Dahua IPC-HDW5442TM-ASE-0280B-S3 IP camera 4 MP, 2.8 mm, IR 50 m, PoE

The 2.8 mm lens gives a 113° horizontal and 60° vertical field of view, enough to cover an entrance, sales floor or corridor in one wide picture. Smart IR lights the dark up to 50 m away and adjusts its output so that a person close to the camera does not turn into a white blur. According to the DORI figures, the camera detects a person at 58 m, observes at 23 m, recognises at 12 m and identifies at 6 m.

The 1/1.8″ progressive-scan CMOS sensor and F1.6 lens produce a good picture in poor light, with 0.002 lux sensitivity. A 140 dB WDR balances a bright doorway against a dark interior, which matters especially at an entrance with a glass door. A mechanical IR-cut filter (ICR) switches between day and night modes, while 3D noise reduction, automatic white balance and gain, plus BLC and HLC keep the image clean.

Deep-learning face detection quickly finds faces in the frame and saves them as separate snapshots, so investigating an incident does not mean watching hours of video. Perimeter protection tells people from vehicles in intrusion and tripwire events, cutting false alarms in pedestrian or vehicle-only zones. Alarms can be sent in real time to a desktop or a mobile app.

People counting tracks people moving through the frame and counts entries and exits separately; the manufacturer quotes an accuracy of up to 95%. The heat map shows where people walk or linger most. That turns a security camera in a retail space or office into a tool for judging footfall and how the space is used. Privacy masks hide sensitive parts of the frame.

The metal dome is rated IP67, operates from −40 to +60 °C and mounts on a ceiling. The camera tolerates input voltage swings of ±30% and has 6 kV lightning protection, which makes it dependable where power is unstable. Power comes over PoE (802.3af) or from a 12 V adapter. You can view it through the web interface, Smart PSS, DSS and DMSS, with up to 20 users at once. It measures 106 mm across and 99.2 mm high and weighs 550 g.

Retail outlets, offices and customer service areas that care about visitor numbers and movement as well as security; building entrances that need face detection and WDR to cope with a backlit glass door; and installers who want a weatherproof PoE camera with lightning protection.