ACTI KCM-5511 vs KCM-5611

[EarlT 0]

Looking at the two it appears they are quite similar. The KCM-5511 has a wider view and 22x zoom f3.2-70.4mm, but the KCM-5611 seems to still have more telephoto at 18x f4.7- 84.6 mm.

 

Other than that, I don't see much difference in the specs.

[Razer_SE 0]

The biggest difference is the actual sensor, the 5611 has a much larger image sensor making it much better in low light over the 5511. I also have the 5211e camera at 4mp and the 5611 kills it in low light.

 

You can pull up the data sheets and look at the specs side by side line by line for even more info, but low light performance will make the 5611 a better choice if you need low light, if it will always be well lit then there will not be near the difference as far as I can tell.

[EarlT 0]

I'm glad you brought that up. I would go with the 5611 in that case. There does not seem to be that much difference in price.

[buellwinkle 0]

Sometimes, people get wrapped up in specs rather than real world performance. Honestly, that's why I started my blog, to help people see how specific cameras perform and seperate hype from reality.

 

This is an image in front of my home taken with an ACTi KCM-5211e, their 4MP sensor. I resized the photos to fit here. When I reviewed this camera, I gave up using this in a suburban environment and it worked well in urban environment so I did my review there (isn't it funny that when companies have YouTubes showing off their night vision it's always in an urban setting).

 

BTW, this is not out of focus, the reason it's soft is because the noise reduction is hard at work exchanging noise for loss of detail.

 

 

This is the same front of my house with the ACTi KCM-5611

 

[EarlT 0]

Maybe we will get lucky and find someone that can do a side by side night shot of the 5511 and 5611.

 

That picture looks great. In my environment there is no light beyond what I provide. Some of my cameras only show night images when the moon is high and bright.

[buellwinkle 0]

ACTi's cameras with good low light performance say "superior low light sensitivity" and the 5611 does, the 5511 does not, so I would say with a high degree of confidence that the 5511 is not going to be in the same league in low light performance as the 5611.

 

ACTi is coming out with new cameras with the same sensor as the KCM-5611 and those cameras specifically say "superior low light sensitivity". They will be the E44 bullet and the E84 dome. The bullet should be out any day now, the dome next month. Also, for what it's worth, it will be 30 fps at 1080P, where the two cameras you mention are 15 fps at 1080P. If you don't need the zoom and can get by with varifocal, it may be worth waiting a few weeks. I bet the price will be a lot lower too.

 

Now if money is not the issue, have you seen ACTi's new 1080P PTZ speed dome? It's priced well, about double the price of the kcm-5611 but has the same sensor. Priced pretty low compared to 1080P PTZ cameras from other vendors, maybe half that of the Axis Q60.

[EarlT 0]

Plan to mount it on a PT (Pelco Spectra). I want an outdoor PTZ and ACTI's new one is indoor.

[buellwinkle 0]

Damm, didn't see the fine print in their announcement, yes, it's an indoor PTZ camera. Hopefully they will have an outdoor version soon.

[ando 0]

Damm, didn't see the fine print in their announcement, yes, it's an indoor PTZ camera. Hopefully they will have an outdoor version soon.

 

KCM-8111 indoor

KCM-8211 outdoor

Same sensor, same ISP, same optics, just different casing. Both available in Q1 2013 already.

[EarlT 0]

I wonder why the KCM-8211 is not on Acti's web site. I just see the KCM-8111 and ACM-8511.

[ando 0]

I wonder why the KCM-8211 is not on Acti's web site. I just see the KCM-8111 and ACM-8511.

 

Product will be listed on the website about 1 week before its formal release (ready-for-shipment). For example, a product that will be ready-for-shipment at the end of January 2013, might not be listed on website today yet.

 

The regional sales representative or distributor can provide more accurate schedule for each product.

[ando 0]

This is KCM-8211 package label, for your reference.

[EarlT 0]

Thank you Ando. Will be interesting to see how it is priced and to see some action video.

[ando 0]

From the aspect of video quality, think of KCM-8x11 as KCM-5611, but with extra capability to pan and tilt together with fast PTZ presets. While many manufacturers' PTZ design is somewhat slow (upon triggered PTZ preset, the camera would first run Pan and Tilt motors, when done, then run zoom motor, and when that done too, then do the auto focusing, sometimes taking more than 10 seconds, especially in low light), KCM-8x11 preset works instantly (all 4 motors of pan, tilt, zoom and focus run at the same time) and the intruder will be captured in a second. That is achieved by ACTi designed KCM-generation ISP that fully controls all the hardware of the camera.

 

To sum up, KCM-8x11 = low light quality of KCM-5611 + instant PTZ presets.

[Firefighter 0]

Phew, I look forward to seeing the price.

the 5611 is out of my price for a single cam, But I'm wanting to save up for a GOOD ptz/

[EarlT 0]

Ando you need to talk them into putting a group buy together for CCTVFORUM members.

[ando 0]

Ando you need to talk them into putting a group buy together for CCTVFORUM members.

 

Ha. As an engineer, I do my best to occasionally provide straightforward information about product or solutions here. I have no idea about sales part. You guys are much better at it.

[buellwinkle 0]

Ando, do you know if the PTZ cameras will have any auto-tracking or maybe tracking via NVR 3.0? Will it be fully supportted by NVR 3.0?

 

Also, do you have any idea if and when they will enhance their SD card capabilities so you can view recordings directly from the camera?

[ando 0]

Ando, do you know if the PTZ cameras will have any auto-tracking or maybe tracking via NVR 3.0? Will it be fully supportted by NVR 3.0?

 

Also, do you have any idea if and when they will enhance their SD card capabilities so you can view recordings directly from the camera?

 

Currently, there is no plan to have this feature since we seldom hear about this request and our current priority is the video quality on the camera side and reliable service on VMS side. For the projects that may require this feature, it is possible to pair KCM-8x11 with a third party video management system that has the video analytics with auto-tracking feature.

 

Regarding SD card video management - it is coming soon. First, there will be an independent utility (somewhere Q2 2013), and later on (hopefully), it will be built into NVR3.0 directly.

[buellwinkle 0]

At the past ISC West, the ACTi booth had 180 degree dome camera watching a wide area in the show and the motion detect zone were set to send an URL command to the PTZ camera so it would zip over there to capture the action. Looked pretty cool, not sure if it's practical, but certainly made for a cool demo.

[ando 0]

I suppose the main value of such demo is the understanding of how cameras can work together over the network as a complete solution. For example, the panic button, connected to the DI of a static camera, can force a far-away PTZ turn and zoom into the panic area. You don't have to do the panic button wiring all the way to PTZ camera for that. Saves much of the hassle.

[EarlT 0]

Is that a camera to camera thing, or handled by NVR software?

[ando 0]

Is that a camera to camera thing, or handled by NVR software?

 

It is camera to camera directly.

[EarlT 0]

Very cool. Which cameras provide that capability?

[ando 0]

Basically all the ACTi cameras starting from ACM-generation:

ACM-xxxx, TCM-xxxx, KCM-xxxx, Dxx, Exx.

 

The feature in the camera is called Event Handler.

 

In the scenario of panic button connected to the DI of camera A, to trigger the PTZ camera B to point towards the panic area, the steps are:

 

1. Log-in to camera B (PTZ) firmware: create preset points, one of them pointing towards panic area.

2. connect panic button wires to DI of camera A.

3. Log-in to camera A firmware & configure Event section:

a) define the DI alarm mode to be high or low.

b) define the URL command that describes "go to preset xx"

c) define the target server (IP address of camera A) to receive the command

d) define the schedule of event management

 

Done! When panic button of camera A is pressed, the PTZ of camera B will turn instantly.