Soundy

Wonder if you could get an articulated-arm desk lamp and modify it to suit the purpose? Something along these lines: Could even find a used/junked one where the lamp itself doesn't work, and just salvage the arm. This is the same type of mount used for a typical surgical lamp, I believe.

Well, you could stick to cameras and DVRs that DO support Mac... don't give your business to the companies that don't support you. Of course, some remote software will work in a Windows virtual machine on the Mac using something like Fusion or Parallels.

More importantly, if it's 2% milk, what's the other 98%?

Keep in mind that a most bullet cams are just board cams in little metal tubes...

I don't follow... When a domain expires, it remains "on hold" for a period (usually 60 or 90 days, depending on the TLD), during which time you can still renew it and nobody else can "snatch it up". It will often continue to work for upwards of a month after official expiry, via cached DNS entries.

Can you provide screenshots or stills of this effect? It's not uncommon for day/night cameras to switch to night mode and DVRs to show color artifacts in the B&W video.

If you don't need a permanent system - ie. you just want to catch this one person and aren't worried about having camera coverage all the time in your house, I'd go with something like the covert PIR cam as well, such as in the flyonthewall.co.uk link. You might want something that you can plug-in to power just so you're not constantly swapping batteries, but that sort of thing will allow you to pop up a couple of inconspicuous cameras with no additional wiring needed, get the footage you need to prosecute, and then either store the cameras for future use, or sell them off to recoup some of the cost. I've seen similar types of cameras built into all manner of everyday devices - smoke detectors, desktop pencil sharpeners, computer speakers, clocks... the one company whose products we used to use has since vanished from the market, but there are plenty of others out there.

I guess the question is, then, is that noise inherent to the camera, or a result of the recording? Most DVRs use pretty heavy compression because storage time is an important factor; many allow you to adjust the compression/quality balance and even use different codecs, but pretty much all are still using some form of lossy compression. The NLC5700 should give you pretty good output on its own... for a time there, our main fuel-services client was spec'ing NLC5500s for general store views and NLC5700s for the front-door ID shots and anywhere else a higher-quality picture was required or difficult lighting was encountered.

Omniscape does it all internally as well - as I recall, it's a 3MP camera with a 360-degree fisheye lens and integrated DVR.

Hmm, I sense much confusion here... We're talking 64-bit processors and operating systems, and whether capture hardware drivers and recording software is compatible with them. What sort of processors are in the cameras are completely irrelevant; all they need to do is spit out a data stream, and the software needs to be able to decode it.

Most "pro-quality" IP cams will do at least 15fps at 1MP, and some will give you a full 30fps at 2MP. For example: So, you run at 1.3MP, get your full-motion 30fps, and you still have four times the resolution of analog camera.

Arecont makes a 360-degree model - essentially four cameras in one housing, and the images are stitched together internally for a single output. Also, take a look at the Capture Omniscape: http://omniscape360.com/home.htm

Like I said, see if you can track down some used National NLC5700s. They have a rotary switch for selecting your shutter speed in the setup panel. AFAIK there's also a switch for disabling AGC, so the electronics won't be compensating for changing light either. Screw on a standard C-mount or CS-mount lens, and you're good to go.

Yeah, I could go along with that. They're building a system that's going to require completely new cameras, and completely new capture hardware, and it's still going to be limited to ~2MP (assuming they adhere to HDTV spec). The main purpose of megapixel in the first place is to get past current resolution limitations of analog video, so bumping up against another pre-defined limit before you even get started does seem pretty backwards to me. It still won't address issues of poor low-light performance, because that's a limitation of physics and sensor size.

You should be able to order a replacement dome directly from Pelco (or through your local distributor).

Hmm, here again, I'm going to recommend Vigil systems (www.3xlogic.com) - no, I don't work for them, but we use their systems a lot and are very happy with them. They fit all your criteria, and then some... of particular interest to your needs is the fact that the latest version also includes built-in video analytics, which allows far more complex fine-tuning of alarm triggers than simple motion detection (so you're not getting alerts "everytime the wind blows"). They have 16- and 32-channel models and can nicely handle a mix of analog and IP cameras. I'd give more details, but right now I have to head out the door... but if you have any more questions, I'll try to answer them when I get back

Vaporware. They're probably discovering that all the "obstacles" they were hoping to overcome from IP are obstacles to them as well.

Well, Vigil systems fit all your criteria (including the customer-support bit), except probably the price. Not $15000, but you're probably looking in the $4500-$5000 range for a starter DVR - talking an Embedded XP system, supporting 16 cameras, 4CIF at up to 60fps total across all of them. I believe the base systems start with a 500GB hard drive, but being PC-based, it's easy to upgrade with larger internal drive(s), or external drive(s). For data safety, you can even attach external RAID 0/1/5/6/10 systems. Export is to just about any device you can plug in and assign a drive letter - USB hard drive, flash drive, CD, DVD, etc. And no, that doesn't include cameras... bundle packages that do are, IMHO, cheap consumer crap. When security matters, you're better off choosing each camera based on its specific need and purpose, rather than trying to make a bunch of generic one-size-fits-none cameras fit a variety of different situations.

A number of cameras have manual adjustment of the iris drive level, but it's usually achieved through a small adjustment pot on the back or side of the camera... and it won't stop the iris from changing with the lighting conditions, it just sets the "base level" that the auto iris works from; the iris will still adjust according to the light levels. I can't tell from your post if that's what you want or not... if you want it to NOT change on its own, then manual iris is the only way to go. Most CCTV cameras these days that have user-controllable exposure settings do it through on-screen menus... if you're wanting to change settings DURING filming, that might not be desirable. Most of those also require you to do it from buttons ON the camera - that might not be convenient either. A few do have RS-485 serial connections that allow you to access the menus via Pelco D/P protocols, but again, those will display the menus on-screen. The only camera that comes immediately to mind that will let you set shutter speed and exposure via hard switches is the National Electronics NLC-5700. It's an older model, probably not readily available anymore, but if you can find one, it should give you excellent picture. I'm sure there are others that fit the criteria, but they won't be in the majority. The problem you're having finding anything is probably because you're shopping for cheap online sources, and the features you're after aren't normally those of cheap cameras. The other option, if you're not hard-set on analog cameras, is to look at IP cameras. Most will let you adjust and lock exposure and almost all other settings through web-based configuration menus, without those menus being displayed on-screen. Most also don't support auto-iris, but from the sounds of it, you don't want auto-iris anyway. IP cameras also give you the ability to go to megapixel resolutions, handy if you're producing with an eye to HDTV content at the end. With IP, the video format - PAL or NTSC - also becomes irrelevant.

Try any larger auto-parts store or a place that specializes in campers, trailers and RVs.

Field of view is dependent on the lens. More pixels just buy you more detail within that same view. If I had a 4CIF (704x480) capture with the same FOV as that megapixel cam, that center rack of wine bottles would just look like a big black blob in the middle of the frame (keep in mind, BTW, that this shot is taken with a substandard lens on the camera - the proper lens for this job would be even clearer and sharper). Cost. For one, there are situations where the increased quality doesn't offset the increased cost, as the cameras are still more expensive at a relative quality level. Yes, there are $250 megapixel cameras... and there are $25 analog dome cameras. There are also $2500 megapixel cameras and $600 analog cameras. You get what you pay for, in quality, features and performance. Point is, you can't just say "why would I use a $250 analog camera when I can get a $250 MP camera?" because there are other factors than just the resolution to take into account. The above shot, for example, is using an $800 (at the time; that model has come down in price) camera. And while one MP camera CAN replace two or more analog cameras for some purposes, sometimes you simply need more angles, and thus more cameras. This is why it's hard to give specific advice without knowing more about the installation. In the example picture above, the single MP camera would be of more limited usefulness if, say, the wine racks were 8' tall, like some store shelves. In that case, rather than one camera to give you lots of detail for the whole store, you might be better off with individual cheaper cameras peering down each aisle. And finally, more pixels also means more storage - 1.2MP is four times the resolution of 4CIF... and accordingly, the footage can take up to four times the space (and remember, cameras are getting into the 3, 5, 8, even up to 16MP range now). Yes, drives are cheap these days ($120 for 1.5TB, are you kidding me?), but when you start needing a lot of them, the support structure can get pricey. Case in point: we have one client that demands 90 days' retention on all their sites. The first site we did for them, we have 23 analog cameras recording at 4CIF at an average of 4fps, and five 1.3MP cameras at 4fps. The system itself was at its max with 3TB internal, and was holding just barely three weeks(!!!). So we added an external 8-bay network-attached RAID: 8x1TB, RAID5, for about 6.5TB available. Now, with 9.5TB total, they're just barely getting 90 days. The drives were about $110 each at the time... the RAID rack ran around $3000. Bottom line, there is no one perfect camera or DVR for every situation.

I've seen an IQEye IQ753 in use on one site, it works great in night mode. 3MP, too. I think they sell for around $1500... not the BEST, I'm sure, but right up there...

jets: true, but from what little info I found on this unit, I don't think it does FTP. It looks pretty limited.

Little off-topic, but most newer DSLRs (Canon 5D mkII, Rebel XSi 450D, as well as various Nikon offerings and some other less-visible brands) are now including video recording - 1080p and of course, full support for each manufacturer's full line of lenses. BTW, a lot existing semi-pro video gear has interchangeable lenses as well - even 6-7 years ago, the Canon XL-1 MiniDV cameras we were using at the digital-arts school had interchangeable lenses. If you really want modularity, take a look here: http://www.red.com/

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