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Check what they use as a seperator between the lens and leds, could just a foam donut that has deteriorated and you'll need to get a replacement from Vivotek or make your own. If it's still under warranty, you can go that route

You can chose from either b&w night sensor or color sensor, the color sensor does not do b&w, there's no IR cut filter and the night sensor does not do color. If you want a day/night camera, you'll need one day, one night sensor. The night sensor is the best I've seen. The closest camera I've tested that gives you Mobotix like b&w is the ACTi TCM-7811 and it gives you color during they day, albeit not 3MP like Mobotix and not as nice an image but still very good. But same resolution as the Mobotix b&w sensor. Not bad for half the price of the D12. To me, low light performance is what separates a good cameras from bad. The only D12 I've used had 2 b&w night sensors setup to record 180 degrees. Special model they call the D12-180. No color but night vandalism was their biggest issue.

+1 on the Ubiquity Nanostations, well priced, online community for help. I would try the 2.4Ghz first and 900Mhz if the 2.4Ghz does not work, mostly because they are cheap. 1,000' outdoors is not too difficult. I setup a WiFi hotspot in a park using off the shelf routers and I was able to still get a decent signal from my iPad 400' away and bridges are way better than my iPad.

Foscam is overpriced. There's plenty of similar cameras on eBay for $50 that are just as good, in many cases better. To me, in this price range, don't expect it to last very long or get any support or be able to tell you baby from any other baby on the planet. You will be able to tell if there's a baby and if it moves. I have had Foscams last 3 days and as long as 3 months before acting up. I've had the half priced brothers last 2 years. I use them in situations where I don't care about the camera and I need something really cheap, ideally in an attic looking to see if you have rodents or in a crawl space for moisture intrusion. Never for security.

Sure, but look at the dome on your panny, it's tiny, maybe the size of the front of my bullet cameras and the lens is pressed against it, not much free space since that dome only pan's tilts on 2 axis and very limited. When you put in a real dome, it's big in comparison and there's lots of open space inside. I did ask ACTi for you at the show, they said at some temperature, it will stop working and they test their cameras in freezers. It won't damage the camera, just stops working, like me when it gets below 0F.

Isn't there an option on your camera to no record insects? Try putting a camera on a tall pole and watch how many great images of birds you get that land on it. In one case, actually the weight of the bird tilted the camera. The best thing to do is to not rely on video motion detection if a lot of false alerts bothers you. Get an external PIR motion detector, they are cheap, realiable and with most cameras, pretty easy to setup. Another thing you can do is move to So Cal, less flying insects.

+1 on the Veracity tool or something similar. Forgot the brand, but there was one place making a similar device for $20 at ISC West but that may have been the wholesale price. Axis and ACTi make a tool that has a display on it. Powers the camera, lets you see the display on the screen, but they are not cheap, several hundreds of dollars. I set varifocal and focus on the ground. I pre-focus the camera by my computer with a 24" LCD and I have the camera aimed at something that's a comperable distance to the subject. The focusing on some cameras is so twitchy and precise, I can't image trying to focus on a ladder with a laptop, the glare of the sun and the worst of all, nosey neighbors asking what you are doing. OR, you can buy autofocus or remote focus cameras. More and more cameras are coming with this feature. Or you can get camera with glued in lenses, never needs focusing like a Mobotix M12.

A bullet cam is sealed pretty well within the can with just a small opening for the lens and illuminators, a dome is covered mostly by the plastic dome and that's where the heat dissipates. Since I'm in So Cal and probably much colder than Colorado, I can tell you when the temps dip into the teens in the local mountains, even my indoor Axis camera that's pressed against the glass stops working even though it's 57F inside. Most of the webcams up in the mountains also stop working and everyone asks, what happened to the webcams, hmm, maybe because they didn't get the high power PoE injector or 12V power supply so when the temps dip, the heater comes on, trips circuit on the PoE switch and all comes down.

Thanks for sharing the pictures and conducting different tests.

Yes, you can adjust the lens tilt by rotating it. This drove me crazy on the TCM-7811 because I couldn't find how to do it. Then I found out the adjustment is inside the camera, you have to take the cover off the camera (not the cover off the dome, that's different) and it pivots back to reveal the lens rotating mecahnism. Thanks, if you didn't remind me about this, I would have given up and had a weird angle because my eaves are at an angle. While the TCM-7811 is a great camera, the ACM-3511 is still very good. Same sensor/lens as my ACM-1231 that I have outdoors that have done service for years. Just have to figure out how to seal the back of the camera while still allowing the ethernet cable through. Indoors, in pitch blackness, it lights up the area which is a hallway, living room and dining room (about 35').

The ACM-3511 is an indoor dome, but I guess you can use it outside if it's well protected. It comes with a wall mount that's a stamped steel disk about 3" in diameter that you screw to your wall with the ethernet cable coming out the middle. Then you plug the camera and twist and lock the camera on the mount. This was my only dome until I started testing the TCM-7811 this week. Unless the area is well protected, I would not use this camera outdoors. Even when mounted, the electronics are exposed in the back as the bracket does not make any attempt to seal the camera. It does very little light bleed that many domes with illuminators suffer. In comparison between the ACM-3511 and the TCM-7811, besides the obvious that one is made for indoors vs. outdoors, the 7811 uses a CCD instead of the CMOS in the 3511. For the 7811, the contrast is significantly better, the noise is significantly reduced, the LED's are about twice as effective, it has faster FPS, h.264 and backlight compensation that the 3511 does not. The TCM-7811, being an outdoor dome is a cast metal body where half the dome housing is screwed to the wall or wall bracket. You then screw in the guts of the camera, plug in the ethernet cable and screw on the dome cover. If you mount a dome outdoors on a wall, consider that there maybe sun glare reflecting off the dome and maybe bird poop if they land on it. I would mount it with the dome facing down using a wall bracket or under an eave. You'll see if you install the dome why domes require a heater, they are very exposed, unlike bullets that are better insulated.

What's the max exposure set on Vivotek? During my testing, I set it to 1/30th since that's realistic to capture motion but the camera may come from the factory set at a longer exposure.

Many NVR's only come with Atom processors or i3. I have an NVR that used to sell for thousands and the company went bust so I got it cheap on ebay but it's an i3 and barely breaks a sweat. Previously used an Atom processor PC, with vendor provided NVR software, it barely use 10-20% CPU but it was a little slow to respond in general, not just because I ran NVR software on it. If you are going to run any kind of analytics software, then for sure, get an i7 Sandy Bridge PC at the minimum. Get a PC with HDMI out, then you can plug it into a flat panel TV. Nothing like viewing surveillence videos on a 1080P flat panel TV. Mines up on a 32" TV in my office and it looks pretty good. Get a 50" for wow factor.

Haha, you are comparing Las Vegas at night to images taken in real surveillance situations. Sure, Vegas at night is like most places during the day. I have a weekend hangout in downtown SD. The lights from the city at night are very bright compared to suburbia. I can show you images taken from my balcony with a cheap surveillance camera that would look good and from my suburbia home, would look awful. I've also compared pictures taken with my Nikon DSLR whch has excellent low noise images in available light that side by side look as good a comparably priced surveillence camera. So you have to take the video side by side, same lighting, same moment, same angle, same shutter speed.

I added a new review to my blog, this time a newcomer to the U.S., Brickcom. They have a pretty large assortment of cameras with 1,3 and 5 megapixels. The most unique thing they bring to the table is wireless for a quality camera. You can still use it as a regular PoE camera, but the wireless models give you amazing WiFi connectivity like no other camera I've ever used and also 3G/4G connectivity for remote locations like vacation cabins, construction sites. But even if you do not need wireless, this is still an awesome camera. http://ipcamnetwork.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/brickcom-wob-130np-review/#more-438 So why review 1.3MP when they have 3MP cameras? Because they were not ready to ship at the time I started the review. Will try and get the 3MP version for review if there's any interest. Again, 3MP wirelessly is very unique.

I'm familiar with Y-Cam, but didn't run into them at ISC West. I thought they mainly targetted the UK market, not so much in the US. I remember not that long ago when they only made one camera, a cube camera, then a year or so later, a cube camera with day/night capability with illuminators, now a dome and bullet. Seems like they have expanded their line. I'm thinking the TCM-7811 may be right for me too. I really wanted to put it outside today but it's pouring rain. Indoors it is awesome. I have the ACM-3511 which is their indoor 1.3MP dome with illuminators and it pales in comparison. The TCM-7811 just has that nice b&w contrast at night, crisp, very low noise like Mobotix dedicated b&w sensor but better because it's day/night and has illuminators good for 40m. Can't wait to see it outdoors. It took me 2 months to get this demo camera, that's how backordered they were on it.

Axis cameras have a very good HTTP API where you send it commands and I bet you can change the text overlay by sending it a command via HTTP. As for software that creates files, it usually does so in it's own format and if you want to use it's software to find them, it's best to keep them that way. Also, most software stores video in it's own proprietory format, not something you can open with common PC video software. But you can write a shell script on Linux or use Windows Scripting to do whatever you want with the files.

The sponsor facilitates getting the cameras so I can review them. They are not tied to one brand and my review in unbiased as I do not get paid by anyone and the advertising on the site is random and put there by wordpress, not me. The camera is returned after the review. I reached out to them, not the otherway around. With that said, I'm always looking for cameras to review. If anyone wants to sponsor a review by sending me a camera, let me know. I have a backlog of cameras to test. Next two that I already have are an Axis Q6035-E, provided by Axis and a ACTI TCM-7811 provided by ACTi. Some vendors want me to go through the channel, that's why I need the support of distributors like Ray at GSS. Speaking in generalities, I agree the price is high for a 1.3MP bullet, but appropriate based on the features and that depends if you need the features of this camera. They make bullets with less features for less money too, the Brickcom OB-100AE is $416 at surveillent.net, 1MP, varifocal lens, outdoor, heater, PoE, 2 way audio. With the bracket as a kit it's about $50 more, I know, not cheap, but that's up to you if you can use a cheaper bracket that doesn't compromise it's weather rating. BTW, ACTi makes a bracket with cable management, use one on an ACM-1231 and that can be used instead. Can you find a less expensive 1MP bullet camera, sure, the ACTi TCM-1111 is less expensive but it doesn't have a varifocal lens, just depends if that feature means anything to you and are you willing to pay for it. As for finding a 3MP camera for the same price, sure but it's like buying a loaded Toyota Corolla or a stripped Camry. Bigger is not always better if it doesn't have the features you need. The reason I reviewed one of their top bullet cameras is because it had a unique set of features that ACTi, Geovision, Messoa, Vivotek, Axis, Mobotix, Panasonic don't have and that's megapixel wireless (WiFi and 4G) and real wireless, not a radio that works 50'. I would imagine the camera quality would be the same with the lower end bullets, just less features and if I was buying one for my home, I would not get the WOB-130Np, I don't need those extra features, but I liked the camera enough to say I would personally buy their lower end models.

That is a lot for a bracket. Actually it's a standard tripod mount used by any CCTV camera. I put it up using my ACTi mount, costs $16 but you can find nice mounts on ebay for half that. As for price, I've seen it for low $800 USD and if you forgo the 3G/4G and WiFi, maybe $100 less. That puts it at about $150 more than a similar ACTi TCM-1231 but it's a better camera and more functionality. On the otherhand, if you need WiFi, not too many choices for a decent camera.

Sounds like a great idea. Too bad they have to charge you for each license. If the NAS dies and you buy a new one, do they let you transfer the camera licenses to the new device? I did check out their camera matrix and they do allow you to use the camera's alarm inputs as well as it's video motion detection so that's great. Great selection of cameras. I would imagine if you got their budget line that sells for $200+drives that it may not support that many cameras and the response time on the software may not do so well. You have their higher end, so probably faster processors too. Where I was thinking is that I have 5 cameras in our vacation home but they are for alert only and one records to SD card slot. If I can get a $200 NAS, put a small hard drive in it, it would be an economical solution as I would probably only record on 2-3 cameras anyway (1 is just to look out the window to check weather conditions, another one is just there, old camera).

Yes, ACTi provides an iPhone/iPad app that link up to it's NVR software, so you see all the cameras you have setup at the same time on your IOS device, tapping a camera makes that one camera full screen. Never tried the Synology NAS, looks like a cost effective solution. Does that work even with their low end $200 NAS? My only concern is can it keep up with HD cameras as your system grows. I say this because the NAS CPU is doing the video motion detect for each camera, it has to decompress the image, determine if there has been a change from frame to frame. Sort of what kills BlueIris. With vendor software l like ACTi (or others), they relly on the camera to handle the motion detection and then only stream video if motion is detected by the camera. Hence the very low CPU and network activity with this setup. So it may work fine with all VGA cameras as BlueIris did for me early on. As I started swapping megapixel for vga cams, it started going downhill very quickly. Imagine a 1080P camera is like 8 VGA cameras in the amount of bits.

OK, lets talk real money here, no more theory. Requirement, low cost 1080P IP camera comperably priced to a cheap camcorder, that's it, no other requirement. Flip Video Utra HD Video camera, currently at $199 at Amazon. The Flip is HD, but really only 720P HD. Here's three IP cams that can be had for about the same price as the Cisco Flip - OpenEye CM610 - 1080P indoor dome. Twice the resolution of the Flip Avtech PushVideo Series (AVN801, AV80X, AVN812) - indoor cube cameras, 1.3MP (or 720P), loaded with features like SD card slot, 2 way audio, free smartphone apps, PIR motion detect, led light. Vivotek - not the best but they also make a 720P cube in this price segment, I think it's the IP8132

They already do and you can buy them on eBay straight from China But why are they still more expensive than the Flip.

Domes are typically mounted against a wall or under an eave. Most companies do sell what I call a tear drop mount that mounts on a wall or pole and allows the camera to sit further from the wall. They may also make a straight version that allows you to hang the camera under an eave but have it lower. You move the lens to any angle you want from the edge of the camera to the other edge. Clearly if you mount it using a mount like a tear drop, the camera faces down, it can not be made to point upwards but most people mount it high looking downwards anyway. Also, if you buy from a single company, like ACTi, Brickcom, Vivotek, as an example, the provide very good NVR software for free. ACTi will be releasing their latest software soon which is awsome, but their current software is still pretty good and you can run it on the cheapest slowest PC you can find. I had it running on a cheapie Atom processor PC and it barely went over 20% CPU utilization with 6 cams. They also provide an iPhone app for free. The nice thing of the Atom PC I use is that it has HDMI out, so I have it plugged in the TV, want to see cameras, just change the HDMI input on the TV. Watching it on a large flat panel is the way to go. Hear a noise at night, flip the TV on and you have a 360 degree view of what's going on.

I do use my phone as a surveillence camera, what makes you think I didn't? I detect something that needs recording, it gets recorded. Works everytime. Can your camera make phone calls? Haha, try that with your fancy surveillence camera (actually the Mobotix can). The original question was not why a Flip is good or bad, why Cisco shut it down, but why can they make a Flip for $99 and it costs many more times that for an equivalent 1080P camera. Didn't say it had to work outdoors, didn't say it had to last more than a year, didn't say it had to record at night or include illuminators. Software is the easy part, you make it for one camera, it typically works across the vendor's product line.