Hikvision IP Camera Buying Guide

Most CCTV disappointment comes from one mistake: a camera that records everything and identifies nobody. This guide explains the Hikvision camera range in plain terms — what each series is for, how to read the model number, and how to choose a resolution and lens that actually give you a usable image at the distance involved.

Start here: the five questions that decide it

1. What do you need to achieve at that spot? Noticing that someone is there, or identifying who they are? These need very different cameras.
2. How far away is the subject? This, with the answer above, sets your resolution and lens.
3. How much light is there at night? This decides between infrared, ColorVu and the low-light series.
4. Do you need to be told, or just to have a recording? AcuSense is the difference between useful alerts and alerts you switch off.
5. Do you want the camera to intervene? Active Deterrence cameras issue a warning rather than quietly recording a crime.

The thing nobody explains: pixels per metre

A camera's megapixel figure means nothing on its own. What matters is how many pixels land on your subject, which depends on resolution, lens and distance together. The industry standard (EN 62676-4) sets out four levels:

Goal	Pixels per metre	What you get
Detect	25 px/m	Someone is there
Observe	63 px/m	What they're doing, clothing colour
Recognise	125 px/m	You'd know someone you already know
Identify	250 px/m	Usable to identify a stranger

This is why a 4K camera on a wide 2.8mm lens covering a whole car park will still not give you a face. The pixels are spread across 20 metres of scene. Narrow the view or move the camera closer and the same camera identifies people comfortably.

The practical rule: one camera per job. A wide camera for overview, and a second on a tighter lens covering the doorway, till or gate where you actually need faces or plates. That beats one expensive camera trying to do both.

The camera series explained

AcuSense — start here

The camera classifies what it sees and separates people and vehicles from rain, foliage, shadows, spiders and cats. On a normal motion-detection camera those all trigger alerts, which is why most people turn notifications off within a fortnight — and then miss the one that mattered.

It also decides what your recorder can do. AcuSearch and AcuSeek on an NVR only work with AcuSense cameras that have the function enabled. Buy an AcuSeek recorder and pair it with older cameras and you have paid for an AI engine with nothing to work with. See the Hikvision NVR buying guide.

ColorVu — colour after dark

A very wide f/1.0 lens plus a discreet warm supplement light gives full-colour images in near darkness. Infrared produces a grey shape; ColorVu produces "grey hoodie, red car" — which is what a description or a court actually needs.

Best where there is some ambient light: forecourts, car parks, entrances, yards. The supplement light is always on at night, which is a deterrent in itself but can be intrusive facing a bedroom window.

Smart Hybrid Light — the middle path

Infrared by default, switching to white light when something is detected. Unobtrusive most of the night, colour when it counts. Usually the right answer on residential streets where a permanently lit camera would irritate neighbours.

ColorHunter and LightHunter

ColorHunter is HiLook's equivalent of ColorVu on the value range — same idea, lower cost. LightHunter takes a different approach, using a larger sensor to see in the dark rather than adding light, for scenes where you cannot illuminate.

DarkFighter and DarkFighterX

The specialist low-light tier. DarkFighterX uses two sensors — one for detail, one for colour — and combines them. Genuinely impressive, genuinely expensive, and the right answer only where light is poor and image quality is critical. Most sites are better served by ColorVu at a fraction of the price.

Active Deterrence

Strobe light and a spoken or siren warning triggered by the analytics. The camera intervenes rather than documenting. On yards, compounds and forecourts after hours this often prevents the incident instead of recording it — which is worth more than any resolution upgrade.

Pair with AcuSense so the warning triggers on a person, not on rain.

PanoVu and fisheye

PanoVu puts several sensors in one housing for a seamless wide or 180° view from a single cable and a single recorder channel. Fisheye covers a whole room or forecourt from one ceiling position with software de-warping. Both save cameras, cable and channels on large open areas — but spread pixels widely, so read the table above before relying on them for identification.

Reading the model number

Hikvision codes a great deal into the suffix, and two cameras that look identical on a quote can be materially different:

• G2, G3 — the generation. G3 is newer than G2 of the same model and usually improves sensor, analytics or low-light behaviour.
• Bracketed letters — (C), (D), (E), (eF) — the hardware revision. Not cosmetic. A revision change can alter resolution support, storage limits or which analytics are included. Always ask which revision a quote refers to. We state it on every product page.
• /SL — strobe light and audio alarm (Active Deterrence).
• U or IU — built-in microphone. Note that recording audio has its own legal considerations; see our FAQ on CCTV law.
• Z or IZ — motorised varifocal lens, adjustable remotely rather than on the ladder.
• /BLACK, /GREY — housing colour, not a different camera.
• 2.8mm / 2.8-12mm — the lens. A single figure is fixed; a range is varifocal.

Lens choice

• 2.8mm — roughly 100–110° wide. Overview of a drive, yard or shop floor. Good to about 10m for recognition on a 4MP camera.
• 4mm — around 80°. A sensible default for doorways and gates.
• 6mm and above — narrower and further. For a specific target: a gate, a till, a loading bay.
• Motorised varifocal (2.8-12mm) — costs more, but lets you set the view from the ground and change it later without a ladder. On a two-storey install that pays for itself the first time you adjust it.

Form factor

• Turret — easy to aim, discreet under eaves, no dome cover to cause infrared glare. The default choice for most installs.
• Bullet — visibly a camera, which is a deterrent in itself. Longer body suits longer lenses and longer views.
• Dome — the lens sits behind a cover, protecting it in public or vandal-prone areas. Harder to tell where it is pointing.
• PTZ — pans, tilts and zooms to follow activity across a large site. Remember it only looks one way at a time; a PTZ complements fixed cameras rather than replacing them.

What you'll need with the cameras

• A recorder with enough channels and bandwidth. Higher-resolution cameras need more of both — our NVR buying guide covers the arithmetic.
• PoE power. Either from the recorder or a PoE switch. Check the wattage, not just the port count — heaters, illuminators and PTZs draw far more than a fixed turret.
• Surveillance-rated storage. Size it with our CCTV storage calculator and use WD Purple or similar, never a desktop drive.

Common questions

How many megapixels do I actually need?

4MP suits most sites. It gives recognition at sensible distances without the storage and bandwidth cost of 8MP. Go higher only where you need to zoom into recorded footage or cover a wide area from one position — and remember that lens and distance matter more than the megapixel figure.

Will a 4K camera let me read a number plate?

Not on its own. Plate capture depends on pixels per metre, angle and speed, and a wide-lens 4K camera covering a whole entrance usually will not manage it. Dedicated ANPR cameras exist for this — ask us before assuming a general-purpose camera will do it.

What's the difference between ColorVu and infrared night vision?

Infrared gives a black-and-white image using invisible light. ColorVu gives a full-colour image using a very wide aperture and a warm supplement light. Colour is far more useful for describing people and vehicles, but ColorVu's light is visible, whereas infrared is not.

Do I need AcuSense cameras?

If you want alerts you will actually keep switched on, yes. AcuSense is also required for AcuSearch and AcuSeek on the recorder, so it affects which NVR is worth buying.

Can I mix camera brands on one recorder?

Usually yes, over ONVIF, but you will lose the manufacturer-specific features — AcuSense classification and analytics among them. Mixing is a fallback, not a plan.

Do these cameras work with my existing coax cable?

No. IP cameras need Ethernet. If you have coax from an older analogue system, HD-TVI cameras and a DVR let you reuse it — ask us and we will tell you which is cheaper for your site.

What does (C) or (E) in the model number mean?

The hardware revision. It can change resolution support, storage limits and which analytics are included, so always check which one a quote refers to.

Browse the range

• All IP cameras
• Turret · Bullet · Dome · PTZ · Fisheye
• ColorVu · DarkFighterX · LightHunter · Active Deterrence · PanoVu · 12MP
• Hikvision · HiLook by Hikvision

Still not sure?

Tell us what you need to see and how far away it is — a photo or sketch of the site is ideal. We will suggest camera positions, resolutions and lenses that achieve it, and say so if a cheaper camera would do the job.

Contact us, call 01902 902251, or visit the Wolverhampton showroom, where cameras run live so you can compare night-vision performance before you buy.