DS-2CD1141-I or another Hikvision camera

Not long ago, I reviewed a relatively expensive 8-megapixel camera. Today I’m looking at a slightly simpler model, both in terms of resolution and features. Its key selling points are its 4 MP resolution, low price, and well-known manufacturer.
As always, read on for the rest of the details.


First, why did I buy this camera? It’s actually quite simple. I originally ordered the 2042 model, but it turned out it wouldn’t be available for at least a month. I’d already used my discount coupon, and, well, I still needed a camera.
I wrote to the seller, asking him not to cancel the order and to send me a different camera instead. At first, he said he had the 2042, but only with a 6 mm lens. Then I decided that a camera with a 2.8 mm lens would actually suit me better in this case. The camera’s form factor didn’t matter, so I suggested he send me the DS-2CD1141-I, and he agreed without any trouble.
There was still one small issue: the 2042 costs about $5–6 more, and I didn’t want to lose that money. I told the seller, and in the end he offered me an extra item for the camera, which I’ll tell you about later. We settled on that.

As you’ve probably gathered, this camera isn’t the familiar “bullet” style; it has a “dome” housing, which made no difference to me.
This camera model isn’t very common, although in my opinion it’s quite reasonably priced at under $70 and is very similar to the 2042 model I reviewed some time ago.


Even so, I had no trouble finding the camera’s manual in Russian, which also included the full technical specifications. You can download the documentation package here.


As you may have noticed above, the camera has a 1/3-inch sensor, the same size as the one in the 2042.
The product page says this camera is a replacement for the DS-2CD2145F-IS, DS-2CD3145F-I, and DS-2CD3145F-IS models, but that’s not quite true. Those cameras can record to a memory card (the F in the model name), while the camera under review has no memory card slot.


The camera comes in a small square box and is well secured inside; nothing rattles around.


The package contents are typical for Hikvision cameras, and IP cameras in general:
1. DS-2CD1141-I camera
2. Mounting hardware
3. Hex key with a star-shaped tip
4. Cable gland
5. Manual
6. CD with software.


As usual, the two most useful items in the box are the cable gland and the hex key. Without the key, you can’t install the camera—or remove it.


The camera is fairly compact: 111 mm in diameter and 85 mm tall. For comparison, I’ve installed DS-2CD2712F-IS cameras, which were 140 mm in diameter and almost 100 mm tall. They also weighed twice as much: 1 kg versus 500 g for the camera under review, although that’s probably more of a drawback than an advantage.
The 12 V power connector has a silicone plug. Since cameras are now usually powered over the network cable, this connector can be more than just an obstruction: if water gets into it, it could cause the camera to fail.


Dimensioned drawing of the camera


Since this is a dome camera, it’s mainly intended for ceiling installation. In that position, the manufacturer’s name ends up “upside down.”

While we’re on the subject, what’s the difference between dome and “bullet” cameras? For starters, dome cameras are more vandal-resistant—but not so much because they’re harder to break or steal; that’s not really the point. A dome camera is harder to turn aside or knock down than a bullet camera. Also, some dome models have slightly tinted glass, making it difficult to tell which way the camera is pointing. Sometimes that matters.


The cable exits through a special cutout on the side of the housing. The underside of the camera is sealed against water, and there’s also a screw here for connecting the ground wire.


Front view of the camera.


You’ll need the included hex key to open the camera. As I mentioned above, you’ll have to open it anyway, since it’s mounted from the inside.
The upper part of the housing is plastic, which is why the camera weighs noticeably less than the DS-2CD2712F-IS. The manufacturer has also thought of at least two useful details:
1. The upper part of the housing is attached to the lower part with a short cord.
2. The mounting screws are designed so they stay in place when loosened.


There are LEDs around the lens for illumination. There is no ambient light sensor; the camera determines the required illumination level by analyzing the image. The 2085 camera was designed the same way, although the 2042 still had a photosensor.


You can't position the lens parallel to the ceiling because of the stop. In any case, that's usually not necessary: for example, I've never needed to point the lens at that angle, or the camera would see the ceiling across half the frame.
The lens swivels in two planes. The movement is stiff, and you can't tilt the camera up or down at all without loosening the mounting screws.


Next comes a more thorough teardown than is usually necessary.


Before moving on to the software and camera tests, I’ll tell you about an accessory.
As I mentioned above, I needed something to make up for the camera’s lower price, so I chose a mounting box for it. Though calling it a mounting box is a bit of a stretch.
The company actually makes quite a few accessories for these cameras, including a pole, an angled bracket, a pole-mounting mechanism for the camera, and so on.


Camera mounting box - link, about $13.5–14.

The box comes with mounting hardware and a sticker for marking the mounting points. The mounting screws are coated with something blue that looks like threadlocker.


The box is made of aluminum, and its diameter matches the camera’s: 111 mm.


There’s a large cable gland on the side, since the cable is expected to be protected by corrugated conduit or flexible metal conduit.


There’s a soft pad on the bottom and a hole with a plug. This mounting system is designed for installation on either a ceiling or a mounting pole. In the latter case, the cable can be routed in from above. The cable can also be routed in from above when it’s concealed.


Installing the camera is very straightforward: first, mount the box and feed the cable into it. Then connect the cable to the camera as usual and screw the camera onto the box.


Close the top part of the camera housing and screw it in place—that’s it.
All the wires are hidden inside the box, and the camera is better protected against vandalism. In practice, though, this setup is more suitable for industrial premises, where the cable might get accidentally pulled out or the camera knocked out of position. And that’s not even counting cleaners who might casually blast the camera with a Kärcher. In situations like these, a dome camera with a box like this will be noticeably more reliable.


My only gripe is the plug for the cable-entry hole. It’s there, but it seemed a little too small to me. It’s not a big deal, since the box is sealed even without it, but I’d have made it 1 mm larger.


Since the cameras’ software has a lot in common, I’ll mainly focus on their differences. The 2085’s software is a good baseline for comparison, as it offers the most extensive feature set in this series. The only one with more features is probably the camera that can recognize license plates.

This camera is running software version 5.5.5, which is the latest version at the moment.

Like the 2085, this camera supports a stream of up to 16 Mbit/s, variable or constant bitrate, and the Р264 or Н264+ codec with standard or extended profiles. The resolution goes up to 2688x1520 pixels, but keep in mind that the frame rate at this resolution is limited to 20 fps.
There’s also a stream smoothing mode (SVC). In practice, this menu differs only in the maximum resolution.



A brief digression here. During testing, I found that cameras with newer firmware versions don’t work with older video surveillance software or third-party software such as ILDVR. The problem is that the cameras can now encrypt the video stream, so you have to disable this feature to get the camera working. To do that, you need to do two things:
1. Enable digestbasic mode in the security settings.
2. Disable stream smoothing (SVC) in the menu shown above.

I could try rolling back to an older firmware version, but that isn’t possible, even though this is the “European” version of the camera. Besides, rolling back the firmware would disable protection against unauthorized access to the camera (in firmware versions released before fall 2017).




Image quality and sharpness tests. Keep in mind that the camera has a short-focal-length lens (2.8 mm), so the image may not look very sharp. But many people forget that the frame area on a camera like this is almost twice as large as on cameras with the common 4 mm lens. So, roughly speaking, the detail captured by a 2.8 mm camera is comparable to that of a Full HD camera with a 4 mm lens, but the former captures more of the scene.
With a 4 MP sensor and a 4 mm lens, the result would of course be completely different.
Cameras with 2.8 mm lenses are better suited to covering a wider area—for example, to assess a situation when the camera is mounted high up, or to cover relatively small areas or large rooms when good detail is needed.

First, some "at-home" tests. The test conditions are standard for my reviews: nighttime, artificial lighting from 240 W incandescent lamps (4 × 60 W), and a room area of 20 m². Of course, the image will look better with brighter lighting, but my test provides the repeatable results needed for comparisons.


In complete darkness, the illuminator is bright enough to light the room. If there are bright areas in the scene, it's better to turn on BLC for a better result.


The image is reasonably sharp, but take a look at the comparison test below.


The corners are heavily distorted, which is perfectly normal for relatively wide-angle lenses. Cameras do better on this front, of course, but their optics are much more expensive.


The comparison test is much more interesting.
1. The camera under review (4 MP, 2.8 mm)
2. DS-2CD2042WD-I (4 MP, 4 mm)
3. DS-2CD2085FWD-I (8 MP, 2.8 mm)
4. Reolink RLC-410WS (4 MP, 4 mm)

As expected, the DS-2CD2085FWD-I delivered the best result, but it also costs almost twice as much (about $130). The camera under review, however, performed better than its "classmate," the DS-2CD2042WD-I.


"Outdoor" tests.






I was preparing a video for the camera review and accidentally captured a cat first trying to hunt pigeons, and then a magpie hunting the cat :)
The full version is too long, so I kept only the main part. Start watching at 1:25.


Someone else's demo video of this camera


That's it. Here's a quick summary.
In my opinion, this camera is quite interesting, both for its price and for its overall image quality. Yes, some features have been cut, but the essentials are still there: Hik-Connect, ROI, BLC, WDR, smart illumination, and so on. So I can definitely recommend this camera for "home" video surveillance systems, especially when used with Hikvision recorders or their PC software. It can be used with other systems too, but you may (and probably will) run into problems with the motion detector, so that feature is more or less just for show.

A couple of words about the seller and the store. I've been dealing with them for several years, so here are a few recommendations.
1. If an item is out of stock, the seller raises the price. But if you manage to place an order before the price goes up and the item is already unavailable, the seller will cancel the order themselves. So it's best to keep an eye on this and, if the order period is about to expire, request an extension and message the seller. They respond quickly.
2. If you've placed an order and the item won't be available for a long time, you can arrange to have it replaced with another item (especially if you've spent points/coupons). That's what I did: I ended up ordering a different camera model and got a box as well. The total value of what I received was actually higher than what I originally spent (69 for the camera + 14 for the box).

That's definitely all now. As usual, I'm looking forward to your questions and comments.