Is this a camera?

[Scruit 0]

It's installed on the edge of the main sliding doors at the local walmart. There are two, one facing in and one facing out... Behind the dark glass there is a lens. The doors are actuated by sensors above the doors, soit's not just a opening sensor.

 

[cachecreekcctv 0]

Might just be an older door sensor, as many commercial businesses have gone to the Stanley (subsidiary of Stanley tools corporation) sensor for the doors to open. Stanley has a Security division. Also owns Proto tools I believe.

[rory 0]

could be, they might have just had that custom made and stuck a board camera inside it.

[scorpion 0]

You can aim a camera finder at it and watch security go beserk when the laser pointers fires off!

 

Was it warm to the touch?

[Scruit 0]

I'm pretty sure it's not a door open sensor. There's one on the entrans door facing out, and one on the exit door facing in. Howveer you can still wlka in the exit and out the entrance and the doors still work from teh overhead sensors.

 

What is a camera finder?

 

 

Maybe I should accidentally brush up against it and obscure it with something, then sit around and wait to see if security comes out and fixes it...

[scorpion 0]

It is a device that allows you to find cameras. They do not have to be powered, or they do not have to be operational. The device has a view finder that you look through. Around the view finder there are a circle of leds that shoot out similiar to laser pointers. It finds the curvature of the lens and the laser bounces back through the view finder. I can find cameras hidden in pinholes. I use this to demo the customer to find my cameras (law enforcement / Prvt Investigators) then I give them the finder to let them "see" the cameras. I get a lot of calls from the cheating husband/wife or going through a divorce wife/husband to look for covert cams in the master bedroom ect.

 

On installs that are to be covert using regular cameras I build them in to the dog houses, bird houses, bird feeder ect. Then I let the customer "find" these as well.[/img]

[Deluxecctv.com 0]

Hello,

 

This is not a camera this is a door sensor. It is an older type made in the 90's. We sell equipment to Wal-Mart and are buddies with the Loss Prevention agents their. I called them today and asked about this device and showed them a picture of it. They told us that the cameras are mounted up higher than that so no one would be able to touch it. This was confirmed with our buddies in LP. Hopefully you can sleep at night now. LOL. Thanks

[scorpion 0]

I would get some 8 1/2 by 11 construction paper (white) and I would put together a skit and write it down on the paper. I would then hold up the cue cards one at a time. You might just entertain some bored security guards day! They will save the file and play it back to all of their buddys.

 

If you really got time on your hands get some actors and come up with a silent movie skit and act it out in front of the cameras.

[scorpion 0]

DeluxeCCTV, do you do WM nation wide or just in your local area?

[Deluxecctv.com 0]

We have done numerous Wal-Marts all over the US. We sell a lot of our products to dealers that go out and install these systems for Wal-Mart sub-contracted through us. Wal-Mart has been really pleased with our work and has been a great client for us. Is there a Wal-Mart in your area that needs security? Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with. Thanks

[Scruit 0]

Ok, despite what is being said here, I'm still convinced it's a camera:

 

Closer look today...

 

[rory 0]

maybe they used one of those old door thingys and stuck a mini board camera in there, doesnt quite look like a micro lens, but that could be a piece of foam around the actual lens.

[kensplace 0]

If you enhance the image a little,

 

 

you can see that the lens starts to look a little less like a lens, as it appears to have a outwards curve, looks like a led in a led holder, as sort of looks like it is sticking out, instead of being flat/curved like a normal lens,but could be wrong. What are these meant to be, are they entry/exit counters, beam break detectors for alarms etc? If so it could be a led, that is picked up at the receiving end (or not if someone walks through.)

[rory 0]

here's a thought, call them and ask them

tell them you are in the CCTV industry and are curious as if they are you would like to know where to get them ..

[scorpion 0]

I am more curious about the construction of the frame. At first I did not believe it to be a camera based on the observation of the picture.

I do not believe the object is deep enough for a camera. For a camera I thought the angle was rather off. Unless there is an object that draws your attention in this direction then you will only get a side shot of a face. Would you not prefer to get a "head on shot". Am I miss led, or is this at less of an angle then I am assuming?

 

If there is a camera then that would mean the camera is in the frame of the door way. I would be looking for the travel path of the wiring out of this door frame. This would be installed at the time of construction. I could not see them using the wire that would have been used for a detector then converting the wire to receive power and send video.

 

If this is an retrofit, I would assume you would find wiring to the frame somewhere, then snaking it to this position. How did they mount the camera in the frame? Is there enough room for a camera in this corner?

 

I ask, is this object warm? I did not know if this camera puts out heat or not?

 

I am curious to know if LP approached you after taking close ups, or did you use a telephoto lens?

[Scruit 0]

What are these meant to be, are they entry/exit counters, beam break detectors for alarms etc? If so it could be a led, that is picked up at the receiving end (or not if someone walks through.)

 

This thing points away from the door at about 45deg. There is no matching sender/receiver for a beam break sensor. The metallic purple/red reflection in the center is exactly the same color are the reflection of the lenses of a couple of cameras I have lying around here.

 

 

If it was a infrared sensor then it would need either a matching sender/receiver in a seperate unit on the other side of the door (there is none) or the unit itself would have to do the send/receive in a single unit, meaning it's actually looking for the IR refelcting off a person walking past - much like touchless faucets and hand dryers - but this unit has only one 'thing'.

 

Visually, to the naked eye, it looks exactly like staring into a logitech webcam lens.

[rory 0]

I am curious to know if LP approached you after taking close ups, or did you use a telephoto lens?

 

good question

[Scruit 0]

Also - I'm not really convinced this local walmart has had any experts involved in their cameras. They have two TVs up over the entrance door that display two camera angles. One faces the inside of the door from a ciling-mounted bubble/dome. The other is from an outdoor box camera looking over the parking lot.

 

The camera facing the door is in a relatively dark room facing at the bright outside light. All you can see is the white rectangles of light from outside the door - everything else is black. You can't see detail of people, just outlines.

 

Whent he sun is out and it's early afternoon you can see bright vertical lines from the sun refelcting off of car windows. About 1/3 of the screen is obscured by the CCD overloading effect, rendering the rest of the image too dark to be of any value at all.

[Scruit 0]

I am curious to know if LP approached you after taking close ups, or did you use a telephoto lens?

 

good question

 

Nope, nobody did or said anything. Now, I dunno if they followed me with the cameras the rest of the time I was in there..? I'm probably on a terrorist watch list now and will never be able to fly again.

 

I need to stick a post-it note over it and then sit back and watched to see if someone comes out to clear it off.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Guest

[rory 0]

Also - I'm not really convinced this local walmart has had any experts involved in their cameras. They have two TVs up over the entrance door that display two camera angles. One faces the inside of the door from a ciling-mounted bubble/dome. The other is from an outdoor box camera looking over the parking lot.

 

The camera facing the door is in a relatively dark room facing at the bright outside light. All you can see is the white rectangles of light from outside the door - everything else is black. You can't see detail of people, just outlines.

 

Whent he sun is out and it's early afternoon you can see bright vertical lines from the sun refelcting off of car windows. About 1/3 of the screen is obscured by the CCD overloading effect, rendering the rest of the image too dark to be of any value at all.

 

any brand names on the cameras?

id hate to think they are just OEM cameras, a store that large can afford much better.

[kensplace 0]

What or who is LP?

[Scruit 0]

any brand names on the cameras?

id hate to think they are just OEM cameras, a store that large can afford much better.

 

The only brnad name I ever remember seeing was iDVR, but that may have been in the attached fast food place. Nothing else has logos. A place this big SHOULD be able to afford better cameras - but both of the images I described seem liek they could be fixed using an auto iris lens?

 

Even if they don'y want a really good camera with WDR and all that jazz, then the could maybe re-orient the indoor camera so it's not see the doors in the background. The image is not close enough to see the height scale on the side of the door, so there's no value in seeing the door. Just aim it a little further down so the doors disappear of the top of the screen - that would mean the camera is looking down at about 45deg - still a pretty good angle for identifying someone, no?

[Scruit 0]

What or who is LP?

 

Loss Prevention. Store Security.

[kensplace 0]

Our local supermarket (a big name in the UK, Tescos) has a box camera that is not even plugged in.... Got to wonder who maintains these systems....

[rory 0]

Our local supermarket (a big name in the UK, Tescos) has a box camera that is not even plugged in.... Got to wonder who maintains these systems....

 

i saw the systems (well cameras) in the Uk when i was there, i couldnt believe it, almost as bad or worse than here!