How to setup ACTI camera for different lighting conditions

[thewireguys 3]

I just downloaded a PP presentation on how to setup ACTI cameras for the best image quality in different lighting conditions.....

 

 

I have a big ACTi camera install tomorrow.....er today so I will try this out

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2009 by Guest

[rory 0]

so its going to be very slow video, for it to work in low light?

[thewireguys 3]

This is a day time only $300 megapixel camera and you can see there is some motion blur in low light but the color pic is very good..... this is just one of 58 slides all with different lighting conditions with different cameras

[jblogh 0]

Hi, do you have the settings for the Acti ACM-7411 in low light/darkness please?

 

Thanks

[cglaeser 0]

The 1/10 second enhancement is a great feature for weather station cameras. Perfect for slow moving clouds.

 

Best,

Christopher

[3RDIGLBL 0]

I'm not impressed with the ACM-4200 although I know it is a low cost megapixel and I can see why.

 

I connect directly to mine and it is still slow. If I use a lower quality level it speeds things up but the picture quality drastically goes down hill. I could nver find a happy medium with this camera so I never show it and it sits on my shelf.

 

Thanks for sharing the settings but if one were to want this camera in a low light as well as a day light environment they would have to go into the settings and make the configuration change everyday? Is there just one setting where the customer could be happy with this camera? I mean wave a hand in front of this thing and go grab dinner and by the time you get back you will see it in the monitor! Well I exagerate a little but you know what I mean LOL

 

Thanks

[dopalgangr 1]

Do you have a link to that pp i could use to download. I have several different model Acti that this may be useful for. Thanks

[thewireguys 3]

I'm not impressed with the ACM-4200 although I know it is a low cost megapixel and I can see why.

 

I connect directly to mine and it is still slow. If I use a lower quality level it speeds things up but the picture quality drastically goes down hill. I could nver find a happy medium with this camera so I never show it and it sits on my shelf.

 

Thanks for sharing the settings but if one were to want this camera in a low light as well as a day light environment they would have to go into the settings and make the configuration change everyday? Is there just one setting where the customer could be happy with this camera? I mean wave a hand in front of this thing and go grab dinner and by the time you get back you will see it in the monitor! Well I exagerate a little but you know what I mean LOL

 

Thanks

 

You might have a defective camera or some setting is wrong because I have installed numerous 4201's and haven't had any latency problems.

 

The 4201 is not a low light camera so the solution is don't install it in a low light area and if you do add white light.

 

Guys these cameras work fine when you install them in there intended conditions. They are a $300 1.3 MP color camera with build-in audio and POE.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Well if mine is defective I would like to see a non-defective one. I can see latency over a remote connection but when I'm sitting on the same switch and logged directly into the camera there is no excuse.

 

Like I said. I wave my hand and I have time to lower it back onto my bench before I see it on the display. When I do see it on the display it's so blurry you can't tell what it is. Same with walking by at a fast pace.

 

Maybe I have a bad switch, maybe a bad camera........either way as much as I like a $300 IP camera if it doesn't work as intended by the device what is the use I'd rather spend $700 and get something that functions then $300 and be completely dissatisfied. LOL! I'm still quoting out ACTi cams just not these cubes.

 

note:The comments above are the opinions of the poster and do not necessarily represent the true functionality of the device in question due to a number of external factors that could be interfering with that device....................In other words this could all be self inflicted USER ERROR, LOL!!

[dopalgangr 1]

Wire Guy,

 

Would you mind sharing that Powerpoint with the different settings? I could really use it. I looked on there site and see some docs that I downloaded but not the one that you show above. Thanks

[thewireguys 3]

Well if mine is defective I would like to see a non-defective one. I can see latency over a remote connection but when I'm sitting on the same switch and logged directly into the camera there is no excuse.

 

Like I said. I wave my hand and I have time to lower it back onto my bench before I see it on the display. When I do see it on the display it's so blurry you can't tell what it is. Same with walking by at a fast pace.

 

Maybe I have a bad switch, maybe a bad camera........either way as much as I like a $300 IP camera if it doesn't work as intended by the device what is the use I'd rather spend $700 and get something that functions then $300 and be completely dissatisfied. LOL! I'm still quoting out ACTi cams just not these cubes.

 

note:The comments above are the opinions of the poster and do not necessarily represent the true functionality of the device in question due to a number of external factors that could be interfering with that device....................In other words this could all be self inflicted USER ERROR, LOL!!

 

Like I said I have installed many Acti 4201s and haven't had one issue like you have spoke about..... Hell I have installed many cameras from different manufactures and still haven't had this problem.

 

Latency sounds like a networking issue..... and motion blur is a lighting issue.

[thewireguys 3]

Wire Guy,

 

Would you mind sharing that Powerpoint with the different settings? I could really use it. I looked on there site and see some docs that I downloaded but not the one that you show above. Thanks

 

working on it

[dopalgangr 1]

Thanks man, your the GREATEST!! Although you probably get tired of hearing things like that I greatly appreciate it!!

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Thanks wire guys.

 

Can you drop a tip for optimal performace with these 4200 cube cams? I messed with this for a good part of an hour this afternoon and I'm ready to junk it LOL!

 

I tried setting a constant bit rate and variable and setting to various in between settings. Obviously the best is the highest one but when I start to reduce the bit rate the picture obviously becomes more and more blocky and the network performace only moderately gets better.

 

I set it to 640x480 resolution and the picture just is not that great. The picture is the best obviously when everything is set to there highest but the latency is absolutely horrendous. It's hooked through a 10/100 switch and my laptop is running wirelessly on the same network. To get the switch out of the picture I plugged it into the wireless router also and the performace is still bad.

 

Can't believe the camera is normally this bad otherwise I would see more complaints I think.

 

Thankfully I didn't pay for the thing! I won it at a tradeshow last year and never really got around to messin with the thing. Maybe theres a reason why it was a give-a-way!

[thewireguys 3]

Thanks wire guys.

 

Can you drop a tip for optimal performace with these 4200 cube cams? I messed with this for a good part of an hour this afternoon and I'm ready to junk it LOL!

 

I tried setting a constant bit rate and variable and setting to various in between settings. Obviously the best is the highest one but when I start to reduce the bit rate the picture obviously becomes more and more blocky and the network performace only moderately gets better.

 

I set it to 640x480 resolution and the picture just is not that great. The picture is the best obviously when everything is set to there highest but the latency is absolutely horrendous. It's hooked through a 10/100 switch and my laptop is running wirelessly on the same network. To get the switch out of the picture I plugged it into the wireless router also and the performace is still bad.

 

Can't believe the camera is normally this bad otherwise I would see more complaints I think.

 

Thankfully I didn't pay for the thing! I won it at a tradeshow last year and never really got around to messin with the thing. Maybe theres a reason why it was a give-a-way!

 

Well you can look at the 2 conditions at the top of the post for image settings. I think those images look damn good for a $300 megapixel camera.

 

 

Sounds like your met working setup. Try a different switch or plug the camera into your laptop. What are the lighting conditions where your camera is at? How old is your laptop? 95% of the time the default settings work perfect the only thing you have to change is the White Balance.

 

Default the camera to factory and direct connect it to your laptop..... let me know what happens

[rise 0]

Could you please give a tip what cameras you compare ACM-4200 with?

 

I'm not impressed with the ACM-4200 although I know it is a low cost megapixel and I can see why.

 

I connect directly to mine and it is still slow. If I use a lower quality level it speeds things up but the picture quality drastically goes down hill. I could nver find a happy medium with this camera so I never show it and it sits on my shelf.

 

Thanks for sharing the settings but if one were to want this camera in a low light as well as a day light environment they would have to go into the settings and make the configuration change everyday? Is there just one setting where the customer could be happy with this camera? I mean wave a hand in front of this thing and go grab dinner and by the time you get back you will see it in the monitor! Well I exagerate a little but you know what I mean LOL

 

Thanks

[zmxtech 0]

I too use Acti but only for well lit areas -they are good bang for buck.

You have to know there capability before judging them.

I think Some of the Acti's you describe only run 8fps.

 

oh....

wish list Mr Acti :

Timed settings for day and night

full shutter control

An ACM-3701 with an IR cut filter !

 

z

[rory 0]

You might have a defective camera or some setting is wrong because I have installed numerous 4201's and haven't had any latency problems.

"1.3 Megapixel High Resolution 1280 x 1024 at 8fps"

 

Doesnt that mean it will be slow video, 8fps? At least at MP quality. Not that we havent lived with that before, i remember the days when 1fps was considered fast enough. But still ...

 

 

If 640x480 gets you 30fps ... I can get a non IP camera and do 811x508 or actually the DVR at 640x480 pixels, but for under $100 and push 30fps easily, why would I go with this camera?

[zmxtech 0]

bang on ! oh there is the interlacing issue. and 1.3Mp is nice

 

IP CAMS still have a huge way to go especially at night that is.

 

It does annoy me that I can buy a 10Mp camera for $99 down the local super-market but a 10Mp "security" camera is a million bucks ..

an it comes with a flash !

[thewireguys 3]

You might have a defective camera or some setting is wrong because I have installed numerous 4201's and haven't had any latency problems.

"1.3 Megapixel High Resolution 1280 x 1024 at 8fps"

 

Doesnt that mean it will be slow video, 8fps? At least at MP quality. Not that we havent lived with that before, i remember the days when 1fps was considered fast enough. But still ...

 

 

If 640x480 gets you 30fps ... I can get a non IP camera and do 811x508 or actually the DVR at 640x480 pixels, but for under $100 and push 30fps easily, why would I go with this camera?

 

I have been setting them up at 4FPS and they work great...... I haven't had any customers ask me to increase the FPS

[3RDIGLBL 0]

I think I'm all set with this cam. I put it in a window of my house to over look work going on in a gravel pit behind my house and the picture is really good. I just may have been way to close for that camera at the office. At a distance the picture is really good and it's going through a window. I have the FPS set to 4 at the moment and it's good. The latency is decent also and appears much better now that the object is not directly in front of it, LOL

 

Thanks for the help.

[dopalgangr 1]

thewireguys ,

 

Were you able to share that Powerpoint on how to set up the Acti cameras? If not could you please just post the 1231 and the 5611 settings?

 

Thanks

[dopalgangr 1]

thewireguys ,

 

Were you able to share that Powerpoint on how to set up the Acti cameras? If not could you please just post the 1231 and the 5611 settings?

 

Thanks

 

Ended up never getting this However, I looked again on their website and found it. So here is the powerpoint presentation on how to set up the Acti cameras for best video quality. (its 37mb) Enjoy http://www.acti.com/download_file/Product/support/%7B292EB505-34C8-4EE2-9F5E-C997CBCC062.PPT

 

EDIT - ITs also from 2007

[thewireguys 3]

thewireguys ,

 

Were you able to share that Powerpoint on how to set up the Acti cameras? If not could you please just post the 1231 and the 5611 settings?

 

Thanks

 

Ended up never getting this However, I looked again on their website and found it. So here is the powerpoint presentation on how to set up the Acti cameras for best video quality. (its 37mb) Enjoy http://www.acti.com/download_file/Product/support/%7B292EB505-34C8-4EE2-9F5E-C997CBCC062.PPT

 

EDIT - ITs also from 2007

 

sorry I didn't have time but I am glad you found it

[rory 0]

so if I want to use this Acti ACM-4200 along with a couple other CCTV cameras such as day Night IR bullets, what do you recommend using for recording etc? Normally i would use Geo but they dont seem to support Acti. Does the camera has its own recording software thats free? Any other 1.3MP cameras in the similar price range? This would just be the color camera for indoors, the Day Night would be regular CCTV bullet and dome cameras for the low light etc. Figure it would be the 1.3MP inside and 1 IR bullet outside. Obviously only way to sell this here is to keep the price very low. (remember when it lands here it will be approx 2-3 times the cost after shipping and customs then it has to be warrantied which will be much higher also due to shipping costs, and then we have to make something)