Hikvision DS-2CD2346G2H-IU — 4 MP AcuSense DarkFighter Turret
Start with the letter that misleads people. The G2H in this model number does not mean Smart Hybrid Light. There is no white light here and no colour after dark. Check the datasheet line that matters — supplement light type — and it reads IR. Several cameras in Hikvision’s range carry G2H and behave differently, so it is worth reading rather than assuming.
What it is instead is a Powered-by-DarkFighter turret with an F1.0 lens, which is a full stop faster than the F1.4 you find on most domes at this price, and infrared out to 30 metres. It holds colour down to 0.001 lux and then goes monochrome. Indoors under artificial light that distinction never arises; in an unlit yard it is the whole story, and you should choose accordingly.
The body is metal, cover and all, at Ø138.3 × 115.4 mm and 550 grams. That is a substantial object on a domestic-scale ceiling and a modest one on a warehouse wall. It runs on 9 watts of ordinary 802.3af PoE, is sealed to IP67 and starts at -30 °C. The -U suffix adds the built-in microphone; the plain -I leaves it out.
- F1.0 lens, a stop faster than the F1.4 domes in this catalogue
- Infrared only to 30 m at 850 nm — monochrome after dark, no white light
- 0.001 lux in colour; 0 lux with infrared
- 4 MP, 2688 × 1520, 120 dB WDR
- Fixed 2.8 mm or 4 mm, 100.2° or 81.1° horizontal
- Metal cover and body, Ø138.3 × 115.4 mm, 550 g
- Face capture, line crossing, intrusion, region entrance and exiting
- IP67, -30 °C to 60 °C, PoE 802.3af Class 3, max 9 W
What this camera actually covers
The lens is fixed at order and cannot be changed later, so spend two minutes here. The 4 mm gives up nineteen degrees of width and buys fifteen metres of extra detection range and a metre of extra identification. In a corridor that trade is obvious: you want length, not walls. In a room it usually is not.
One number the diagram cannot draw, and it bites indoors: at 4 mm the depth of field starts at 2.5 metres. On a ceiling at two and a half metres, anyone standing directly underneath is inside the minimum focus distance and will be soft. Aim it along the space, not at the floor beneath it. The 2.8 mm focuses from 1.9 m and is more forgiving overhead.
Loading the coverage diagram…
Full specification
Imaging, lens and DORI
| Image sensor | 1/3″ progressive scan CMOS |
| Max. resolution | 2688 × 1520 |
| Min. illumination | Colour 0.001 lux (F1.0, AGC on); B/W 0 lux with IR |
| Shutter time | 1/3 s to 1/100,000 s |
| Day & night | IR cut filter |
| Angle adjustment | Pan 0° to 360°, tilt 0° to 75°, rotate 0° to 360° |
| Lens | Fixed focal, 2.8 mm or 4 mm, M12 mount, fixed iris, F1.0 |
| Focal length & FOV | 2.8 mm: horizontal 100.2°, vertical 54.7°, diagonal 119.7° 4 mm: horizontal 81.1°, vertical 44.7°, diagonal 94.6° |
| Depth of field | 2.8 mm: 1.9 m to ∞; 4 mm: 2.5 m to ∞ |
| DORI at 2.8 mm | D 63 m, O 25 m, R 12 m, I 6 m |
| DORI at 4 mm | D 78 m, O 31 m, R 15 m, I 7 m |
| Supplement light | Infrared only, up to 30 m, 850 nm, smart supplement light |
| WDR | 120 dB |
Video and audio
| Main stream | 50 Hz: 25 fps; 60 Hz: 30 fps (2688×1520, 1920×1080, 1280×720) |
| Sub-stream | 50 Hz: 25 fps; 60 Hz: 30 fps (1280×720, 640×480, 640×360) |
| Third stream | 10 fps (1920×1080 down to 640×360), supported under certain settings |
| Video compression | Main: H.265/H.264/H.265+/H.264+ |
| Video bit rate | 32 Kbps to 8 Mbps |
| Audio | -U: built-in microphone, mono |
Analytics and events
| Basic event | Motion detection with human and vehicle target classification, video tampering, exception |
| Smart event | Line crossing, intrusion, region entrance, region exiting, scene change detection |
| Face capture | Yes |
| Perimeter protection | Line crossing, intrusion, region entrance and exiting, triggered by human and vehicle targets |
Power, housing and approvals
| Power | 12 VDC ±25%, 0.6 A, max. 7.2 W, Ø5.5 mm coaxial plug with reverse polarity protection; PoE IEEE 802.3af, Class 3, max. 9 W |
| Material | Metal cover, metal body |
| Dimensions | Ø138.3 mm × 115.4 mm |
| Weight | Approx. 550 g |
| Operating conditions | -30 °C to 60 °C, humidity 95% or less non-condensing |
| Protection | IP67 (IEC 60529-2013) |
| Anti-corrosion | No specific protection — not rated for coastal or acid-rain exposure |
| Approvals | CE-EMC, CE-LVD, CE-RoHS, UL 62368-1, CB (IEC 62368-1) |
Available as DS-2CD2346G2H-IU (2.8 mm and 4 mm) and DS-2CD2346G2H-IU (2.8 mm) in black; the plain -I omits the microphone. Black is listed in the 2.8 mm variant only. For a camera on the same 4 MP AcuSense platform that does give full colour at night with a hybrid illuminator, see the DS-2CD2047G2H-LIU. For a shallower dome for tight interiors, see the DS-2CD2546G2-IS. Specification sourced from the manufacturer datasheet, DS-2CD2346G2H-I(U), 13 May 2024.
Works with SmartGard.AI
This is a camera for circulation: corridors, stairwells, store rooms, the route people take to the toilets and out to the car park. Those spaces produce movement constantly and almost all of it is legitimate, which is exactly the situation where a camera left to alert on its own trains people to ignore it.
The camera does the detecting. It reports motion with human and vehicle classification, line crossing, intrusion, region entrance and exiting, face capture and tampering. SmartGard.AI reads the frames each trigger arrives with and judges them against a description of that specific place, written in your own words, so a staff member walking to the cellar at four in the afternoon and someone in the same corridor at four in the morning stop being the same event.
There is a second reason this model suits interior work. It is infrared only, which means it never floods a customer area with white light because somebody walked past. Monochrome after hours is the right behaviour indoors, not a compromise.
Already have cameras up? The same layer retrofits onto most modern IP installations without replacing what you already own.