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I've finally got my hands on a couple of the new ColorVu 3.0 cameras to try out. These are the DS-2CD2xx7G3 models and I guess the next step on from the Hybrid light models (DS-2CD23xx7G2H). They (Hikvision) have dropped the 'H' for Hybrid in the model code but the functionality is the same. For now I've just got the DS-2CD2347G3-LIS2UY-SL models in a 2.8mm variant. The part codes are getting more difficult to decode but that's a 4 megapixel turret with IR and White Light, Alarm I/O, 2 Way Audio, Siren and Strobe Light. I've only just fitted them so haven't a great deal to say about image quality as yet. That said, a couple of things that immediately stood out to me once fitted:
Daytime image - One camera has replaced a DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL (G5 Color only with 1/1.2" sensor). Obviously replacing an 8MP model it can no longer get a number plate in daylight due to the reduced resolution, but I'd say the colour rendition looks better and it is pin sharp by comparison; the older larger 2387 looking a little softer. Full resolution images of the outgoing 2387G2 and the incoming 2347G3 are below. I've not toyed with the settings on the new camera yet but the two images are a short time apart, roughly similar view and with a mere 15 lux illuminance difference (as shown in the lower left corners). Selecting the images and viewing actual size you can see that the last three characters of the numberplate are clearly visible on the 8MP camera but barely resolvable on the 4MP.
Old - DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL:
New - DS-2CD2347G3-LIS2UY-SL:
Nighttime Image - I have two 6W LED warm white lanterns at the front of the house. They are directly below (touching) the cameras. The two lights, although not the ideal 4000K, provide enough light to have the cameras remain in colour without using the integral LED in the camera at all. The images below show the old and new cameras at midnight, 24 hours apart. Keeping in mind that the newer camera is only 4 MP, again I think it's a crisper image. I do tend to set these cameras up to look a little dark, favouring a clear image with reduced motion blur over a bright image (24/7 colour is great but it's night and as long as colour information is available, the image doesn't need to look as though it's 12 noon). I set the new camera up with similar settings to the old; 1/50s shutter, gain around 30 and noise reduction at 50. I was quite perturbed that the visible noise in the new 4MP model with it's 1/1.8" sensor could not be dialled right down the way it could on the old 8MP with the larger 1/1.2" sensor. It's not a direct comparison, but as the G3 8MP version uses the same 1/1.8" sensor as the 4MP, I can only assume it will be worse. You can't see the noise when you view the below images at actual size, but if you zoom in further you can see the old camera image is cleaner. It doesn't affect normal viewing.
Old - DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL:
New - DS-2CD2347G3-LIS2UY-SL:
Audio - the jury is out on this one for now. Hikvisions presentation seemed to indicate that with dual microphones Audio 2.0 was going to be a big improvement. I've found that with Environmental Noise Filtering ON the audio was awful; it sounded artificial and didn't do much to cancel out wind noise. Perhaps that may improve by altering the codec or in a firmware upgrade. The output (speaker) volume is adjustable. Theres a warning not to set it too loud in case of damage yet it ships at 100%.
Edit - the jury is back in. Something is very wrong with the audio. Turning on ENF does not mask wind noise but makes the audio awful. With ENF ON I thought R2D2 was in the garden; I turned it off to find that the garbled racket I could hear was actually the neighbour's water feature.
Video Parameters - Unusually it ships set to H265+ VBR by default; I'm using H264 CBR. I was sure that the specs detailed that the maximum bit rate for this 4 megapixel model (like previous) was 8,192 Kbps, with 16,384 Kbps available only to the 8 megapixel models however that's not the case - 16,384 is available.
Image Settings - All change here and definitely a change for the better. Rather than G5 platform firmware as the G2H models, these 3rd gen ColorVu use firmware platform H13U (ver 5.8.10_241205 at the time of writing) and there are some very welcome changes:
The exposure time can be increased all the way to 1 second.
Other than the above, the menus should be familiar for those who already have seen the newer camera UI.
I'll have a play with the settings and modes to see what I can get out of it. My existing node-red flow keeps switching the modes to match illumination but I've not dialled any settings in yet, so the flow is switching the camera to a mode that's still set at it's defaults. I'll update the post with any other findings.
Daytime image - One camera has replaced a DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL (G5 Color only with 1/1.2" sensor). Obviously replacing an 8MP model it can no longer get a number plate in daylight due to the reduced resolution, but I'd say the colour rendition looks better and it is pin sharp by comparison; the older larger 2387 looking a little softer. Full resolution images of the outgoing 2387G2 and the incoming 2347G3 are below. I've not toyed with the settings on the new camera yet but the two images are a short time apart, roughly similar view and with a mere 15 lux illuminance difference (as shown in the lower left corners). Selecting the images and viewing actual size you can see that the last three characters of the numberplate are clearly visible on the 8MP camera but barely resolvable on the 4MP.
Old - DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL:
New - DS-2CD2347G3-LIS2UY-SL:
Nighttime Image - I have two 6W LED warm white lanterns at the front of the house. They are directly below (touching) the cameras. The two lights, although not the ideal 4000K, provide enough light to have the cameras remain in colour without using the integral LED in the camera at all. The images below show the old and new cameras at midnight, 24 hours apart. Keeping in mind that the newer camera is only 4 MP, again I think it's a crisper image. I do tend to set these cameras up to look a little dark, favouring a clear image with reduced motion blur over a bright image (24/7 colour is great but it's night and as long as colour information is available, the image doesn't need to look as though it's 12 noon). I set the new camera up with similar settings to the old; 1/50s shutter, gain around 30 and noise reduction at 50. I was quite perturbed that the visible noise in the new 4MP model with it's 1/1.8" sensor could not be dialled right down the way it could on the old 8MP with the larger 1/1.2" sensor. It's not a direct comparison, but as the G3 8MP version uses the same 1/1.8" sensor as the 4MP, I can only assume it will be worse. You can't see the noise when you view the below images at actual size, but if you zoom in further you can see the old camera image is cleaner. It doesn't affect normal viewing.
Old - DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL:
New - DS-2CD2347G3-LIS2UY-SL:
Audio - the jury is out on this one for now. Hikvisions presentation seemed to indicate that with dual microphones Audio 2.0 was going to be a big improvement. I've found that with Environmental Noise Filtering ON the audio was awful; it sounded artificial and didn't do much to cancel out wind noise. Perhaps that may improve by altering the codec or in a firmware upgrade. The output (speaker) volume is adjustable. Theres a warning not to set it too loud in case of damage yet it ships at 100%.
Edit - the jury is back in. Something is very wrong with the audio. Turning on ENF does not mask wind noise but makes the audio awful. With ENF ON I thought R2D2 was in the garden; I turned it off to find that the garbled racket I could hear was actually the neighbour's water feature.
Video Parameters - Unusually it ships set to H265+ VBR by default; I'm using H264 CBR. I was sure that the specs detailed that the maximum bit rate for this 4 megapixel model (like previous) was 8,192 Kbps, with 16,384 Kbps available only to the 8 megapixel models however that's not the case - 16,384 is available.
Image Settings - All change here and definitely a change for the better. Rather than G5 platform firmware as the G2H models, these 3rd gen ColorVu use firmware platform H13U (ver 5.8.10_241205 at the time of writing) and there are some very welcome changes:
- Exposure - It's nearly 2 years since I did a little review of the Hybrid Light models when they were introduced (G2H Review). While very happy with the image quality, I noted my annoyance that it wasn't possible to alter gain while the camera was in Auto mode; it was forced to 100%. Since then I've been using an illuminance sensor and a node-red flow to switch modes in order for that gain setting to be adjustable whereas @johnfitzy made a little app to switch the modes by sunrise/sunset with adjustable offset. The new exposure setup allows (for each mode) an upper and lower limit for exposure time rather than just a capped maximum, along with an upper limit for Gain. I'll likely still switch modes for greater control, but for those leaving it set to 'Auto' there's more adjustment (I guess this is more akin to how it's set up in Dahua models though I've never tried them personally)
The exposure time can be increased all the way to 1 second.
- Backlight - A couple of changes. Previously WDR had an Auto and Manual setting; now they are separated into 'WDR' and 'Auto WDR'. I imagine the latter is the new AI WDR. It is factory default to 'Auto WDR' at level 50. I'll leave that as is for now. Usually I turn it off completely but I'm interested to try it here.
- White Balance - More changes here. AWB1 and AWB2 are now 'Auto (Wide)' and 'Auto (Narrow)' with both having sliders available to fine tune Red and Blue gain if you feel they need tweaking.
- Grayscale (removed) - No longer present in this firmware platform. There used to be an option of 0-255 or 16-235
- EIS (electronic image stabilisation) - not present in the G2H models that I've used. When enabled it crops the viewable image slightly in order to mask any small movements from vibration. It should only be necessary if the camera is pole mounted.
- Video Adjustment: Rotate - available if you need to cover a narrow driveway or path in portrait mode without wasting most of the pixels on a view of house bricks! As mentioned in another post, Hikvision indicated that rotate mode and smart event are no longer mutually exclusive; the camera can be rotated manually, this switch enabled and you can still set up Line Crossing and Intrusion - that's a Brucey bonus.
- Video Adjustment: Calibration - I'm not sure exactly what this is used for at the moment. It comes Disabled by default with Hikvision recommending Level 1 for 4mm lens models, Level 2 for 2.8mm and Level 3 for 2.0mm. It goes up to level 6 and each level has errr... a level adjustable from 0-100. It has the effect of cropping the image a little so my guess is that it's partly to correct image distortion but may serve some other purpose. This setting is adjustable per image mode; I noticed the image shift when switching and found that calibration was off in the Low Illumination mode until I adjusted it.
Other than the above, the menus should be familiar for those who already have seen the newer camera UI.
I'll have a play with the settings and modes to see what I can get out of it. My existing node-red flow keeps switching the modes to match illumination but I've not dialled any settings in yet, so the flow is switching the camera to a mode that's still set at it's defaults. I'll update the post with any other findings.
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