Hikvision 4 MP 4× IR PTZ Network Camera DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3

The DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 is a small Hikvision PTZ: 4 MP, 4× optical zoom, IR supplement lighting, and a head that pans and tilts on command. Settle one thing before quoting it — the 4× is not where the value sits. Four times is a modest range, nearer to a fixed varifocal than to anything a client would call long reach. What you are buying is movement: one camera that looks at several places, rather than several each locked on one.

That points it at compact, busy spaces rather than distance: a small forecourt, a reception hall, a walled yard, a shop floor where somebody wants to follow a visitor from door to counter. If the job sheet reads “identify a plate at the far gate”, re-spec now — that is a long-zoom job, and a 25× unit such as the DS-2DE4425IW-DE speed dome is the camera that does it.

Where it fits

A 4× PTZ is not a camera that sees further — it is a camera that sees elsewhere, and it only earns its price where “elsewhere” is a real requirement. Mount it where the area of interest is wide but shallow, and the pan and tilt genuinely replaces cameras — the zoom handles the last step once the head points the right way.

What decides whether a PTZ is worth buying is not optics: somebody has to drive it. Left alone, it stares wherever the last operator abandoned it, which on many sites is a wall. Unless the client has a manned control room, the install is not finished until presets cover the positions that matter, a tour cycles between them, and auto-return brings the head back after a manual nudge. Budget that commissioning time — a PTZ nobody configures is a fixed camera at several times the price, pointed the wrong way on the night it matters.

Before you order — three things to confirm

• Who drives it. Establish whether there is a live operator, or whether presets and a tour must be programmed at handover — and price those hours in.
• Power and cable run. A moving head draws differently from a fixed dome. Check the datasheet power figures against what your switch, injector or supply delivers at the far end.
• Mount and clearance. A PTZ needs room to rotate and a bracket rated for a moving load, set so the tilt range covers the ground that matters. Confirm bracket and surface separately.

Technical specifications

• Manufacturer: Hikvision
• Model: DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3
• Image Sensor: 1/2.8″ Progressive Scan CMOS
• Max. Resolution: 2560 × 1440
• Min. Illumination: Color: 0.005 Lux @ (F1.5, AGC ON), B/W: 0.001 Lux @ (F1.5, AGC ON), 0 Lux with IR
• Shutter Speed: 1/1 s to 1/30,000 s
• Day & Night: IR cut filter
• Zoom: 4x optical, 16x digital
• Slow Shutter: Yes
• Focal Length: 2.8 to 12 mm
• FOV: Horizontal FOV 96.796° to 31.68°, vertical FOV 51.16° to 17.798°, diagonal FOV 115.13° to 36.32°
• Focus: Auto, semi-auto, manual
• Aperture: Max. F1.5
• Zoom Speed: Approx. 2 s
• Supplement Light Type: IR
• Supplement Light Range: IR Distance: up to 20 m
• Smart Supplement Light: Yes
• IR Wavelength: 850 nm
• Movement Range (Pan): 0° to 355°
• Movement Range (Tilt): 0° to 90°
• Pan Speed: Pan speed: configurable from 0.1° to 100°/s; preset speed: 100°/s
• Tilt Speed: Tilt speed: configurable from 0.1° to 100°/s, preset speed 100°/s
• Proportional Pan: Yes
• Presets: 300
• 3D Positioning: Yes
• Main Stream: 50 Hz: 25 fps (2560 × 1440, 1920 × 1080, 1280 × 960, 1280 × 720); ; 60 Hz: 30 fps (2560 × 1440, 1920 × 1080, 1280 × 960, 1280 × 720)
• Sub-Stream: 50 Hz: 25 fps (704 × 576, 640 × 480, 352 × 288); ; 60 Hz: 30 fps (704 × 480, 640 × 480, 352 × 240)
• Third Stream: 50 Hz: 25 fps (704 × 576, 640 × 480, 352 × 288); ; 60 Hz: 30 fps (704 × 480, 640 × 480, 352 × 240)
• Video Compression: Main stream: H.265+/H.265/H.264+/H.264; Sub-stream: H.265/H.264/MJPEG; Third stream: H.265/H.264/MJPEG

Figures from Hikvision’s published datasheet. We confirm the revision in stock when we quote.

Compatibility

As a Hikvision IP camera it records to Hikvision NVRs over the standard protocols and is administered through the usual Hikvision software and mobile client. Third-party recorders are a separate question: ONVIF video normally works, but PTZ control, preset recall and tour handling behave inconsistently across brands, so confirm control on that platform and firmware before ordering, not after.

What’s in the box

Box contents vary between production revisions, so we confirm what ships with current stock at order. Do not assume a bracket, mounting box, power supply, injector or memory card — specify each separately on the order if the job needs one.

Common questions

Is 4× zoom enough to identify a face across a yard?
Only if the yard is small and the head can turn towards the subject first. Treat the 4× as a way to tighten onto what the camera already faces, not to reach across a site.

Can it follow movement on its own?
Do not sell it on that assumption. Tracking depends on the firmware and configuration of the specific unit and recorder, and performs very differently on a busy forecourt than in a demonstration. Test it on site before putting it in writing.

Why choose this over three fixed cameras at similar cost?
A PTZ gives one operator flexible coverage and the option to follow; fixed cameras record every angle at once. If the site needs evidence of everything all the time, fixed wins. If it needs somebody able to look anywhere on demand, this does.

Genuine Hikvision from the authorized Hikvision agent in Egypt, official manufacturer warranty of 1 to 5 years depending on the product, delivery across Egypt, and professional installation in Cairo & Giza, priced after a site assessment. Prices are given on request — press Get a Quote on this page or call 16454.