Baylab

What about its MJPEG mode? is it possible to get short latency with small format (640x480)?

for a digital video system, the live-view video and the recorded video use different data stream. For live-view mode, the system just copy the data from ADC to display memory of computer. so there is no too much loss of resolution ( compared with the original analog signal). However, for the recorded video, the system will compress it first then save it to hard drive. so there will be certain loss of resolution definitely.

with well controlled illumination, Image from 10MP camera is definitely better than that from a 5MP camera.

Sounds like some kind of C/CS problem. try to add/remove the 5mm spacer ring between camera and lens ( if there is one, remove it, if there is no ,add one). the thin space will affect the focusing for infinity. I guess, their lens mount is machined for the exact 17.526mm back focusing plane. however, if they put an IR cutting filter between sensor and lens, they will have use longer distance (17.526+0.1mm?, depends on thickness of filter).

I don't know if the BSI( back side illumination) sensor can, Aptina will start to sell 14MP sensor maybe from the end of this year ( they have announced it several month ago). Maybe, with this new fancy technology, the 14MP sensor can provide similar low light performance as 5MP sensor. we this new technology the cross-talk between pixels can be suppress as well, because the pixel will become" shallow", the light leakage will not be as easy as former "deep pixel". However, you still need very good and very expensive optics to get more detail. no any imaginable technology can circumvent this obstacle.

if they combine 4 pixel to 1 to enhance its low light performance, the result will be even worse than a native 2.5MP sensor ( you can't just combine 4 neighboring pixel,you will have to conbine 16 pixel which in a 4x4 window to 4 pixel). To form a pixel 3 transistors is minimum, more pixel means more area for transistor and lear area to sense light. that is why the sensitivity of 10MP sensor is 310mv/lux.sec, and 5MP sensor is 1400mv/lux.sec. 4 pixel in 10MP just collect similar amount of light as the 1 pixel in 5MP ! Fujinon 5MP lens seems the only affordable 5MP lens. however even with the 5MP sensor, you can still find significant red/blue fringe in the corner of the image ( especially for their 12.5mm model). such kind lens designed for machine vision application. in such kind of application, they use single colour LED as illumination, colour aberration won't make any trouble, but for video surveillance, you have to live with the full-colour sunlight.

A company called" Tekstar" sell this stuff. should be quite expensive. Yes, the electronics stabilization should be a better solution. the pixel is much cheaper than any kind of mechanism used to move PCB board or optical element.

For your application, you need to pay extra attention to the delay of video. even for the camera still support MJPEG, the minimum delay is the time for 2 frame ( encoding + decoding), for the one use MPEG4 or H.264, the delay could be longer. Unfortunately, before you get touch the camera, it is very difficult to get the information of video delay from distributor or manufacture.

If you don't need to recording the video why not just choose a nice analog camera+a nice analog monitor?

Compared with 5MP sensor, the 10MP sensor get lower sensitivity, narrower dynamic range, larger cross-talk among the neighboring pixels. yes, anyway, it has higher resolution ( if used with some expensive 10MP lens, you can expect a little bit more detail in good illumination).

I also think that there are not analog cameras with resolution over 540TVL.All other is marketing tricks. Could you tell me what is the easiest way to covert pixels in TVL. Thanks Depends on the definition or testing method of "TVL". if TVL means the resolution @MTF=50% ( means you can still get 50% contrast at this resolution). I don't think people can grab a 768x576 or 720x576 colour image with 500TVL to computer from any kind of analog camera through composite signal.

Really great! So for my home i can just buy this system for <3000usd? 3000USD is just enough to buy a 16MP CCD sensor Kodak's older 11MP sensor cost 1800USD. I don't know the exact price of the 16MP model, it should be more expensive than 11MP model.

Just check what Motorbix did. It seems Motorbix has abandoned ( actually they may never used) the C/CS mount lens, they choose to used some (maybe customized) M12 lens. For the lens with same image quality, the C/CS mount version is definitely more expensive then the M12 version. because there are focus and iris adjusting mechanism integrated inside the C/CS mount lens. for a manual lenses, such mechanism will be used for only several minutes during their whole life span.

Actually, almost any kind of solvent which be able to evaporate quickly (before it absorb too much water) can bu used to clean lens.

And actually, SONY/Panasonic HAVE TO upgrade their spec, because, more and more Chinese supplier start to sell the "550TVL" camera in the market with a ridiculously cheap price.

Such kind of "650TVL" grade camera use different CCD with a horizontal resolution of 976 pixel (comparing the 480 TVL grade camera use the CCD with a horizontal resolution of 752 pixel). I am just curious about how to grab the analog signal to computer? these manufacturers will develop special chip (or chip set) to update the whole DVR industry?

Broadcasting HD lens is not " a little expensive". some of them ( especially the wide angle one) could cost more than a BMW car. The Kowa's "5mega pixel " lens should be good enough for the 5Mega pixel IP camera, actually, it is an overkill ( since most of lens in this category be able to cover an imaging circle of 11mm, the diagonal dimension of a common 5Mega pxiel cmos sensor is only 7.2mm, more than half of the area is wasted). they are quite expensive, the unit cost should be more than 900USD. maybe you can try their lower rank "mega pixel" lens.

I don't think there is any camera in this planet which has a dynamic range wide enough to handle such situation ( and the " eclipse " effect is the inherent feature of CMOS sensor) . just like shropna said. the choice for solution is quite limited: 1) try to move the position of the camera. the angle between the axis of camera and the vector of car movement should be larger than 30 degree. ( of course can't be larger than 45 degree, otherwise, you will have trouble to get good number plate image). 2) try to use "in line" illumination, attached an illuminator beside the camera ( visible one or IR one whatever). 3)be careful with the shutter speed, keep it fast enough, for a gas station, 1/200 sec. should be OK.

Wide angle lens with larger aperture( which is essential for the CMOS based 5MP camera) is the most challenging job in optical design. So don't expect razor sharp image from an " affordable " 5mega pixel lens. I have to say, in a high resolution imaging system, the pixel is the cheapest component. A 5 mega pixel 1/2.5" CMOS imager just cost 2-3 bucks, if you but them with larger volume. lens is another story, you can't just manufacture it by simply copying/printing ( like the technology used for image sensor). for any lens with decent image quality, people have to machine/ground the element one by one, and assemble them to the barrel one by one (normally just by hand). if you have bought the lenses, what you can do is just try to reduce the aperture when the illumination is good enough to do so. However, if your lens is a manual one, it will be a dilemma: smaller aperture in day time will produce better image in bright environment, but the image will be unacceptable in low light. fully open aperture will improve the performance of camera in low light, and you will have to accept the soft edge and red/blue fringe in the image. So, my suggestion is: try to get camera/lens system which can be programmed to use different aperture in different illumination.

You still need to be very carefully, you may get similar product with higher price from other website.

Normally, the small dome camera use "S" mount, other then the C/CS mount used for box camera. "S" mount means a female M12 thread. and C/CS mount means 1 -1/32 UNF thread, they are not interchangeable. you can find some adapter which can take S mount lens for a C/CS mount camera. however, I've never seen any adapter which can take C/CS mount lens for a "S" mount camera. And Do not expect too much from a Megapixel lens in a standard resolution camera.

even the Lux rating with Shutter speed, Lens F stop, and IRE ( 15%, 30%, or 50% full scale output amplitude). it still means nothing. the manufacturer can manipulate the gains of signal. they can get any result if they really want.

Lux rating is even worse than clock frequency. If you try to use incandescent globe, try to reduce the voltage a little bit. lower voltage will make the spectrum of globe shift to infrared end.

It will cost more in cable? I guess.

" title="Applause" /> this test result is quite impressive.