Recommendations for 360-degree coverage or wide-angle with PTZ for weather observations.

Vio_II

Vio_II

n3wb
Apr 3, 2025
5
0
Trinidad and Tobago
Good day,

Recently I was tasked with researching potential cameras for weather observations with the follow features:
  • 360-degree coverage (or wide-angle with PTZ)
  • Industrial-grade durability (IP65/IP67 or higher)
  • High-resolution imaging (4K preferred)
  • Weatherproof & temperature-resistant
  • Low-light/night vision capability
  • Integration potential with weather monitoring systems

If possible, I would like your top 4 recommendations currently I'm looking at the Ubiquiti Protect G4 PTZ. In terms of budget nothing has really been set in stone yet so feel free to recommend without worrying about budget.
 
Here are a couple threads to my skycam / weather rig that is on my roof.

It uses Empiretech Color4K-T180 cameras. They have held up very well, even through the tornado front we had last night. The only complaint I have is it is not 4k (8MP). It is 2 4MP cameras combined, which they add up to be a 4K resolution. The other issue is the settings apply to both lenses on the camera, so I may have dark sky on one side and light pollution on the other and it is hard to dial in for each "FOV". You may look at the Color4K-T. It is a single lens, full 4K camera. The only issue is you would then need 6-8 of them as the focal lengths are 2.8mm or 3.6mm (3.6mm being 90*).

I put together a sky/roof rig with (4) 180* Color4K cams...

I decided I wanted to see ALL of the things... After some posts on here about weather and watching the sky, and wishing I would have had my own, better footage when a meteorite came down a few months ago..., I figured I would put together my own sky cam rig. And, because I can't just do things...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

Skycam rig finally pays off.

Some of you may remember my post about the last meteorite that fell and was only captured on potatoes. Well, we had another one come down last night, and I got some pretty good captures this time.
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Ri22o said:
Here are a couple threads to my skycam / weather rig that is on my roof.

It uses Empiretech Color4K-T180 cameras. They have held up very well, even through the tornado front we had last night. The only complaint I have is it is not 4k (8MP). It is 2 4MP cameras combined, which they add up to be a 4K resolution. The other issue is the settings apply to both lenses on the camera, so I may have dark sky on one side and light pollution on the other and it is hard to dial in for each "FOV". You may look at the Color4K-T. It is a single lens, full 4K camera. The only issue is you would then need 6-8 of them as the focal lengths are 2.8mm or 3.6mm (3.6mm being 90*).

I put together a sky/roof rig with (4) 180* Color4K cams...

I decided I wanted to see ALL of the things... After some posts on here about weather and watching the sky, and wishing I would have had my own, better footage when a meteorite came down a few months ago..., I figured I would put together my own sky cam rig. And, because I can't just do things...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

Skycam rig finally pays off.

Some of you may remember my post about the last meteorite that fell and was only captured on potatoes. Well, we had another one come down last night, and I got some pretty good captures this time.
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
Click to expand...
I see thank you for the suggestion I'll look into them!
 
Vio_II said:
Good day,

Recently I was tasked with researching potential cameras for weather observations with the follow features:
  • 360-degree coverage (or wide-angle with PTZ)
  • Industrial-grade durability (IP65/IP67 or higher)
  • High-resolution imaging (4K preferred)
  • Weatherproof & temperature-resistant
  • Low-light/night vision capability
  • Integration potential with weather monitoring systems

If possible, I would like your top 4 recommendations currently I'm looking at the Ubiquiti Protect G4 PTZ. In terms of budget nothing has really been set in stone yet so feel free to recommend without worrying about budget.
Click to expand...
What is your budget? Hubble camera's (Wizmind panoramic series) offer a 360° stitched image panoramic and have a PTZ.
There is the Mini Hubble at 16MP panoramic (8MP/4K per 180° ), all the way up to the large Hubble's with 32MP / 8K video.

Or, there is the X-Spans series with a 180° stitched camera and a PTZ.
empiretech01.com

EmpireTech PTZ4E25X-T180 8MP+4MP 25x Starlight TiOC Network Panoramic

Panorama: Outputs 180° wide angle splicing image Detail: 1/2.8"4Megapixel STARVIS™ CMOS 25x optical zoom IR distance up to 100 m Auto tracking 3.0 Smart tracking Perimeter protection Active deterrence Smart dual light +
empiretech01.com empiretech01.com

EmpireTech store is run by our valued member EmpireTech Andy [@EMPIRETECANDY] . If the Dahua product is not available on his store, you should contact him and ask. Andy is very helpful.
 
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Mark_M said:
What is your budget? Hubble camera's (Wizmind panoramic series) offer a 360° stitched image panoramic and have a PTZ.
There is the Mini Hubble at 16MP panoramic (8MP/4K per 180° ), all the way up to the large Hubble's with 32MP / 8K video.

Or, there is the X-Spans series with a 180° stitched camera and a PTZ.
empiretech01.com

EmpireTech PTZ4E25X-T180 8MP+4MP 25x Starlight TiOC Network Panoramic

Panorama: Outputs 180° wide angle splicing image Detail: 1/2.8"4Megapixel STARVIS™ CMOS 25x optical zoom IR distance up to 100 m Auto tracking 3.0 Smart tracking Perimeter protection Active deterrence Smart dual light +
empiretech01.com empiretech01.com

EmpireTech store is run by our valued member EmpireTech Andy [@EMPIRETECANDY] . If the Dahua product is not available on his store, you should contact him and ask. Andy is very helpful.
Click to expand...
Well I don't really have a fixed budget yet but the Ubiquiti I mentioned in my first msg is about 1.8k so we can put the budget at 2k +
I'm mostly in the browsing the market and getting an idea of the overall pricing phase* so I wasn't sure what a good budget would be.

Oh Wizmind I remember finding their brand on my own search so seeing it be recommended makes me feel like I was on the right track. I'll check out the ones you recommended.

The X-Span series and the PTZ seems promising too I'll give em an overview!
 
Last edited:
Vio_II said:
Well I don't really have a fixed budget yet but the Ubiquiti I mentioned in my first msg is about 1.8k so we can put the budget at 2k +
I'm mostly in the browsing the market and getting an idea of the overall pricing so I wasn't sure what a good budget would be.

Oh Wizmind I remember finding their brand on my own search so seeing it be recommended makes me feel like I was on the right track. I'll check out the ones you recommended.

The X-Span series and the PTZ seems promising too I'll give em an overview!
Click to expand...
Keep in mind the PTZ linked is not on the correct sensor for 4MP and, while you can get away with a little more in a non-security use, would potentially not give ideal weather/sky images at night.
 
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Ri22o said:
Keep in mind the PTZ linked is not on the correct sensor for 4MP and, while you can get away with a little more in a non-security use, would potentially not give ideal weather/sky images at night.
Click to expand...
Oh, thank you for the heads up. I never would of notice that, I'd want the weather/sky images to be as best as possible at all hours of the day/night.
 
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