Looking For Long-Range Camera Solution

Here's one to look at, it's discussed a little at the end of this thread.

Thank you - that was extremely helpful!

I think that Ulisse enclosure is made from aluminum. I'd try contacting a higher-end auto body shop. You should be able to cut the enclosure and lengthen it in the middle by ~3.2 inches to gain the extra clearance.

You're right, what you're after isn't off-the-shelf, and is going to be costly. The added cost of the enclosure modification (cut, TIG, paint) shouldn't be more than $350-$500.

Your other potential option is to open up the Axis camera, and see if you can separate the sensor and lens mount from the body a bit, and flip the electronics around so they end up above/below the lens instead of directly behind it. That'll take a little bit of custom work, and will also depend on total clearance inside the enclosure.

@ C - I would prefer to not cut it open just in case that introduces water leaks in the future - I was able to check with the factory and it looks as if I'll gain a little bit of clearance at the back since the massive size of the lens means the camera will be lifted higher up and the back end will clear the PT motor and allow a bit more length. We'll see.

The suggestion by @A using a Cohu HD camera was really nice because they have a fully prepared package that meets all requirements. Am leaning towards a packaged solution instead of rolling the dice on having enough space inside a 3rd party enclosure. Also in my experience the minute you involve multiple vendors, each vendor's tech support blames the others culminating in a never-ending blame loop. Dealing with a single company is just so easy.

CohuHD's 8800HD is a long-range IP67 sealed and pressurized camera with 137x optical zoom, for more information visit http://www.cohuhd.com/content/8800HD CohuHD specializes in long-range IP67 cameras as well as custom designed solutions.