The Illustra Flex 800 from Tyco Security Products distributed locally by QSS, is a 3MP fixed dome Day/Night camera with 15m IR, IP66-rating against weather and IK10 rating against vandalism (outdoor version).
AMERICAN Dynamics Illustra Flex 800 is a capable camera that comes in indoor and outdoor versions has sports a feature set that belies its sharp price. It’s part of the Illustra Flex ranges, which Tyco Security Products’ regional sales manager ANZ, Darren Banks, is a welcome addition to Tyco’s CCTV range.
“We’ve been waiting for the higher resolution versions of the Illustra Flex range and we are very happy to get them,” says Banks. “Illustra Flex is a complete range of PoE IP HD and megapixel internal and external fixed full body cameras and domes in 1 and 3MP versions.
“The Illustra Flex range is not auto focus but the cameras come with alarm inputs and outputs, SD card slot, motion detection, privacy zones, 15m IR. There are all the features here installers tell us they need but not the features installers never use – that means Illustra Flex is well priced.
This Flex 800 we are looking at is a nice camera with some neat design features. The way the bubble and the housing fit together on the dome is very clever.”
According to Banks, the most important thing for installers and end users after image general quality is low light performance and Illustra Flex 800 is true day/night as well as offering IR and software-driven wide dynamic range.
“Illustra Flex cameras come with alarm inputs and outputs, SD card slot, motion detection, privacy zones and 15m IR”
We are taking a look at the Illustra Flex 800 Indoor camera here and because the unit is not set up for a physical demo, this is about specifications and the general look and feel of the unit. For a start, the 3MP Flex 800 offers a big choice of resolutions including, 3.1MP QXGA (2048×1536), 3MP (2304×1296), 1080p (1920×1080), SXGA (1280×960), 720p (1280×720), SVGA (800×600), D1 (720×480), 4CIF (704×480), VGA (640×480) and CIF (352×240).
You can select 2 x H.264 or MJPEG compression (3 streams total) depending on whether image quality or bandwidth are the key issues in a given installation. The key differences between the indoor and outdoor versions are IP66 rating against dust and water, IK10 rating against vandalism and IR illumination for night performance. All other specifications are the same for both cameras.
Flex 800 has a 1/3-inch CMOS imager and a mechanical cut filter supporting its DayNight function. Minimum scene illumination is 0.3 lux @ F1.2 colour and 0.1 lux b/w for the indoor version, while the outdoor version’s integrated 850nm IR gives it monochrome performance down to 0 lux.
There’s selectable backlight compensation, a 3-9mm F1.2 varifocal lens giving a field of view 98/53-degrees wide and 33/19-degrees zoom. White balance can be set to auto of set manually from 2500K~8000K. Along with alarm on motion, there’s an alarm input, an audio input, a BNC video output for a local monitor, There’s digital WDR, 3D digital noise reduction, and 4 privacy zones.
On the network side there’s RJ-45 connector, while supported protocols include IPv4, HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, RTSP/RTCP/RTP, ICMP, UDP, IGMP, DNS, DHCP, ARP, NTP and SMTP. Browsing is with Windows 8, there’s multiple user access levels and an SDHC/SDXC storage card. Meanwhile, power options include 12V DC, 24V AC, PoE 802.3af Class 0 for the indoor and 24V AC, PoE 802.3af Class 0 for the outdoor – consumption for the indoor unit is 7W, while the outdoor camera takes 10.5W.
When it comes to physical specifications, the indoor unit is 125 x 106mm and weighs 0.8kg, while the outdoor camera is 147 x 140.5mm and weighs 1.9kg. The outdoor unit can handle -40 to 50C temperatures while the indoor unit can cope with the same maximum temperature down to 10C. There’s a stack of mounting options for both cameras – flush mount, wall mount, gooseneck arm, corner mount and pole mount.
“The Illustra Flex range gives QSS a solid mix in the affordable part of the market and we are continuing to expand the range,” explains Banks.
“QSS will have an AD Illustra Flex fisheye (hemispheric) camera very soon. Hemispheric cameras with their 360-degree views give a good overview of scene all the time and that makes them excellent in a range of applications.”
Features of Illustra Flex 800 include:
* 1MP or 3MP resolution for HD quality images
* Bandwidth and storage friendly
* True Day/Night (TDN) functionality for a colour image
* 3DNR for sharper images, lower bandwidth in low light
* 15m IR illuminators (Outdoor only)
* Motion detection for instant alerts of intruders
* IP66-rated against dust and water damage (Outdoor only)
* IK10 vandal-resistant housing (Outdoor only)
* A stack of mounting options
* ONVIF 2.2 profile S compliant.
By John Adams
“There are all the features here installers tell us they need but not the features installers never use – that means Illustra Flex is well priced”
