Subscriber Discussion

5MP PTZ With 36x Optical Zoom Camera

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 06, 2013

Hello, Does anyone know any 5MP PTZ camera with 36x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom?

JH
John Honovich
Aug 06, 2013
IPVM

NO.

Presumably you mean a speeddome, not a fixed camera on a pan / tilt positioner, correct?

JH
John Honovich
Aug 06, 2013
IPVM

I am going to bet a dollar that undisclosed is responding to a bid/RFP that requires this specification.

Unfortunately, I think this is a Frankenstein spec where the writer combined the individual attributes of many different cameras.

PV
Pekka Vainonen
Aug 06, 2013
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 06, 2013

Yes you are right, this is part of RFP specifications which also specify a 5MP fixed camera with 40X optical zoom. I can't find any vendor providing such cameras. Any advise?

This made me asking what is the technical limitation of MP cameras in terms of the optical zoom? Also, why there is no PTZ camera with 5MP?

JH
John Honovich
Aug 06, 2013
IPVM

You can put a 5MP fixed camera on a pan tilt positioner. There are a few 5MP cameras with integrated zooms, like the old Axis Q1755 (10x) and the new Avigilon bullets (3x).

But 36x optical on a 5MP. That means a lens that varies from say 3 to 108mm focal length, which I do not believe anyone has at that resolution for a C/CS mount camera.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
Aug 08, 2013

can anyone share the RFP?

Avatar
Alireza Ghandchi
Aug 08, 2013
Anabon Security • IPVMU Certified
I think limitation of frame rate in a second (Max 12 -15 fps) will be a big issue when using a 5MP camera + PT mashine as a PTZ equipment
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 09, 2013

I did some basic translation since the orginal document is not in English language

PTZ Camera

Image Sensor

1/4” CMOS

Industry Standard

ONVIF

Resolution

5 MP

Lens

Varifocal

Moving

90o vertical & 360o horizontal

Optical Zoom

36x Optical zoom & 12x Digital zoom

NTSC Support

Yes

Day/Night

Yes

IR Capability

Yes – Minimum illumination Lux 0.0

IR Distance

40 Meter

SNR

50 DB

Operating Temperature

55 o – Fan shall be included

IP66

Yes

P-Iris

Yes

Electrical

220v - 60Hz

Fixed IP Camera

Image Sensor

1/3” CMOS

Industry Standard

ONVIF

Resolution

5 MP

Lens

Varifocal

Optical Zoom

40x

NTSC Support

Yes

Day/Night

Yes

IR Capability

Yes – Minimum illumination Lux 0.0

IR Distance

40 Meter

SNR

50 DB

Operating Temperature

55 o

IP66

Yes

P-Iris

Yes

Electrical

220v - 60Hz

JH
John Honovich
Aug 09, 2013
IPVM

So it's a 5MP 36 optical zoom PTZ and they want built in integrated IR that goes 40 meters? Then throw in a P iris lens?

This is a type of spec where I would love to speak to the person who wrote this. It's as they read a couple of websites and just threw a bunch of things together that they heard were good.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 09, 2013

May we have an article explaining the technical limitation of the MP cameras in terms of FPS and optical zoom. Thanks

JH
John Honovich
Aug 09, 2013
IPVM

I am not sure we can write something full length for an article. It comes down to things:

  • It is costly / complex to build very high resolution, very long range varifocal lenses. The 'biggest' I know of the new market is Tamron's recent HD motorized zoom lens which supports 1080p at 30x optical zoom. Impressive specs but not 5MP / 36x optical.
  • For fps, it's an issue of encoder chips supporting (processing power, etc.). It takes a lot to encode high resolution, high frame rates. 1080p/30fps is now commonplace but, as others mentioned, 5MP maxes at 12fps/15fps H.264 for current cameras. This will change. For instance, the recent Ambarella chips, which are empowering 4K cameras will support 8MP/30fps. That said, chips like that will take a few years to be widely available in surveillance cameras.
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 09, 2013

I found the following camera which supports full HD and 30x optical zoom

Panasonic WV-SW598

JH
John Honovich
Aug 09, 2013
IPVM

Yes and Pelco has a recent full HD / 30x optical zoom. You could take 2 of them and tape them together to meet this magic specification.

UE
Undisclosed End User #3
Aug 10, 2013

Anyone knew of something better than the full HD 30x optical zoom and light? The SW598 has an indoor version SC588. We recently briefly tested the SW598. Still on a look out for someting better.

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