Making sense of camera specs on eBay

[Miles 0]

Currently have 4 CMOS cameras that look similar to this:

Image quality/resolution is not very good, colours in day mode are not accurate, and night range is poor, but they were extremely cheap and are mostly adequate for my home system.

 

However, I would like to replace one camera in a strategic location with something a little better, but still cheap. There are several CCD "bullet" (?) cameras on ebay that look like this or similar:

 

My questions are:

1. Would this be an upgrade or do these cameras still suffer from the same problems as the cheap CMOS ones?

2. Where could I find a guide to explain in noob terms what the specs mean (I think I know what TVL means, but what about 1/3" Sony Super HAD II CCD, 1/4" SONY Colour CCD, IR 30pcs/850nm distance 25m, Lens mm and degrees filed of view and so on...)

[bpzle 0]

The CCTV market is flooded with inflated and half truths in spec sheets. This is especially the case for ANY Chinese made product found all over CostCo, Fry's, Ebay, Sam's Club, etc. This makes it very difficult to make a good, educated decision on CCTV products.

 

I can tell you, only from personal experience that both the cameras you're looking at are junk. Is one slightly better than the other? Possibly, but some farts smell worse than others... but they all stink. If you catch my drift. lol

 

To answer your question, there are some things you can look for but there is no substitute for experience. Have a look through these forums, there's a lot of good info to be had.

 

Or, if you tell us more about your budget and requirements we'd be glad to help make some recommendations.

[SEANHAWG 1]

but some farts smell worse than others... but they all stink.

havent heard that one before

 

 

The top camera looks exactly like a camera I bought on ebay when I was first starting out. It was a PAL camera and those dont look right on US monitors, be sure to get NTSC cameras. Just by the "looks" the bottom camera looks better but that doesnt mean anything. Some basic specs you want to look for are:

- CCD sensor sizes (1/3" are better than 1/4" in most cases)

- TV lines (shows you what resolution the camera has, although the truth is often stretched for this spec)

- What power type does it take (DC12V or 24 VAC or both, most chinese cameras will only take 12V DC)

- Indoor or outdoor

- Lens Size

 

Those are just the very basic specs you want to look for. Of course there are more detailed specs but quite often, the above specs is quite often the only information that you will get on chinese cams. If you are looking for a cheap short range indoor camera, than I would say that those cams will probably be okay as long as they dont poop out on you after a short while. But for outdoor cams, you want to do alot more homework on as there are alot of variables that come into play for outdoor scenarios (ie variable lighting issues, day/night issues, how far does the IR shine, how well does it stand up in extreme weather, etc.)

Let us know how it turns out if you get them.

[rory 0]

Probably the same junk.

Run from Sharp, CMOS, or 1/4"

And if you want accurate colors in the day you need a True Day Night Camera (TDN, ICR) with Mechanical IR Cut Filter.

3.6mm 1/3" is wide angle, so for example 6mm is useless in most typical applications.

Thats just the basics.

[bpzle 0]

By the way...

 

 

Just for giggles, the top camera is one I replaced for a customer a few months back. Check out the difference... Believe it or not, the one she bought from me was one of our lower end cams, but it still kicked the Chinese piece of crap's arse!

 

 

 

 

 

[Toaster 0]

Pretty big difference. Did you lower the location of the camera? How high up would you say that camera was mounted? That's a problem I seem to have, my cameras are so high up its hard to see faces and stuff--- and I dont want to mount them eye level, would be to easy to damage them - or even STEAL THEM! That would suck!

[SEANHAWG 1]

my cameras are so high up its hard to see faces and stuff

 

The problem with the cameras you are getting is the lenses on them are all small fixed lenses that are typical of many boxed packaged systems. They are okay for wide angle shots but if you want detail you would be better off getting a camera with a vari-focal lens. I assume that most of your cameras range from 3-6mm at the most correct? You can get a box camera and put a long range lens such as a 5-50, 7-70mm, 5-100mm on it to capture alot of detail or if you dont need something that strong a dome or bullet cam with a varifocal lens of 4-9mm to 2.8-10mm, etc would be even better to capture some detail.

Edited November 24, 2010 by Guest

[bpzle 0]

Yes the old camera was about 10' up. The new one we installed was about 7' up.

[Miles 0]

Or, if you tell us more about your budget and requirements we'd be glad to help make some recommendations.

This is not a pro system, just a very basic home system. Looking to pay around £40 (in the UK) for the camera. The one I want to replace is mounted high on the house, I'm looking for a overall view rather than face recognition. I would like better IR performance then the current one:

[bpzle 0]

Looking to pay around £40 (in the UK) for the camera. The one I want to replace is mounted high on the house, I'm looking for a overall view rather than face recognition. I would like better IR performance then the current one:

 

 

Good luck! Let us know if you find something in that price range... If you really want a significant difference in picture quality you're going to have to (at the very least) double your budget for a camera. It's like anything else... you get what you pay for.

[SEANHAWG 1]

I cant even tell what that is. You may be better of saving money by just installing a light to illuminate that area, that is if you are just wanting to save money.

[rory 0]

wow thats like military grade Infrared its camouflaged

Color IR cameras are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.