shockwave199

Thanks Sean.

One day they're gonna come up with your coordinates. That is a day you should be very prepared for.

Why are ptz so expensive and yet so many are only 1/4" 480 tvl? I wouldn't accept that in a fixed camera. Why is that so popular in expensive ptz's?

The OP mentions wanting to use a ptz. Assuming we're talking a more typical, affordable solution, is there any recommendation for such a ptz? Surely there must be some concensus on a decent ptz to consider. I'd sure be interested as well.

Yeah, I've seen that demo more than a few times. Talk about drilling into a shot. But yeah, cost prohibitive in most situations I would think. But that for sure is the ultimate. Yeah, the application needed would indeed suffer from any of those contingencies. It's those reasons that had me thinking a regular ptz would be a more reasonable cost, and less fussy. The last thing I would want to do is push for an expensive ptz with AT and have the thing constantly interrupted and chasing false triggers. I really wanted a ptz to be able to move and zoom in on the many things I need to keep an eye on here at work- many areas of high importance considering what I'm monitoring. I just thought auto tracking was the icing on that cake. Without me working the camera, it would indeed be a matter of preset tours, without much chance of being in the right place at the right time when the wrong thing is happening. I suppose when it comes to even ptz's, maybe it's best to keep it simple. I don't know. All I know is fixed cameras, even with good fov and dof, won't give me near as much as a ptz can- all over this property to monitor. To the OP- I'm sorry to crash the thread a bit, but maybe some of the hash could be food for thought in your install as well. Dan

Oh of course. All of them I would think. At least it's some kind of demos to show how the camera behaves though, I suppose. Even though AT may not be perfect, I think it's better to have it than just relying on preset tours- especially if the cameras will be unmaned for periods of time. I actually thought the nightime IR one was pretty freakin good considering. That's one of those domeless ones I think.

Yes. There are a few youtube demos of this. There has to be some kind of formula when the object cross paths. Perhaps it's the closer one? 7Y2TsMgZKuM C3SBHgVJ6HU

I've come to realize that as I recommend ptz's to my employer as well. That's why I think if you're talking ptz, it must have auto tracking. That's the best shot at honing in on something and getting useful ID. And it would seem like the ptz would actually serve better mostly parked fairly wide, or with a few wide overlapping presets so motion will kick auto tracking in. And from what I've seen, auto tracking ptz's are pricey. There are some down in the 800 or so range, but it's usually more like 1,300 and up. But I still think a ptz with auto tracking is the ultimate way to go to cover large expanses. The auto tracking serves as the person working the camera when no ones there, and you still have nice control for the person who will be there on security shifts to zero in on things as needed. I'm all but convinced well placed auto tracking ptz's is the only way to cover large, multiple areas and have a shot at anything for ID. Other than that, like Soundy says- all you do is see it, with no ID capability. I only post this link for the video footage of the ptz auto tracking vids- http://www.skywaysecurity.com/auto-tracking-ptz-camera-video.cfm Dan

No jab taken Dave. Keep in mind that there are truely qualified people here to really listen to. My opinions have been formed after only a short time being involved with all this. I may say valid things sometimes, and sometimes not. I only know from my own experience. When all the talk and comparisons are done, it comes down to what you see, and if that's good enough for you or not. I equate cctv to pro audio in a way. Like great audio monitors in the studio, so too are the cameras. The better the quality each one is, the better you'll hear and see fine details. But behind that is the rest of the chain. In audio it's the cable and the mixing board [and more]- and to a large extent the guy BEHIND the mixing board. In cctv, it's the cables and the dvr. You're only as good as your weakest link in that chain. Get the best damn camera money can buy. But you'd better have everything else right to really appreciate the difference. I'm on a tanget! Sorry! Listen to soundy- what the hell do I know! Dan

By all means- grab snapshots and post! Love pictures. With that gadspot, it's this spec- 650 TVL 1/3" WDS High Res- you have to be careful with. As a number of guys have said here- don't get hung up or even distracted by just high tvl. That spec says 650 tvl, but with an unspecified chip. A number of models there have a much better spec, being Effio platform 700 TV Line Sony 1/3" EXview HAD II CCD. And also what has been discussed, it's not really about that 700 tvl spec, but rather the improvement in effio/exview that comes with it. The footage is gonna look a heck of a lot better than a 1/3" WDS High Res, which is what really? It'll run you closer to 100 bucks, but it's still a great price. And considering all the tinkering you did with your original gadspot, it's a plug & play option for those who don't wish to tinker. To me, even a cheap camera placed really well can catch a crook. I think we get hung up on the gorgeous picture mentallity, most times. Yes we want a clean, crisp picture. I certainly don't want to look at an inferior picture, and that's the motivation for camera upgrades over time. But I think there can be a point of diminished returns when it comes to residential. Whatever you can afford to hang at the moment- have the FOV appropriate, aimed really well, good lighting at night, and you'll likely have plenty enough to catch a crook. And in the big picture, that's what we're after. Not so much Rockwell photos of the property. I think a 100 camera can ID just as well as a 500 dollar camera if all things are well considered and installed. My opinions only, of course. Dan

If you get all this in your bullet style cameras- - Effio platform 650-700 TV Line - 1/3" EXview HAD II CCD sensor - Varifocal - TDN/ICR - Smart IR built in ...you'll have yourself some great cameras. You'll likely monitor them and feel you have excellent quality in line. You wanted a list of something- that's a great place to start. Make money an object. No need to spend outrageous prices just because you can. Not for analog cameras anyway. Good luck.

If you're gonna put signs up such as that, you better be prepaired to back it up. Don't even think you're gonna bluff anyone who is more than willing to point a gun point blank and murder in cold blood. That's all the tempting they need. Most law abiding people do not have the sand to do that, no matter how much they think they can to defend their property. They're likely to shout out something to avoid it and that's what's kills them. So if you're not willing to shoot first and ask questions later, be careful- someone may just call your bluff over that one.

That's great. Stand under those sucker for a while. The house I gew up in had no gutters- the icicles were really that bad. Swords, really. And we kids used to eat em like some kind of treat- from the dirty roof. Gross. How did I do that!

That's what came up in a search- not my supplyer! LOL! It would be nice if you're gonna suggest four cameras to someone to help them find them, rather than leaving someone hanging to possibly over pay and say so after the fact. Recommending product to someone not in the know shouldn't be such a mystery- just suggest where to look for the things. Or even something as simple as the going rate for the things.

Snow really is nice- like throwing on extra light. Nice little benefit. This is the only shots of snow I have this year so far. May it stay that way

OH!- Sorry- I didn't realize that was a video! LOL! Hey thanks for that. Not bad. That would be fine in daytime I guess. If you get a chance to do an extended one in nightime, that would be great too. It is overnight that must provide good quality too. Thanks again for the effort- very nice of you. Dan

I'm recommending to my employer he install two ptz's to give me full monitoring control overnight. Looks like he may do so. Did I mention I love my job? Two questions- - One run is shorter at approx 100-125'. The other run is considerably longer, down to the warehouse. Looks to be probably 500' all things considered. At 24vac, which most of the ptz's I see run on, will the camera be powered properly all the way back at the power box in the office, or will they need to be powered closer to the camera? - I suggested this samsung, which I think includes auto tracking, not sure- http://www.coastalvideosecurity.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SCP%2D3120VH&CartID=1 And this one for the warehouse area, which is much darker out around the property I'll need to view- http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/23-X-Zoom-650TVL-100m-IR-Waterproof-7%27%27-High-Speed-PTZ-Camera.html Does anyone have any better suggestions? I know there are MUCH more expensive ptz's- better cameras- but I'm trying to be somewhat reasonable to actually get an approval for this. Too expensive, and it may not happen. I won't be installing them, but their installer sucks far as I can tell. The pro guidance here will probably prove better than relying on the installers guidance! Thanks for any help. Sorry for the links- hope that's ok. The sammy is from a dealer link here.

Thanks for providing the pics. I really appreciate that. These two are two from my home system, from cameras under 100 bucks, snapped while remotely viewing like you. They are not ptz's. I expect nothing less than that picture quality from any ptz that will be put in line, and for cameras costing up to 900-1000 bucks, I demand it. It's not my money being spent mind you, it's my employers. But regardless, the ptz picture quality should be excellent for the dollars spent. And after all, I'm the one who's gonna be watching them too. I just wish there was more video demos of all cameras, including ptz's. It's very tough to spend money on something that gonna provide a picture, without seeing a demo of the picture it will provide! Crazy really. The market really lacks video demos of product- frustrating.

Yes, the ones I mention are cheapy for sure and not for outdoor. The louroe looks great.

No matter what the cost? This is under ten bucks. Put it on a cheap cctv cable of any length you need, put a power adapter on it to power it, such as any of the ones you might have laying around from a cctv cam, hook it up to a channel in the dvr, and there you go. Cheap of course, but plug and play compatable I'm telling you, it'll work for you no problem. I tried putting a typical audio condensor mic with battery powered phantom power in a channel with the rca adapter- no go. It just needs a simple cctv dvr mic setup for compatability. Good luck.

CNB XGB-20CS- approx 760 bucks XGB-21CS - looks to be in the 700 dollar range Qvis p400- don't know huviron p700- don't know Figure larger bucks.

I wouldn't get hung up on cheap verses expensive for the application. Expensive mics will pick up everything, as will cheap ones. With the upstairs windows open in the summer, my cheap cctv mic picks up remarkable amounts of outdoor activity, without being outdoors. In fact, if there's any way you can place a cheap cctv kind of in the vacinity of the camera, but well sheltered, or maybe even inside an attic vent to the outside of sorts, it WILL pick up vocal audio well and intelligable. Especially the shouting kind.

Thanks guys. Do you have video demo of your cam? Looks ok, but may fall short of picture quality needed. I guess ptz's really aren't that popular even here. Even a search brings up slim pickins. Oh well.

They are expensive cameras. For an option in your budget, do check out the GS810EF that I mention a couple posts up. It looks to match what you're looking for. If you pick it up, let us know how it worked out. Dan

When monitoring the cameras without IR, fog looks like it does to the naked eye- visibility lowers depending on how thick it is- an overall haze. Although that of course could make it harder to track an intruder at that very moment, it's nowhere near as difficult to do as when you're doing it with an IR camera, where the visibility isn't just lowered- it's all but wiped out due to water droplet noise. It indeed looks like a massive rain storm. But I still prefer cameras with IR, as I said. Most times that IR, coupled with some external lighting, makes all the difference between seeing anything well, and almost nothing at all in low light.