camera-newbie

Thanks.. I've got a ping in with Illuminar as well to see if I can find an authorized dealer since there are many that aren't. I even got an email from their President/CEO a few times today trying to help me out..

If you're able to disassemble the camera, what about adding some external lines and bypassing the PoE feature altogether? Not sure if that's possible or not but would certainly reduce the heat -- perhaps considerably.. ? Just a thought..

Michael, Alex (or anyone else??) -- are you able to get any of the Vario's? I'm getting the runaround from Raytec.. Their support people have been great but sales -- umm.. not so much.. I was promised a list of dealers I could buy from,last Thursday, from one of their reps in Canada after talking with her on the phone and have now called twice with no replies.. Uggg.. I'm looking for a Vario-I2 with standard lens + remote -- if I can't get anything from them then I'll buy American and get the Illuminar IR312-A60-24 as an alternative.. I realize these are items that are just getting into the supply chain.. I really want to get this going or I might opt to just install white regular lighting but I'm sure my neighbors won't like me if I go that route..

Yes please!!! P.S. I think I missed your call? I couldn't find the phone and it's almost out of battery..

Ok.. So I'm trying to connect my Optex/Inovonics hardware to the Avigilon encoder I've been running for a while now and want to make sure I'm following the directions on the wire connections. First of all : The Inovonics receiver is the EN4216MR -- installation manual is here. The Avigilon encoder manual is here. The Avigilon manual states for inputs : The Inovonics manual indicates (figure 4) that there are 6 form-C relay connections -- either normally open or normally closed. I'm thinking that I need to connect pin2 of the Avigilon (ground) to something but will admit that I'm not sure how to proceed.. I suspect it's super simple but want to ensure I don't nuke my not-so-cheap hardware. Can someone point me in the right direction? My first hunch is that the ground/common from the Avigilon box should be switched back around to input 1 on itself -- with it running between the common and NO connections on the Inovonics receiver module.. Is that about right?

Yes.. your pinouts are correct as well.. I've never wired a dry-contact type of switch before and only a handful of relays in my days. hence my concern with doing it correctly. Overall, Optex/Inovonics stuff seems to be well built.. I wish the Optex HX40 had a bit more metal in it -- it'll be interesting to see how it fairs in the UV even if it is an outdoor rated item.

Matt. Love your 'video montage'!! " title="Applause" /> " title="Applause" /> I gotta get me one of them 'infinite zoom' software packages that can take any old crappy image and use it for 'forensic' analysis!

Doesn't that really say "TJ's Hair Salon" in big print but in iddy biddy tiny print near the corner it says "and Wholesale IP Camera Shoppe & Emporium"?

It certainly seems like you're getting reflection from something and I'd guess it's internal to the camera-- I suppose you could temporarily unmount it and see if anything changes but I'd guess it's internal to the camera.. What happens if you disable the power to the IR? I'm assuming it'll clear up -- you could try that just after the IR kicks in, in the early evening perhaps while there's still some light out to allow a picture.

Thanks! I think these would be great for use on an enclosed or similar porch where water/moisture is not an issue.. By the way, searching for "outdoor ir illuminator" gave me no hits currently (the two links above have finished so they're no longer active), but a better search phrase is "illuminator dome" which revealed several people selling different dome models -- some appearing identical to the one above others slightly different. I'll look into these for those areas that things like a nice Raytec would be overkill..

I've got an older Basler BIP-1300C-DN that runs pretty warm -- not sure it gets that hot but I'd guess it gets well into the 120F range but it does have a metal case to help dissipate the heat. I'll be toying around with it again this weekend -- I might have to use my super accurate kitchen thermometer to check the temps on it just for comparison. Let us know your continued story on this camera. Max -- Did you buy from "ocdepot" in Santa Ana, CA? They seem to have the most of these for just under $100/ea... Just curious..

For a decent Analog camera that works pretty darned well in low-light checkout the CNB VCM-24VF. I've got a pair of them and they're designed very well and super easy to install and best of all, they've got a decent picture with pricing at about $165/ea which is WAY cheaper than a decent IP camera but that's a different discussion altogether. By the way, the cameras you've got seem to have images that are pretty washed out looking -- the CNB's wont be that way..

I purchased a Computar TG4Z2813FCS-MPIR from Amazon a bit over a month ago for about $92 with free shipping via Amazon Prime.. I mounted this on my new-to-me Basler 1.3Mp IP camera.. Works great.

Mike -- what's the max number of IP cameras you've used in conjunction with Vitamin-D on a single machine? Seems like there'd be a sweet spot, that if exceeded, would cause your system to be CPU bound trying to analyze too much incoming data.. I've got my 1.3Mp Basler that I'm hoping to put up this weekend and since it's not ONVIF compliant (and never will be) I'll probably try out Vitamin D again since I can't use it with my Avigilon setup that the other cameras are attached to.. The last time I tried the Basler+VitD, it seemed to use a fair amount of CPU to run their demo version with hard-wired ethernet (no wifi involved).. I'm hoping it'll be better this time around..

When I recently purchased a 1000' box of CAT5e from a local distributor they asked if I wanted 'overseas' made cable or USA made.. You can guess what my answer was -- I didn't mind paying a bit more for the local stuff -- I think mine was made by General Cable -- perhaps not as good as Belden which gets nothing but good marks but I believe General is a bit cheaper. The way I look at it is, don't go cheap on the cable since it's a major pain in the rear IF you need to re-run cable -- particularly for your run..

Ok.. So my Avigilon encoder supports 4 inputs and I'm thinking it might be a good idea to make use of them by adding in some motion detecting features using external sensors that can likely see better in the dark. To that end, I'm looking for a nice wide sensor that can get hopefully wider than a 90 degree FOV -- something 120+ would be great. On top of that I'd love to have one that also has the creep zone detection and is pet saavy since we've got hens roaming the backyard and it'd be nice to not to find tons of videos of chickens doing their 'thing' in the yard at the end of the day . To that end, what are my options that are hopefully <$150ea.. I saw some nice units by protech but can't afford the price tag on them.. I saw that Honeywell makes some nice units with masking features, MAP, etc.. Any suggestions on sensors? Also, when it comes time to wire up such a device, I'm assuming I can run the ~12VDC power that the sensors use and also connect it to the input on the relay which, when triggered, will be fed back to the encoder indicating a "alarm trigger".. Is that more or less how you guys wire these things up? One last question -- when using sensors like this, what do you use for a power source? One supply for 'N' sensors or a bunch of wall-warts? Thanks!!!

I received my Optex HX40RAMi yesterday, drop shipped from an Optex warehouse in Chino, CA -- care of Spytown. I had to call Spytown yesterday because I wasn't sure if they had even worked on my order.. Their website leaves a bit to be desired in this area -- NO order updates. Anyway, it did arrive and in under a week so I should be happy! Anyway, I opened the box and the HX40 seems very well built -- a bit larger than I was expecting, lots of templates and whatnot. Seems like a great product but I've not had time to play with it yet. I should be getting my new-in-box ebay purchased receiver for it within the next day or so -- it's roaming the streets of Long Beach (CA) in a Priority Mail truck.. P.S. I contacted Computar/Ganz and the local rep for So-Cal indicated that they do not sell Raytec illuminators but some their own brand with model numbers like IRL-S6...

I looked on ebay and found nothing that looked like that illuminator being sold currently. If you do find some being sold, let me know..

To overstate what's been already said, the P&S cameras are meant to take a few thousand shots (ok -- perhaps 100k for simplicity sake) and be put away after a shoot.. An IP camera has to do its job 24x7 for potentially YEARS -- we're talking MTBF! I suspect IF you could rig up a P&S to constantly take shots, that something would wear out rather quickly.. Ultimately the engineering is completely different as the environment/use-case for them is a 180 from the way a P&S is used. I doubt, for instance, that overheating of a P&S is much of a design concern for Canon, Nikon and whatnot but is I'm sure a concern on IP cameras that are shoved into an enclosure and can literally 'cook' in the wrong conditions. YMMV! Can we put this to bed now ?

I would think, after reading various threads about the need for heaters (or lack thereof), that you may be able to ditch the heater altogether unless you're in a very cold environment.. I've read a number of threads here where people are running unheated cameras outside in <0F (IIRC) and having no issues -- at least that's what I recall.. However, I guess we should start by asking where you are and can you even get a 10W heater applicable for your enclosure? edit : I see you're in New York.. You might be able to ditch the heater but I'll let someone else chime in that knows better than I.. You might also want to indicate what sort of camera (analog, IP, mfg,etc)..

I've updated the post above to remove the link.. Thanks for the suggestion on Mayflex -- I do recall seeing their site in Google the other night and will check them out! Hey Tom.. Is the Ganz reference above referring to the ComputarGanz website? If so, I wonder if I could order from their Torrance office (where I live).. Hmm..

So, I got a reply back from Raytec late last night and regarding telemetry inputs on their units (I assume this goes for any of their hardware that has the telemetry feature): I'm still trying to digest that but I think it sounds like, in a nutshell, I would only need to close a circuit (aka short a pair of wires?) to turn the unit on or off -- is that your take on that as well? I may be ordering direct thru their sales people in Canada since I can't find anyone... I'll keep you posted on what I get as I'm awaiting another reply from Raytec on whether to get the i2 or i4 with the wide angle optional lens for my situation. [edited to remove UK link]

Thanks.. I gotta learn to look a bit closer! Slick product!!

Yes.. (sorry.. I responded and then later edited my post above).. That's the one -- if the pricing is essentially the same that'd be great. Is it going to be generally available in a few weeks? I like the remote control feature among others. Ultimately I'll need a few of these -- too bad they don't have one with a wider FOV than 60.. Damn this hobby is going to get expensive!!

I popped a note to Raytec asking for clarification.. Thanks for the suggestion on the Vario's.. I think the smallest would be PLENTY for my situation (unless I want two -- which might be needed for our yard).. I'll check it out.. It's got some nice features!