benAu

Hi, My first post here and I am pretty new to all this. I am looking at setting up an IP camera system at my work place which is a school. The current system is almost useless as you can't see faces even if people stand in front of the cameras. After much research I have got it down to using a Synology server for the NVR and possible Vivotek or Acti IP Cameras. Image quality is important for us and they need to be water/vandal proof. After looking at videos I can't work out if the Vivotek FE8172V 360 degree camera (http://www.vivotek.com/web/product/ProductDetail.aspx?Model=FE8172V) or any other 360 degree cameras will suite our needs. Eg We have an outdoor walkway split 4 ways (up, down, left and right) with fairly poor night lighting. If we had the above camera set up in the ceiling where the 4 walkways meet. Would it be able to see down each walkway about 30 meters or would it only be capturing the immediate area around the camera? Are we better off getting fixed dome camera's? Additionally Keeping in mind we want a fairly clear image up to about 20 meters from the camera, would 2MP fixed dome cameras be enough or should I just pay more for 4/5MP ones? Thanks for any help Ben

But it says 180/360 on the product page. Acti KCM-7911 Main Features • 1/2.5" Progressive Scan CMOS • Day and night function with mechanical IR cut filter • Minimum illumination 0.06 lux at F2.8 • 180°/360° panorama and ePTZ view • Built-in f1.05 mm / F2.8 Megapixel Fisheye lens • 6 fps at 2032 x 1920 resolution • Selectable H.264, MPEG-4 SP, MJPEG compressions with dual streaming • Up to 6 cropped regions as independent channels • Two-way audio • Video motion detection • Digital input and digital output • ExDR ( Extreme Dynamic Range) • 2D+3D Digital Noise Reduction • MircoSD/ MircoSDHC card slot for local storage • Powered by PoE Class 3 / DC 12V • Weatherprrof IP66 rated casing Does two way audio mean the camera records audio or does it mean it only has support for it? The vivotek one sounds better on paper. Vivotek FE8172V 5-Megapixel CMOS Sensor 30 fps @ 1080p Full HD 1.05 mm Fisheye Lens for 180° Panoramic View and 360° Surround View Removable IR-cut Filter for Day & Night Function EN50155 Compliance for Professional Mobile Surveillance Real-time H.264, MPEG-4, and MJPEG Compression (Triple Codec) WDR Enhancement for Unparalleled Visibility in Extremely Bright or Dark Environments Vandal-proof IK10-rated and Weather-proof IP66-rated Housing ePTZ for Data Efficiency Built-in 802.3af Compliant PoE Built-in MicroSD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot for On-board Storage Pixel Counter for Image Clarity Measurement 5-window video motion detection

Thanks for the detailed response. I suspected the 360 degree cameras work as you said. I think if I install one in the area used in the previous example it should be usable as the doors people are damaging aren't directly under where the camera will be and aren't that far away either. It will be a good place for us to test if they are an ideal solution. Are the 360 degree cameras better at giving a clear face image when placed on a wall rather then a ceiling? Normally what happens at this school, people will graffiti/damage half way down the hallways which is about 20/30 meters, then walk towards the cameras which allows them to get really close. The current camera system is still to blurry even when they are a few meters away Do you know if Axis will have an outdoor version of that camera? We kinda of want to start getting equipment in within the next 2 months so I suspect it won't be out soon enough for us. The hallways normally have a decent to poor yellow light running after hours. Would it be best to get cameras with IR LEDS? Ideally if we can ID a face within 10 meters, but have a clear shot of the persons body and what they are doing at the 20/30 meter mark it should be fine. I will probably get 1 5MP 360 degree camera, 1 5MP IR LED fixed dome camera and 1 lower res fixed dome camera and see which how well each one works for us. Are brickcom are good brand? Thanks again.

There is some yellow lights in the outdoor hallways which provide decent to poor lighting. The system will only be accessed to see recorded footage from 1 person. No one will actually be watching the live streams, it will probably eventually scale up to 20 cameras. Would 360 degree fish eye cameras mounted in ceilings be able to see down the hallways? Would you recommend the Acti http://www.acti.com/product/detail/Dome_Camera/KCM-7911 over the Vivotek one or is night time performance going to be bad on both these cameras? The Axis cameras are a bit to much for us Thanks for the advice,