Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I

I want to film a table which is 4 meters away from the camera. Is the 12mm version of Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I a camera that will do this job?

Unfortunately the seller says:

but 12mm lens will not that clear than 4mm lens for close object like 4mm distance

like 4 meters distance

the best distance for 12mm lens is 25 meters

As long as you can focus the 12mm lens at 4M, you should be fine, if that's the amount of zoom you need. M12 lenses can be tricky, as the lens screws in and out to focus, so if it hits the IR filter assembly before it's focused, you're out of luck. Still, I'd expect that the 12mm lens will focus at 4M.

Their table doesn't specify which setting the field of view angle is for, and the Hik 1080P and 3MP settings have different FOV angles. The image shows a 3MP 4:3 aspect ratio, but I'm guessing he's sent you a generic image showing typical FOV, not the actual Hik 2032 FOV. This is common.

The Hik 2032 bullet with 4mm lens has an actual FOV of 77 degrees at 1080p and 69 degrees at 3MP, which is way off from the table. I wouldn't trust their table to be accurate.

As long as you can focus the 12mm lens at 4M

I think you can't focus this lens. They are fixed focus lenses. I could move the table, but not by much.

Still, I'd expect that the 12mm lens will focus at 4M.

What makes you think so?

Their table doesn't specify which setting the field of view angle is for, and the Hik 1080P and 3MP settings have different FOV angles. The image shows a 3MP 4:3 aspect ratio, but I'm guessing he's sent you a generic image showing typical FOV, not the actual Hik 2032 FOV.

But this still would be way farer than 4 meters. Don't you think?

The Hik 2032 bullet with 4mm lens has an actual FOV of 77 degrees at 1080p and 69 degrees at 3MP, which is way off from the table. I wouldn't trust their table to be accurate.

According the table 2 meters away. But how can one find out about the focus layer the lenses of this camera are preset? I'm amazed that this data isn't available for the customer.

Yeah, this is an area that the mid-to-low-end manufacturers do poorly.

You can focus the lens by turning it in and out of the lens adapter. This is how they do it originally and when you need to re-focus. The Hik has a spot of glue to hold it in place once it's focused, so that needs to be broken loose, and it's a pain to get at it because of the compact camera design. You might want to consider a varifocal version, which will give you a lot easier flexibility when you're not sure which lens you need.

If you do adjust or replace the lens, you'll want to put a few wraps of teflon tape on the threads to keep it from moving and changing focus due to vibration, temperature shifts, or whatever. They should do this instead of putting glue on it, or using setscrews or locking nuts the way some cams do.

On most of these cams, the difference between focusing at a few meters and infinity is pretty small, because the depth of field is quite large. It's when you need to focus really close that you need more adjustment. My Hiks are in good focus at 5 feet away, as well as much further out.

Here's a reduced view of the Hik 2032's focus at 24", from my post on measuring actual FOV (http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=5424.0):

Your vendor's table is essentially showing the longest distance that a given lens is good for, but there's no detail or specs, so it's really pretty worthless, and it's guaranteed inaccurate for this camera. It's also not showing anything about the shorter distances. Virtually all cams will show good images with good focus at 5 feet or so, and your 4 meters is 13 feet - really shouldn't be a problem, and will probably be in focus off the shelf.

The only real way to find out about range and coverage with a given lens is to try it. If you got 4 different 12mm lenses, each would have a different FOV and image quality. The specs and quality control on M12 lenses just aren't very good, and there's nothing to be done about it except try one and see how it works.

More expensive cams have better controlled and tested lens specs, in general, but not in this price range.

Thank you for your elaborative post.

My Hiks are in good focus at 5 feet away, as well as much further out.

Are you talking of 12mm Hiks?

It's also not showing anything about the shorter distances. Virtually all cams will show good images with good focus at 5 feet or so, and your 4 meters is 13 feet - really shouldn't be a problem, and will probably be in focus off the shelf.

buellwinkle took an example shot of 12mm on the Hikvision ds-2CD2032-i bullet here:

http://www.networkcameracritic.com/Hikvision/Hikvision%20DS-2CD2032-I%20at%203m.jpg

Quote: "here’s a shot of my fence using the 12mm lens on a Hikvision ds-2CD2032-I, straight out the box that is 3m away, the bushes behind it at about 3.5m away."

I think it's not that sharp.

The specs and quality control on M12 lenses just aren't very good, and there's nothing to be done about it except try one and see how it works.

Will the varifocal of a Hikvision DS-2CD2632F-I(S)'s lens at 12mm result in a better images as a M12 lens of the 2CD2032 if I don't get a monday-model?

Between I also found a DS-2CD2632F-I and DS-2CD2632F-IS on aliexpress. What does the S stand for?

Cheers

You'll need to go with a camera with an focusable 12mm lens, like a varifocal camera. Then you can focus it where you want.

My Hiks are 4mm. I don't have any 12mm except a lens I'll be testing on a Dahua.

Varifocals are often not as good as fixed focal at the extremes, but that depends on the lens. There's no way to tell for sure except to try it. BW's shot isn't super sharp, and whether it could be sharpened by focusing is something else you'd have to test to know. This may be because it's so close; each lens is different, and the specs aren't very standardized. As mentioned before, it's a pain to change focus on these cams, hence BW's advice to get an easily focusable cam.

Some lenses are very hard to precisely focus on MP cams. M12 lenses tend to fit loosely in the threads, which is why you need a few wraps of teflon tape; otherwise, the focus can change when you let go of the lens. You'll want to print out a Siemens star and use that for a focus target at your preferred distance to make sure you get the best possible focus if it's important.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens_star

With inexpensive Chinese gear, the first line of quality control is often the purchaser. It's hard to say what results you'll get without actually testing a particular combination of gear.

I see. The thing is I basically could get two mini-bullets for the price of the varilens.

Is there a way to calculate 35mm kamera lens equivalents from security camera lenses?

Edit: Already found it: http://www.swann.com/s/techcenter/p/lensinfo

Yeah, it's all about price vs features, and how much time you want to spend on it.

Adjusting and focusing most varifocals takes minutes at most and can be done in place if the camera's accessible, while the mini bullets require dismounting the camera, disassembling it, changing the lens and/or focusing while it's disassembled, then reassembling and re-mounting. Once it's done, you should be good to go, but if you wanted to change things regularly, the time saved for the varifocal would be considerable. Plus, there's always the small risk that things won't work right after re-assembly.

Looks like the difference between I and I(S) is:

(-S) Audio I/O, Alarm I/O

Yeah, it's all about price vs features, and how much time you want to spend on it.

 

Adjusting and focusing most varifocals takes minutes at most and can be done in place if the camera's accessible, while the mini bullets require dismounting the camera, disassembling it, changing the lens and/or focusing while it's disassembled, then reassembling and re-mounting. Once it's done, you should be good to go, but if you wanted to change things regularly, the time saved for the varifocal would be considerable. Plus, there's always the small risk that things won't work right after re-assembly.

 

Looks like the difference between I and I(S) is:

(-S) Audio I/O, Alarm I/O

I guess audio isn't over ethernet, so this would be complicated to install anyway.

I will ask Hikvision directly via mail what the focus region of the 12mm fixed is. Maybe I got a sensful answer back. Meassured the distance today via pythagoras: 5.09 meters and I could move the table 05.-1 meters back.

I guess audio isn't over ethernet, so this would be complicated to install anyway.

 

I will ask Hikvision directly via mail what the focus region of the 12mm fixed is. Maybe I got a sensful answer back. Meassured the distance today via pythagoras: 5.09 meters and I could move the table 05.-1 meters back.

Don't know what audio over Ethernet is, but you will get the mic input audio through the web interface and on your recordings. Speaker output will be through the camera, through a mic on your PC.

Hikvision does not publish the angle of view for anything other than the 4mm on the mini bullet BUT on the DS-2CD2632F-I they say 12mm is 31.9°.

Don't know what audio over Ethernet is, but you will get the mic input audio through the web interface and on your recordings. Speaker output will be through the camera, through a mic on your PC.

 

Hikvision does not publish the angle of view for anything other than the 4mm on the mini bullet BUT on the DS-2CD2632F-I they say 12mm is 31.9°.

I guess for audio I have to put an additional audio cable to the camera?

The told me the following:

during day the general settings for any lens 6mm is as bellow

1-lens 6mm: for face around 3 meters- for body characteristics is around 6 meters and the activity is around 12 meters

2- lens 12mm: for face around 6 meters-for body characteristics is around 12meters and the activity between 20 and 30 meters.

So it could be likely that 12mm-bullets are siemens stared at around less than 6 meters.

I got a better answer from overseas support:

Dear X,

DS-2CD2032-I 12mm is sharp for 10m to 20m.

Thanks for your support towards Hikvision!

Best Regards,

Z

Overseas Technical Support