Subscriber Discussion

Looking For An Alternative To The ACTi B25 For Low Light

DM
David Matyas
Jun 22, 2015

A customer told me that they like the Acti B25. He said he thinks it has great low light (with IR) and he likes the autozoom based off of motion.

It the past I have had bad experience with Acti (the E32). What alternative camera with the same or better features (auto zoom, and low light) Can you recommend?

Thank you

JH
John Honovich
Jun 22, 2015
IPVM

David, you want a box form factor specifically or are domes ok?

Box / auto-zoom cameras are uncommon. Here are the bestmatches for the B25, the closest in specs and price is the Avigilon box.

If you are open to domes, there are lots of other choices with similar specs.

DM
David Matyas
Jun 22, 2015

Dome should be okay as well.

I actually was against the autozoom feature as I sad it is probably better to get a wide angle and a zoom camera. Or else when it is zoomed you will lose out on feautres.

JH
John Honovich
Jun 22, 2015
IPVM

So you want an alternative to an autozoom box that is neither autozoom nor box? :)

I am also confused by this statement, "he thinks it has great low light (with IR)". The B25 does not have integrated IR, so what does this mean? And why not buy a camera with integrated IR? How far away does the user want to see in low light?

DM
David Matyas
Jun 22, 2015

The form factor doesnt matter.

Re the autozoom, the customer stated they wanted it. I had mentioned that I had tried to talk the customer out of it, but they like the feature.

Re the low light, I meant to say "without IR". The customer stated that in the demo videos he watched it had good low light pickup even though it didnt use IR, and he would rather low light sensitivity that does not rely on IR.

JH
John Honovich
Jun 22, 2015
IPVM

This camera has an integrated f/1.8 lens (not surprising since it is autozoom), which likely means poor low light performance, despite what the marketing demo shows.

I am not sure what to recommend at this point, outside of simply picking a good camera beyond what the customer say on ACTi's website.

DM
David Matyas
Jun 23, 2015

What would be a good low light camera that doesnt use IR that does not have autozoom ( I will try to convince them away from it). Prefably one that is cheaper then the B25.

Thanks

TC
Trisha (Chris' wife) Dearing
Jun 23, 2015
IPVMU Certified

The SNB-6003 beats the Acti 13 to 1 on features, losing only for being a power hog.

That's just on paper of course, but it's worth looking at. I have a couple wisenets, not the 6003, and they are my favorites.

(1)
JH
John Honovich
Jun 23, 2015
IPVM

In general, Samsung WiseNet models, like the one Chris cited, are going to be same or lower price as ACTi, with equal or better low light and WDR.

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 23, 2015
IPVMU Certified

He likes the autozoom based off of motion...

Assuming this is a fixed camera how does this work exactly? One would think that if zooming to motion that was not in the middle of the screen that the target would go out of frame rather quick.

Does it just zoom in as far as it can without losing the triggering part of the frame?

Avatar
Jon Dillabaugh
Jun 25, 2015
Pro Focus LLC

I didn't see anywhere in the Acti info that said it auto tracks, it just seems to have auto focus, am I right? It's not like it is a PTZ and can pan or tilt when it zooms, so even if it did auto zoom on motion, how is the scene kept centered in the frame? Do you just have to count on the motion event happening dead center in the scene? Otherwise, it would have to be a digital zoom, which would be useless. I just don't get this product at all.

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 25, 2015
IPVMU Certified

It's got 10x optical motorized optical zoom, and auto zoom to event, which could be useful if used with a PT enclosure. Beyond that I'm not sure how it would be used.

Avatar
Jon Dillabaugh
Jun 25, 2015
Pro Focus LLC

Unless you know something I don't, having a fixed camera (no pan or tilt) with an optical zoom is completely useless (IMO) unless you could assume that the subject you are zooming in on was in your zoomed in scene. That isn't a given when zooming from 4.9mm to 49mm.

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 25, 2015
IPVMU Certified

...it just seems to have auto focus, am I right?

No it says autozoom on event, not just auto focus.

As for its usefulness we couldn't agree more, since I said already

One would think that if zooming to motion that was not in the middle of the screen that the target would go out of frame rather quick.

And

...auto zoom to event, which could be useful if used with a PT enclosure. Beyond that I'm not sure how it would be used.

Avatar
Ethan Ace
Jun 25, 2015

The only application I've ever heard of using zoom cameras without enclosures is parking lots/vehicle exits, etc. The camera normally uses a wide FOV for overall surveillance, but when a vehicle stops at a gate to pick up a ticket and park or pay and exit, it zooms in tight on the vehicle.

Though even the usefulness of that is questionable, because you'd have to keep the gate in the center of the FOV, which means you'll end up with a lot of sky when zoomed out in a lot of cases.

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