WE’VE been working through a group of Dahua cameras loaned to us by Dahua Distributor Seadan Security & Electronics late last year and in the April issue we’ll be testing Dahua’s HDBW4800E 4K IR Dome.
The unit features a ½.3-inch progressive scan CMOS sensor delivering 3840 x 2160 (4K resolution) at 15 frames per second looking through a 4mm fixed lens. This camera features DWDR, day/night, 3DNR, AWB, AGC and BLC. Environmental ratings include IP66 for dust and water, IK10 for vandalism and PoE for easy installation. There are multiple network monitoring options including web viewer, CMS(DSS/PSS) & DMSS.
Depth of field is a feature in good light, as is resistance to motion blur and high levels of detail
We’re using Dahua’s Smart PSS in our review and I’ve capped the bitrate at 4096Kbps. In this lane application we’ve got the HDBW4800E 4K IR dome mounted at an angle of around 45 degrees and a height of 4 metres in order to take in the entire lane and we’re employing a Manfrotto Magic Arm and smart clamp to give us a more typical view than readers are used to seeing.
First impressions are that the extra resolution of this camera really makes a difference – our scene is probably 70 metres deep and 5 metres wide, and it's reasonably challenging, with a couple of large moving shrubs in the foreground and a canyon of houses and office buildings causing variable lighting. To the left of the camera is the western sun, which impacts on image quality throughout the afternoon thanks to veiling flare.
Note the depth of field here – pedestrians are visible on Albion Lane at 70m – no motion blur from pedestrians closer to the camera in this light
Image quality is strong, generally. The 4mm fixed focal length lens displays predictable barrel distortion but the simple lens design offers no chromatic aberrations at all, which is pleasing to see. Colour rendition is very natural. Even though the frame rate of this camera is only 15ips, I get good quality snapshots of pedestrians and cars at my largely default settings. Resolution is the big deal here and this camera does not disappoint. Levels of detail are exceptionally high very deep into the scene, while motion blur remains low.
Find out what happens when the sun goes down in our full review in SEN’s April issue!♦
