Fisheye virtual PZT and linux client

T

TimJWatts

n3wb
Sep 29, 2014
16
3
Hi,

I'm interested in the fisheye 180 degree fixed dome cameras, the ones that give you the ability to do a virtual pan/tilt with the view dewarped.

However, does anyone know of any makes that work seamlessly with linux based browsers (firefox, chrome etc) and don't rely on funky MS Windows plugins?

So I guess this would mean the virtual dewarped image would have to be processed by the camera CPU...

For such a camera to be any use to me, it would also need to be able FTP (or equiv) a number of fixed viewpoint images to a remote server.

Does anyone make cameras like that? Or shall I give up now? :onthego:

I've been through the Axis manuals on their range of fisheyes and nowhere does it suggest a linux client works (I say "works" rather than "supported").

I'm after some home security and it's either this, a motorised PZT or several fixed cameras. I started down the 3rd choice and just threw a D-Link DCS-2210 back to the vendor (good old English online selling laws :) because it was such an abysmal piece of junk in almost every way possible.

Thanks folks!
 
I think some fisheye cameras can stream dewarped camera views but probably not as conveniently as you want.

Either way they aren't nearly as good for security as you might think. With that massive field of view the detail resolution sucks further than a few feet out so you may as well be installing Foscams. One good fisheye is probably $400+ and for that price you can buy 3 or 4 multi-megapixel fixed cams that will give you similar coverage with much higher detail and better compatibility.

Similarly, one good PTZ is $600+. It is only as effective as a single fixed camera unless you get auto-tracking or combine it with other cams to automatically turn to point at areas with motion.

In almost all cases you are better off with fixed cameras.
 
Thanks bp :)

Got any recommendations for small profile fixed cams, indoor, POE wired. Looking for good resolution and night modes, 720p min, 1080p nice :)

Again, linux and good auto-send of images to server (or a simple API which will let me pull them with a perl script - done that before with an Axis PZT).

Obviously not a DLink as their web interface sucks rocks through straws and the image quality sucks more.

Cheers :)

Tim
 
Anything in Hikvision's 1.3 and 3 MP camera lineup. Take note the 2112 and 2132 domes are only 2-axis adjustable so they need to be mounted on horizontal surfaces.

You can pull jpeg images at 1 FPS off Hikvision cameras, or you can have them send motion clips to NFS servers I believe.
 
Hikvision - OK, thanks bp. I had passed those guys over as a "no name" (well, I've not seen their gear before). I'll check their models out.

Thanks for the pointer! :)
 
Yeah I understand. There are so many brands. The reason you haven't seen Hikvision though is they don't market to consumers like D-Link and friends do. Dahua is another good one but they are more ... Chinese ... than Hikvision which can be irritating at times.
 
Yup. Axis is still a good brand too but way too expensive now that there are affordable alternatives that aren't crap.
 
When you are looking for a place to buy your cams, you have some options.

You can search on aliexpress.com (only buy from a well rated seller) for the best price. The Hikvision cams from here will be Chinese version cameras but they usually come pre-hacked to have English language in their web interfaces. No warranty from these sellers.

You can find them a bit more expensive from Amazon.com with amazon fulfillment even, but again they are probably Chinese version and the warranty is probably non-existent.

Best option if you want a warranty is to find a seller based in the USA that offers a warranty such as Nelly's Security, Wrightwood Surveillance, or LTS via milkisbad here on this forum.
 
Thanks again :)

I should stress, I'm English and living in England. This is quite handy as English (and Welsh) law allows online purchases to be returned without question within 14 days (only penalty is I pay the return cost). This is very handy for taking a risk with things like IP Cams where you really need to see the item to be sure. It's one of the few good laws we have :)

Amazon is then usually the best bet due to the complete ease of this type of return (tape up box, stick their label on, drop by collection point), though we do have a few other suppliers who make it easy.

But it's good to know that I might be able to get a 2nd or 3rd identical model direct from China via aliexpress or ebay - something I would have no problem with...

OK - off to check out the Hikvision range...
 
Yeah I'd have no idea who offers warranties that are fulfilled over there, so Amazon is probably a good bet if they have good prices.
 
if you have aspirations for a real PTZ go with Dahua; they are the PTZ Pro's.

It all comes down to preference, I see a giant list of features the Hikvision's have that the Dahua's dont... and then tons of threads about how buggy those features are or how they dont work at all... where as my Dahua cameras dont need any firmware updates, because well all my firmware features worked perfectly out of the box... Dahua also has much better MacOSX Support which will translate into better Linux support whereas Hik dont care about much more than Windows.

Hikvision and Dahua both make great cameras that take great videos, there is however enough difference between them its not a great idea to mix and match them.
 
bp2008 said:
Yeah I'd have no idea who offers warranties that are fulfilled over there, so Amazon is probably a good bet if they have good prices.
Click to expand...

Just for completeness, everything (sold to consumer, rather than a business) has to have some sort of minimum guarantee thanks to common EU regulation.

But some companies make it easy and some are a right PITA if you actually have to claim on a warranty!

This gets buggered up if you buy direct from China (which of course is outside the EU) as you become the importer so in effect you supply your own warranty! Same applies for me buying direct from the USA, but I fancy my chances more of getting satisfaction by ringing the USA supplier over a random Chinese bloke (I have been down this road a few times).

But for low risk items it's generally OK.
 
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Dahua - OK will check out those guys too... Ta :)

I like the phrase: "all my firmware features worked perfectly out of the box"

I have so much experience with buggy shit (internet routers, mobile phones, you name it). It never gets fixed, at least seldom in a timely manner.

I'd go for "basic but quality and solid" over "6 million features". As long as there's some way to program an image transfer off the unit by push or pull, I can do what I need at the server end.
 
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