Is it worht spending more for Axis/Bosch over Vivotek/IPX?

[ghurty 0]

I have been fooling around with IP cameras for a bit now.

I mainly use Vivotek and IPX.

 

They are both pretty cost effective. But now I am looking at other options. I see Axis, ACTi, and Bosch for example make also high end cameras, however they are much more expensive then the equivalent (megapixel) Vivotek ones.

 

Are they worth spending more money for? If yes, which IP camera brand gives the most for the money.

 

Thanks

[buellwinkle 0]

Absolutely, I know Axis and ACTi have excellent service and support. Also, many of the newer cameras are coming in at a pretty good price point. For example. Axis has a 5MP 360 degree camera for about $500 and ACTi has megapixel indoor domes they recently introduced for well under $200. Also, both Axis and ACTi provide free software that is better than Vivoteks. Axis AAC does not require a PC to record, it can go straight to NAS so you can factor in the costs savings of NVR software and dedicated server. ACTi NVR 3.0 is one of the best NVR software products I've used. I don't know anything about Bosch.

[ghurty 0]

Absolutely, I know Axis and ACTi have excellent service and support. Also, many of the newer cameras are coming in at a pretty good price point. For example. Axis has a 5MP 360 degree camera for about $500 and ACTi has megapixel indoor domes they recently introduced for well under $200. Also, both Axis and ACTi provide free software that is better than Vivoteks. Axis AAC does not require a PC to record, it can go straight to NAS so you can factor in the costs savings of NVR software and dedicated server. ACTi NVR 3.0 is one of the best NVR software products I've used. I don't know anything about Bosch.

 

 

I was looking at going with 3 X FD8136 and looking for a better one (2MP but inexpensive) for outdoor w/ IR.

 

What would you suggest would be a good ACTi/Axis equivalent?

[buellwinkle 0]

 

I was looking at going with 3 X FD8136 and looking for a better one (2MP but inexpensive) for outdoor w/ IR.

 

What would you suggest would be a good ACTi/Axis equivalent?

 

So you want a 2MP outdoor dome with IR and day/night capabiltiies for the price of a Vivotek 1MP indoor mini-dome without IR or even day/night capabilities? Tall order there, not sure we are even in the same ballpark.

 

At the moment, Axis does not have an outdoor dome with IR illuminators, maybe soon, but not yet. Also, they don't do 2MP domes, don't know why, but you can get 1,3 & 5MP. They do have outstanding low light performance in their 1MP dome. When they do, it will be the P3364-LVE with 1MP (720P) and my wild guess is it will be about $800 street.

 

ACTi is in the same boat, they have a really good 2MP IR vandal dome due to come out this month called the E84. Don't know pricing but I'm assuming it displaces their aging TCM-7811 dome with low light performance which was priced at about $700 street. Currently, they don't have a 2MP dome, they have 1.3 and 4.

 

Personally, not a huge fan of IR domes as they tend to have IR light bleed issues. Sometimes it's torrelable when the camera is new, but as the donut that seperates the lens from the LEDs ages, the situation may get worse.

[ghurty 0]

For the outdoors I dont really need 2MP, that was just a hopeful wish.

 

I will be covering a back loading dock of about 60ft * 25ft. Your point about IR is probably true, so I would look at an external IR illuminanator (any suggestions?)

 

Now that I dont have the IR and 2MP requirement what is a good camera for the outdoors? I was looking at the TCM-1111 but I was told that is EOL. BTW I was told the E84 will be inte below $600 mark.

 

For indoors, would those vivoteks be good enough (dont really need to much facial recognition quality) or is there an ACTi/Axis that is in the same price range that is better?

 

 

Thanks

 

 

I was looking at going with 3 X FD8136 and looking for a better one (2MP but inexpensive) for outdoor w/ IR.

 

What would you suggest would be a good ACTi/Axis equivalent?

 

So you want a 2MP outdoor dome with IR and day/night capabiltiies for the price of a Vivotek 1MP indoor mini-dome without IR or even day/night capabilities? Tall order there, not sure we are even in the same ballpark.

 

At the moment, Axis does not have an outdoor dome with IR illuminators, maybe soon, but not yet. Also, they don't do 2MP domes, don't know why, but you can get 1,3 & 5MP. They do have outstanding low light performance in their 1MP dome. When they do, it will be the P3364-LVE with 1MP (720P) and my wild guess is it will be about $800 street.

 

ACTi is in the same boat, they have a really good 2MP IR vandal dome due to come out this month called the E84. Don't know pricing but I'm assuming it displaces their aging TCM-7811 dome with low light performance which was priced at about $700 street. Currently, they don't have a 2MP dome, they have 1.3 and 4.

 

Personally, not a huge fan of IR domes as they tend to have IR light bleed issues. Sometimes it's torrelable when the camera is new, but as the donut that seperates the lens from the LEDs ages, the situation may get worse.

[buellwinkle 0]

ACTi had a promotion on their new 1MP indoor dome last week, the D51, really cheap, retail they are going for under $200. B&H had them for $177, but if you are buying from a distributor, they are obviously less but I don't want to quote wholesale prices here.

 

The equivalent Axis would be the M32 and M32 series, comes in 1MP but a little pricier than the ACTi, about $400ish.

 

The E84 for $600 will be a bargain. That sensor is one of the best I've tested. They will also have the bullet version, the E44, my guess about the same price.

 

As for the TCM-1111, I have not received an EOL notice for that camera and I get all the notices. Nice small camera, priced well, under $300 retail at many places. I believe it's replacement sort of is the E31, about the same price. You lose a little resoluton (1.3 to 1) but you gain WDR and faster frame rate. The E41 is more like the TCM-1231 replacement with a varifocal lens and more features, my guess in that same $500 street price range.

[bigglebowski 0]

I was looking at the pricing on the newer ACTI stuff on ADI's website last night and the pricing seemed like it was going to be decent on their new stuff. The bullet cams look to be well priced and have IR and WDR. They have 1, 3 and 5MP versions, as well as a fixed (E3x) or varifocal lens (E4x) for each of those but are a little more expensive.

 

The indoor domes have really nice pricing too.

[ghurty 0]

Thank you.

 

How does the D51 compare to the FD8136?

 

Also you mentioned that the ACTi NVR software is one of the best, is it free for under X amount of cameras? Does it have search by mapping, etc..?

ACTi had a promotion on their new 1MP indoor dome last week, the D51, really cheap, retail they are going for under $200. B&H had them for $177, but if you are buying from a distributor, they are obviously less but I don't want to quote wholesale prices here.

 

The equivalent Axis would be the M32 and M32 series, comes in 1MP but a little pricier than the ACTi, about $400ish.

 

The E84 for $600 will be a bargain. That sensor is one of the best I've tested. They will also have the bullet version, the E44, my guess about the same price.

 

As for the TCM-1111, I have not received an EOL notice for that camera and I get all the notices. Nice small camera, priced well, under $300 retail at many places. I believe it's replacement sort of is the E31, about the same price. You lose a little resoluton (1.3 to 1) but you gain WDR and faster frame rate. The E41 is more like the TCM-1231 replacement with a varifocal lens and more features, my guess in that same $500 street price range.

[buellwinkle 0]

I don't have the camera side by side to compare, so can't answer that.

 

Their software is free for up to 16 cameras per PC, so if you have say 24, you can install it on 2 PCs. Uses very little CPU as the cameras handle the motion detection so you can use lower end PCs, like an i3 should be fine. What I like about it is you can scrub the timeline to find the recorded event you want and as you scrub it displays one or a bunch of cameras in real time all at the same time. You can also use the alarm inputs from the camera to trigger recording. Export to AVI is super easy, just mark the start and the end and click to save to AVI. The product was written to work the same from the web browser as the local client software and I don't even install the client software. Very well done. Comes with a free IOS app. Downside is that it only runs on Windows, a pain for me because I travel with my Macbook Air, but I run Windows and IE for other reasons on VMWare, so not a huge inconvenience. I would pay for the software if it supported other brands of cameras.