks for clearing that up

[@RJ_Cormac]

While there are slight changes between the different cameras and settings. However I don't see a $1,000 improvement in the image quality at night making those adjustments. None of them were able to read the sign when you running. Honestly they will all produce the exact same suspect description for Law Enforcement at that distance and moving subject. Very disappointed Reolink doesn't add those adjustments to their camera software settings.

[@itsallasimulationman]

Thanks for the super informative video! One mistake in editing, that I noticed: @ 4:42, you describe the Dahua 5442 sensor verbally as "1/2.5"", but your graphic reads "1/1.8"". 🤜

[@TheHookUp]

i was just saying that you should look for a 1/2.5 as a minimum size, but the 5442 is actually a 1/1.8" sensor.

[@NORCALhawk8693]

Any recommendations on how to get spiders from webbing up the camera at night? Seems like the ir light attracts them….

[@TheHookUp]

Yeah, you can put the IR flood light away from the camera and turn the camera's IR off.

[@lalithawakwella9907]

I bought 6 Reolink cameras. Day time pictures are clear. Night time is black and white and not clear. I am about to throw those and buy new ones. Please advice me what features to consider to buy another set. Your reply is much appreciated.

[@TheHookUp]

Sensor size is going to be the biggest predictor of night vision performance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KsdX6ffsp7e5o

[@JLGolf26]

Do you have any experience with Alibi or Provue cameras?I searched your channel via the seach button,but did not see anything,but not sure if there is and I just didnt see it.Great explainations btw in this video.

[@TheHookUp]

Just looked those up because I wasn't familiar with either brand. They both look like Raysharp resellers: www.raysharp.cn/en/product-44.html Raysharp is a Chinese OEM, known for making pretty low cost low quality cameras (they used to be the OEM for Swann here in the US), they have not been implicated in any of the US DoD stuff so they are still NDAA compliant, but not super high quality.

[@JLGolf26]

@@TheHookUp Okay,thanks!

[@JWill6969]

Hey, can we get an updated Smart lock competition between all the major players. Kwikset, Eufy, Wyze, August, and the host of others I'm missing. I'd love to see it and your opinion.

[@TheHookUp]

It’s near the top of my video list.

[@JWill6969]

@@TheHookUp Love to hear. Can't wait to see it.

[@bradskobel9567]

I ordered the POE splitter you have listed, It does not send power to both sides of the splitter. Power only on the barrel jack and data only on the RJ45. So it does not work if you have a POE camera like the Empire T5442T-ZE and want to add an IR illuminator. It states right in the directions that come in the box Plug output (1-2)/(3-6), power output by 5521 DC male 2.1mm. It is a good informative video though. The Illuminators do make a big difference when you properly set up the cameras.

[@TheHookUp]

As stated in the video you will need a barrel Jack splitter too, then power your camera from the 12v barrel Jack.

[@bradskobel9567]

@@TheHookUp Thanks, I saw that after the second time I watched. Maybe our commentary will help someone from overlooking the same detail I did. I assumed the power got split to both sides.

[@americanjustices1448]

Hook up who makes Montavue and GW security cameras and do they have support in the us

[@TheHookUp]

Those look like Raysharp cameras to me. Not sure about US support, I wouldn't recommend them. Edit: Some of the montavue cameras look like hikvision cams to me

[@americanjustices1448]

@@TheHookUp thanks hook up

[@Parmigiano1]

Does focal length really affect night vision image quality? The sensor gets more light, but the light from each point of the image is the same. Furthermore the more inches per pixel the lower the detail quality.

[@TheHookUp]

In my experience yes, actual testing seems to back up the physics.

[@MrBrettStar]

Do you have more information regarding the HIKvision wdr functionality or a comparison? I've always left at 1/50 so night image takes a better picture of moving objects instead of a blurry image.

[@TheHookUp]

I guess it just depends how fast your subject is moving. 1/50 will still result in motion blur for cars and even running subjects. What kind of information are you looking for with the Hikvision WDR?

[@MrBrettStar]

@@TheHookUp thanks for the reply. My query was in relation to your comment that wdr uses 2 actual phot processing if wdr above 40 and shutter under 1/30 shutter vs it uses software processing if shutter is above 1/30 and wdr under 40. Where did you find this info and has anyone tested them for noticeable differences?

[@TheHookUp]

I'm not sure where I read it, probably in a manual somewhere. It's very apparent if you test it out though, you can even see the camera switch WDR "modes" when you go from 39 to 41. Over 40 will give you the best WDR results, but as I said can result in some blurring/tearing since it is actually compositing two images taken with different shutter speeds.

[@MrBrettStar]

@@TheHookUp I’ve just been testing it and there is a huge difference in the 2 settings changing from 40 to 41. I have changed shutter to 1/200 which gives me better identification of car types (not like I could get number plates at night with a 2.8mm anyway). However I find wdr at 40 gives a much brighter image overall.

[@TheHookUp]

@@MrBrettStar It depends on your end goal I guess. WDR under 40 might look better to the eye, but ultimately the camera is still capturing the same amount of data and then tweaking settings to make a more WDR looking image. With WDR over 40 the image will actually contain more information because it is a composite of two different exposures.

[@Waremonger]

Great video. Am I crazy or did the footage captured with the IR flood lights look no better than the footage with the built in IR.

[@TheHookUp]

The biggest differences were the Dahua 5442 going from 1w to 12w and the Annke C800 going from 1w to 21w. The Dahua was very noticeable to me though.

[@StrawberryKitten]

@The Hook Up For ReoLink: You can adjust exposure, gain and other such settings via the old ReoLink client or via JSON commands.

[@TheHookUp]

😮 Do you have any links for me to do some reading about that? That sounds really interesting and useful!

[@Bremend]

I thought I remembered there were more settings in the old client but I barely used it before switching to the new client due to the Adobe flash issue

[@TheHookUp]

I just downloaded the old client and have found the manual gain/exposure options. I'll try it out tonight and see what I can figure out.

[@StrawberryKitten]

​ @The Hook Up Nice! By the way I _think_ those "higher night vision FPS" settings of the new firmware interfere with the gain/exposure options. Might wanna try with an old firmware if it doesn't work. Gain/exposure options on old firmware worked 100% - used it myself.

[@dariuszsiwek694]

@@TheHookUp Hi, any setting recommendation for better night performace for Reolink camera with manual exposure setting (accessible from old PC Client)?

[@striderstache99]

Damn no wonder my cheapo eufy cams's framerates drop so low in darkness when streaming in Home Assistant with MotionEye CCTV. It could also be my Raspberry Pi 4 but the basic Frigate streams work better. I have a pretty cheap NUC around so maybe hooking that up to HA might be beneficial, even just for the fact I won't be wearing out an SD card and boosting performance.

[@egomatthisum]

Shouldn't the sensor of the 4MP cam at 4:50 say 1/2.5"?

[@TheHookUp]

Nah, I was saying don't go any smaller than 1/2.5" for a 4MP sensor, but the Dahua 5442 has a 1/1.8" 4MP sensor which lets it collect a significant amount of light per pixel.

[@egomatthisum]

Thanks.

[@markm3330]

What’s the difference between RLK16-410B8 and RLK16-810B8? I don’t see that you have a video on either

[@TheHookUp]

The RLK16-410B8 includes 8x 5mp non person detection cameras. the RLK16-810B8 includes 8x 8mp person and vehicle detection cameras (RLC-810A). You should not consider the RLK16-410B8, but the RLK16-810B8 is a great package.

[@markm3330]

@@TheHookUp thanks for the reply. Since my question I found a package that contains 4 RLC811A cameras with a 2 TB NVR, but then I saw your night vision video (very important for me) and now I’m back at square 1 considering Annke again 🤣

[@Lukehot215]

At 4:45 there's a typo 1/1.8 should be 1/2.5 according to what you said.

[@TheHookUp]

Sorry, that was confusing. What I meant was you can get away with a 4mp 1/2.5”, but the dahua 5442 has a 1/1.8” leading to great night performance.

[@shadow.banned]

Science.

[@BarbaryStudio]

Dear friend your video’s are awesome only i see one strange thing in your video’s, why I don’t see Hikvision security camera’s in your video’s

[@TheHookUp]

Annke is my preferred Hikvision OEM. I have featured Hikvision cameras before, but since you can't buy them direct from Hikvision you need to find a reputable vendor who is selling non-region locked cameras. On Amazon these vendors don't last long and are constantly going out of stock and never coming back. Annke sells in the US and Europe, keeps their cameras in stock, and have decent customer service.

[@CrinosAD]

What?? No love for Unifi cameras?.... o'wait... They didn't make the cut :p Unfortunately for me, who have a bunch of them. On that topic, have you tried the AI Bullet cam from Ubiquity ?

[@DefMusic79]

I have the Lorex "4K Ultra HD NVR" At 1st I really was pleased with them for maybe not even a year AND.... Shit has hit the beeping fan, nothing but JUNK NOW! App, I'll get a notification about something and look. Ok, delete, swipe left it'll bind up. To stop it I have to reboot the damn app. This happens daily and yes it's up to date lol. I went from getting pics/videos of something going on to my phone as it should do to NOTHING AT ALL, just a alert. I have 8, only have 4 set up. So 3 up 2 up front on the house, 1 on the garage and 1 in the back of the house. I can be watching the monitor, it'll see a person mowing, dog in my yard, people on the street, someone mowing across the street just FINE. Do I get an alert? NOPE! Or tons of times my cameras may take a few minutes or hours OFF. One or 2 will do their job, other one or 2 are sound asleep. I DON'T BEEPING GET IT? Oh, even better yet. I'll get an alert, person detected. I look on my phone, it's a damn CAR or TRUCK! Here lately, a vehicle will pass and it may be 15 plus seconds before I get an alert on my phone. At night time, sometimes while watching the monitor a camera will go PITCH BLACK. Trust me, I have called this POS COMPANY A MILLION F'N TIMES. I get noWHERE! I love the options these have and want the same things or MORE on my next cameras. What do you recommend? I don't wanna pay a monthly fee!

[@Xclusive615]

How do I become apart of the FB group. I’ve signed up but hasn’t been accepted yet.

[@TheHookUp]

I go through the apps twice a day or so, just did a batch. Are you in?

[@Xclusive615]

@@TheHookUp I’m in. Thank you very much. Had some simple questions before I get started. Thank you!

[@anyamaboy1]

"Maximize nighttime performance" - I'm not sure why I thought this was hilarious, I should probably go to bed...lol

[@vladmirputin7139]

1/500 for shutter at night? I run 1/50, so 20ms, and 0-30 on the gain. 10 for 3DNR, and 37 for 2DNR. Gets rid of ghosting issues.

[@RealJonzuk]

im trying to get a camera for recording animals in my backyard at night time i need to figure out what to get and maybe catch someone trying to steal my garbage i want something that can zoom with a lense not digital zoom and atleast 1080p 4k would be nice but not needed

[@Intellistan]

Could you please do expert cameras now? High-end, professional grade cameras that can see all the letters of your text sign at the end of your driveway. Please, and thank you.

[@TheHookUp]

Have you seen this video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KsdX6ffsp7e5o It has Axis, Bosch, and Avigilon.

[@JD12ish]

Too bad the Dahua controls shown only refer to NVRs and not DVRs :( Even the more capable NVRs and analog cameras don't really have as many options available to set the appropriate shutter, gain etc. What a shame :(

[@TechySpeaking]

First

[@blee23us67]

Me like Numbers .numbers good

[@juanmanuelmartinezchavez431]

Lo siento mucho que tenga que cancelar por no haber subtítulos en español (.)

[@TheCreatureCorporation]

At the moment your thumbnail has “Focal Length” misspelled

[@TheHookUp]

Haha! You fell for my trap! The master plan was to get you to click on the thumbnail and make a comment to increase engagement! (Not really, thanks for letting me know, I fixed it).

[@CraigMullins1]

@@TheHookUp right!

[@josef7895]

What are your comments on the GW Security systems? There is no real information about this company. Thank you, Jose F.

[@TheHookUp]

They are a reseller, not an OEM. I think they mostly use Raysharp cameras.

[@MR-ub6sq]

3:57 What?! 4Mpx = 15 squares but 8 Mpx = 40 squares...

[@TheHookUp]

Just a visual aid. The numbers of squares were decided because a 4mp image is 2560x1440 (so I doubled that to roughly 5000x3000, then made it 5x3) and an 8mp is 3840x2160 (so I doubled that to roughly 8000x5000 or 8x5), it's not a perfect comparison, but close enough.

[@12zaf1]

Aperture is defined to be focal length/entrance pupil diameter. In zoom lenses entrance pupil usually remains the same, while focal lenght varies thus aperture varies while zooming in and out, However security cameras non having an iris cannot set indipendently aperture while focal length is fixed. Aperture and entrance pupil diameter are both very important in night vision (former the lower the better, latter the higher the better). The latter can be determined by aperture and focal length which are usually both in the specs. Summing up, optically, best for night vision is having both: low aperture and long focal length.

[@marcus3d]

For a modern sensor (especially one that's BSI or with microlenses) it does NOT matter what size pixels are, only what size the sensor is. E.g., if you have a 2 MP 1/1.8" sensor vs a 8 MP 1/1.8" sensor the latter has pixels 1/4 the size of the former, but there's 4 times as many, and together take up exactly the same area, and thus capture the same amount of light in total. In fact, with a good denoising algorithm the 8 MP will produce more detail in low light as well as daylight. Many years ago pixel size made a difference, because the internal sensor noise and well capacities were bad, and improvements between generations were stark. Nowadays sensors are very much refined, with less than 1 EV difference between different sensors of the same size, even across generations.

[@Pro1er]

I'm pausing the video 5 minutes in to comment. A lens with a wider field of view will not let in more light than a lens with a narrow field of view, however a lens with a larger aperture will let in more light than a lens with a smaller aperture. As an example, if I place my SLR camera in manual mode and use a hand-held light meter with a reading of 1/125 of a second, at ISO 100 and an aperture of f/8, in theory it shouldn't matter if I use a 28mm lens or a 100mm lens, they should both expose the image the same. The reason Hikvision's ColorVu cameras do so well in low light is not because they use a wide-angle lens, it's because the aperture is very large at f/1.0 compared to many cameras having an aperture of f/1.6 or smaller. While it's also true that the ColorVu's do use a large sensor at 1/1.2", a large aperture is the main reason that they are sensitive to light. Lastly the sensor's native ISO also determines how sensitive the camera is to light. A camera with a native ISO of 100 will not be nearly as sensitive as a sensor with a native ISO of 200. Okay, I watched a little further before posting the comment. A slower shutter speed will cause more ghosting, not less. Imagine this, let's say that you leave your shutter open for 10 seconds then walk by the camera. Do you think that the picture will be sharp of blurred? Now imagine that the shutter was open for 1/125 of a second, during that small amount of time how far could you have traveled? The problem is that faster shutter speeds require more light, weather it's a larger aperture, a higher ISO (gain) or a supplemental light source. I'm going to have to watch the remainder of the video later so forgive me if these comments were covered later in the video.

[@TheHookUp]

Hopefully you finished the video and realized your comments were in error. Larger FoV collects more light for the simple reason that there is more light to collect. At night we are talking about a simple photons/m2 calculation, more meters = more photons. As for the shutter speed and ghosting comment, that's exactly what the video stated and there was even an animation to show it. The exact quote from the video is "If you want to have crisp images of fast moving subjects you need to decrease the exposure time".

[@Pro1er]

@@TheHookUp No, I haven't finished the video yet because I'm into a project but I will. I misunderstood what you were saying about shutter speed so we both agree there, but in reference to a wider lens collecting more light than a longer lens, it all breaks down to what I explained already, an f/*.* lens is an f/*.* lens no matter what the focal length. Re-read my explanation of using a light meter with different focal length lenses and explain to me why that is wrong.

[@Curiosity_Cars]

how is Hikvision not top 5 major brand.. lol

[@TheHookUp]

I'm not sure what you mean. If you watched the video I specifically showed how to set up Hikvision and Hikvision OEM cameras at 13:47. Hikvision is the largest manufacturer of security cameras in the world, but in the US it's relatively rare to buy actual Hikvision brand cameras because they are heavily region locked to avoid the unauthorized selling of cameras that have not had import taxes paid. Because of this Hikvision relies on their OEMs (Annke, EZViz, Nelly's Security, etc) to supply cameras to the US.

[@darckking8248]

Expert🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TheHookUp]

🤔

[@mr.riskrisk9171]

Ok, you know so many technical mambo jumbo language. The average guy wants an effing camera at a good price. Just give us 2 or 3 alternatives instead of blowing our ears with fast talk.

[@TheHookUp]

That's the ultimate reason that Reolink cameras (and Ring, Nest, UniFi, etc) don't really offer picture options. Dahua and hikvision cameras are made for homeowners who are looking for a little more control and are willing to mess with settings to get what they want.

[@tomt2240]

Talk slower. It's not a race.

[@CraigMullins1]

Thanks!

[@TheHookUp]

Thanks Craig!