Hikvision DS-2CE72HFT-F28 ColorVu TVI Turret Camera 5MP, 2.8mm, 20m supplemental light

Model: DS-2CE72HFT-F28

Who This Is For

Choosing between colour-at-night and standard IR cameras is often the deciding factor for installers specifying entrances, carparks, and small retail environments where identifying clothing colour, vehicle colour, or facial features after dark is operationally important. The Hikvision DS-2CE72HFT-F28 is a 5MP ColorVu TVI turret camera built around that exact requirement. It uses a large-aperture sensor rated to 0.0005 Lux and an integrated white light illuminator reaching up to 20 metres to maintain full-colour video around the clock - without switching to black-and-white IR mode. The 2.8mm fixed lens produces a wide 99.7° horizontal field of view, which suits single-point coverage of entries, corridors, or tills. Because it outputs an HDTVI signal, it drops directly into any existing Hikvision TVI DVR infrastructure without an IP network configuration.

What This Camera Actually Does

Who Buys This Model

• Small retail operators: Convenience stores and bottle shops upgrading an existing TVI DVR system who need colour identification of customers and incidents at night without replacing their entire infrastructure.
• Residential installers: Technicians mounting cameras at front entries and driveways where homeowners want to see who is approaching in colour, not greyscale, when reviewing evening or overnight footage.
• Property managers on tight cable budgets: Sites with existing coaxial cable runs where moving to IP would mean full recabling - this camera delivers 5MP colour-at-night performance over the infrastructure already in the walls.
• Child care and aged care facilities: Managers specifying indoor or covered outdoor cameras where the wide 99.7° FOV covers an entire room entry and full-colour output assists with incident review without harsh IR flare.

Honest Assessment

The DS-2CE72HFT-F28 does a specific job well: it delivers full-colour video at night over a TVI analogue connection at 5MP, which is a meaningful combination for sites where coaxial cable is already installed. The 130dB WDR handles back-lit entry points better than most cameras in this class, and the wide 2.8mm field of view keeps single-camera coverage practical for compact spaces. The IP67 housing is appropriate for outdoor Australian installs, including covered eaves and carport ceilings. Available through Security Australia, it suits upgrade projects where replacing cable infrastructure is not on the table. What it will not do: the 20-metre white light range limits it to short-to-mid-range positions, and the fixed 2.8mm lens means there is no option to tighten coverage on a distant approach. Sites needing longer detection distances or varifocal adjustment would be better served by a bullet-format or motorised lens camera in the same ColorVu range.

Before You Buy

Quick Fit Check

• Good match if: You are adding cameras to an existing Hikvision TVI DVR system and need full-colour night footage at entry points or indoor zones within a 20-metre coverage radius.
• Good match if: Your site has high-contrast lighting conditions - such as a shopfront doorway or a carport with mixed artificial and natural light - where the 130dB WDR will resolve the exposure difference that would otherwise wash out a standard camera.
• You may need a different model if: Your monitoring zone extends beyond 20 metres or you need to read number plates or identify faces at distance - a bullet-format camera with a longer IR or white light range and a narrower lens would serve that scenario better.

Key Features & Technical Specifications

Real-World Scenarios

How It Compares

• Choose this if: You have an existing TVI DVR and coaxial cable infrastructure and need full-colour night footage at close-to-mid range positions - this model adds ColorVu performance without requiring network reconfiguration.
• You may need a different model if: Your monitoring zone exceeds 20 metres or you need a tighter field of view on a longer approach - a bullet-format TVI or IP camera with a narrower fixed lens and longer illuminator range would be more appropriate.
• Pairs well with: A Hikvision HDTVI DVR with at least 5MP channel support, and a PoE or 12V DC power supply appropriate for the coaxial cable run length at the install site.

Common Questions

1. Does this camera work with an IP NVR or PoE switch?

   No. The DS-2CE72HFT-F28 outputs an HDTVI analogue signal and connects via coaxial cable to a TVI-compatible DVR. It is not an IP camera and cannot be connected to a network video recorder, PoE switch, or ethernet port. If your recording system is IP-based, you will need a TVI-to-IP bridge or a different camera model entirely.

2. Will this camera record in colour at night without any additional lighting?

   Yes. The camera has an integrated white light illuminator that activates in low-light conditions, maintaining full-colour output up to 20 metres without any external lighting. Unlike standard cameras that switch to black-and-white IR mode after dark, the DS-2CE72HFT-F28 stays in colour mode continuously. The minimum illumination spec of 0.0005 Lux at F1.0 means the sensor is also highly sensitive to residual ambient light.

3. How does ColorVu white light differ from standard IR night vision, and does the white light cause problems?

   ColorVu uses a visible white light LED rather than an invisible infrared LED to illuminate the scene. The practical difference is that the camera produces full-colour footage at night instead of greyscale. The trade-off is that the white light is visible - it produces a faint glow that is noticeable in direct view. For most entry and carport positions this is not an issue and can itself act as a deterrent. However, if the camera is aimed directly at a bedroom window or a neighbouring property's outdoor area, the light may cause nuisance. The illuminator activates automatically when scene brightness drops below the camera's threshold; there is no manual override to disable it without replacing the unit with a standard IR model.

4. Does the 130dB WDR actually help at a door facing bright sunlight?

   Yes, measurably so. Standard cameras without WDR will either blow out the exterior or make the interior too dark when a door opens to a sunlit area. At 130dB, the True WDR on this camera captures both zones in the same frame by combining multiple exposures. This is particularly useful for retail or residential entries where the camera is mounted inside or under a cover facing outward, and where you need to identify a person standing in a backlit doorway.

5. Will this camera work for a site that currently has no coaxial cable installed?

   It will work, but running new coaxial is a cost consideration. For new installations with no existing cable infrastructure, an IP camera connected via Cat5e or Cat6 to a PoE NVR is typically more cost-effective to cable and offers greater system flexibility. The DS-2CE72HFT-F28 is best suited to sites where coaxial cable and a TVI DVR are already in place. The team at Security Australia can help you assess whether a TVI or IP solution is more practical for your specific site.

6. Does the human and vehicle detection on this camera send push alerts directly to a phone?

   No, not directly from the camera. The DS-2CE72HFT-F28 outputs classified detection metadata over the TVI signal to the connected DVR. Push notifications and remote viewing are managed by the DVR and its associated app - typically Hik-Connect or iVMS-4200 for Hikvision systems. The camera's on-board analytics reduce false triggers at the DVR level, but alert delivery depends entirely on how the DVR is configured.

7. Is the 2.8mm lens suitable for identifying faces or reading text at more than 5 metres?

   At 5MP and 2.8mm, the camera provides useful identification detail at roughly 3 to 7 metres from the subject. Beyond that range, the wide field of view means each subject occupies proportionally fewer pixels, reducing the practical detail available for identification. For positions mounted higher than 3 metres or further than 7 metres from the primary zone of interest, a 3.6mm or 6mm variant of this model will concentrate more pixels on the subject area. The 2.8mm is most effective for close-entry monitoring where subjects pass directly through the frame rather than appearing small at a distance.

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