After years of letting Chinese manufacturers bully Axis out of the low end of the market, Axis has launched its most aggressive entry level offering ever.
In this note, we examine the new Axis Companion line, its features, pricing and how it matches up against the biggest Chinese and Western manufacturers.
Camera Overview
Axis is releasing 3 new 'Companion' domes - all 1080p, one indoor, two outdoor with one offering integrated IR. There are 3 critical differentiators:
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I don't see the value in this line. You're essentially paying for the name. I don't see these bringing any more value than any low priced competitors (ex: Hik or Dahua) And being that it's "made in China" all of the die hard "Made in the USA" fans argument goes away.
I would always recommend Hik over these when the customer doesn't need high end features.
People are voting this up simply because it's Axis. If this was any other MFG it would be ridiculed. Crippled, overpriced, knee-jerk reaction to Hik and Dahua. This isn't a real competitor. It's desperation.
While I applaud Axis for finally trying something, it may be too little too late. Hikvision Gold and Platinum Partners are given a 5-year warranty - 12 months, no hassle over the counter exchange from ADI and the rest is shipped to California.
I saw some posts earlier about Axis and their RMA procedure. If they are serious about competing with Hik and Dahua, they should step up their customer support as well.
U4, as a point of clarification, Axis is now including 3 year warranty standard on M series as well as this Companion line. Previously, M series was only 1 year.
Your points remain about Hikvision's warranty offering but I wanted to note the recent change at Axis.
Here is a picture of the new Axis companion IR dome, it is not as big as it appears in the marketing photo above.
On the other hand, it is definitely still significantly bigger than equivalent Chinese integrated IR cameras with the ring of IR LEDs. Axis says this provides better performance, something we will be including in future tests.
I think if Axis will start a (Price) war with Chinese vendors they can only lose. HIKVISION will grab their business and hurt them more and more! HD Analog is fine but the future is IP. This is my oppinion and I did not say they will kill them ;-)
Waste of time of productuon and marketing dollars. Dont try to compete at a level you cant compete at. Focus more on differentiating product features at a product level you can compete with.
I spoke with an Axis employee about this, and he said it was a way for Axis to show that they're not ignoring the low-cost market. They have something if you are an "Axis guy" and want to have an offering, but it seemed like his take was that this wasn't meant to be a high-volume product.
Voting results. While overall members are split somewhat evenly among the options, integrators and manufacturers disagree.
~40% of manufacturers voted this very attractive but only ~20% of integrators did.
In this case, I suspect integrators have a better feel for the demand / competitive issues for small business, and therefore interpret it as a negative sign for Axis.
I'm mixed on this, I use Axis for their features and ability to integrate with many platforms. What the heck will I be getting with this new line, and other than wanting an Axis name brand sticker on a low end chinese camera?
Interesting the Integrators that tout HIK and bemoan Axis for "competing" with HIK for the low end market. A true Integrator wouldn't have a problem selling the value of higher priced and higher quality products across the board, not just video. We have a saying where I work...."if you can't speak to the features, functionality and benefits of what you have quoted, then you can only talk about price."
Obviously many who sell security sell at the bottom of the heap. Yes, you can find HIK at ADI, Walmart, and Supercircuits, but you won't see Axis on the open market. Didn't see any comments on that one. I'll stand with Brian above and his take from an Axis employee.
I didn't bemoan Axis on their high level products. We are currently talking about Axis's cheap chinese line. Which in my opinion bring no value to the table. It's still higher priced than the low end of the market and... closed...? uh... how do you equate that to value??
Oh and for the record, from my experiences with Hik they do make quality products both on the high end and the low end of the spectrum.
I'm not in love with the idea of a chinese company coming in and taking business from the american manufacturing sector but in the scope of things if someone comes and offers to sell me the same coat for a fraction of the price in not going to pay a premium just for a label.
"I'm not in love with the idea of a chinese company coming in and taking business from the american manufacturing sector"
Which cameras are made in the USA? Maybe a few are assembled here?
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Comments (23)
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Shame they don't support even rtsp...
I wonder how how long it will take for someone to unlock them, it's only Linux..
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Undisclosed Integrator #2
I don't see the value in this line. You're essentially paying for the name. I don't see these bringing any more value than any low priced competitors (ex: Hik or Dahua) And being that it's "made in China" all of the die hard "Made in the USA" fans argument goes away.
I would always recommend Hik over these when the customer doesn't need high end features.
Just my thoughts,
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Undisclosed #3
Ubiquiti: "Let's be more like Axis!"
Axis: "Let's be more like Ubuquiti!"
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Jon Dillabaugh
04/06/16 10:19pm
People are voting this up simply because it's Axis. If this was any other MFG it would be ridiculed. Crippled, overpriced, knee-jerk reaction to Hik and Dahua. This isn't a real competitor. It's desperation.
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Undisclosed Integrator #4
While I applaud Axis for finally trying something, it may be too little too late. Hikvision Gold and Platinum Partners are given a 5-year warranty - 12 months, no hassle over the counter exchange from ADI and the rest is shipped to California.
I saw some posts earlier about Axis and their RMA procedure. If they are serious about competing with Hik and Dahua, they should step up their customer support as well.
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John Honovich
Here is a picture of the new Axis companion IR dome, it is not as big as it appears in the marketing photo above.
On the other hand, it is definitely still significantly bigger than equivalent Chinese integrated IR cameras with the ring of IR LEDs. Axis says this provides better performance, something we will be including in future tests.
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Undisclosed Integrator #5
Won't look past this article about them.
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Wolfgang Sembacher
I think if Axis will start a (Price) war with Chinese vendors they can only lose.
HIKVISION will grab their business and hurt them more and more!
HD Analog is fine but the future is IP.
This is my oppinion and I did not say they will kill them ;-)
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Sean Nelson
04/08/16 12:49am
Waste of time of productuon and marketing dollars. Dont try to compete at a level you cant compete at. Focus more on differentiating product features at a product level you can compete with.
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John Honovich
Voting results. While overall members are split somewhat evenly among the options, integrators and manufacturers disagree.
~40% of manufacturers voted this very attractive but only ~20% of integrators did.
In this case, I suspect integrators have a better feel for the demand / competitive issues for small business, and therefore interpret it as a negative sign for Axis.
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Scott Gerrels
I'm mixed on this, I use Axis for their features and ability to integrate with many platforms. What the heck will I be getting with this new line, and other than wanting an Axis name brand sticker on a low end chinese camera?
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Undisclosed #3
Btw, the NVR is also a wireless access point.
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James Stuart
Interesting the Integrators that tout HIK and bemoan Axis for "competing" with HIK for the low end market. A true Integrator wouldn't have a problem selling the value of higher priced and higher quality products across the board, not just video. We have a saying where I work...."if you can't speak to the features, functionality and benefits of what you have quoted, then you can only talk about price."
Obviously many who sell security sell at the bottom of the heap. Yes, you can find HIK at ADI, Walmart, and Supercircuits, but you won't see Axis on the open market. Didn't see any comments on that one. I'll stand with Brian above and his take from an Axis employee.
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