Hikvision vs Dahua – World No.1 and No.2 IP Cameras Compared

Hikvision vs Dahua – World No.1 and No.2 IP Cameras Compared

Still concern about what to choose? Hikvision and Dahua are two of the most popular IP camera brands. Hikvision is the world leader in IP cameras with a global market share of 17% forecast in 2017, Dahua comes in second with a forecast of 5.5%.

Both Hikvision and Dahua produce a very similar line of products, similar in that their product specifications. This is why most people will compare these two brand with each other. The fear being that using both simultaneously can very easily cause compatibility issues.

As we test comparable IP cameras from both Hikvision and Dahua. We are going to list our reviews and comparisons of their features and video quality. These ip camera comparisons are meant to provide the valuable information, to let user decide which camera best fits their needs.

4MP IP Camera Comparison – Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I vs. Dahua IPC-HFW4421S

Hardware

Both the 4MP Dahua and Hikvision have the most common sensor, 1/3″ progressive scan CMOS sensor.

The size of the sensor has a huge bearing on the low light ability of a camera. The larger the sensor, the greater its ability to gather light and so do well in low light conditions. But as you cram in more and more pixels into the same size sensor, they get smaller and smaller, which adds noise. Noise is the bane of low light video and reduces the detail that you can get out of your video.

So while security camera manufacturers have pushed pixel count from 3MP to 4MP, they have not increased the sensor size. However both the Hikvision and Dahua 4MP models have true 120dB Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) to help improve video quality. Both cameras can do a minimum illumination of 0.01 lux and 0 lux with IR on. Both cameras have fixed lenses available at different focal lengths. Hikvision does 4mm and 6mm, whereas Dahua offers more options with 2.8mm, 3.6mm and 6mm.

Protocol support & Bitrate

Both cameras able to support ONVIF and RTSP protocol, these are two most important features for IP camera. ONVIF ensures that your camera will work with standards-compliant equipment from 3rd party manufacturers. RTSP allows even non-ONVIF equipment (such as software) to access the security camera’s video stream. Hikvision 2CD2042WD-I has a max bitrate of 16Mbps vs. the 10 Mbps of the Dahua IPC-HFW4421S. Usually, 6Mbps is good enough for most of case. Dahua has is the ability to provide three simultaneous video streams at different resolutions, whereas the Hikvision can do only two different resolution simultaneously.

Motion Detection

Both cameras support basic motion detection, as well as advanced motion detection techniques. But the Dahua has the advantage here with face detection, abandoned object and missing object detection.