Soundy

Welcome, from cloudy (with an impending snowfall warning) Vancouver, BC!

Hard to tell exactly what cameras you're referring to with that vague description, but yeah, buying cameras - ANY cameras - from eBay is probably going to be a waste. Yes, they'll be higher resolution than analog cameras, but not necessarily better QUALITY... and you're never guaranteed to get exactly what's advertised... As far as the hookup, if you're doing 8 cameras, you'll need bigger than an 8-port switch. Once we've used extensively is the Cisco/Linksys SFE1000P - it has eight 10/100 PoE ports and two gigabit ports for connecting to the DVR/NVR.

Could be a data connection... what make and model camera is it?

Funny thing is, he's posting from an IP in India... I didn't know Telus had coverage in India (they're a Canadian wireless provider).

Looks neat, but keep in mind that 2.5" is about the size of your average smartphone screen. Auto-iris just means the camera can control the iris - the aperture, or the size of the opening - in the lens, to adjust for varying light levels. It has an EFFECT on the focus, but nothing to do with actually ADJUSTING the focus.

Does the Breeze do CCTV?

They have tarnished their name such that my household will not buy Sony goods. The last straw was a notebook computer advertised to run 3-4 hours on battery than never worked more than 2-1/4 hours when brand new. We had a Sony TV from the eighties that lasted over twenty years, and a newer one that lasted only three. I had similar experience with their top of the line VCR and Hi-8 stereo Camcorder. No more Sony for me. They've lost their touch. Seconded. The last Sony we bought was a VAIO laptop my son selected before heading off to university. The USB ports stopped working on it... we sent it in for warranty repair, and they told us the warranty was void because of "liquid damage". After getting it back, I opened it up for a look and found a LITTLE water stain on the casing around the hard drive, nowhere near the USB board... but that bit of water was all it took for them to fully void the warranty. Repair quote was nearly $1000 (just over, after taxes). That included replacing the power jack (which I found was only loose - reseated it and it was fine), the keyboard (a couple of rarely-used keys were intermittent from the water damage), a piece of the case that had a small, inconsequential crack, and the hard drive (which they claimed was failing). The hard drive, BTW, is a 250GB Hitachi drive... would have cost me about $80 at the time to replace, from my local retailer (they're about $55 now). Sony's price: nearly $600. Just for the drive. Cost of the damaged USB board - the only thing we really wanted fixed - was $50. BTW, that original hard drive is still running fine now, a year and a half later... That wasn't my first bad experience with Sony "support" but I sure hope it'll be my last.

Like Rory says, sounds like these guys could be a headache... be sure to build an "annoyance fee" into your pricing. And tell them exactly what you just told us: "we are in Zimbabwe, and getting hold of Sony products at reasonable prices out there is a tad difficult." (Except, change "a tad difficult" to "damn near impossible"). Figure out what the price will be... present them with that, as well as a lower-cost option... then let THEM worry about the price difference.

I paid $150 for my cheap COBY Portable DVD, but thats neither here nor there, the quality is nothing close to that of a CCTV CRT, and with the DVD one will NEVER get a proper focus, unless as I mentioned before it is by pure luck. Never been a problem here... no luck required. Just because YOU haven't done it, doesn't mean nobody else can. And be careful saying "never". There are, in fact, portable DVD players out there with full 800x480 or higher screens. Some even support non-interlaced video. The OP asked about HANDHELD screens. Go ahead and list some handheld CRTs.

Tried that once. Had to fine-adjust every camera once it was actually on-site anyway. Didn't really see the point in trying it again. So are portable DVDs. Let us know when you find a battery-powered CRT that weighs less than a pound.

See, right there, you work from a false assumption: almost everyone here has tried cheap, generic cards at one time or another. Some have done it out of ignorance and thinking they were getting a good deal, then come here asking for help, only to learn what we're trying to impart on you; others have to deal with them in trying to help friends or customers who've bought them thinking they were getting a good deal. Some (including me) even buy and/or inherit them now and then just to test, out of morbid curiosity. I'd hazard a guess that ALL the advice given you far on this matter comes from direct experience. It is at this point I invoke George Santayana.

Just looked at seven different C/CS-mount lenses I have here, variety of designs from a variety of manufacturers, and not one has a thread for a screw-on filter. So that's probably the main part of your reasoning there: it's just not a common thing.

^I knew that was coming. Your alternative, of course, is dropping a few hundred for a proper hi-res service monitor, or lugging a CRT (complete with extension cord) up your ladder. So... yeah.

I've seen a baluns-and-Cat5 install that looked like that... installer used baluns at the camera end but not at the DVR. In fact, rather than use baluns or terminate his runs in BNCs, he actually snipped the BNC ends from the octopus cable and hardwired the Cat5 to it. Solder and heat shrink, mind you... for all the time and effort he put into those connections, he ended up with crap picture for not doing it right. Moral of the story: baluns work IN PAIRS. Depends on the cameras, and their power requirements. A 24VAC camera with 200mA current draw would see a drop of about 1.5V at that distance, using two pairs of the Cat5. If it's a dual-voltage camera, that should be no problem, as it's designed to accept input as low as 12VDC (and some of those I've seen will actually handle voltages down to 9VDC).

Nice, sure... nothing special. Sony has been coasting on their name for years. OP: I would guess the vast majority of CCD-based CCTV cameras use Sony sensors. Doesn't mean F-all. The magic is in the processing and the quality of the rest of the design and construction. Like thewireguys says, customer wants Sony branded stuff... give them Sony branded stuff. Then if they're not happy with it, they can't blame you.

Sony isn't the big name they once were.

Now that would be a REALLY interesting conversation!

Welcome aboard!

Pick up a portable DVD player with A/V input. They can usually be found new for around $100; I got my latest one on Craigslist for $30. Works great as a signal source for testing as well. And of course, once you're done with the cameras, you then have it for watching movies Just be aware that while almost all portable DVDs have A/V out, not all of them have the input option... just make sure to check the specs to confirm that it does.

Circle of life stuff. Kinda like this: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20080629/BC_Lions_Pounce_On_Eagle_080629/

Then you'll want to worry more about the lens than the camera. Go with a slightly cheaper camera and spend some more on a really high-quality lens - maybe even something rated for 5MP to go with your 2MP camera. There's where you get a trade-off: you can improve DOF by closing down the iris, but that will cost light and require a slower shutter as it gets darker out. So, your best bet is to get an auto-iris lens, and a camera that supports it. Unfortunately all this means your options are dwindling fast... and probably means you're now over-budget. "Variable focal length". Means you can adjust the field of view. DOES NOT mean you can do it remotely in real time; a varifocal lens just makes setup easier and more flexible by allowing you to fine-tune your FOV to your installation. Put something like this in your door?

Okay... go ahead and do it. It will work, really it will. Feel better now? Just because someone said it doesn't make it so, though. Asking on another forum won't make it any more so, either. But... have fun with that. You'll drop your $20... it may or may not work. You could end up spending more money on Aspirin and Rogaine for the headaches and hair-pulling you'll go through fighting with it, than you would have just getting a decent card to begin with.

There are actually a couple of threads here about tube-type CCTV cameras installers have pulled out... shouldn't be hard to find in a search. You could try asking some of those guys if they'd be willing to pass on their paperweights Maybe drop a PM to SEANHAWG as well, he deals in surplus CCTV equipment.

bpzle is right, I didn't clue in that the 241Q is a four-channel unit so I was thinking you still needed analog for the Spectras... however, if the cameras are all going through the Axis, you don't really need a DVR at all... you're already IP-ready, so you're probably better off looking at an NVR (unless you plan to add multiple analog cameras later).

Applying HDTV terms to IP surveillance cameras is done mainly as a marketing ploy; specs like "720p" and "1080p" technically define factors beyond just resolution - aspect ratio and minimum framerates are a part of it. Nevertheless... 1080p in typical widescreen HDTV parlance is 1920x1080 pixels, which actually equates to a hair over 2MP.