Camera K3911 is a new generation IP camera which Compucon has taken a lot of time to test or verify its features and performance levels.  The most unique feature of this camera is its 180 or 360 degrees vision depending on how we define the angle.  If we mount the camera on the ceiling of a hall or office, it will see the entire space and this is 360 degrees looking down from a point on the ceiling.  If we mount the camera on a side wall of the hall or office, it will see the space in front of it but not behind it.  This is 180 degrees.  While ceiling installation serves some purposes such as in a restricted space (such as in a bank lobby), wall mounting would give the user better coverage of a good quality.  We will explain this a bit further below.  Also, the centre of the image is normally the focus.  When we mount the camera on a wall, we should tilt the camera slightly towards the floor at human height level.  Therefore, we recommend a wall mount base with a 15 degrees tilt angle.

The second key feature of this camera is its 4MP (megapixel) resolutions.  Images can be taken at 2030 x 1920 and 6fps (frames per second) or 1920 x 1080 and 12fps.  The maximum resolutions are 3 times of 1.3MP IP camera and 9 times of standard analogue camera on VGA (800 x600).  However, we do not recommend paying total reliance on resolutions for clarity.  This camera will not be as good as 3x 1.3MP or 9x VGA cameras because the edge of the image is distorted in the same way as we press the Earth onto a sheet of paper.  The central part of the image is best and can be used for facial recognition but the edge would be good for providing the state of affairs only.  As such this camera model is priced for 1.5 times of a 1.3MP camera of equivalent quality and features.

This camera has an automatic Infrared Filter cut-off mechanism for improving the quality of the image when the illumination conditions of the space being watched are not good.  It will stay capturing images in colour down to 2Lux (this is a pessimistic estimation than 1.6Lux the manufacture specified), and turned the image to black and white until 0.5Lux which is pretty dark (manufacturer specified 0.06Lux).  It will respond to infrared illumination if it exists.  However, it does not have built-in infrared emitters in the camera.  Also it does not have passive IR detector tuned for human body temperature.   We tested it with an external IR illuminator in total darkness, and the camera did record the surrounding clearly in black and white.

This camera is equipped with a Micro SD card for storage of images in the camera.  We will test this feature soon to confirm how well it works. 

Since the resolutions of the image are so high, the bandwidth of transmission will be high and the storage requirements will be high.  Certainly we will apply Motion Detection to reduce the loading on transmission and storage.  We have to select the specific areas within the fisheye view for motion detection or else we would expect high traffic if we consider the entire view as one area.  This camera supports a breakdown to up to 6 smaller areas and this helps.  Also, this camera supports recording of a single area which has detected motion and not the entire view.  This latest feature will reduce loading on transmission and storage very substantially.  We will test this feature soon to confirm how well it works.

There is yet another feature of the camera not commonly present.  It is called privacy mask.  We can mask off up to 4 areas of the view for privacy reasons, and applied red, green, blue or black to each mask for ease of identity. 

The most powerful feature of this model CAK-3911 is the Motion Detection Preset mode. By this mode it is possible to let the camera capture and stream out only the region that is currently activated by a moving object. As the object moves around the room, the camera will be able to track the person by switching the view automatically according to the location of the moving object.  (Note: This paragraph is a design feature.  We will test and verify it in July 2012)
 

Key Features   

• 1/2.5” Progressive Scan CMOS
• Day and night function with mechanical IR cut filter
• Minimum illumination 0.05 lux at F2.8
• 180°/360° panorama and ePTZ view
• Built-in f1.05 mm / F2.8 Megapixel Fisheye lens
• 6 fps at 2032 x 1920 resolution
• Selectable H.264, MPEG-4 SP, MJPEG compressions with dual streaming
• Up to 6 cropped regions as independent channels
• Two-way audio
• Video motion detection
• Digital input and digital output
• SDR (Superior Dynamic Range)
• 2D+3D Digital Noise Reduction
• Powered by PoE Class 3 / DC 12V