glassman 0 Posted July 17, 2004 Hey all... I've been trying to set a variable lens with the help of my wife. It aint working! Can I hook a small tv directly to the camera at its location to make my adjustments before plugging it back into the system? This is a home sytem and I really can't justify spending $$ for a portable test monitor that will be used just for my home.. Byron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rikky 0 Posted July 17, 2004 Yep, should do it. Some cameras do even have a double coaxial output, which makes live easier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted July 17, 2004 Most of the newer Ganz cameras have two outputs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted July 18, 2004 Hey all... I've been trying to set a variable lens with the help of my wife. It aint working! Can I hook a small tv directly to the camera at its location to make my adjustments before plugging it back into the system? This is a home sytem and I really can't justify spending $$ for a portable test monitor that will be used just for my home.. Byron yes, if your TV has a RCA input, though you will need a BNC Female - RCA Male, if using a coax cable, or if using a RCA Male - RCA male cable, you will need a BNC female - RCA female adapter. If your camera has a Svideo output, use a Svideo cable to the TV, if the TV has Svideo. Then goto Inputs/aux on the TV to view the video. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glassman 0 Posted July 19, 2004 Thanks all.. It worked fine. Only problem is I still can't seem to get the quality of video I want. For instance some kid went over to the wife's car looked in and tried the door to try and get it... I got it on video but cant see it good enough to tell who it is...Maybe I have the wrong lens or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted July 19, 2004 (edited) what camera and lens is it? How far away from the camera lens is the object? How much light is in the picture? Also what size and type TV is it? Is the quality good in live, and just bad in playback? What kind of recorder are you using? Lastly, what type of cable are you using and what are the distances? Rory Edited July 19, 2004 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve6690 0 Posted July 19, 2004 Did this occur during daylight or was it dark ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glassman 0 Posted July 19, 2004 It's a COP 15-CB25NV-IR with a Rainbow L298AVDC4P varifocal lens. This is on the outside garage wall aprox 12' high in an enclosure. Car is parked in the middle of a 20x20 driveway. I seem to get good focus right in the center area but I'd like to get great focus on the whole drive. Seems to work fine early morning and at night. Garage is on the west side so I get a lot of washout with the sun from sy 11am-8pm. If I move the zoom to right on the car only it gives me a good picture but I am trying to get the whole drive and part of the alley. Maybe I need a different lens or a 2nd camera to get 2 different angles to help with the sun problem? BTW I'm using a dedicated P4 system with 2-160 gig drives, 512k ram, ATI 9600-128mb and a 17" monitor with a Geovision 650 8 camera card Since my 1st post I have gotten it a bit clearer using a 14" tv up on a ladder to focus it..but it's still not what I want.. I want the whole areaand good and clear... Shouldn't the auto iris keep it from washing out? Maybe I also need to move the camera down to get a better angle to take in more area? I put it that high to keep kids from smacking it with whatever.. Byron... Almost forgot. The cable I'm using is a 'plug and play' COP cable so it's not coax, it's like a rca cable with the video,audio and power all in one. It's 70 feet long what camera and lens is it? How far away from the camera lens is the object? How much light is in the picture? Also what size and type TV is it? Is the quality good in live, and just bad in playback? What kind of recorder are you using? Lastly, what type of cable are you using and what are the distances? Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
knightvision 0 Posted July 19, 2004 Rory recently posted a similar problem with a COP IR Camera in the "Security Cameras" forum. Check out the "what's wrong with this picture" thread. I'm starting to believe it is a problem with the COP cameras, not with your installation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AVCONSULTING 0 Posted July 19, 2004 An auto iris lens should be helping you and you might need to do some adjustment. I'm not familiar with that camera but like all cameras it should have a switch to turn off the auto electronic shutter, it might be labeled AES. That has to be in the off position. Then you should have another switch that says DC/VID and it should be in the DC position. On the camera their should be a level control pot that has to be adjusted for good video. You might want to check to make sure that these settings have been made. As for getting the whole driveway in the picture but also getting detail that generally doesn't work because the wider the picture the less detail you get. You'll have to compromise. Best bet is to have someone stand in the area of most concern and adjust the varifocal so you have a clear picture of the person. Also make sure on your GEO that you have the quality set to the highest resolution and the picture size set to 640x480. You'll use up more hard drive space but you will get the sharpest images. Hope this helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted July 19, 2004 #1 - After having used the COP cameras when I first started doing CCTV, and having just installed 14 of them for a client who bought them himself, its definately a COP thing, they are just terrible cameras, on the whole. But you get what you pay for when it comes to cameras. However, what you talk about seems to be more. What you should do, is take the camera down, plug it into your TV in the shade somewhere, not in full sunlight, and focus and set it up there first to make sure it is generally giving a good clear image. According to specs, its just a 380TVL camera, so its not High Resolution, its medium resoultion, high res would be 480TVL. Indoors will not make a huge difference, but outdoors definately, and the color system in these cheaper cameras really arent great. From the specs, do the following: turn off BLC turn off Auto gain Control (AGC) I cant read the other dip switches from the PDF as they are too blurred. But the switvh on the right sais from top to bottom: DC AES Video Set the switch to DC as the lens is CS-DC lens. Once you are using DC then you have to adjust the Pot, do this where it is bright outside so you can turn it up (bright) just enough to not be too bright. dont point it at the sun, just do it where there is full day light. If you want to make life easier, just set it to AES and dont worry about that, but then you are relying on the camera to adjust the lighting. Once the Auto Iris (DC) level is correct, you can either focus it there, or take it in the shade, or wait until it gets evening time, as that would be better, not dark, just dim, focus on your car licence plate or something like that, at 50-75' away. Dont go too wide as with that lens, the edges of the video will get washed out, its an Aspheric lens. Either way it would be easier to take it down and set it up before you put it back up. A smaller TV like a 13" would be better for focusing than a 19" or bigger. If you cant afford a CCTV 9" monitor, Portable Monitor, or a Camera MAster for Focusing, then a 13" color TV is very very cheap and works for me most of the time. Here is a link to the specs on the camera and lens for anyone else who wants to check it out and give their feedback on the problem: http://www.isorainbow.com/specs/dc4p/l298avdc4p.html http://www2.cop-usa.com/ebproductdetail.asp?id=17 The camera specs in the title say 420TVL, but the PDF sais 380TVL, i tend to agree with that, plus it's super low lux level is only 0.1 lux, though the IR version also picks up IR lighting. Another thing, cut out as much of the sky as possible, you dont need to see that as the sun/light could also cause issues, incase it is also catching the sky. If you can, post a picture of it. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glassman 0 Posted July 21, 2004 Thanks all for the info! Being something totally new to me there is a learning curve like anything else. I kept tinkering with the camere and also moved it down 2 feet and 4 feet to the right so it is away from the metal halide light it was over (man you can sure burn up HD space watching the bugs going for the light!) that brought the camera down far enough to allow me to get the whole length of the drive and I kept fooling with the focus until I got it pretty darned good. Also AVconsulting mentioned the resolution and I found the video recording was set default to low end and changed it to the 640x480 . I also just added a 2nd camera to the other end of the garage to get a different angle. Its a Nuvico 480tvl bullet D/N with built in leds and a varifocal lens Looks pretty good also. Between the 2 cameras I have the whole area covered. Now onto the rest of the shops etc when I get more $$.. Byron... BTW Rory the spec sheet in the manual says its 420, the next model down the CB24 is a 380... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AVCONSULTING 0 Posted July 21, 2004 Rory, I wish you would stop using my house as an example in your posts. Please respect my privacy. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted July 21, 2004 you've got to invite me over one day to use that pool!! not just work around it like i usually do ... or make it look like i do ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
