Most Cost Affective IP Cameras Under $300

[Korgoth Of Barbaria 0]

The Vivotek FD8134V is a decent outdoor dome camera, but runs $320-ish minimum, and is 1280x800, slightly above 720p. That may be the cheapest name brand out there.

 

FD8134V is indoor dome, vandalproof but still indoor. Maybe in your climate it can be mounted outdoor, but here in Poland I doubt it

[voip-ninja 0]

Vivotek clearly markets the 8134V as an outdoor camera (from their website);

 

Weather-proof IP66-rated housing

Vandal-proof IK10-rated metal housing

 

However, the unit does not have a fan or heater and is only rated for temperatures of 0-50C so clearly it will not work in ALL outdoor environments.

 

The Vivotek camera that looks most capable of full outdoor use, that is a fixed dome, is the $650 FD8361.That one has a heater and fan that run off of class 3 PoE.

 

The 8335H looks very interesting as it has WDR, full weather rated housing, with720P resolution, but it is, as of yet, not available, only announced... no pricing given.

 

//update. FD8335H looks like some places are selling it (or maybe it's just pre-order) for $550.

[ctbaker 0]

My temperature requirements are met on the high side of 122F but it can get as cold as 24F on rare occasions like this year though it usually stays above freezing.

 

The Vivotek 8134V and 8133V cameras rate at 32F-122F, so how likely will it fail at temps that hit into the twenties on occasion?

 

Also, I don't see temp specs on the 2MP dome?

EDIT: Found it on the Dahua website listed at -10°C~+60°C.

 

These have a fixed focal length lens. Is there a rule of thumb of the distance your subject should be for a certain lens size? Like a 3.6mm lens has a sweet spot of X feet from the camera +/- Y feet?

 

Thanks!

[ljnl 0]

Doing them this weekend as we speak. Should have something uploaded on Monday or Tuesday. I aint gonna lie, it needs light. So far, in normal lit parking lots, it holds up to the CNB just fine if not better but does get noisey, obviously this is a known weakness of most megapixel cameras. Will see how it does in real dark areas.

 

Any updates on the testing? Thanks

[shockwave199 0]

I watched all the vids you've done thus far comparing the mp to the cnb camera. I'm not sure what stands out more for me- the cnb looking mostly lousy or the mp cam looking that much better. I'm not sure I could give a nod to the cnb even without the comparison. It only looked decent in b&w at night. Not a good showing for cnb's regardless of comparison!

[SEANHAWG 1]

I thought the same thing. Trust me, its not the CNB looking lousy. The CNB is a good analog camera, but whenever you compare an analog camera to a megapixel camera, megapixel just takes precedence, no matter what analog camera you are using. Its just when you blow it up full screen on your computer and compare it to an analog camera, any analog camera is going to look sub-par because the 1080p resolution with progressive scan looks so much crisper than D1 resolution with interlaced scan.

 

If you watch it without blowing it up full screen, then the CNB image doesnt look as bad because the analog video is closer to its native D1 pixel size and the pixels are squeezed closer together. We also did a few tests using our best analog camera we have, the BX700, and I put a 2MP lens on it to try to sharpen up the picture even more. Although the image looked slightly better than the CNB, it still just doesnt even come close to the megapixel image. And trust me, there is no reason for me to downgrade the CNB or to intentionally make it look bad, I sell it too.

[ljnl 0]

About MP cameras and low light; are there any MP cameras that have the same low light capabilities as the CNB?

[thewireguys 3]

Thanks for the video's Sean, good comparison!

 

About MP cameras and low light; are there any MP cameras that have the same low light capabilities as the CNB?

 

Right now nothings is as good as analog when I comes to low light. There are some IP cameras that are starting to come close in performance but your going to pay a lot more for them.

[Soundy 1]

Keep in mind there's a WIDE range in low-light capabilities among analog cameras too... but yeah, all else aside, simple physics dictates that an MP sensor can't collect as much light as a same-sized analog sensor.

 

The CNBs' advantage with low light is in their Monalisa chip... I'd love to see them use that processing in their MP cameras. It obviously still wouldn't measure up to the analog models, but I bet it would be a lot better than most other MPs.

[shockwave199 0]

But the only time the cnb looked good is when there is so little light it goes to b&w. In low light when it stayed in color- yuck.

[thewireguys 3]

I am sorry but the CNB VCM-24VF is the most overrated camera. Good in low light but that's it.

[shockwave199 0]

Well stop the presses- we may just agree on something!

 

Sean- the vids are great. Thanks for doing those comparisons. Very helpful to see that DM1 in action!

[buellwinkle 0]

 

About MP cameras and low light; are there any MP cameras that have the same low light capabilities as the CNB?

 

The best two cameras I've used in low light are the Mobotix 1.2MP B&W sensor cameras and the CCD based ACTi TCM-7811. They do a good job without fancy noise correction which to me lessens detail. I would put them up against an analog camera.

 

A low end camera (under $300) that does very well in low light are the AVTech cameras. I'm always impressed how clear the image is in low light compared to cameras costing way more. I haven't tested their bullet yet, the AVN807A but I've seen it sold for under $200 so it's a good value. Plus you get their smartphone app for free and instant push video alerts, can't beat that. It's not PoE but you can 12V PoE splitter for fairly cheap and use it that way.

[thewireguys 3]

Well stop the presses- we may just agree on something!

 

Sean- the vids are great. Thanks for doing those comparisons. Very helpful to see that DM1 in action!

 

We agree on lots of stuff you just haven't figured it out yet

[SEANHAWG 1]

I agree, the CNB doesnt put out an image that is far superior than any other analog cameras, the day time image is fairly decent but nothing outstanding. I think though, because of its rugged build and specs, and its low light capabilities, coupled with a decent price is why its so popular. I havent been able to find a good outdoor vandal dome, with dual voltage, and ICR for less money.

 

But as far as analog image quality, in my opinion, there isnt currently anything out there that exceeds a well built camera with the Sony Effio DSP. I know there are a bunch of cheap junk cameras that have the Effio DSP, but its because they are using the wrong components to go with it. To really optimize the Effio, you get the best image when the camera also has

 

- ICR

- A megapixel lens

- Sony Exview CCD

 

As long as these components are added, in my opinion, there isnt an analog camera that gives a better image. But even the best analog camera still doesnt match up to an IP camera at D1.

[ak357 0]

 

As long as these components are added, in my opinion, there isnt an analog camera that gives a better image. But even the best analog camera still doesnt match up to an IP camera at D1.

 

All of these images were taken in D1 resolution at the highest quality possible, even the IP camera was taken in D1 image size. As you can see the IP camera gives a much superior image, even over the highest quality analog cameras.

 

Sean, I am so proud of you

[buellwinkle 0]

I do like the vintage look of the analog camera, sort of like an old faded Polaroid.

[Soundy 1]

Don't forget that there is a reported issue specifically with the Monalisa cameras and Dahua DVRs - some sort of odd incompatibility that under certain conditions makes for substandard results. Rory posted about it quite a bit a few months ago.

 

Doesn't mean either product is "bad", just because the two don't always get along...

[SEANHAWG 1]

^^^ Thats only if you have tons of cameras and when you are viewing remotely over PSS. If I am not mistaken, it only occurs when you have a 32-64 camera view and the camera squares get real small, which causes some sort of warped lines on the image if I remember correctly. Otherwise, most people wont see it.

[shockwave199 0]

I agree, the CNB doesnt put out an image that is far superior than any other analog cameras, the day time image is fairly decent but nothing outstanding. I think though, because of its rugged build and specs, and its low light capabilities, coupled with a decent price is why its so popular. I havent been able to find a good outdoor vandal dome, with dual voltage, and ICR for less money.

 

But as far as analog image quality, in my opinion, there isnt currently anything out there that exceeds a well built camera with the Sony Effio DSP. I know there are a bunch of cheap junk cameras that have the Effio DSP, but its because they are using the wrong components to go with it. To really optimize the Effio, you get the best image when the camera also has

 

- ICR

- A megapixel lens

- Sony Exview CCD

 

As long as these components are added, in my opinion, there isnt an analog camera that gives a better image. But even the best analog camera still doesnt match up to an IP camera at D1. Progressive scan technology really is superior to interlaced scan.

 

It's interesting because I don't get that kind of color change with any of my analog cameras. It's obvious the analog images aren't as sharp as the mp is, but completely different color reads seems weird. I have tweaked my colors per channel some, just to make them as good as I can, but even at default settings all they are is a bit more washed out- not flat out wrong colors. Even my cams with no ir cut don't do that. Once in a while I'll study each channel for a bit and compare what it looks like on screen to what my eye is actually seeing. They're all as close as you can get to what you'd see standing outside in those positions. Never that odd orange/yellow haze. Hum.

 

[SEANHAWG 1]

I agree, normally they dont look washed out like that but it was evening time and I have alot of sky in the view and its probably making the white balance act up a little bit. Most people would not have their camera in a position like this. If the cameras were at a higher location but pointed downwards more, the colors would be more vibrant. If you look at the video's of the CNB inside the living room, the colors are a little more true and not as hazy but still not as good looking as the IP camera. All 3 cameras were left at default settings too.

 

But I promise you, your cameras would do the same thing, and the ones without ICR would look even more washed out. I only say this because I know a few of your analog cameras in your system are very similar to the ones we carry. You are using the IP camera as a base point in the images above which makes the other images just look off. If I would have never showed you the IP image, you would have just thought the other images just looked like any other analog image. If you put one of these IP cameras next to your analog cameras in any scene, I think you would be amazed at the color difference that you will get as well. I think most people will tell you the same thing whenever they tested their first megapixel camera, its not just the resolution that stands out, its the colors too.

[shockwave199 0]

Yeah- maybe so I guess. It's probably that huge difference that makes it tough. I know last year when you did the analog only comparisons I wasn't as struck by it. But then I couldn't see what was actually showing like you can with the mp camera. Had I been there at setup, I would have thought ALL of them were odd in color. It looks super sunny and I know red is tough anyway for the truck and building, but the pavement is what's throwing me I think. But one thing is for sure- and I'll let you have this catch phrase for media even though I'm gonna say it;

 

The difference is clear

 

[dmoore 0]

This is the Dahua IPC-HDB3200C (http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=339&&css=0&&id=. I purchased a few of these Dahua's out of china for $108 USD + shipping (plus T/T costs) and I must say - they are smokin' nice. As long as you have a moderate amount of light they just look amazing.

[buellwinkle 0]

Haha, looks remarkedly similar in looks and specs to the Dahuae on the left. $108 is an amazing price for the specs.

[dmoore 0]

Haha, looks remarkedly similar in looks and specs to the Dahua on the left. $108 is an amazing price for the specs.

 

Cheap comes with a price - Don't forget air shipping which is usually about $2-3 per pound. Plus T/T or other wire charges ($20-45) per order. Plus, you better pick your vendor well - if you don't you'll send a few thousand over there and get nothing in return. But of course...smokin' deal.

 

On a side note - the bullet version of this camera (about $245) is junk (http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=339&&css=0&&id=180). You'd think with pretty much the same guts it would be just as good but it isn't. If you can get enough light into those IPC-HDB3200C's they are just really impressive.