Hikvision 4K IR PTZ Tested (DS-2DF8836IV-AELW)

Published Nov 10, 2017 11:45 AM

The IR PTZ trend continues, now with 4K resolution, with Hikvision releasing its DS-2DF8836IVAEL-W camera [link no longer available], a 4K 1/1.9" PTZ model specifying 200m IR range and 36x zoom.

We bought and tested this model to see how it performs in day and night scenes, testing:

  • Image quality
  • IR performance
  • Focus issues
  • Bandwidth
  • VMS integration

And more. See our results inside. 

Readers interested in 4K PTZs should also see our test of Dahua's 6AE830VNI 4K IR model, which will also be compared in an upcoming shootout.

Summary

In our tests, the Hikvision 8836 IR PTZ had three key performance issues:

  • Significant nighttime focus issues: Like other IR PTZs we have tested, the 8836 frequently takes several seconds to focus or fails to focus at night with IR on. This was present in both 3-5lx and <1lx scenes.
  • Daytime soft focus: Unlike other PTZs we have tested, daytime focus tended to be soft, focusing beyond the subject when changing presets or moving the camera.
  • Drop in effective details: At high zoom levels/long focal lengths, the Hikvision 4K PTZ effectively produced ~60-70% less effective PPF compared to theoretical (based on horizontal pixels ÷ field of view width). Effects were lessened or eliminated in lower zoom levels/wider AOVs.

Because of these issues, users should be especially careful when specifying this (and other) 4K IR PTZ models, as details delivered will likely not live up to calculations.

On the plus side, the 8836 integrated without issue to Avigilon, Exacq, and Milestone, with all three VMSes able to configure presets and tours from the VMS, as well. Note that like other Hikvision cameras, Genetec restricts the 8836 without a restricted license. 

Pricing

The Hikvision DS-2DF8836IV-AELW sells for ~$2,700-$2,900 online which is modestly more than the Dahua 6AE830VNI which sells for ~$2,500-2,700 USD online. There are not many other 4K IR PTZ models are available for comparison.

Size Comparison

The Hikvision 4K PTZ is notably larger than the Dahua PTZ. The Dahua camera pictured below is average size for an IR PTZ. Both of these are much larger than typical non-IR models, however, such as the Axis Q6155-E. All three are shown below:

Physical Overview

In addition to its large size, most notably, the lens of the 8836 is much larger than other PTZs we have tested, including the Dahua 4K IR model shown above. We discuss this and other features in the video belowL

IR LEDs

The IR LEDs pattern changes with zoom. In the image below, starting left to right, the camera is at its widest AoV with four smaller IR LEDs illuminated. The IR LEDs transition from those 4 to 6 larger large LEDs when fully zoomed in with smaller AoV.

 

 

Despite changing LEDs, we experienced regular overexposure issues in our tests. For example, with the subject approaching at ~100', the camera greatly overexposes the subject throughout the walk, with no details of the subject provided.

Significant Focus Issues

The 8836 had significant focus issues in testing, both day and night.

At night, attempting to track a subject, the camera fails to focus throughout the field of view. The 30 second clip below shows the subject moving from ~250' to ~50', with focus lost throughout most of the clip (and then overexposed, shown above).

During the day, focus performance was better, but the Hikvision 4K PTZ tended to focus beyond the subject, resulting in soft details. This may be subtle and difficult to notice when zoomed in in some cases, as PPF is very high (though effectively lower, see below), so details are still strong.

Image Quality

The image below shows daytime, low light, and dark images from the Hikvision 4K PTZ. Details were solid day and night (shown at ~350' in these examples), with the subject recognizable at all three light levels.However, note that these images were taken after the subject had stopped moving and the camera was autofocused, due to the focus issues mentioned above.

Note: Comparisons to Hikvision's 4K IR model, the Dahua 6AE830VNI, in these scenes will be shown in an upcoming 4K PTZ shootout.

Clearer Lens Details

The Hikvision 8836 maintained effective vs. actual PPF better than other PTZs tested, which suffer from quality issues due to long focal length lenses (e.g. Dahua 4K displaying ~50% less effective PPF).

For example, at ~100 PPF, shown below, the image of the subject from the Hikvision PTZ is similar to a 100 PPF sample image from a known reference camera.

Some detail was lost at high PPF levels (~150+ PPF), but details were still strong due to the extreme PPF. 

Bandwidth

The 8836 does not include H.265 or H.264+ codecs, now common on most other new Hikvision models, resulting than much higher bitrates than Hikvision's other 4K models, generally lower than 1 Mb/s day and night. Additionally, note that bitrates were measured while the PTZ was tracking or moving from preset to preset, not in a fixed position, to provide measurements closer to real-world use.

Note: Bandwidth comparisons to Dahua's 6AE830 4K IR PTZ, which includes H.265 and now smart codecs, will be included in an upcoming shootout report.

Presets/Tours

The 8836 is capable of 300 presets, as well as 8 preset tours and 5 patterns ("replay" of PTZ movements recorded by an operator), far more than most operators utilize, and similar to the Dahua 6AE830.

Additionally, presets were accessible and could be created/edited via Avigilon, Exacq, Genetec, and Milestone (shown below in Exacq as an example)

Sample Clips

The 30 second sample video below shows daytime subject tracking, along with focus issues, shown above in the report. Readers with 4K monitors may double click for full resolution video.

Users may also download clips from this test, including daytime and nighttime tracking in this .zip file (~232 MB).

Firmware Version Used

The following firmwares were used for test:

  • Hikvision DS-2CD8836AEL: 5.4.10
Comments are shown for subscribers only. Login or Join