Technicians encounter multiple hazards when running wires and installing security devices. Wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE, helps protect against these hazards and mitigate the chance and severity of injuries. Enforcing a strict PPE ...
By Ari Erenthal - 2 months ago
Varifocal camera lenses provide more flexibility at installation time, but come at a higher cost. Fixed lens cameras reduce hardware costs, but can make getting the right Field of View more difficult or costly. How often do integrators choose one...
By Brian Karas - 3 months ago
Hikvision has entered the multi-imager market with their 180° PanoVu DS-2CD6986F-H, an 8MP, 4-imager model equipped with ~1/1.8" imagers and Hikvision's Darkfighter super low light capabilities. We bought the Hikvision DS-2CD6986F-H and tested it...
By Ethan Ace - 5 months ago
Avigilon is best known for their large sensor, high megapixel cameras. But with new offerings from Sony and soon Axis, the questions is how well their H4 Pro Series can keep up with competitors. In this report, we tested the Avigilon 4K Pro (8L-H...
By Ethan Ace - 7 months ago
Cameras, like humans, have irises. However, cameras have five types of iris options - fixed, manual, auto, P iris. In this tutorial, we explain the tradeoffs of each, how irises work and how they relate to shutter speed. Controlling Light Camera...
By IPVM Team - 7 months ago
To understand low light surveillance, appreciating the importance and role of the f-stop metric is critical. In this tutorial, we explain: Why minidomes and other small form factor cameras typically have far worse f numbers How the range of a ...
By IPVM Team - 7 months ago
Genetec has announced the latest offering in their AutoVu Sharp line, promising new features, simplified installation, and lower price. In this note, we examine these new features, lower pricing, how it compares to past models and competitors, pl...
By Ethan Ace - 8 months ago
Glass. IP cameras are often characterized as using lower quality 'glass' and that those lenses reduce image quality. By contrast, Canon EF lenses are widely viewed as superior and for higher quality photography work. What if you put an EF lens o...
By Ethan Ace - 8 months ago
Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras remain critical parts of many surveillance systems, especially in large security operations. Because of this it is important to understand and consider the key elements in selecting and using PTZ cameras. In this guide we co...
By Ethan Ace - 10 months ago
For years, Avigilon has essentially owned the 'super high resolution' single imager market. And Axis has resisted, most famously in 2012, when Axis declared the MP race over. But now, Axis is teaming up with their parent company Canon to go afte...
By IPVM Team - 10 months ago
Panoramic cameras, including fisheyes and multi-imagers, have become increasingly widespread, with most manufacturers offering fisheyes and an increasing number offering multi-imagers. However, with many options, it can be confusing to understand...
By Ethan Ace - 11 months ago
Is bigger better? In the past decade, the surveillance industry has moved from 0.3MP to 1MP to 2MP to 3MP to 5MP to 4K (8.3MP), etc. But there are even higher resolution cameras above that. This report covers selling those super high resolution ...
By IPVM Team - about 1 year ago
Low-cost kits have become a direct threat to security integrators. These kits offer a drastically discounted alternative to professional brands, used by more than just residential users, as our Police Buys FLIR at Costco, Industry's Worst Fear re...
By Brian Karas - about 1 year ago
Is this the next big thing in lensing? 7 years ago, Axis launched P-iris. Now, Axis has announced i-CS, which is even more 'intelligent'. But how much practical use is it? In this report, we examine Axis' i-CS lens technology, compare it to othe...
By Brian Karas - about 1 year ago
The Raytec Vario IP offers advanced features not commonly found, including interchangeable lenses with varying angles (10-120˚) and ranges (98'-550') plus network control of power, switching, "deterrent" patterns, illuminator groups, and more. Th...
By Ethan Ace - over 1 year ago
PTZs have historically struggled in low light, with integrated IR being uncommon. In the past few years, this has changed, as some integrated IR models have emerged. However, in previous tests, we have seen significant focus issues making tracking...
By Ethan Ace - over 1 year ago
The 'race to the bottom' is a big issue, with average prices dropping sharply over the past few years. But who is racing the hardest? And how do manufacturers compare? To find out, we compared cameras from Avigilon, Axis, FLIR, Hikvision, and Sam...
By Ethan Ace - over 1 year ago
Avigilon has released 9MP and 12MP HD Multisensor cameras, adding reposition-able sensors with remote focus and zoom, features not before seen in the expanding multi-imager market. However, with Arecont no longer the only game in town, and Axis (...
By Ethan Ace - over 1 year ago
In super low light, an area that the West has long dominated, can the Chinese manufacturers beat their Western rivals? Dahua has a new 'Starlight' offering, featuring a 1/2" imager, priced ~$300 online. We bought one, the Dahua Starlight IPC-HF...
By Ethan Ace - almost 2 years ago
A smaller F-number can make a big difference in how much light reaches an imager. For example, the difference even between a f/1.2 and f/1.0, which may seem very close, can be significant, as shown by our F-Stop Calculator: However, almost all...
By Ethan Ace - about 2 years ago
Need a camera with a 100° AoV or greater? Want a camera with a built in 20mm lens? Looking for a camera that supports at least 3-10mm varifocal? Often, professionals need to find cameras with particular lens lengths / Angle of Views (AoV). This...
By John Honovich - over 2 years ago
3mm, 6mm, 2.8 - 9mm, 5 - 50mm, etc. Camera specifications often list lens lengths but what do they mean? These metrics are important in determining the correct camera coverage and Field of View (FoV). In this tutorial, we look at: What lens f...
By John Honovich - over 2 years ago
The Arecont SurroundVideo Omni is one of the most novel new camera offerings in the past few years. Like their 180 and 360 predecessors, the Omni supports 4 imagers / cameras inside. The major advance is that the imagers can now be repositioned a...
By Ethan Ace - almost 3 years ago
Multi-imager fisheye cameras are not new, but a startup is releasing a camera that can see in any direction all at once. Bubl is more than a 360 fisheye camera, because it has lenses built into a sphere with images all stiched together in a single...
By John Honovich - almost 3 years ago
Theoretically, long lenses should let you capture faces and license plates very far away. For example, over 900 feet away from a 1080p camera one should get over 40ppf from a 100mm lens. But how well does this work in practice? In this test, we...
By Ethan Ace - almost 3 years ago
