We have 2 ACTi cameras on order to trial (their cube cameras) and I was wondering from those who have had experience of these cameras, what they thought of them (their cameras in general, not necessarily specific models).

They are of course so much cheaper than Axis, although that doesn't always mean the quality is lower too. I found a very interesting repository of preview clips which have very nice and plentiful demonstrations of all their camera ranges in action, although unfortunately i'm not allowed to post the link as I am a new member!

[edit 14/03/08]
Link to camera demos: here.
[/edit]

The image quality from them seems fine, so it's just a case of reliability.

Have heard from a number of developers that processor they use in there megapixel line is not powerful enough and after about 10min of streaming the cameras lock up.

Please let us know.

We have a weatherproof bullet in our garage day night infrared and I have it on and off for the last few days no problems temps well below freezing when the night mode kicks in it is a little noiser than a regular day night but very acceptable also the color images are very sharp. Am hoping to get it mounted outside this week I like the POE as that makes the install easier.

Thanks for those replies. We will trial 1 megapixel and 1 standard res camera, so maybe we would have better reliability with the standard? Then again, I plan to use a 1280x720 resolution on the megapixel cam, so I suppose it wont need as much in the way of processor power, compared to the full 1280x1024.

The cameras will solely operate indoors in "reasonably" heated areas, so if they are able to withstand frost conditions, then I hope this should be fine.

Is that a Megapixel camera?

ACM 1431 you are right it says composite output on the spec sheet. So it would be like the bosch cams we have used an analog device with an ethernet/poe connection.

warranty sucks as compared to others..........

Not the best cameras. You get what you pay....

I know they're not "the best" (how could they be with how cheap they are!), however it is extremely unlikely we'll be using it for 24/7 recording (although it will always be monitoring), and I doubt we'll ever need to use the footage for legal matters, so it is just for internal use for us to see what is happening at certain areas at certain times.

I was more looking for those who have used them and if they can say whether they work reliably long-term and don't frequently crash/freeze/go bad etc.

I have a couple of Acti 4200 on two sites. Works fine, no craches or freeze for 6 months. Be sure to use the latest firmware though. I had big problems with standard firmware and Milestone.
Milestone only support Mpeg4 for 4200, so Axis 207 with Mjpeg gives a lot better image. Colors are very intense on 4200 and it's a pain to adjust things thru the web interface.
Axis 207Mw is a bit more expensive but a lot better camera.

I would go with Axis all the time if they were cheaper, but as it stands, the closest to the ACM-4200 (which as you point out is the 207MW), costs over double the price, which for us is too big a difference! I think ACTi know this, hence why their prices are put alot cheaper.

I'm glad that you have seen reliability with the cameras, however milestone is software which we would want to implement on a larger scale once we get our camera network organised (a bit messed up atm), so the fact you say it doesn't support mjpeg with these cameas may be an issue - is that a problem with milestone or the camera itself? Is the picture quality much of a difference on the 4200 between mjpeg and mpeg4?

With Milestones latest devicepack and latest firmware it works, but thats it.
The image quality doesn't make your hair stand up.

It all depends on how you are planning to use the cams.
Desired framerate? (Axis is better on that)
Light? (Axis is better on that too)
Image quality? (Yep, Axis again)
Price? ( This one for Acti)
Support? (Axis!!)

I, too, am looking closely at the ACTi cameras, especially the ACM-5711. I've requested sample video or images from day and night time from this camera from ACTi... waiting on them to respond. As an aside, is it just me or is it flat out ridiculous that there isn't sample video for every single CCTV camera made out there?

Anyway, Axis may have a good reputation among you folks, but I look at the 211 and think, "wtf were they thinking putting this otherwise decent camera in a crappy, weird size box so you have to buy their ridiculously overpriced outdoor enclosure?"

Because the 211 gives you more options and better image quality. You don't have to use Axis's housings you can find them much cheaper.

Also you are requesting images from ACTi please let us know if you get any from them. As a Axis partner Axis will send free demo cameras to us to test and demo. Ask ACTi if they do that.

Consider what it says to potential customers, though: if Axis charges 3x more for their outdoor housing then why not the same for their cameras? Whether true or not, this implies that everything else they sell is overpriced.





If/when ACTi sends me a video I will post it to the sticky thread here. they do have some clips up on their site, just not from the particular model I am interested in. That said, I just strolled over to Axis' website and they don't seem to have any demos of their cameras up, either...