Lorex MCNB2153 lens swap

[rkilpa 0]

I have a Lorex LNR382 NVR and 8 MCNB2153 cameras with 4MM lenses. I'm actually quite happy with the clarity of the picture, but I need one camera to see closer than a 4MM lens can.

Lorex is telling me that their cameras are the only ones that will work with my NVR and they do not offer lens upgrades.

 

The MCNB2153 camera is the same as the LBN2153 shown on their website. Their website also shows that the LBN2153 is a newer version of their LBN2151 and the difference is "purely cosmetic". The LBN2151 looks identical to the Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I that everyone here raves about and is offered by Hikvision with different lenses. Hikvision is the supplier to Lorex.

 

I purchased a new DS-2CD2032-I with the intent of using the 12MM lens for my application. I got it for $85 on eBay and its coming from China so I wont be able to do the lens exchange anytime soon, so I'm looking for some help.

 

I intend to first plug in the Hikvision camera to confirm that it will not work with the Lorex NVR right out of the box. I assume the Lorex camera uses proprietary firmware or something that prevents other manufacturers cameras from communicating with their NVR.

 

After confirming it doesn't work I intend to swap out only what needs to for my Lorex camera to work with the new 12MM lens.

 

MROEK has a post showing the breakdown of the Hikvision camera and all the separate boards and components. Very helpful for what I plan to do.

 

My question is: instead of swapping out the 4MM lens itself, does it sound reasonable that I should be able to swap out the whole board that the 12MM lens is already attached to? This would be much easier and shouldn't require focus adjustment with the new lens.

 

I would think that the cameras being the same it should be plug and play. Does the board with the lens attached have anything to do with firmware? With the pictures from MROEK's post, it looks like the CPU and most of the electronics are on the rear two boards.

 

Any previous experience results would be appreciated.

[rkilpa 0]

OK....so I answered my own questions, but I thought I would share the results in case anyone else has the same desire to upgrade the standard 4MM lens in their Lorex MCNB2153 camera.

 

As I expected, the Hikvision camera is NOT plug and play with the Lorex NVR. The camera powers up and the night vision LEDS illuminate when plugged into the cat5 cable, but the camera can not be configured to the NVR even by editing the "adding method" to manual and changing the protocol to any of the 8 other brands listed (Hikvision is not listed) The display screen shows the same Lorex logo as if no camera is plugged in.

 

However, the camera parts ARE interchangeable. I disassembled both cameras and was able to swap out the lens board by simply disconnecting the ribbon cable and one other contact that connects the two halves together. The lens boards are identical in shape and all I needed to do was swap the Hiklvision board with the 12MM lens into my Lorex case.

 

When I plugged the camera in, it booted up just as it did with the 4MM lens except now I have a working 12MM zoom lens in my camera.

 

The best part is now the 4MM lens is inside the new Hikvision camera that I paid $85 for and I can resell it for almost as much as I paid for it making this a very affordable upgrade. This is much more cost effective than paying the $75 I was quoted from a lens supplier for just a 12MM 3MP lens, and a whole lot easier than ungluing and unscrewing lenses and then messing with focus adjustments.

 

In summary: You can exchange the lens board from a Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I camera as a complete unit and it will work in your Lorex MCNB2153 camera.