ProductReview2019

TEST
Network – IP Address, FEN (‘For Easy
Networks’ DDNS connectivity), Port/QoS (Port
Allocations and UPnP settings), Bandwidth
Control (slider control of maximum 1 to
1,000Mb/s), Security (IP filtering range lists and
SSL) and IEEE802.1X (Certificate and Private Key
management).
Video – Camera (Defog, White balance,
Exposure, Day/Night and IR strength), Streaming
(Mounting, Display type and Stream Control),
Webcasting (HTML code sample and stream
selection), MAT (Motion Adaptive Transmission for
frame rate control to reduce storage and
bandwidth demands) and Privacy Masking (up to
8 zones).
Audio – Input/Output (Codec Type,
Microphone enable and Volume levels).
Event Action – Alarm Out (Enable O/P 1 & 2,
Dwell Time and Scheduling), Email (SMTP server
details and recipients list), Remote Call-back (IP
address list, Ports and Retries), Audio Alarm (File
upload), FTP Upload (server details and settings)
and Record (SD card format and Scheduling).
Event – Alarm In, Motion Detection, Trip zone,
Audio Detection, Tampering and System event.
In general, the menu structure is easy to
navigate but some of the options such as motion
detection and trip wire setting are certainly not
intuitive and not well explained in the operating
manual.
Performance
The camera gives good images with impressive
colour reproduction at lighting levels below 2 Lux.
The specification gives a low light level of 0.2 Lux
and it did manage to discern colours at this level
but with significant AGC noise in the image. With
auto Day / Night mode enabled the camera
switches to monochrome at around 1.5 to 2 Lux
and this gives good infrared room coverage. The
infrared range is quoted as up to 15 metres but
this will likely be dependent on scene content as
it is not clear if this is stated as a radius or
diameter distance.
For very low light levels a Slow Shutter mode is
available but this does introduce a large amount
of motion blur to the scene.
The captured image area is stated as 3008 x
3008 (9MP) pixels at 30ips. This allows a large
amount of detail when electronically zooming in
on scene details. The f/1.98mm fixed iris lens
gives a viewing angle of 180° x 174.8°. Slightly
different pixel counts and viewing angles were
noted in some of the support documentation.
Images can be displayed in a range of formats
from the main image to a main with 1,3,4,5,6 or 7
sub panes. Each of the de-warped sub panes can
be individually pan, tilted and zoomed to show an
area of interest. Alternatively, the camera can
display a full panoramic view, a panorama and 4
panes, Panoramic 180°, Panoramic 180° x 2,
Panoramic 180° + 2 or plus 5 panes.
The dynamic range is stated as greater than
120db but the camera has an On/Off control for
WDR so this does suggest that it is a form of
digital WDR rather than just sensor performance.
The image rate drops from 30ips to 15ips with this
turned on.
The up to 8 Privacy Zones are set as black
squares only, but once set they do track precisely
within any of the additional viewing panes.
One alarm input and two alarm outputs are
provided. These are at TTL levels with a
programmable NC/NO input and outputs as Open
Collector drives with a 30mA maximum load.
In addition to the internal microphone an
alternative audio input is available along with a
line level audio output. The back-plate insulator is
supplied to reduce noise for use when the dome
is mounted on a metallic surface.
The camera runs rather warm with a rear plate
temperature of 39.6°C in daytime mode and
43.3°C with the infrared LEDs on. The
specification states an operating temperature
range of from -10°C to +60°C.
The housing is rated to IP66 or IP67 depending
on which document you reference.
Although just shown as Vandal Resistant on
the specification sheet, the product page
suggests this is IK10 rated.
Mobile phone / tablet viewing software is
available for both Android and iOS systems.
Conclusion
This is a well-built 180° camera with some very
flexible display modes. For maximum benefit it
would ideally be used with an IDIS NVR or front
end but works well with the supplied software or
Web viewer.
The camera gives
good images with
impressive colour
reproduction at
lighting levels below
2 Lux
NOTE: This PSI Product Test
was carried out by an
independent third party, not
editorial staff.
The manufacturer had no input
in the review or the final result
8.0 out of 10
www.psimagazine.co.uk
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