Please recommend cctv dome camera

Hi - I have a small security camera system. I have purchased several cameras from ebay. Usually some cameras around 70 bucks. I'm not too crazy about the image quality. Can someone give some tips on what to get, and how much I have to spend to get that next step in quality.

The claims for the cameras that I have already purchased are: Vandal proof dome (it's just a metal housing)

1/3 Sony CCD 480 lines 3.6mm or 4mm lens IR LEDs (I don't really need this) Priced around $70

You definitely cannot read a licence plate with these cameras and you'd be hard pressed to ID a face. I've purchased box cameras with CS lenses (with the same price and specs and 4mm lens) and they seem to have a better picture (I'd estimate 30% better).

So any recommendations for a dome camera that would have the same image quality of the box cameras? And how much does it cost to go to the next step (and is there even a next step or is that as good as it gets for small cameras).

Thanks

Reply to
wdoe999
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Look for low light camera 520 to 550 TVL...expect to pay $300 for this kind of camera. No IR's needed for low light cameras.

Jim Rojas

Reply to
Jim Rojas

Assuming you believe the TVL claims.

Best bet: buy from an authorized dealer, stick with name-brands, and live by the time-honored adage, "You get what you pay for."

Reply to
Matt Ion

Not really, name brands buy from the same manufacturers as the cheapies

Reply to
mleuck

And then build cheap shit and rickety supporting electronics around it, and exaggerate performance claims.

Reply to
Matt Ion

Some may but the majority just rebrand what they receive. It's sort of like buying a laptop, there are over 1,000 brands but maybe 4 or 5 companies actually still make them.

Reply to
mleuck

They no longer manufacture desktops or laptops. All that is sourced to either Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, Wistron or Inventec.

Thanks, I guess.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Which are all Chinese companies, how is this ruining my day?

Reply to
mleuck

Your're not going to get any quality at that price level and depending exactly how you are using the cameras, it's possible that you're not going to see what you want to see even with a good one.

This is one of the standard problems that end users usually have to be educated about when they are considering purchasing a camera system. Since you've done it on your own, it's likely that you haven't picked up on the shortcomings of CCTV cameras.

In the past there were no easily affordable cameras that would do what you want to do. Now day's there are cameras that will .... but they are IP or digital cameras and they're not inexpensive. The problem lies in the fact that a camera can't do what the human eye can do or the cameras that you see on CSI or other TV shows seem to do. The ability for one camera to see a license plate number and identify facial features as well as see a wide area, all at once, is not likely to happen inexpensively. You are using wide angle lenses. If you want to see license plates and faces, you've got to get a camera with a telephoto lens so that the license plate or face can be made more pominent in the field of view. If you want to see a wide field of veiw, you need another camera. You're not going to get both in the same lens and camera. When you are looking at a scene, you can make your eye concentrate on a license plate number or a face and mentally reduce the field of veiw. A camera can't do that unless it's a variable focus telephoto to wide angle zoom lens. But, these have to be manually adjusted or have an electronic remote control to zoom in and out.

So, in the real world, you might be able to see all the things you want to see with seperate .... relatively inexpensive cameras, but the specifications of each camera and lens has to match the job you want it to perform. A single 550 line resolution camera will get you a little bit clearer picture but in a wide field of view don't expect that much impovement as far as the faces and license plates go. Also consider what the resolution of your monitor is. You can have the best resolution camera but if you're watching it through a TV or computer monitor, don't expect to see a much better picture. Along with better cameras you have to consider a better monitor. And if you're recording ...that device has it's viewing issues also.

This is one of the hazards of doing these things yourself. The project always starts off with a seemingly simple goal and the price goes up and up as you learn. There's always that expense laden learning curve that can make you wish that you'd have called in someone to do it. Not that it can't be done, but you've reeeealy got to do your homework first. Besides, you can always put your exitsing cameras on E-bay and recoup some of your money.

Reply to
Jim

Thinking that the camera is the only thing to consider is a mistake. Picking a CCTV camera requires some knowledge of the kind of application you are using it in. There isn't going to be any one camera at any price that will do everything you want it to. Cameras are part of a system where mismatches can occur where expectations are high and knowledge is low. Perhaps you get a mega pixel camera and have a great live image only to discover that you recording solution limits you to D1 (4 CIF) resolution. Perhaps you have the perfect solution but add too many megapixel IP cameras and overload the system. Maybe everything else is great but you do not have enough retention time to find the images you want in a timely fashion before they are overwritten. Maybe the search features leave you watching recorded video with a coke and a bag of popcorn and you never bother to check what you have recorded since it takes so long to find anything. Forget the price. Learn a little about the physics in photography. What to you want to see? In what detail? Under what lighting conditions? You may have enough resolution to get an image off a license plate, but only in daylight, because the headlights blind the video. If you think a license plate capture camera is going to cost 70 bucks on eBay think again.

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These things run in the thousands of dollars.

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@k19g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...

Reply to
Just Looking

I have come tantalizingly close to what I want. I should first mention that my setup is a Linux box running motion software. Those $70 NTSC dome cameras are so-so.

I bought a 2Megapixel Microsoft USB webcam for $40. I plugged it into my Linux box and it was recognized right away. It produces exactly the picture I want (1600x1200) and it is comparable to a digital camera with nice bright colours. The picture is infinitely better than the NTSC cameras. The only knock is that it can;t be far from the computer (USB).

When I look at the cost of IP cameras, they seem absurd. The 640x480 cameras (which is what I don't want) start around a couple of hundred bux. The megapixel cameras seem to be around $600 to thousands. Before I would buy just one of those cameras, I would buy a whole new computer to put near my USB cam.

For the front and sides of my house, I can put together: computer = $80

3 cameras = $120

Even for my outer garage, I can do: Fanless mini-itx machine with SSD drive = approx $350

3 cameras = $120

I don't wanna even calculate what 6 IP cameras (megapixel type) would cost. Not to mention the fact that they all seem to be big clunky obtrusive things.

I dunno, something's wrong. They can make snapshot cameras with nice optics, a nice sensor, onboard memory, human interface, etc, etc for less than $100. I would think that megapixel IP cams should be less cost. Must be economy of scale, or just ripoff.

Reply to
wdoe999

Or that annoying "knock", "that it can't be far from the computer (USB)", might have something to do with it.

Reply to
G. Morgan

Actually the complexity of an IP camera is less than that of a digital snapshot camera. Yes there is the addition of an ethernet interface, but there is the absence of: LCD screen Battery Flash Human interface software and buttons/switches Large amounts of storage/memory Decent zoom lens (at least the IP cams I have seen have nothing equivalent to even the cheapest of snapshot cameras)

Reply to
wdoe999

You're comparing "consumer" gear to "professional" gear. When you're talking CCTV cameras, they tend to be more robust and overall more versatile. They often have to live dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of feet from their recorder. They have to deal with all manner of harsh environments: temperature extremes, moisture, dust, vibration. They have to be able to be mounted in all manner of locations and positions. They often have to accept a variety of power sources. And they have to operate for years, completely unattended.

Things like batteries, LCDs, flashes, buttons-and-switches, and on-board storage add cost and are of little or no use when a camera is running in an inaccessible location.

As for lenses, most CCTV cameras have standarized lens mounts that let you attach a wide variety of lenses for specific purposes. With a consumer camera, including your webcam and your pocket camera, you're stuck forever with the lens it came with. If you need super-long range, ultra-wide angle, or anything else for a specialized purpose, you're SOL.

And as far as "human interface software", pretty much all IP CCTV cameras have a web-based configuration utility to let you adjust the image far more than the few menus on your typical pocket camera... and you can do it from any remote location, rather than needing to access the camera itself. Some advanced analog cameras have this ability as well.

In short, you're comparing the proverbial apples and oranges... a small hatchback to a 5-ton truck. Each has its place, and you can sometimes use one in place of the other, but it will never completely fulfill that role.

Reply to
Matt Ion

Isn't the obvious .... emmmm obvious?

When he responed I thought ..... yeh sure, stick a "cheapest snapshot camera" on top of a 30 foot tall pole someplace in a parking lot, 100 feet from any building, exposed to all the elements, taking "pictures"

24/7, for 10 years.

I never would have taken the time to tell him all this.

Reply to
Jim

You forgot to mention it had to powered with a wall wart on the end of a 350 foor extension cord.

Reply to
Frank Olson

Correction. That's "foot".

Reply to
Frank Olson

Foor sure.

Reply to
Matt Ion

Hee alsoo fooorgot to saaaay ...." beeee" .... powered.

Reply to
Jim

Alright, that's enough of your foorishness.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

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