mike_va

Since it is a house you could power some of them locally.

Yep it's the A. I would have preferred to not have an omni but the price with APR-1's was low enough to play with. I run the output into 243's since I use Axis Camera Station as the VMS. Most of the VMS's out there don't do audio or don't do it well across the board...part of my decision to stick with Axis cameras and their software. Rock solid audio (and killer support), unlike some of the others. I use different software for analytics/event capture/notification.

I did not read the title of the post correctly, I thought IP not IP rated...oops. Please ignore 243 suggestion. Here's a pic of the innards of a Louroe. They have a preamp in there. The nice thing about the Louroe is that you can engage a filter on playback, which helps the clarity. One further thought, if you are running AC to the camera I would use something like this which boosts the level up (i.e. line level). If you try to bring a mic level signal back running along the 24VAC you'll might pick up some of that. I've been running one of these outside for over half a year, shielded from the elements and it has been fine. Not saying is is recommended for that...

I use Louroe, and Axis 243 encoders. Bought 4 mics and control units for $60 or $75 on ebay (for all 4) can't remember but point is they do turn up (but pretty expensive new). Work good though. 243's usually go for around 100. But if you can use the DVR there is no point for a 243 I guess. Also my Axis P3344 etc have mics built in, even the P1344 has a mic built in and also jacks to use an external mic. The nice thing about the P3344 etc is the mic is in the body of the camera, and not noticeable. Not much experience beyond the Louroe (unbalanced). I used the recommended shielded wire probably about 50 ft. For long runs in the pro audio world it's always balanced AND shielded AND separate GND wire (i.e. XLR) which I know works, but others here could better advise on what you might be able to get away with. Your DVR is most likely an unbalanced input. Hope this helps.

Osram "Eye Safety of IREDs used in Lamp Applications" has this bit (attached) that I have a question about. If the LED's are fitted with optics (reflector) to focus the beam does this increase the mW/sr that is used in the application. i.e. these are +/-60 deg without optics, if one used a reflector of +/-10 does Ie typ go up?

The other thing to consider is that is fine to go too big, as they have an power adjustment.

Take the rating and cut in half. Also try to match the coverage angle to the lenses, helps minimize "white out". The Raytecs are cool in that regard, they have a new series that allows you to fit different "lenses" to the IR. Wider is fine too but you're just throwing light away. If I was doing it over I'd look at 940nm Bosch. I got a good price on my Raytec/Axis, generally around 200 on ebay new. I'm actually designing my own IR units now, bought the reflectors etc. Getting some alum cut and in a week or two should be good to go. I'm trying to hit some pretty extreme distances though. I want twice the light you see plus covert...

some more pics I save from last night, you'll want to be zoomed in more than this... note the shadow cast by the IR

I am trying for my own amusement to calculate eye safety levels. Here is one I did on an Raytec. I get a very different ratio than you when adjusting for the angle though.

I have several Axis 850nm IR's, I would not consider them discrete. OTOH, my neighbors did not even notice them. Others have. Glowing red quarter size dots...work good though.

I have both those. I prefer the 1344 day/night at night. The 3MP does not seem to help as much as you think at night. I would do 2x 1344 vs. one 1346. Also check out the 1602, which supposedly has great light sensitivity. Progressive scan helps a lot. I've been playing around, here are 3 (cropped) shots of Mintron 1/2", P1344 at 1-30s, CNB BBM-24F at 1-60s - all at about 90-100 yards out. Dark except for IR. The Axis does not provide quite as much contrast but IF you have enough light will give a better picture at night. Realize that you might want to apply a factor to any pixel calcs, most of those I think are probably daytime. I found I needed more at night. With the CNB you can really see the IR reflecting off that car.

foscam is prob 1/4" sensor so will be a little more zoomed in but still...

Thanks, is the radiant intensity the same as the Ie term? edit: ok I answered that myself (yes) on Wikipedia Did you mean 36, not 32? Not trying to give you a hard time just don't have a lot of experience with these calcs and especially steradians... http://www.light-measurement.com/calculation-of-radiometric-quantities/

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23345&hilit=ip+viewer+mike_va VitaminD webpage has some good links for camera strings if you poke around. Actually, they let you run even the full version on more than one computer so might be another option but the full version might be to expensive for what you are looking at or not do what you need. One last method that may not meet your needs would just be to use VNC to access the computer.

I played with Milestone and the free version only allows one audio channel, and local client connection. Nice program to use, wish it was a little faster response wise. Also if you export you get a nice BIG Milestone logo in the corner...tis free though. You could also just find out the string for mjpeg if this is a one time thing and do your own viewer, the code has been posted several times. Works with Axis Arecont Pan really any jpeg push. e.g. attached, I keep copies on all the computers in the house.

Yep, good news is you have light. I'd buy a used Bosch LTC0355 w/ 5-50mm lens as a starting point (around $5-10 used on ebay) and spend the rest on a DVR, or if you're content with one channel use an Axis 241S encoder (used around $100 ebay) and they have free software for one camera. If you think you are adding more cams you may want to find a DVR instead so you have more channels. That's a pretty tight budget though. You may need a little more on the lens (you can pick up Ultrak 7-70mm video iris lens on ebay $15 which is a nice lens and the Bosch deals with both video and DC iris), but it would help people make suggestions if you could measure the distance.

+1 I've read articles that back up this point of view, and in fact they think it would be better if they called them surveillance systems INSTEAD of security systems. Easier to sell on fear though I suppose.

Bosch 0355 is not a bad camera (and inexpensive). It is limited in adjustments, like default shutter that Bosch gives you on their better cameras. At least they provide useful specs. For a while I would put up everything against that. 0620 is better. Other ones that will beat it are CNB BBM-24F, Mintron 1/2" mono, some WATEC (but limited in other ways). Also try some faster lenses f1.0. There is only so far these cameras can actually go, without lying or using sense up. Also note that not all cameras will have the same sensitivity to IR.

Let me provide a real-life example. Guys checking for unlocked car doors at night (and stealing GPS units). Sheriff recognizes from the video as a convicted felon. Decide if you want that video used if it could be known as coming from you, on what is probably a slap on the wrist type of crime.

We have alarm signs, but cameras I would rather have discreet. If it comes to prosecution, is it worth it to have them know it was you?

Picked up one of these Revo's from costco since I wanted to add some audio. Non starter since they use a custom pinout (although they did send a schematic) and they did not include the any method to access the audio - I think they want you to buy another gadget they sell (and Costco does not carry). Anyway thought I would test before I returned it to the store, not a very good camera for low light. Also, I noticed with the QSM5265C the current would drop with my hand in front of the camera.

I have 2 Qsee around the house, they seem to really get screwed up by fog (different model though). I've had other IR bullets that did not do this. The video just shows this swirling around.

I'll provide another example. I repositioned the P3344 and it was not switching correctly to day night. Might have been picking up lights from the neighbors or Christmas lights, whatever. Sent them pics, they escalated the case and sent me new firmware. Works PERFECT. Now, let's take the CNB - no one (myself included) likes the level they switch at. Or how about the KTC2000DN or Sanyo VCC4594 - both decent cameras that seem happy to attempt switching to day night over ten times. Hysteresis...anyway there is no fixing that.

Another example, the P3344 I have above the garage door (~1/4 of the image). As emailed by VitaminD (hence the yellow box denoting person not object). I also use Axis Camera Station to do continuous recording video AND audio. Do I really want 4 cameras on the front of the house to get good resolution? I can tell you the HOA probably does not. I'm already probably pushing it with a P3346 (playing with) and a P3344. Can I make out plates with this? Not beyond the end of the driveway (but analog would be worse). Do I have enough pixels to get a great shot of anyone that tries to remove a package from the front step? Yep. Also I have other cameras (covert) that capture plates at the top of the culdesac (earlier). Also, converting it to IP has made it SO much easier to review events with VitaminD than with any DVR. I'm really not sure why VitaminD has not caught on more, in my mind they have nailed it with the interface. Runs like a champ with 14 cams on an I7. Yeah, it costs me $20 a month to run in electricity. My time reviewing events is worth that. Perfectly happy running another 8 channels of ACS, brings it up to 30-35% usage. Axis also has provided me with top notch support on questions. Will I pay more for quality and support. Yep. On the other hand the Walmart does not mind deploying probably over a dozen cameras on just the parking lot in front of the store! Looks like a prison. Having said that I've found anything above 3MP to be of little use in varying lighting, since they do not have adequate dynamic range let alone the hassle/money of finding lenses. Not to mention frame rate limitations on multiple streams. Note, I do have analog day/night around the sides as overview cameras, but still use MP to get the detail at the choke points. As soon as price drops a bit on good day night MP though that (Bosch 495, 620 etc) is all going on ebay or in the dumpster.

Aside from bugs that all software has, they sometimes add new features. No unlimited budget for testing. For example Axis recently made it possible for some of their cameras to write to NAS. The other thing is if you let engineers "perfect" it, it would become non-shippable product. Or by the time they've perfected it they've thought of six other things they should add. However, I will never forgive Linksys for shipping me a router that did NOT WORK until I updated the FW. Even the analog cams probably had problems, and some could be updated. I think Bosch has a method of doing this. However, they are much simpler systems (in terms of what they can do) also so they had a better chance of getting it right.