Hikvision 3K ColorVu Turret Camera, White Light up to 40 m, 2.8 mm, Black DS-2CE72KF3T(2.8mm)(BLACK)

What this black Hikvision camera is for

This Hikvision ColorVu camera aims to give a colour picture at any hour, which helps describe a car or a coat later. The black body can suit dark fascias and modern frontages.

It can suit a homeowner or small business adding to an analogue CCTV system, and an installer replacing older analogue cameras without new network cabling. A turret camera has a rounded body with no dome cover over the lens.

How does ColorVu work on this camera?

• ColorVu: Hikvision's name for its colour-at-night range. A wide F1.0 aperture lets in more light, so the camera can hold colour in dimmer scenes.
• White light: a visible light on the camera that takes over when the scene gets too dark. The setting is Auto/Off, and smart light is one of the image settings.
• Colour mode: the day/night mode is colour, so there is no separate black and white night mode to expect.
• Light alarm: a solid white light alarm can draw attention to activity.
• Motion areas: 4 programmable motion areas let you choose which parts of the picture count.

Where to use it

The -40 °C to 50 °C working range and IP67 rating suit outdoor walls and soffits, and it can also work indoors.

The 2.8 mm lens has a wide view, so it suits areas a few metres from the camera, such as a front path or a parking bay. Think about neighbours before relying on white light, because it is a visible beam.

What the figures mean in practice

• 3K: 2960 (H) × 1665 (V) is the full picture size. Your recorder needs to take that size to show all of it.
• Frame rate: 3K runs at 20 fps. Dropping to 4MP or 1080p raises it to 25 fps or 30 fps, which can suit faster movement.
• WDR and lux: WDR balances the bright and dark parts of a picture, so a bright road and a dark porch can both stay readable. Lux measures light falling on a scene, and AGC is the camera's automatic gain.

Installing it

• Power: for long cable runs, Hikvision recommends a 2-pin power supply. Allow max. 5.3 W per camera when sizing it.
• Fixings by code: Hikvision also offers the DS-1276ZJ-SUS corner mount, the DS-1280ZJ-S junction box and the DS-1281ZJ-S inclined ceiling mount. Check each one's finish before ordering.
• Light glare: keep bright walls and soffits out of the close foreground, because white light bounces back into the lens.

Planning your system

This is an analogue camera, so it needs a digital video recorder rather than a network one. Add hard drives sized for how many days you want to keep.

Recording happens at the recorder, so size its storage for all your cameras.

Standards and ratings explained

• IP67: dust tight, and protected against temporary immersion in water.
• PAL and NTSC: two video standards. PAL is the usual one on UK equipment.
• 3D DNR: digital noise reduction that compares frames to clean up grain in low light.