Best All Weather Color Dome Camera for the money

[Robocam 0]

Looking for high resolution (480 or better) auto iris, varifocal, sealed and all weather camera that will be reasonable value....If I have to spend more I will...just looking for some opinions based on your experience. Not interested in cameras that no one has experience with either personally or from freinds/clients etc. Please provide models and perhaps best place to purchase. thanks for the help.

[alarman 0]

I've used the Silent Witness modular system a few times. You pick the enclosure, camera, and lens separately for what you want. I like these domes because the camera has a gimbal mount allowing mounting on wall as well as ceiling. There is also a UTP option. ADI had the best price. UTP enclosure, hi-res day/night cam, and A/I varifocal lens package a little over $500.

Jack

[rory 0]

Ive used, GE Kalatel, Provideo, Hunt CCTV, ExtremeCCTV, WizKid CCTV,

Currently Testing, Eclipse CCTV (OEM PRODUCTS) ....

 

Provideo, Okay, but price is high for the fact that most of their Domes are OEMs anyway. I like their bullets, but their Domes can be found same quality elsewhere for less. One of their Domes I used died on me, from weather related illness, so thats why i havent used them since.

 

Hunt - Only used 1 Dome - mostly the same as Provideo, they use alot of OEM products - It was good though, it is a 1 lux color and has held up well - around same price as the Provideo Domes.

 

Extreme CCTV - expensive is all i can say.

 

WizKid CCTV - Cheaper branch of Extreme CCTV - They have a good rdome range called the WZ30, its compact and almost indestructable, i have tested that part of it and nothing we did could break it, including SledgeHammer, Malots, Running over and over it in a large Jeep .... Anyway, nice product, in BW or Color, Fixed Lens. Weatherproof and Eveything Proof as its made in Canada so hey you know . ... Simple to install also.

 

GE Katalel - Nice looking Domes - They are coming out with a Wide Dynamic version in January which Ill probably be selling. The other ones are not that impressive, almost all the ones I have used have had problems with Interference, lines, etc, that would never go away no matter what we did. The only ones that didnt do it were the fixed lens ones, but then the WizKid is cheaper, smaller, and Tougher for a fixed lens version. Kalatel does have a day night exview version but price is high, Panaosonic has a Day/Night Wide Dynamic one at the same price.

 

Eclipse CCTV - Price is amazing, havent really tested the domes yet, they are at the shop but havent had a chance to connect them yet, this week sometime. Plus the one we have is just a standard Res Color. They come in so many versions, B/W, B/W Exview, B/W High Res, Color, Color Exview, Color High Res, Color/BW. Id like to test the Color/BW and Exview versions for sure, as the prices are amazing, and the Product actually looks good. Plus it is vandal resistant and weather resistant. Quality wise (how long it will last) is yet unknown, but for that price its easy to switch it out if need be. For example, Dealer price on the Day/Night is under $150, ofcourse it is standard res not high res.

 

Of the ones I have used, the Wizkid are the easiest to work with, cheaper than the Kalatel and around the same price as Provideo and Hunt. Wizkid has longer Warranties also and better support from any as its also Extreme CCTV.

 

I was looking at the Silent Witness Domes, but no distributors sell them, only can buy direct from Ademco so thats a lost cause. Oh yeah, ADI also but they are a hassle trying to get an account with from the Bahamas, they dont speak English in Miami!! Most higher end brands have UTP also, such as Kalatel, Phillips, even WizKid, as Options. Eveyone seems to be getting on board with the wall mount and Wide Dynamic options now. The Kalatel and WizKid can be mounted ceiling or wall also, Provideo and Hunt are more difficult but Provideo does have 1 camera designed for that now apparently.

Its a pitty Silent Witness was not as easy to get a hold of, anyway they are Ademco (Honeywell) now so in any event Im sure the cost is outragous as is with all Ademco Video products.

 

Rory

[AVCONSULTING 0]

Silent witness modular approach at first seems pretty nice, but when you have 16 modular domes to put together for a job all of a sudden it becomes one giant hassle. Who wants to have to put their cameras together like some kit?

 

Extreme does the same with less hassle and has more options. Also Extreme isn't a house brand like Ademco which you can only get through ADI. You can get Extreme from a whole range of distributors.

 

For less expensive weatherproof domes there is a whole range available as Rory has mentioned. Everfocus, Vitek, Samsung/GVI, etc.

[alarman 0]

I looked at Extreme, but couldn't get clear info from VSSI. Not helpfull at all. I am through with them, I think. The service there is not good.

 

THAT was more of a hassle to me than working with the Silent Witness domes. I used them because I knew from experience they have a gimbal mount (XYZ) axis which means they may be wall mounted if necessary. I tried asking around at my suppliers, but I might as well have been speaking Greek. No one knew what I was talking about.

 

Sanyo and Sony had some nice units that might have been great, but I need to see them-open them up and look for myself I guess, it would be nice if the counter people knew the product better.

[rory 0]

Ive used the Sanyo Day/Night, it is nice, not wall mountable though. It has lasted at the one location outdoors for 2 years now. The 500TVL does not make any difference though, only if it is indoors maybe in full light.

 

Price is not much cheaper than the Panasonic though in the day night, for less than $100 more you can get the Pano Day Night in Wide Dynamic. I havent tested it though .. but its pano so should be good.

 

As for Sony, I looked at them one time ago, for the name primarily, but was not impressed by their specs, nor their price, and as far as I can tell, they are really not big sellers.

 

I like the WixKid Domes, they are cute, the WZ-30 anyway. Their wz-46 Day/Night Domes are not that great though. But their BW High Res is good in any of the domes. The Color ones are good also, I have both here at my appt. My main thing was the Day Night versions are just color that uses IR lighting, and that always among all Domes, causes glare most of the time as its in one casing.

 

Most distributors can get you any extreme product, or wizkid, let me know if you want pricing I have it all here. WizKid is cheaper than all the other high end ones, and has the gimble, and is designed for wall mounted, both of mine are wall mounted here, I could not destroy it also, just scratched the cover slightly and replaced it with 1 of a 4 pack I got from Extreme next to nothing, I still have 3 left Nothing else got damaged at all, Sledghammer, Malot, and I even ran over it a few times with my jeep! Plus they made it through the past 2 hurricanes, and are directly on the wall overlooking the ocean with nothing to protect it from the rain. Not bad ...

 

AS for Distributors, yes, most dont know what they sell half the time, I never rely on them, I just give them my part numbers. The one I use now though is pretty knowledgeable, though they install as well.

 

Rory

[AVCONSULTING 0]

These have gimbal mounts. Available at Alarmax and Tri-ed and some others in the SoCal area.

 

 

http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=182

 

These days it is tough to find CCTV knowledgeable distributor sales people.

Don't know why but maybe there are just too many products out now compared to a few years ago when the industry was dominated by a small number of big gun factories.

 

When you do find a sales person with good CCTV knowledge take good care of them, they can be a great resource for you.

 

In fact most of the factory reps don't really understand the very lines they are representing.

[rory 0]

Extreme CCTV has a new Day Night Dome camera, new technology of theirs called MX4 (as opposed to their LRX technology). Will post more once I get a demo. I have the spec sheets if any one is interested, awaiting dealer pricing. the Dome is called the EX40. Info only for dealers at this time sorry, until it is released for sale to the general public.

[CSG 0]

Have had good experiences with the Sony SCC73 Day/Night Mini Domes comes with 3x8 varifocal, hi-res sensor. Made with a sturdy aluminum housing, 12dc/24ac self selecting. Reasonably priced for the trade.

[Designssnet 0]

Sanyo Day/Night nice price Excellent camera...