Hikvision ColorVu vs Dahua Full-colour: Which Should You Fit?

Security camera mounted on a building wall at dusk — 4 min read17 September 2026

If you are specifying cameras for a site that has to produce usable colour images after dark, you will end up choosing between Hikvision ColorVu and Dahua Full-colour. They aim at the same outcome and get there in much the same way, but they behave differently enough on real UK sites that the choice is worth making deliberately rather than by brand loyalty.

We stock both ranges and fit both, so what follows is the practical version rather than the brochure version.

What the two technologies actually do

Conventional cameras drop to infrared at night. IR gives you a clean monochrome image, but it throws away the single most useful piece of evidence a camera can capture: colour. A description that says “dark hatchback, red jacket” is worth considerably more than one that says “mid-grey car, mid-grey jacket”.

Both ColorVu and Full-colour solve this the same way. They pair a much larger aperture lens, typically F1.0, with a more sensitive sensor, then add a warm supplementary white LED for when ambient light runs out entirely. The result is a colour image around the clock.

Monochrome CCTV camera image at night — Infrared gives a sharp picture but discards colour, which is usually the detail that makes a description worth something.

Where they differ in practice

Consideration	Hikvision ColorVu	Dahua Full-colour
Maturity	Launched earlier, broader model range	Arrived later, caught up quickly
Behaviour in near-darkness	Relies more on the white LED	Generally holds colour slightly longer on ambient light
Motion filtering	AcuSense human/vehicle classification	SMD Plus, noticeably good at rejecting foliage
UK availability	Very widely stocked	Well stocked, slightly narrower
Typical price	Small premium	Often marginally cheaper like-for-like

The motion filtering difference matters more than the spec sheets suggest. On a UK site with hedging, trees or a flag, wind-driven false alarms are the thing that makes a client stop trusting their system. Dahua’s SMD Plus has a good reputation for rejecting that kind of movement, and Hikvision’s AcuSense is strong at classifying humans and vehicles rather than simply detecting change.

The mistake worth avoiding

A pure ColorVu or pure Full-colour camera has no infrared at all. If the white LED is off and there is no ambient light, you get nothing useful. You cannot add IR later.

That is fine on a lit forecourt, a street-lit frontage or anywhere with a security light. It is the wrong choice down a pitch-black side return where the client will object to a white light burning all night.

For those positions, specify a hybrid model instead. Hikvision calls this Smart Hybrid Light and Dahua offers equivalent dual-illumination models. They sit in infrared normally, and only switch to white light and colour when an event is detected. You get discreet monitoring most of the time and colour evidence when something actually happens.

How we would specify it

Lit areas, colour wanted all the time — full ColorVu or Full-colour.
Dark areas, or a client sensitive about lighting — Smart Hybrid Light or dual illumination.
Mixed site — hybrid throughout. One product family is easier to configure and support than two.
Heavy foliage in frame — weight the decision toward Dahua for the motion filtering.

Browse the current range of CCTV cameras, or see the pre-configured CCTV kits if you would rather buy a matched set.

Frequently asked questions

Is ColorVu better than Dahua Full-colour?

Neither is decisively better. ColorVu has a longer track record and a wider model range; Dahua tends to hold colour slightly longer on low ambient light and has stronger motion filtering against foliage. On a lit site either will perform well.

Do ColorVu cameras work in complete darkness?

Only with the white LED on. A pure ColorVu camera has no infrared, so with the LED disabled and no ambient light it will not produce a usable image. Choose a Smart Hybrid Light model if that matters.

Can I mix Hikvision and Dahua cameras on one recorder?

Usually yes over ONVIF, but you lose the manufacturer-specific features such as AcuSense or SMD Plus classification, and configuration becomes more awkward. We would not recommend it for a new install.

Does 24/7 colour need more storage?

Slightly. Colour footage compresses a little less efficiently than monochrome IR footage, and white light at night adds detail the encoder has to carry. Allow roughly ten to fifteen per cent more capacity than an equivalent IR system.