Subscriber Discussion

What Low Cost IP Cameras Hold Up The Best In The Field?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Nov 24, 2014

I am in the process of starting up an IP video product offering for my company. I was one of two sales engineer for a security integrator, who did 6 million in CCTV last year, so I have designed a fair amount of systems. We dealt mainly with Axis, Sony, and Exacq Vision. I am a big fan of Exacq, and Axis, but in my location, I know we won't sell much Axis just because of the price point and lack of large opportunities and deep customer pockets. I have to compete against some other tech companies, and a few small security companies.

I have already ruled out Arecont Vision, I have dealt with those things enough in my career to realize they won't be a good fit for this company. I am leaning towards Hikvision and Samsung, and I have seen the tests here on IPVM, and see they are decent, but I would like to hear from the installers out there, how are they to install, how do they hold up in rain and snow? Has anyone used their autofocus cameras? I have had some experience with Vivotek as well, we used them at the old company, and I am not ruling those out either they worked well, but I would like to see what else is out there, and what others have found success with in similar market conditions.

JH
John Honovich
•Nov 24, 2014
IPVM

A, good topic.

Btw, related to integrator choice, Hikvision and Samsung were the top two lines being picked up by integrators in the past year - see: Top Manufacturers Gaining and Losing Ground.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
•Nov 24, 2014

Samsung has been very easy to work with and quality is competitive to Sony's. Autofocus works. Have not used Hikvision or Vivotek.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
•Nov 24, 2014

Fair warning, I have zero experience with other cameras as our shop uses Geovision almost exclusively (mostly full bodies, vandals, PTZs, and IP bullets). We have more than 5000 GV cams deployed in 15 states. Ranging from a few months to eight years in age. We have had a good run with them and I know our owner loves their performance at their price point. We have about 500 in cold weather locales and, when installed with correct supporting elements depending on the context, they have performed great.

We also monitor the large majority of these cameras and our guys are looking at them daily. The rest of their offering (VMS etc...) is a bit underwhelming but the cameras performance at their price points may be attractive.

Side note: we have been testing their LPR cams in house in all sorts of settings for almost a month now and the least expensive option has been outperforming the rest by a good margin.

(1)
SB
Steve Bukoski
•Nov 24, 2014

I just purchased a Hikvision 720p low-cost microdome for test purposes and for the whopping $185.00 cost shipped, was suprised it perfromed as well as it did. The camera set and install was easy. It has been installed outdoors and has been running solid for 3-months. At this point, I have not tried their NVRs and cannot speak to the cameras longevity (life-span) or failure rate. In the Northeast, Hikvision seems to be gaining traction.

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