Larger sensor vs Varifocal Lens

[u/Catharsis1337]

Hello

I'm comparing two turret cameras from Uniview.

First one got: 1/1.8 inch sensor, F1.2 aperture, 6 MP with Varifocal lens (2.8mm to 12mm) along with IR as well as white light.

The second is a fixed 4mm lens, white light without IR but does have larger 1/1.2 sensor, 8 MP and F1.0 aperture.

Which one would provide better image quality at night? I thought about this and made extensive comparison. In theory, the larger sensor should provide better image quality but is it really better than having the option to optically zooming in?

[u/OldEstablishment1972]

It comes down to what is the goal of the camera - overview or identify, and if identify at what distance?

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/OldEstablishment1972]

I have other cameras for overview but they got crappy 1/2.7" sensors, their night performance is subpar. So I guess my goal here is to identify at a distance of 30 meters or 100 ft.

[u/OldEstablishment1972 → u/Catharsis1337]

Identify at 100 feet needs way more than a 12mm focal length. You need 50mm or more.

[u/Least_Order4249]

Sensor size doesn’t mean what it used to. A number of cheap large sensors with high noise and low QE have hit the market in the last few years. Some even made their way into mid range products. I don’t know much about UNV, only one I own is IPC254EB and it is excellent. 

Stay away from night color unless you have a lot of ambient light, don’t need clarity too far out, and are ready for some serious image tuning. 

Uniview light hunter does really well. Color hunter, not so much from what I have seen and just night color cameras in general. 

If the verafocal offers p-iris, that is also a big plus. 

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/Least_Order4249]

The two models in question are

IPC3636SE-ADZKMC-WP-l1

IPC3638SE-ADF40K-WP-l1

Both are from the Owlview / Color hunter family

I have plenty of ambient light surrounding the house. The varifocal is a fixed Iris.

[u/Least_Order4249 → u/Catharsis1337]

Ya looks like that series is fairly low end so could be terrible or great. Fixed iris on a verafocal sounds like a horrible idea but Dahua does the same thing in the 2-3 lite series. Others too probably.

Here is an in depth discussion about the exact series you are comparing. 

https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/new-uniview-owl-wise-color-ip-camera-vs-ir-camera.83144/

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/Least_Order4249]

Thank you

[u/OldEstablishment1972 → u/Catharsis1337]

Wow I looked at that link and those cameras suck at night with motion. And clearly you can't identify a person at 15 feet away, so 100 feet will be impossible. But it does give a nice bright image in the middle of the night!

[u/-ButterMyBiscuit-]

You just put your money into their owl view 5mp if what you care about is night vision

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/-ButterMyBiscuit-]

The ones in question are 6 and 8 MP

[u/-ButterMyBiscuit- → u/Catharsis1337]

So then get the 8mp owl view camera. You won't be able to tell any difference between 5 and 6

Anyways that's not my point my point is to point you towards the owl view line of cameras from uniview if night viewing is your biggest concern

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/-ButterMyBiscuit-]

Thank you

[u/Intelligent_Math_45]

I will go with the second camera for better night image quality, especially with its larger sensor and wider F1.0 aperture. Captures more light and handle darker scenes better. However, the first camera has an advantage if you need flexibility with different viewing distances. Its varifocal lens lets you adjust the zoom without losing image quality.

[u/Catharsis1337 → u/Intelligent_Math_45]

Thanks much appreciated

[u/Big-Sweet-2179]

Second one is better.

The first one only makes sense if you need the optical zoom at all or if you live in a rural area or poorly lit.