Sricam AP004 Zoom and Preset Problems

[Ozzy]

A single click of the + or - zoom control on the AP004 UI web interface causes the camera to zoom totally in or totally out, leaving the camera completely out of focus. However, doing the same through Blue Iris performs an increment step zoom (also leaving the camera out of focus). So, how is it that Blue Iris can do incremental zoom, but the provided Web User Interface can't ?
Also, neither Blue Iris nor the Web UI save the pan and tilt position in the camera presets. Presets seem to only save the zoom and focus values - not very useful.
Web UI version:18.0.0.03
The sricctv.com site does not list any firmware upgrades and all emails to tech support go on deaf ears.
Apart from these problems, the camera performs well for its price - clear images and good night vision.

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum. Blue iris cannot perform any preset function that the camera itself cannot do when using the cameras webserver...try to see of the seller has better firmware...

 

[Ozzy]

Welcome to the forum. Blue iris cannot perform any preset function that the camera itself cannot do when using the cameras webserver...try to see of the seller has better firmware...

OK, I bought the Sricam from ebay, so I was hesitant to ask technical questions of the reseller. This is why I went back to the supplier (sricctv.com) for advice. However, since they did not respond, I went back to the reseller, who guided me back to the supplier.
Having become a little dizzy, I decided to go right back to basics and assume that I knew nothing about anything technical. Instead of logging into the camera via its web interface, I downloaded and installed AP camera software from
http://www.sricctv.com/en/service/download/105.html
rather than using software provided with camera on CD.
After several hours of Windows 7 incompatibilty problems, I managed to get the "Device Viewer" program working which solved both the incremental zoom and the positional preset problem. Now Blue Iris will pan to the preset settings and can now also be used to reset them.
Conclusion: the provided Web User Interface was not compatible with the device firmware for zoom control and management of presets and should not be used. Instead, use the "Device Viewer" software from the Sricom site to initially setup the camera.

 

[Ozzy]

Well, call me sucker if you will, but I went and purchased another AP004 from the same ebay seller (its a nice cheap camera) and guess what ?
All my problems vanished. Incremental zoom works fine with the web interface and the camera actually auto-focuses when zooming.
The difference is in the firmware versions.

Camera - 1
Device firmware version: 26.8.65.27
Web UI firmware version:18.0.0.03

Camera – 2
Device firmware version: 26.8.65.34
Web UI firmware version:18.0.0.04

There are no firmware downloads on http://www.sricctv.com, so I emailed tech@sricctv.com to ask for the latest firmware version.
I wait with abated breath.

 

[Ozzy]

I didn't have to hold my breath for long. The following is a reply from tech@sricctv.com

Firstly ,Thank you very much for using our camera. the older firmware version has the diffrent hardware(the lens board) ,so it can't update the firmware to fix it ,it will broken the camera.
If there's anything else I can do for you on/regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Have a nice day !

In other words, its broke and they can't fix it - great !

 

[camjim]

Hey Ozzy, I purchased a couple of the Sricam AP004 cameras as well. I also purchased from an ebay seller. Both of my cameras have 26.8.65.27 firmware and the 18.0.0.03 Web UI. I knew they were manual focus and I had read several comments saying it was a pain to focus the camera after zooming in or out. However, I found that with BlueIris I could fast click on the zoom buttons and step the electronic focus and get it refocused pretty quickly after the zoom. Blueiris is great software and makes a lot of camera functions easier that the IE software etc. In any case I still have an issue where while I am panning or during the zooming I go out of focus which makes functions like patrolling not useful. I have been trying to get knew firmware from Sricctv.com tech support but they tell me that there is no newer firmware that can be used in my camera. Now after reading your post I think I understand why. It appears that they must have put a new lens board into the camera that now has autofocus and the new firmware versions you mentioned are compatible with the new lens board but not with our older models. In my searching for answers to the focus issue I found out that there is a new version of the AP004 that has auto focus and some other new features like 10X zoom etc. It is called the AP004B and it is on the Sricam website now. After reading your post I am wondering if I can just get another AP004 but one that has the new lens board and newer firmware and Web UI. I would have to have a way to be sure I am getting the right version when I order it. Can you give me the name of the seller and tell me if you think I can contact the seller ad tell him I only want the newer version? It's good to have someone to talk to about my Sricam AP004 issues. I really like the camera but it is hard to get information.

 

[fenderman]

Hey Ozzy, I purchased a couple of the Sricam AP004 cameras as well. I also purchased from an ebay seller. Both of my cameras have 26.8.65.27 firmware and the 18.0.0.03 Web UI. I knew they were manual focus and I had read several comments saying it was a pain to focus the camera after zooming in or out. However, I found that with BlueIris I could fast click on the zoom buttons and step the electronic focus and get it refocused pretty quickly after the zoom. Blueiris is great software and makes a lot of camera functions easier that the IE software etc. In any case I still have an issue where while I am panning or during the zooming I go out of focus which makes functions like patrolling not useful. I have been trying to get knew firmware from Sricctv.com tech support but they tell me that there is no newer firmware that can be used in my camera. Now after reading your post I think I understand why. It appears that they must have put a new lens board into the camera that now has autofocus and the new firmware versions you mentioned are compatible with the new lens board but not with our older models. In my searching for answers to the focus issue I found out that there is a new version of the AP004 that has auto focus and some other new features like 10X zoom etc. It is called the AP004B and it is on the Sricam website now. After reading your post I am wondering if I can just get another AP004 but one that has the new lens board and newer firmware and Web UI. I would have to have a way to be sure I am getting the right version when I order it. Can you give me the name of the seller and tell me if you think I can contact the seller ad tell him I only want the newer version? It's good to have someone to talk to about my Sricam AP004 issues. I really like the camera but it is hard to get information.

Welcome to the forum..I would not reward a company that sold you a defective camera by purchasing another camera from them in hopes that it will be better...
What are you using the ptz function for?

 

[camjim]

Hi and thank you for the welcome. I have several cams installed around my house. I use a PTZ camera on each corner so I can use one camera to view two sides of the house and zoom only when I need to take a closer look at something. I mostly use the pan and tilt functions. I guess one point I was trying to make in my post was that when I purchased the Sricam AP004 I knew from the specs that it did not have auto focus so I would not say it was a defective camera. It was just missing a feature that I did not consider important but once I put the camera in use I wish it did have the autofocus. Using Blue Iris it makes the task of getting the focus back after a zoom much easier because I can just pulse the focus a couple of times. As I mentioned the newer AP004B model is being released with autofocus but it appears that Sricam may also be including the newer lens board in their older AP004 model at this point. If I can get the older model with the newer lens board and firmware etc that Ozzy mentioned that would be good for me.

 

[fenderman]

Hi and thank you for the welcome. I have several cams installed around my house. I use a PTZ camera on each corner so I can use one camera to view two sides of the house and zoom only when I need to take a closer look at something. I mostly use the pan and tilt functions. I guess one point I was trying to make in my post was that when I purchased the Sricam AP004 I knew from the specs that it did not have auto focus so I would not say it was a defective camera. It was just missing a feature that I did not consider important but once I put the camera in use I wish it did have the autofocus. Using Blue Iris it makes the task of getting the focus back after a zoom much easier because I can just pulse the focus a couple of times. As I mentioned the newer AP004B model is being released with autofocus but it appears that Sricam may also be including the newer lens board in their older AP004 model at this point. If I can get the older model with the newer lens board and firmware etc that Ozzy mentioned that would be good for me.

Generally, if you are not going to man the camera 24/7 you are way better off with two fixed cameras vs 1 ptz...this way you can have the entire area covered 24/7...the sricams are really bottom barrel and you can do much better...

 

[Ozzy]

G'day there camjim.
I too like the AP004. For the price, it has good clear image and great night vision. I also have some PTZ Wanscam cameras with lower quality optics, no zoom, no focus, poor night vision and which go offline frequently and l thought that this is what to expect of cheap cameras. However the later version AP004 with auto-focus is really very good in this price range.
I purchsed both cameras from ebay supplier called newyorker about 4 weeks apart. They are comparitively good with communication and will relay your concerns back to the supplier.
Let us know if you have success in flushing out the later version camera. I may even be tempted to buy another one if you are successful.

 

[camjim]

Thanks for your reply. I actually just sent a pm to you and we must have been typing at the same time. Ok I will contact the ebay seller and see if he is able to send me the newer version of the camera. I agree, you just can't beat the price for the features you are getting.