Do Overall Camera Ratings Exist

[luxury1 0]

Is there anything out there that rates cameras with overall ratings like consumer reports rates cars? Even a 1-10 list for lets say the best outdoor cameras and accessories?

[spytown 0]

not for CCTV equipment.

[C7Installer 0]

That's a good question. I can tell you from my searching that spytown seems to be right; there is no place to get unbiased reviews of cameras and related CCTV equipment. I guess nobody can prove that a $500 camera is better than a $150 camera (although I suppose it's true... Anyone care to prove it with a picture? It would sure help people/customers understand the value of quality equipment...)

 

Actually, this forum is the best thing that I've found so far. People are pretty helpful and there's a lot of good information to be found.

[spytown 0]

too many variables. 1000's of brands of cameras, different lighting conditions, some manufacturers saying 520 lines, some saying 540 lines, which cameras would be on the list - which would not? There are just too many variables. Further to that, new cameras are introduced every day. Therefore what might be best today, will not be best tomorrow.

[C7Installer 0]

I know what you mean. With all the specifications floating around out there, OEM products being rebranded and general marketing misguidance it can certianly be tough to make sense of it all. And, considering that the CCTV market is much smaller than the consumer electronics market, there isn't as much of a need to compete (among manufacturers).

 

Funny though, the components for these devices aren't that expensive. It's not considered "new" technology and can be easilt mass produced. So one still has to wonder, why am I paying $500 for a CCTV camera when for the same amount of money I can get a 5 megapixel camera that has a card reader built it, takes video at 640x480/30fps with sound, comes with an SD card, battery, charger and about a hundred other features.

 

There's no denying that all other things being equal, more money will get you a better CCTV camera. I, like many others, just wish that I could actually see the value comparison before plunking down big $$$.

 

For example, here's a site that has litterally hundreds of camera reviews for consumer digital cameras. They even include some sample pics:

 

http://www.dcresource.com/

 

Just my two cents. (Sorry for ranting)

[rory 0]

$500, i pay $1000 for most of mine

 

But really the CCTV cameras at $500 are going to normally be Wide Dynamic Day Night Cams, Industrial Power Supply boards with Automatic Voltage Regulation built on the power board and fused.

 

Regardless of that, it is a whole different technology.

 

But it is true with CCTV, you get what you pay for.

If you get it on special, well thats good too

[Jasper 0]

The other thing you have to look out for when you find a site that does review cameras, is it an affiliate site?

 

Many sites are created with the sole of purpose of writing up bogus reviews. Then they have a link with their affiliate id which is then sent as a variable to the site that actually sells that product so the affiliate can get their piece of the action.

 

Don’t know how much of this is going on with CCTV products, but it is rampant on just about everything else that is sold.

[rory 0]

well i have the perfect location for testing cameras here, dark, pitch dark, moonlight on the beach sometimes, long distance for infrared from the house down the hill to the beach, and then a car park light, not to mention a main road 10 feet from my appt to test licence capture ... now .. if only i had the $$ i would buy the cams and test them, and put all images and reviews on a web site .. and let the users decide.

[CSG 0]

Keep in mind when comparing the cost of a consumer digital camera vs. a cctv camera. A consumer camera is mass produced on a much larger scale than cctv cameras. Therefore the lower volume will tend to drive prices up.

 

Same holds true for composite monitors vs. VGA monitors.

[Jasper 0]

Rory, start your own magazine. You can write reviews on the products you have tested. The companies that you give high marks will buy advertising space, which will help you expand your circulation and make more money.

 

Of course you’ll have to lie to them about your initial circulation figures to get them to advertise, but it is probably done that way a lot anyway.

There has been more than a few that have started out this way.

 

It’s a passion of yours, so you would be good at it.

[CSG 0]

You can't rely on security dealer trade magazines because they are soley dependent on advertising dollars.

[Jasper 0]

Well that is the case with most magazines. Those who pay the advertising dollars are the ones that get the beneficial reviews

 

But in this case I would say test the cameras (CCTV Products) you think to be good anyway based on your product knowledge in general and report the truth. You will build trust in the industry and more people will count on you for honest opinions.

 

I know that the "Tom’s Hardware Guide" guy did it like that. Not to mention several otheres. Of course they are doing it on the internet and getting advertising dollars that way. He does honest reviews and those who choose to advertise he takes their money. But it doesn't effect his reviews.

[luxury1 0]

I am brand new to this site but I agree that Rory has the credibility and experience to do this. It would probably be easist to just keep it on the internet (possibly as a part of this site). With more hits for people accessing these reviews, the site could see more advertising dollars. Advertisers will most likely come no matter what because they want their name to be near the potential buyers. Some more than others. You might start by reviewing a good one and soliciting the dollars from that advertsier right off the bat and then let it continue.

 

You could also use code to indicate what you think like the financial market does with the terms Strong Buy, Buy and Hold (Hold is another word for sell or that the stock is not going anywhere). This way advertisers wouldn't be offended. Car and Driver Television does this VERY well. Watch an episode on TV and you will see that they focus a lot on the positives, brush over a few negatives and finish with positives most of the time except for the really bad cars.

[spytown 0]

Its a HUGE time issue. Rory.. sound's like you would like to do it, but dont really have the time. Thats all of our problem. But on the smaller scale, it could be possible to get some of these manufacturers to "send you" evaluation cameras for a short period (say 2 weeks) to evaluate and then return it once you are done. Something to think about. All of these manufacturers have these "demo" types of cameras that are used for demo or trade shows, so it wouldnt be like they would have to send you a brand new one, unless they wanted to.

[C7Installer 0]

I agree that creating a site like the one dcresource.com has would require a significant time commitment. Of course, if someone were willing to take on such a responsibility I'm sure that many of us would be very grateful.

 

Since it's unlikely that someone has the time and resources to do this, it might be useful to create something that is still useful, but not as in-depth. For example, create a section/site for people to illustrate their experiences. One could go to that section/site, search for a specific camera or situation and see what other people have done. Putting pitctures up shouldn't be that difficult. Just give me a place to upload them and a way to describe the specifics.

 

It's not perfect, but at least we could see what others have done and what we *might* expect in similar situations.

[Gesualdo 0]

I still think the idea is a good one. DataAve started the idea and gave a review on Sept 5 in this forum and I suggested the format to be used in the reviews similar to those at the dpreview site and it seemed to end there.

 

http://www.cctvforum.com/about2845.html

 

each moderator could have a column or do reviews of equipment using a common format to ease the load and get other opinions and present it on this forum as a topic. either weekly or monthy, however.

[rory 0]

Unless you can try several cameras from different manufacturers, of the same type and specs ... and in several lighting conditions ... then it wont be a very exact review .. has to be done right ...

[Jasper 0]

You can standardize your testing methods like they do for testing digital cameras.

 

We all know you just want to play with as much stuff as you can at one time. Who wouldn’t

[Gesualdo 0]

Yes, but if you test to the spec provided and/or a uniform set of specs you are comparing evenly and comparing manufactures accuracy in reporting. I agree, also test under the various lighting conditions that the camera is supposably designed for and comment on that accuracy. I recommend taking a look at one, or several of the reviews on the sight and see. a uniform lens irising test pattern is used and the general design elements discussed as well as the tester's recommendation for use in several areas. They do compare economy cameras to economy cameras and dlr's to dlr's sometimes a one to one comparison or with an older version. Mostly, I was recommending a uniform way of reporting the results and opinions for the various cameras.