High performance 12x Zoom PTZ CCTV Camera - 700TVL Sony Effio-E - 5-60mm Dynamic Optical Varifocal Lens - Pelco B/D

This is one of the best standard definition CCTV cameras I have installed recently. The well-established and popular EFFIO-E chipset guarantees good sensitivity and a wide range of picture control options, the 12:1 zoom is very good and maintains centre well, the auto focus is brilliant (if a little bit slow), and the pan and tilt motors do exactly what one wants.The lens is a great improvement on that in my  Swann PRO750 PTZ camera . It is very sharp and focuses well, both by manual control or, as I have left it, on Auto. It does not seem to penalise the camera with too much loss of sensitivity in low light (but I have optimised the camera settings quite a lot compared with the defaults). The geometry fidelity is excellent when considering what a wide range the zoom covers. The excellent 12x lens is the specific reason I chose this camera instead of buying another PRO750.The pictures are super, even in low light when it switches over to monochrome. There is no IR LED supplementary lighting on this camera, but the sensitivity is good enough on my sample that normal street lighting or bright full-moonlight is just about adequate. But, if there is neither street lighting nor full moon then PIR activated lamps will definitely be needed for observing miscreants up to no good in the dark.The EFFIO-E on-screen menu system is comprehensive and offers a wide range of control, all that is needed. Just remember that for the usual 'Enter' function you actually need to select the 'Open Iris' button and not the Enter. I did need to tweak the settings a bit to optimise the low-light pictures.The leaflet that comes with the camera uses peculiar English and is full of typos, and could be a lot better, but it still makes sense after a while, and it refers to a remote control that is not part of the kit of bits supplied for this camera, however it does happen to match the remote control that came with the RS485 controller in my Swann PRO750 kit (result!).To use this camera the following items will be required.1. A PTZ control cable carrying 12V on a 5.5/2.1mm power connector, a BNC video cable, and a balanced pair for RS485. I used this excellent three-in-one  Swann 15metre cable . Do not use the widely available cheap CCTV Power/Video/Audio cables, chances are they will not let the RS485 work because of not enough separate wires in the cable.2. An RS485 controller. I use the Swann DVR8-4000 recorder in the installation, but for testing I also have a small standalone controller that came with the Swann PRO750 camera kit, both work well with the camera. I have the camera set up using its default protocol of Pelco D and use 9600 baud.3. A monitor and/or recorder. I first tested the camera with my 40" TV and also a waveform monitor to check everything was to standard.4. A 12V DC regulated power supply. I'm actually sharing one power supply between the DVR and several cameras using a  splitter lead .Power consumption on my sample is as normal for this chip-set at about 80mA, but the Pan, Tilt, Zoom and Focus motors add more demand depending on how fast their operation has been set at; anything from less than 30mA for one motor on slow to more than 250mA for the lot going quickly to an automated Pre-set view. I've left it on the slowest PTZ speed settings and auto-focus for a worst case motor current of about 100mA on top of the camera power. Over a year 80mA (ie 1Watt) will cost about a pound on a normal 13p electricity tariff.The mountings and camera chassis are solid castings with a thick coat of paint, and should withstand the weather well. My box of camera bits was missing the circular top bracket (needed to fix it up under the eaves on a corner, and not on a wall), but the suppliers (Aban) sent me one by return when I contacted them through Az. Excellent service.Mounting it was fiddly, and it was just as well I rehearsed the fitting in the comfort of indoors before going up a ladder to mount it under the eaves, because the three connectors to meet the extension cable will not pass through the hole in the mounting. It is a bit stressful unplugging the very delicate tiny connector on the top of the camera; again do this indoors, in comfort with warm fingers and a couple of very small screwdrivers to gently, gently lever the ears of the fragile tiny plug to ease it out from the fragile socket - DON'T pull on the ever-so-thin wires.I specifically chose a wired camera for two reasons; 1. I've experienced far too many problems in the past with unreliable 2.4GHz signal reception from previous wireless cameras, 2. the 12V power is easily accessible indoors, local to the recorder, and could be a battery-maintained system if required. These make the extra hassle of routing the cable well worth while.Overall, I am delighted with the camera. Recommended.

*Mounting - Easy*Setting up - EasyMounting the camera is fairly easy given it's small size and light weight compared to some PTZ cameras. You might want to use some better screws than the toy town ones provided though.Setting up is easy with a DVR given when you boot it up it displays it's stats on screen; no dip-switches to check out. Other settings are also easy to access.This camera is not bad at all for the money, you get decent zoom, and in full daylight it's OK except it takes ages to focus on a target.At night the low light capability of this camera isn't all that good, and infra-red sensitivity is poor compared with my other all singing all dancing PTZ camera, which itself isn't perfect. What I do like about this is the ability to set up the pan and zoom speed of this camera, this way it works better with DVRs than some more expensive products.

Installation a bit complicated as the instruction sems a poor translation in elnglish. Also it refer to a remote which was not included, luckily the CCTV DVR controller manages to control the camera

Looked arroud for some while at other units for sale and eventually plumped on this one as the reviews looked favourable.Not disappointed - camera is very good! Connects to my CCTV dvr easily and set up of the RS485 ptz control was a doddle (left it on the default settings - Pelco D & 9600 baud) Just make sure you connect the two RS485 wires the right way round!On Screen Settings of the camera are very comprehensive - the provide instruction guide only shows the basic settings - I had to manually draw the full map out myself to fully understand how the menu system was structured. Note: Access to the full menu is only really necessary if you want to tweak the camera to find its limits!I intend to use this in rear garden which does not have any additionl lighting so have paired this unit with a separate IR Flood Light! Together they provided me with an excellant image (albeit Black & White).I also need a further camera for the front garden & driveway - other reviewers have said this works ok with street lights but in my case the image was not very clear! Not sure if I am happy with having both a camera and a IR Flood Light on display!If your area is well lit then you should have no problems.

Not as good as what I thought it would be.!Terrible picture in darkness.

This looks like a great PTZ for the money. Good picture and although I haven't dared to take it apart seems well built. Would be good to have some more info on the advert such as type of gearing for the PTZ mechanism but i may of missed it somewhere. Overall a well priced piece of kit and I shall be buying 2 more - but direct from their site.Check out here [...]

Purchased this to replace a Swann version that only had a 3x zoom. The picture quality is amazing and having 12x zoom is perfect for my needs. The low light capabilities are OK, not as good as the Swann version but I have plenty of lights which help.If you are new to PTZ cameras then you will need either an RS485 controller or compatible DVR to control it as in this box you only get the camera. I used a Swann RS485 controller and DVR linked together so that I can control via my smart phone.Great buy, very pleased. Oh and it arrived in just 2 days!