MR2 0 Posted October 30, 2013 Anyone played around with some 5mp cam's (cheap sub $300 jobbies) that actually give you an increase in quality over the 3mp cam's that are out there? I've bought a few 5mp Cam's and so far the image is actually sharper and better on the 3mp cam's we have so I'm at a loss... after something that is stable in Milestone Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buellwinkle 0 Posted October 31, 2013 The best buy for a 5MP is the new ACTi E96 fisheye for $260ish. If you want a bullet or dome with IR, then $300 may not be enough, maybe the ACTi E33 or E73. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MR2 0 Posted October 31, 2013 The best buy for a 5MP is the new ACTi E96 fisheye for $260ish. If you want a bullet or dome with IR, then $300 may not be enough, maybe the ACTi E33 or E73. Funny you should mention that, was just hunting through your reviews and found the Acti E33, it looks like what we're after, just need to find a good (cheap) source Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MR2 0 Posted October 31, 2013 http://www.a1securitycameras.com/acti-e33.html the full sized image does not really look that much better than our 3mp ones maybe I'll wait for the 10mp to see how things look, such a small sensor though... what's the largest sensor they can actually use a CS/C lens with? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buellwinkle 0 Posted October 31, 2013 The E37 which is the 10MP version of the E33 should be out in January which means you can probably get it in February/March. Their first 10MP, the E97 should be available in 2 weeks, indoor cam, really wide angle lens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssmith10pn 0 Posted October 31, 2013 http://www.a1securitycameras.com/acti-e33.html That network connection looks Mickey Mouse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaxIcon 0 Posted October 31, 2013 what's the largest sensor they can actually use a CS/C lens with? CS lenses can work with up to 1.3" sensors, but these are uncommon. It's rare to see sensors larger than 1/2", and most vendors are moving to 1/3" unless you go for the high-end gear. As the sensor element gets smaller, lens quality becomes much more critical. It doesn't help to have a 1/3" 10MP sensor if the lens resolution doesn't support that pixel density, and high-resolution MP lenses are expensive. Note that the actual sensor size is about 2/3 the spec size, due to the quirks of vidicon camera tubes. A 1/2" sensor is really only about 1/3" diagonally, depending. Also, going from 2MP to 5MP gives 2.5x the total resolution, but you don't get that much improvement in pixels per foot (or whatever unit you prefer), so it's important to check where you need the higher resolution. 1080p - 1920×1080 ACTi 5MP - 2592x1944 Total resolution improvement - 2.4x Horizontal resolution improvement - 1.35x Vertical resolution improvement - 1.8x Multiply those together and you get the total improvement: 1.35 x 1.8 = 2.4x ETA: Just realized you meant 3MP. Same thing, less improvement - just a 25% increase in linear resolution! ACTi 3MP - 2048x1536 ACTi 5MP - 2592x1944 Total resolution improvement - 1.6x Horizontal resolution improvement - 1.26x Vertical resolution improvement - 1.26x Multiply those together and you get the total improvement: 1.26 x 1.26 = 1.6x Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MR2 0 Posted October 31, 2013 Yep, I agree with everything you've written, problem I find is I'm really not seeing any improvement on the 5mp over the 3mp, as you say that's likely to be a Lens issue... guess we wait to see what happens, are they really doing that wonderful a job on the Len's that we'll be able to make any use of 10mp on a 1/3" sensor? sound nuts to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buellwinkle 0 Posted October 31, 2013 That network connection looks Mickey Mouse. Since our county derives a lot of revenue from Mickey Mouse, i'll take that as a good thing. You can use the included pigtail or you can remove it and feed a regular Cat5/6 with an RJ45 connector and can use conduit. Many people prefer the old school mounts that use a threaded tripod mount vs. the newer cameras with integrated mounts. For example, I can't easily use integrated mounts under my eave because they are too typically too short. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaxIcon 0 Posted November 1, 2013 Yep, I agree with everything you've written, problem I find is I'm really not seeing any improvement on the 5mp over the 3mp, as you say that's likely to be a Lens issue... guess we wait to see what happens, are they really doing that wonderful a job on the Len's that we'll be able to make any use of 10mp on a 1/3" sensor? sound nuts to me. What you'll find is that ACTi doesn't spec resolution (or much of anything beyond the basics) on their lenses (that I could find). Most vendors don't. The ACTi lenses aren't that expensive, which leads me to believe they aren't high MP rated, but I could be wrong. As an example, Axis publishes specs on their MP lenses, but each spec is from the OEM and has different parameters, and the ones that do spec resolution mostly say "> 500 TVL", which is not a number that gives me warm fuzzy feelings for an MP lens. This is another area the vendors need to get under control. With C/CS mount lenses, you can choose the tradeoffs between price and features, but M12 lenses are mostly a roll of the dice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MR2 0 Posted November 4, 2013 Well, I got my Acti pricing back E32 3mp 4.2mm Lens(62.7 Degree FOV), $350 E33 5mp 4.2mm Lens(63.7 Degree FOV), $420 E22V 5mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens(70.9 Degree FOV), $470 E24 3mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens (78.1 Degree FOV), $560 E42A 3mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens (70.5 Degre FOV) $650 E43A 5mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens (69.2 Degree FOV) $740 E62 3mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens (70.5 Degree FOV) $550 E63 5mp 2.8mm-12mm Lens (69.2 Degree FOV) $644 Not really feeling it Back to the IPQ2232x Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
