Axis P3344-VE Outdoor Vandal Resistant Dome

This is a class-act professional product. Our application involves the installation of a camera to be used to monitor beach erosion in a harsh environment. The unit was chosen for its wall-mount capabilities (as shown in product images). This is a fixed position camera, it is NOT a Pan-Tilt (AKA PTZ) camera but it does have remote zoom and focus. With the enclosure open, the camera position is manually adjustable. Once the camera position is secured remote zoom is possible, but this action requires manual or automatic focus (two seperate actions; zoom 1st them manually focus or activate automatic focus). Two lenses are available, 6 & 12 mm but we selected the 12 mm lens as we are monitoring objects at a distance > 100 feet. The 6mm lens would likely be better for near field monitoring such as face recognition. Also, this is NOT a wireless camera, nor can that be added internally. An external access point is required for wireless operations (as is the case with our installation). If you have not reviewed the Axis product video at their web-site, you should. It clearly depicts the ease with which this device can be installed. But other aspects of the device are not so clear to someone unfamiliar with these devices. Unlike many network based cameras, this one is capable of stand-alone operation. It does not require a separate computer to act as gateway to Internet access. This unit contains a web-server within it. Access from afar is merely a matter of obtaining proper network settings of both the camera and an external router. Although somewhat complex, the software embedded within the device is truly impressive. Every condition Axis anticipated has been accommodated. For instance the device can be accessed via 2 separate IP numbers and can also be accessed via 2 different port settings. In our configuration, PORT-MAPPING has been selected at the camera and router to facilitate Internet camera access; much like a web-cam. However, within the local network the device responds to queries made via the standard web-browser setting of port 80. If these are foreign concepts to you, then you had better obtain assistance prior to endeavoring to configure one of these cameras on your own. The network settings portion of the menu alone is daunting but extremely thurough. With the camera set at ZERO zoom spherical aberration is observable at the edges of the transmitted image with the 12mm lens. The image is otherwise extremely clear and the colors are accurate. The low light capability of this device is fair without the aid of additional lighting. A multitude of resolutions are selectable for the transmitted image (160x100 to 1280x800 in 20 steps covering aspect ratios of 4:3, 16:9 & 16:10). It is possible to have the device deliver only a single image to guest viewers or a high quality H.264 stream, however we are satisfied with the quality of the MJPEG stream which is selectable from 1 to 30 frames per second (Internet traffic permitting). Security is as strong you like, with multiple user login accounts available with separate levels of access including SSH, HTTPS etc. As is often standard with these devices, many forms of event triggering are accommodated. A hardware input and output can be tied to events as well as activated or monitored remotely. The unit has audio input and output. A user definable window can be assigned within the field of view for the purpose of fine-tuning motion detection and security block-out (no-look) windows are also configurable. This unit is NOT delivered with a power source. The power MUST be supplied via the Ethernet connection (Power-over-Ethernet). A suitable power supply must also be purchased separately. This being an external device, the internal fan and heater require that the PoE power unit be capable of delivering class-3 PoE power. I will strongly consider Axis for my next security/web camera needs.