SECTECH Roadshow’s Camera shootout, which incorporates 8 leading camera brands in each of 3 categories – Best Low Light/All Rounder, Best Compact Entry Dome and Best 4K/5MP – is going to challenge sales and marketing spin, according to professional test targets Norman and Ronnie Rotakin.
The pair told SEN their combined ability to examine sharpness, contrast, colour rendition, face recognition, number plate recognition and motion blur is going to provide a serious test for all 24 cameras at SecTech’s Camera Shootout.
“Last year we got an idea of the challenges of low light but I think the addition of Ronnie Rotakin with his ability to convey blur in real time is going to add another dimension,” said Norman. “Manufacturers and suppliers are going to be pressed by the presence of Ronnie to use real world shutter speeds. We saw motion blur last year but it was not displayed consistently on all inputs throughout each test – things will be a lot different this time around.”
Ronnie Rotakin agreed.
“Blur is the key parameter in dim or low light conditions – it’s all very well to show a tight static scene with a very slow shutter speed but those external environments where you want face recognition of walking pedestrians, recognition of fast moving vehicles, or LPR of slow moving vehicles – that’s where resistance to motion blur is so important.
“Something else I’m really going to be working hard to show at SecTech Camera Shootout this year will be latency and blurring caused by overloaded processors – some cameras are definitely better than others in this area. And I want to examine the way elevated ISO reduces levels of detail and creates further challenges for investigators drilling into scenes with high levels of movement.”
"You can see the softness of high ISO and the blur of 1/6th of a second shutter speed in this image," said Ronnie. "There's just no hiding it, even at f1.8 and with 9 lux at my face."
Norman said he’s pleased to have Ronnie working with him this year.
“I felt last year I wasn’t able to test all aspects of camera performance,” he said. “It was particularly humiliating when some installers in Perth started shouting ‘What about motion blur!’ in the middle of the test. I just stood there, frozen to the spot. This year, between Ronnie and I, the cameras are going to have nowhere to hide.
“It’s bloody exciting, mate," continued Norman, slipping into a slight Estaury accent at odds with his careful hair.
"Seeing 24 cameras in 3 banks on a single test jig will be a real thrill – and the news Canon is planning to bring its 4.5 Million ISO 1080p camera to the Sydney Shootout – Wow! I can hardly wait to see that! The Canon ME20F-SH is so cutting edge very few people in the world have seen it tested objectively in low light.”
Norman and Ronnie heading for a coffee at Reubens in Surry Hills – Norman ordered his usual latte, while Ronnie raised eyebrows when he asked for a short black and white…
Norman said he had come to terms with having a partner at SecTech Camera shootout.
“It’s going to be a more definitive Shootout this year with both of us working together on these 3 key camera categories – I can see that now,” Norman said. “I’m not feeling insecure about my own performance – I’ve been working on a number of different expressions for this year’s shootout to ensure my acting isn't seen as derivative. Anyway, even blind Freddie could see Ronnie’s not a real boy.”
Meanwhile, Ronnie Rotakin urged installers, integrators, consultants and end users serious about camera performance to register here for SecTech Roadshow and to make sure they came along and took a look.
“A camera shootout on this scale, open to everyone in the electronic security industry, asks and answers questions about performance in a way no amount of talk from industry spin doctors ever can," Ronnie said, narrowing his eyes. "This shootout is not something professional video surveillance people should miss – I’m just itching to get the whole thing started.” ♦
