Geovision 4MP Super Low Cost Turret Tested (EBD-4700)

Published Sep 29, 2017 12:39 PM

~$100 cameras, even for 4MP, are now expected by many dealers, as price cuts and ongoing sales have set this expectation.

At the same time, many dealers are looking for alternatives to Dahua and Hikvision, due to cybersecurity concerns, dealer saturation or simply alternative brands.

A recent Geovision camera, EBD-4700, a 4MP outdoor turret, is challenging or beating pricing of their bigger rivals. So we bought one and tested it vs Hikvision.

 

Inside, we report on:

  • Full light and low light image quality
  • WDR performance
  • IR range and overexposure
  • IR illumination pattern
  • Lens distortion
  • Bandwidth consumption

See our full results inside.

Executive Summary

Relative to Hikvision, there were 3 notable deficiencies - bandwidth consumption was significantly higher (the Geovision has no smart codec support), WDR performance lagged and IR overexposure was more significant.

Pricing was significantly less expensive than Hikvision and other features were similar.

Note that the EDB4700 is a Uniview OEM camera, though sold at a lower price than similar Uniview models, but without the same restricted channel.

Pricing

The Geovision EBD4700 is priced at ~$100 USD online, significantly lower than the 4MP Hikvision DS-2CD2342, which sells for ~$170. 

OEM From Uniview

The EBD4700 is a Uniview OEM, with few material changes. Geovision typically manufacturers their own products and, we believe, this model is an exception rather than a change in general strategy.

Shown below, the Uniview IPC3614SR3-DPF28M and GeoVision EBD4700 cameras are nearly identical on the outside, distinguishable only via the logo:

Looking at the web interface, design is nearly the same, with a slightly different color scheme and some options moved/removed in the Geovision model. Most notably, smart codecs have been removed from the Geovision model, discussed below.

Physical Overview

The physical characteristics of the camera are typical for turret cameras, reviewed below.

Image Quality

We tested image quality outdoors, day and night, in the field of view shown below.

At ~20' the cameras provide similar detail quality in the subject's face, however the GeoVision EBD4700 performed slightly worse than the Hikvision with a portion of the chart overexposed.

At ~60' distance/~19 PPF, Geovision performs worse than the Hikvision 2342, with no details of the subject's face and nearly half the test chart obscured.

Edge FoV / Lens Distortion

To check lens distortion, we placed the subject in the center and edge or the field of view, shown below.

As with many wide angle fixed lens models, there is significant distortion at the edge of the lens, significantly reducing details and skewing/stretching the subject.  

WDR Performance

To test WDR performance, we shot the cameras in two test scenes: a dynamic entry/exit door and a warehouse scene with open door with more static lighting. Both cameras are true WDR.

In the entry/exit door scene, the Geovision camera totally overexposes the subject outside with the door open, showing no background detail. The Hikvision model suffers from overexposure as well, but to a lesser extent.

After entering, the Geovision camera blurs/smears the subject, as well, not present in the Hikvision 2342, shown below.

In the warehouse WDR scene, lux varied from ~50 inside, to ~600 outside.

In this scene, performance with the subject outside was close, with details of the subject roughly similar. In the darker area beside the door, the Geovision camera provides a moderate advantage over the Hikvision 2342.

Low Light Performance

The GeoVision provides better details in the subject's face; providing slightly more well defined features. The chart was also slightly better details in the third and fourth lines

At range (~60 distance/~19 PPF), neither camera provides any details of the subject, with the Hikvision 2342 providing slightly brighter images. 

Moderate Center IR Hotspot

The EBD4700 IR illuminator is moderately dark at the edges, reducing details of the subject and chart in the extremes of the field of view, shown below.

Weak IR Max Range/Overexposure Near Range 

The EBD4700 reached its specified 30m/~98' IR range, though weakly, with no details of the subject due to very low PPF at this range (~11).

At near range (~25' and below), the subject was overexposed, obscuring all details of his face:

The clip below shows both of these issues, with the subject walking from ~120' to the camera.

Bandwidth Comparison

The EBD4700's bitrates were higher than the Hikvision 2342 both day and night due to its lack of smart codec. Note that Uniview's own models include smart codecs, named U-Code (see our test), but they are not available in the Geovision OEM models.

Test Parameters

The following cameras were used in this test:

  • Geovision EBD4700: V1.01_2016_12_29
  • Hikvision DS-2CD2342WD-I: V5.4.5build 170124 
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