buellwinkle

No worries. I have to swap out cameras, maybe this morning if I have time and I'll take a picture of a brand new one out of the box and do unboxing shots so you see how it goes together. It's really a nice camera, once you have it setup right, you'll be happy with it. Also, ACTi is working on improving it so I expect to get even better when they release the next firmware upgrade.

Exactly, I was expecting a smaller simpler version of the 16 port I've had for a while, so I get a larger, more annoying version with 2 power switches.

Congrats! The camera snaps out of the housing, just two spring clips on either end. Then you can mount the backing plate to where you want it, then the middle piece to that. Then the camera snaps back in place. You sort of have to take the camera out of it's housing in order to put the microSD card in anyway if I remember correctly, only did it once. The big PITA is those nickel sized white grommets they use to cover access holes where you can put the cable through. You have to snip off the RJ45 plug, slip the Ethernet cable through the center of it and then crimp on a new RJ45 plug. The other thing to watch out for is the 3-axis adjustment can be stiff, especially to rotate the lens.

Those are older Mobotix, so 3MP and I believe the max FPS for that camera was 8 fps. Don't believe Mobotix lets you twiddle with bit rate, more of a % compression setting and I had issues before ID'ing someone, so it was set at the lowest compression rate but not h.264, it was Mobotix own compression.

I was thinking of that myself. I would still use auto exposure, but set the AE reference target during the day say at 128 to get a nice bright picture and then lower it to about 80 at night to reduce noise. Also, set WDR higher during the day than that night (not on the D82, but the E84/E72 domes I'm also testing). Do you do this as an event where you send an URL command back to the camera? For example, an event trigger by switching to night mode, then issue an URL command back to the camera to change exposure settings.

I have that very same camera and either you installed the dome cover wrong or that's one defective camera. Open a support ticket on their website, upload the images. I give them access to the camera so they can see for themselves. The issue is called IR light bleed not something ACTi is known for. You can put the camera in Day mode and you'll see it goes away. Also, you can remove the dome cover and you'll see it go away. Make sure all is snug, that any rubber grommets on the lens or around the dome cover are installed correctly. If it persists, take the dome cover off, take a picture of the camera so I can see the lens and see if anything is missing compared to the one I have here. I'm in the middle of reviewing that camera but I'll post one night shot to show you that it's not normal.

Tiny annoying barking dogs are the best deterrent and we have extras I can send you. They have built in sensor that can detect these subtle noises you can hear and go nuts barking that will even scare big dogs. Go to the middle of this page - http://www.axis.com/products/m10_series/ There's a video, click that and listen to recording the camera plays. I was able to get that from Axis engineers, took a while but I love it. I have it if you want. So when it detects motion, it plays that, sends me pictures, just like the video. I also have one that says Intruder Alert over and over again. BTW, there's a company I posted a while ago that uses that M10 inside an oversized electrical box with a brass or ss plate with slots for the mic and speakers and a doorbell. Looks high end. So your guest would press the doorbell, and from our PC or smartphone, be able to see them and talk to them. Also, Mobotix makes their Door Station T24, similar concept but maybe a little more expensive.

I have a D82 in a box here. What settings do you use? For example, AE reference target, contrast? I know it creates more noise, but I find 1/30 max auto exposure is that I use. You are getting fancy on youtube with dramatic music and graphics, nice.

Yes, ceiling mount is the best choice for 2-axis cameras. I tested Axis speed domes costing $4K that are basically 2-axis. They do sell wall mounts, not sure if Hikvision makes one specifically for this camera, but there are generic ones. Basically it's like a 6" wide L bracket that you screw into the wall and the camera to the bracket and it makes it level. Also, they make a tear drop shape, used more for speed domes but you can use it with a fixed dome.

I have not tried a mic on an Axis camera other than the built in mic/speaker on the M10 series, but the Axis T83 mic will work, and costs almost the same price as the camera The audio in/out is 3.5mm jacks. You can try lesser expensive mics, many at CCTV stores, Amazon, eBay. Don't think it needs to be amplified as the T83 does not have a power spec. Just remember, a $10 mic may not be as good as the Axis $500 mic, just saying, but maybe a nice $50-80 mic way do the trick. Then audio out is like audio out is on your home theater or car stereo except it's mono. Just a nice outdoor pre-amplified speaker should work. At our city pad, the building has speakers about the size of a bookshelf speaker. They have analytics software that triggers audio out when people loiter and encourages people to move along. Catches me off guard at times when the dogs take their time by one tree. This is from the manual Audio in - 3.5mm input for a mono microphone, or a line-in mono signal (left channel is used from a stereo signal). Audio out - Audio output (line level) that can be connected to a public address (PA) system or an active speaker with a built-in amplifier. A pair of headphones can also be attached. A stereo connector must be used for the audio out. BTW, not trying to rain on your parade, but check local laws on recording people's private conversations. Most state do not allow it and it's also against federal wire tapping laws. Sure, inside your house you may have some liberties, outside, you may not be able to enter a video into evidence that has audio.

Not that bad. I had some 3MP Mobotix at a pool for a condo set to not use more than 50GB on the NAS to test how long video would stay around with that much space. During the winter, about 2 months, during the active summer, about 1 month. A 64GB card should provide plenty of storage per camera with h.264 and I bet you get a month of motion event recordings. For home use and even in commercial use where we have to wait for law enforcement to request it before we can look at it sometimes, I've rarely had to go back more than a week.

Try it, you can download the software for free for 1 camera. You may not find Lorex specifically but it may have Hikvision as a choice that will work or even generic RTSP support.

Yes, we were just as shocked in So California where we call it June Gloom and it's normal for the sun to not come out until early afternoon for a few hours. But this year, call it global warming or chance, we had a few sunny days. Also ruined our May Gray, we had some 35C/95F days and if it's that hot during May Gray, then I hate to see what summer will be like. May have to go to the Islas Malvinas in S. America to cool off.

Now that's not true, all their push series cameras are not PoE, not most. BUT, you can use non-standard PoE. I pushed them on this about a year ago, saying just use a 12V PoE injector/splitter and apparently they sell that now. It's not 802.3af PoE, so don't try this with a PoE switch. It's a 12V PoE injector (not 48V) and on the camera side, a splitter takes the 12V and puts in a power plug you plug into the camera and plain Ethernet.

jf1980, here's the deal I've encountered with the camera on IR light bleed which fooled me at first and Hikvision is aware and working on the problem. When it's close up like you did, and I did the very same thing, you don't get IR light bleed and you think to yourself, this is pretty cool. Then try and shine it out further, like across a complete room, maybe 10-15' away or go outdoors and try it, that's when it got ugly. It seems on other Hikvision domes, the lens which is just loose now has a spring to push it tight against the dome.

I've reviewed 3 of their push series models in the past. You can view recordings from their EagleEye apps (blackberry, android, IOS) if you have a model with an SD card slot. Many cameras have SD card storage, but very few provide an easy way to view the recordings. Axis makes cameras in several prices ranges. I reviewed the M1014 which is the lowest priced camera from Axis with Edge Storage.

Lately IE10 doesn't play well with several brands of cameras, so can't blame Axis. Usually clicking the compatibility mode icon helps.

It's hard to tell where the wire is from the picture, but is it in the upper right? Then no, the person would look tilted. Here's why, the camera adjusts up/down, no problem there, it will tilt downwards towards your subject, but when you pan the camera it will rotate say 20-30 degrees to meet the center of the door at the point someone would be at the door (if that's the plan), when you do that, the image itself will rotate too as the pan motion acts like a pivot on an arc. A 3-axis camera would allow you to rotate the lens back to square. You can still use it if you don't mind the tilted person. If you mount the camera at the top of the center of the door where there' no pan adjustment, just tilt, then it would work as you expect.

Are you getting bad IR bleed on the domes at night?

Could be the camera, could be the cable, could be the switch. Since the act/lnk light does not turn amber, try plugging any ethernet device, for example, unplug your PC from the router and plug that into port 1, Does that still give you internet connectivity? Does the amber light come on? At least that would prove if the switch aspect is working. There were 1 or 2 people that used 12V adapters with Dahua made cameras and then when they tried to use it with PoE it wouldn't work, so it may have damaged the PoE component. This is not that common because most here never even try and use 12v on their PoE cameras even though many are capable of doing so.

Don't like this one as much my 16 port version which has the lights in the front and ports and switch on the back and is much smaller. But here's what happens. 1. plug in - nothing happens 2. turn on/off switch in the back to "I" position 3. green PWR light comes on 4. I plug it into my other switch on port 8, LNK/ACT port 8 light blinks in amber 5. I plug in a PoE camera lying around into port 1, LNK/ACT port 1 light blinks amber and PoE port 1 light is steady green 6. connect to camera, works, voila Has this 802.3az on/off button, works either way but it appears that with it on, it supposed to manage power better but IDK.

I just got one in the mail, let me take a look and see what it does when I plug it in.

What happens is they OEM cheaper than they sell to Tri-Ed or ADI, but if you buy an OEM version, the support comes from someone else, not Hikvision, so yes, you will pay more for a Hikvision USA camera with USA factory warranty. How much I don't know since I don't have accounts with ADI but I should considering they spam the heck out of me.

What's odd is the link you sent for the model AT-7, while its' a good price is not shown on their website. Is this an older obsolete mode and which one replaces it for $200 price range?

You'll find use for all 3 as not every location requires 5MP. Sure, the P3364/P3384 with Lightfinder is better in low light, but it's not a huge difference to me and I think the WDR works better.