Help me choose a PTZ cam and lens help

[gazz 0]

i have a Swann dvr8-1200 system (wanted better but needed to just get something installed quick)

 

The cameras are all inside my avaries, the 4 ones that came with the kit (PRO-580 1/4" CCD cameras, 480tvl, 3.6mm lens) plus a 1/3" CCD, cam off ebay, 540tvl with a 4mm lens,

and a china special £10 cheapie 420tvl cam,

 

The 1/3" chip cam gives the best quality pic, but the focus can't cover the 2.5 meters it's viewing from the cam to the end of the aviary, i guess bacause it's made to look further afield, took me absolutely ages to get it focused clear on the end of the aviary where the birds come out of the indoor bit to the outside flight it's watching, but they go out of focus as the come towards the cam,

 

would a different lens help, cant recall the F number on the lens, thinking it's that which may be my problem??

 

 

Anyway, i want to put a PTZ cam in the flights, will hang from the centre of the roof, so will need to view a max distance of 2 meters (flights are 3 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 high)

 

i plan to make it so i can change it between flights, untill i can afford another couple.

 

i wont be using it for tracking crims, evidence gathering etc, but i do want to get decent images of the birds going about their buiseness, we're talking canaries and song thrushes, so not exactly big birds, and the songies blend in with the bark chip floor a bit,

daylight only, as they sleep when it gets dark, and i can see the roosting/nesting areas on the fixed cams,

 

i can only really afford £200 to £300 absolute max for this camera, so i want to get as good as i can get and avoid buying another turd to try and polish into what i really wanted.

[tomcctv 190]

PTZ cam in the flights, will hang from the centre of the roof, so will need to view a max distance of 2 meters (flights are 3 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 high)

 

 

 

hi. for the distances your talking of you are best looking at mini PTZs with TDN and auto focus. with good auto and manual shutter speed settings. to catch birds

 

Armoured Fireproof / Vandalproof IP66 / DAY & NIGHT AUTO FOCUS 100x ZOOM / 10x Optical and 10x Digital

 

if your in the UK then sunkwang cameras are under your budget and long warranty.

 

[gazz 0]

i guess there are no other cameras to consider in the UK???

 

if that's the case, where's the best place to get this particular cam from.... seem's to be about £300 when vat is added as all sites i found do, so it had really really better be the ideal cam for my situation, or i'll really throw my toys out the pram

[shockwave199 0]

Whatever the ptz, only expect to watch the birds best when they're not in flight. Keeping up with small birds in flight with even a high speed dome camera will be a pain I think- not much fun for watching. But re-aiming to certain spots and watching them while not in flight will be great. Nests even better. But tracking small birds in flight, yuck. Too much work and no real bird watching pleasure, I would think.

[gazz 0]

oh don't worry, i wasnt expecting to be able to follow one of the canaries around the flight with the camera, the little buggers twist and turn like fighter jets in training,

the songies are a little more direct, but still as fast,

 

guess i have to try and find out who sells these sunkwang cameras in the uk, as they are all that's been recomended.

[gazz 0]

Seem's these sunkwang cams are £300 when vat is added, so i was looking at getting one, when i spotted a second hand one on ebay, and managed to snaffle it for £107.

 

Arrived today, the dome has a few scratches inside where the cam has rubbed, and there's a little patch of yellowing, from sunlight i guess, i'll have a go at polishing the dome later when i can find my bottles of novus plastic polish.

 

But i have it installed and running, very impressive, i'm just using the swann DVR's ptz control atm, and that is mega fustrating to use... use the arrow keys on the remote to select the arrow on the screen, then press select to activate that direction arrow,

why they couldent have let the remote go into ptz mode when ptz is selected... i.e. the menu arrows move the cam directly, other buttons not used in ptz work the zoom focus and iris controls,

 

and if you select the 'save position for cruise' button on the swann ptz menu, it activates the camera's built in osd, but no way to get out of it once brought up, except pulling the power to the cam,

 

But i am looking for something better than this swann pos asap, as it's getting very annoying to use now.

[shockwave199 0]

Seem's these sunkwang cams are £300 when vat is added, so i was looking at getting one, when i spotted a second hand one on ebay, and managed to snaffle it for £107.

 

Arrived today, the dome has a few scratches inside where the cam has rubbed, and there's a little patch of yellowing, from sunlight i guess, i'll have a go at polishing the dome later when i can find my bottles of novus plastic polish.

 

But i have it installed and running, very impressive, i'm just using the swann DVR's ptz control atm, and that is mega fustrating to use... use the arrow keys on the remote to select the arrow on the screen, then press select to activate that direction arrow,

why they couldent have let the remote go into ptz mode when ptz is selected... i.e. the menu arrows move the cam directly, other buttons not used in ptz work the zoom focus and iris controls,

 

and if you select the 'save position for cruise' button on the swann ptz menu, it activates the camera's built in osd, but no way to get out of it once brought up, except pulling the power to the cam,

 

But i am looking for something better than this swann pos asap, as it's getting very annoying to use now.

I would be VERY cautious about using any chemical cleaner on the dome. If it's scratched, exchange the camera. You shouldn't have to accept a damaged camera. But I would not use any polisher chemical. I only clean my dome face with either a damp micro fiber cloth or more typically, a dry eyeglass cloth. Never a chemical. You run the risk of damaging the dome and then you'll only see a smeared, blurry image- the dome ruined.

 

Far as the swann, outside of using the remote which may be finiky like you said, I think it may be user error when it comes to making presets. You shouldn't have to restart the camera and all. I would read the camera documentation carefully. If creating presets via the swann isn't working right, you should be able to go into the cameras osd menu and create presets directly there, and then just start/stop a tour from the swann menu.

[gazz 0]

well, i paid £107 for a second hand £300 camera, so some scratching on the dome is acceptable, it's only light scratching, i've just bought another off the same bloke for a similar price, so expect that to have a little scratching too.

 

the novus plastic polishes are very fine and gentle, they are used by people who restore 40 year old + pinball machines, where if they dammaged the plastic play field parts they'd ruin the entire machine with no chance of replacements... that's what i bought my novus polishes for... they are 3 bottles of varying grades, so i'd start with the finest, and hopefully they will do the job....

 

i'd try on a single scratch, which if i do mess it up, i'll position the dome so that's at the back where the cam goes at the extreem end position,

 

it would be nice if i could get new domes cheap,

 

it's only locked up once, so a one off i imagine.

 

i'm looking at getting a proper joystick ptz controller, thing is i want one that is wireless as i view my cams from different tv's/monitors arund the house, so having to trail a twisted pair wire around will be a right pain,