stonewatch

Combine PIR-sensor and Arduino-Ethernet.

Perhaps www.stockoptics.com ?

Here is a demo pic from BlueIris and my AV5155DN , compressed with Irfanview to 55% quality, which clearly shows the wonderful colors and the "softness" of the built-in lens.

Considering the price and the image quality like the youtube video "Arecont Vision - AV10005DN Sergej Piculin " what are the alternatives? Stardot? Avigilon? Axis? Which brand/model can match their resolution combined with natural looking colors perhaps with a more robust construction and more powerful CPU?

I am using Arecont AV5155DN. Bought them new for USD 360 on ebay. Compared to my Dahuas HFW 3300C they have some advantages. The picture of the Arecont is much nicer in a way of more natural colors similar to a good oil-painting compared to the "plastic-like" colors of the Dahuas. The noise level of the Areconts is much lower than the one of the Dahuas. They are also more capable of reading a license plates during nighttime. However the mechanical structure inside this dome IMO is not very well made and requires a very soft touch. The software is also not without flaws: Framerate at night 2 ! Day night switching not always working remains stuck in B/W during the day sometimes. If the observed terrain is covered by snow the in color mode the picture periodically goes from dark to bright and back . A dome without internal IR illuminators is much much better with fog and rain . I am using external illuminators with the Areconts mounted a few feet away. If one can live with these drawbacks and can get them at a reasonable price say compared to Dahua or HiK +30% I would recommend Arecont.

Did anyone ever consider an Arecont camera with a separate IR-illuminator ? eg. AV5155DN.