jrmymllr

Indeed it seems to be fine. I was worried because when I looked at the DVR recording (it was connected to a DVR at the time), after it had fallen the image was flickering and changing in brightness rapidly for several seconds. However I think this might have been a loose power or video connection because it has been working just fine after setting it back up.

Someone knocked a box camera with a Fujinon auto iris lens off a shelf 2-3 feet off the floor, which is shag carpet. I haven't had a chance to check it out much, but how fragile are the auto-iris mechanism in these lenses?

From what I've seen on every other DVR, yes, you take the total FPS available and divide by the number of cameras you have enabled.

I'm fairly new to security stuff and am just doing this for my house. Anyway I ran across something that might not be so surprising to most regulars here, but I thought it was shocking. I was looking at a sale paper and noticed they had a 4 channel DVR4-2500 Swann DVR for US$450. I wondered how it compared to my Q-see QSDR04RTC I got for $150. So I started checking it out. First, several sources were selling the Swann for $450 so that confirms the price. I get on Swann's website and looked at the photos and downloaded the manual. The rear jack arrangement is identical to mine except it has one extra USB port, probably to make up for the lack of the one on front of the Q-see. The specs are identical. The user interface is identical. The remote PC app is identical, even with the same name ("D9 Viewer") The only real difference is the Swann has a 500GB instead of 320, and the Swann comes with 4 RCA-to-BNC adapters. All this for $300 more. Or more like $240 if you don't get the super deal on the Q-See. I don't find it surprising this hardware is shared between multiple brands. What I find surprising is the price difference! The Swann, does however, have a much better users manual, but that's a free download

2) Whenever I did a factory default reset, it set everything back to chinese. It was a pain in the butt to try to find out how to change it back to english. I suppose this makes sense considering it sounds like they are for the Chinese market and must be imported to US/Europe if you want one. I really wonder what the quality difference is between my Qsee and another sub-$200 unit. I now know the Qsee video quality isn't so great, but for what I paid it's a good starter unit. The device itself has been reliable. The manual is terrible, the software is terrible, their web-site is fairly comprehensive but otherwise their support is terrible and they can't even respond to an email question. If I had to buy a 4 channel standalone today, I don't know what I'd buy. The PI Mfg seems promising and is under $200. I still need to really try out their online demo although it was easy to view still images. Sure, $500 - $1000 would get a nice DVR, but that's a bit steep for my use.

Good info. Although, the cheapest XTS I could find was about $400. Couldn't find any prices for Cantonk. A 4 channel from PI is $185 which is very comparable in price to the Q-see, and the user interface looks nicer. They have a live demo but it wouldn't accept the login.

Probably was just on sale. But to be honest I wouldnt touch either of those 2 DVRs .. well not for a client anyway. I can get some in that same price range that blow both away. Except whatever I get the customs costs half the cost of the DVR cost + approx $100 Shipping together so .. ouch That said, if you have any sample images or videos from it, it would be appreciated. I'm just curious, what models in that price range are you referring to? I can get some images, but my camera location is a bigger problem now, despite it being a good camera. It's looking through a window.

That Q-see retails for $269 from online stores. The $450 price I see is Home Depot. The QSDR04RTC-320 I got for $150 + $8 shipping from compusa.com. Other sources have it for considerably more so I'm not sure how they were so much cheaper (I believe they are out of them now).

How's the support on either? Can you call and get a live tech 25/7 with the Swann? How about with the Q-See? Things like that commonly account for such price differences - it's easy to charge less when you don't have anything in place to back it up. Yes, you are correct, and the Swann manual is a good first example. However I'd be hard pressed to spend $240-300 more for good support on a $150-210 item. That's just me though, but I'm maybe more comfortable with technology than some.

I'm looking for a camera or two for monitoring my front yard. Currently I have a Supercircuits PC23C (0.05 lux/F1.0, 1/3", 2.8-12mm F1.4, 480 lines), and I've had this camera for awhile and just recently brought it out of storage since buying a security DVR. I have it set up to point out my front window, and generally I'm fairly happy with it. It's low light capability is ok, but could be better, and I wish it was color. I'm not too interested in having outdoor cameras due to the attention they'll get, and the work involved. Shooting the camera out the window might seem odd, but it's working ok. There's some artificial light at night from my porch light, and from the neighbor's houses, and this helps. I'm avoiding IR because my thought was that if the camera is pointing through a window, the IR would reflect back like crazy and be useless. So, for some questions; First I should say I'm fairly good with electronics. It's the optical stuff I'm unsure about. I like the idea of a micro camera, the ones about 1"x1" and a small lens (not pinhole). It should be harder to see from outside, and generally more convenient. Does the small diameter lens make it perform worse (as far as light and clarity) than a regular box camera lens? Any other disadvantage provided it uses a 1/3" CCD? Ideally I'd have a color camera that was also really good at low light when it switches to B/W. Unfortunately, it seems that the .00003 lux cameras are B/W only. It's like I should have both a color and Exview to take care of the day and night. Does this make sense to do? Are the .00003 lux Exview cameras worth it in your opinion? I've read some of the opinions about Ebay cameras. There's one with a Panvigor brand: color 1/3" Super HAD, .01 lux, 420 lines color 480 B/W, 3.5-8mm F1.4 manual lens for $54 shipped. For the price I can't see much wrong with it. What should I watch out for when dealing with Ebay cameras? Where is a good mail order place in the US to buy good quality cameras? And finally, I've read that for outdoor use, an auto iris is a must. However, the camera I have has a manual iris and despite leaving it fully open, it seems to work fine. The camera has BLC and auto exposure. Why would I need an auto iris in this case? I guess I'm just confused by the suggestions to have one. Thanks for your time.