Bowling Center

[mike300 0]

Hi. Can anyone suggest a good camera to use in a bowling center? Cameras will be positioned at the bar and front desk to cover employees, and general customer areas. Lighting levels will vary greatly. Color would be preferred. Also, I'm trying to spend less then $300 per camera including lens.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[MetzLyov 0]

Mike,

 

I will suggest Mini-Dome cameras with hi res color cameras and varifocal lenses. I know that you can save at least 1/3 of the cost number that you may have budgeted with such hardware. Besides, with 3 years warranty, you can never go wrong...

 

We have done several bowling centers and they worked out great. Did you know that if you have the proper coverage in your location covering every isle, the cash area and the game areas, your insurance rates will drop at least 25%?? The gotcha is that you should have a solid equipment and covering every corner of this business...

 

Last few jobs we did, we installed 14 Mini-Domes inside of the building and 2 outdoor cameras to protect their parking areas... From liability stand point, you also are responsible for any problems that occur within your property, therefore insurance companies are very much interested to have such coverage. I have seen in one instant that an insurance company actuall paid 50% of the overall costs of the project, therefore explore that opportunity...

 

Hope this helps.

 

Levon

[VST_Man 1]

ceilings! i use dome vari's on high ceilings so that i can pull the picture in and regular domes on 8ft. ceilings. also use vari's to capture specific "views". otherwise, go with regular low light high res domes. in area's where it might get slammed......go bullet proof. outdoors....go high res low light, position the camera's so that you use any available lighting. if not lighting.....recommend it be installed. IR is only good if you go extreme (Rory style) and that becomes costly real quick. any covert camera's? that's usually a great selling point also. Office, cash registers, ect.

[MetzLyov 0]

The minidomes that I am referring to also comes with a pendent mount kit for being able to install in an open ceiling by dropping down a 3/4" pipe. It is made by Ganz and here is the product information:

 

http://reliablecctv.com/alt_pdfs/COMPUTAR%20ZC-D6039NHA%20Indoor%20Fixed%20Dome%201-3%20Inch%20Color%20hi%20res%20dome%203-9mm%20AI.pdf

 

This minidome comes with 3 years warranty and delivers all the goods from functinality stand point and provides excellent picture quality.

[DataAve 0]

Ganz is coming out with some super schtuff.

[mike300 0]

Thanks for the info. Could someone explain the pros/cons of dome cameras versus traditional cameras? From reading past posts, it looks like everything else being equal you can always expect a better picutre from a regular camera versus a dome. Is this the case?

 

Are there other advantages of dome cameras besides cosmetics and concealing camera pointing position? In my case with this bowling center, cosmetics are not all that important - I could go either way with domes or regular cameras. Also, in this case the light levels will vary greatly because of cosmic bowling when the lights are turned off and blacklights come on. Is this lighting consideration a factor in using or not using domes?

 

Any help is apprecitated. Thanks.

[MetzLyov 0]

Mike, costs are always a major consideration when you are comparing high res color cameras, the lens and the mounting hardware vs. Mini-Domes. Also, the ease of installation and maintenance is even simpler (in case of Mini-Dome there are no replacement parts).

 

It is not true that you can get a better picture resoution using conventional fixed cameras vs. Mini-Domes. It all depends if you are using brand name products vs. cheapo crap from second or third tier manufacturers...

 

Additional advantages using Mini-Domes are that you can install them flash or surface mount or pendent configurations. That will be very difficult to match with conventional cameras, as mounting hardware will make the overall package even more expensive (in case of pendent that is)...

 

It may be true that cosmetics is not that important, however the ease of installing and using Mini-Domes and making adjustments or later moving and re-installing makes it even more attractive option.

 

As for variance of lighting conditions, well that can play a role in the overall picture quality. If you are selecing high res color cameras, regardless if you choose between conventional fixed cameras vs. Mini-Domes, you may not have sharp pictures.... That is when you may need fixed cameras with wide dynamic range features, that will give you up to 32 different sensitivity adjustment capability, thus allowing to adjust areas in the picture to be more sensitive to light vs. other areas of the same picture... Probably the most cost effective wide dynamic range cameras in the market are from Ganz ZC-Y30NH4 that deliver the goods

 

Normally, you can mix and match going between both types of cameras - the areas where you have constant light, stick with Mini-Domes (and save money), whereas the areas that do not have good lighting conditions or fluctuation of lights (more lights in one area of the picture and less light on a different area of the same picture) then consider using high res color cameras with wide dynamic range option. Just make sure that you get a varifocal autoiris lens that will give you the option to adjust your viewing area to meet your expectations...

 

As for outdoor package, dependent where you are located, you may need camera housing with heater or blower and then a day/night camera with a good lens to optain best possible pictures. OR, you can choose vandal resistent outdoor Mini-Dome with day/night camera built in along with varifocal autoiris lens...

 

Last note, never settle for any CCTV equipment that comes with less than 3 years exchange warranty....

 

Levon

[rory 0]

Domes are useful for cosmetics, and when you dont want anyone to be able to easily mess with the camera.