Installation was easy as long as you can run the 100' of cable safely. In our case, that was not an issue. I would recommend covering the clear portion of the camera's case when installing to protect it from scuffs. The cover is not especially fragile or scratch prone but you will want to keep it clear and clean for the best possible picture.
Speaking of picture, the Q-See does not disappoint. It's not 1080p hidef but the images are loads better than our previous camera. If anything bad ever does happen we feel safer knowing that the surveillance video will be clear. That is all for daylight. For nighttime, I think the 65' range is maybe a bit exaggerated. It's not that the Q-See won't see at night to 65' it's just that you can't make out any usable details at that range. Maybe 50' is more realistic.
If you are considering this purchase for a commercial installation and already have a DVR or monitor then I don't think you'll find any big surprises. Be aware that if you are purchasing this for home use then the connectors are the type used for mostly commercial devices and your TV may not be able to connect. We installed this ourselves and had everything up and running within an hour. I suggest you perform a test run in your office before running the cable and mounting outside or in a hard to reach place.
The sweep patterns are nice and work as expected, allowing you to monitor large areas automatically. I love the remote control. Not having to use a wired controller is something that I didn't think would be a big deal until I got the remote. Using it from any location in the office has been surprisingly helpful.
Final Verdict:
An excellent product for the price. Night vision could be better but for the price is very acceptable. Easy installation, strong metal case.
I would not hesitate to recommend this product. This camera went up to cover a side lot where there have been a few incidents (usually hit&runs on parked cars and one prowler). The camera I replaced was woefully low resolution and fixed. I'd been considering a new camera but kept thinking I needed something that was HD, 720p or better, but they're all rather expensive, then you really need a HD capable DVR to get the most out of it. So I threw this up in its place to see if there was an improvement. The video quality, while not HD, is very good for an SD feed. The Pan-Tilt-Zoom is responsive and reliable (I've had a lot of issues with that in the past, which gets annoying when you're trying to zone in on a certain image). There hasn't been much activity so I haven't had a reason to mess with it much, but it's satisfactory so far, and like I said, image is great (easily the most important part).
It's a nice sturdy unit, though make sure the dome is protected during installation, I scuffed mine up a little (though it's the side facing the building, so no worries). It mounted very easily with some masonry anchors. The hole pattern was slightly larger than the old one but I was able to run the cabling through the same hole, so thumbs up for that. Hopefully some shenanigans will happen soon in its field of view so I can report back on its effectiveness.
Buy Q-See QD6531Z-K Speed Dome Pan-Tilt Zoom Camera with 3X Optical Zoom and Remote (Grey) Now
This camera replaced an inexpensive one that I thought was adequate but wow what a difference!I use this in a small astronomical observatory to monitor the movements of the telescope which I operate from a remote location. Because of this use I especially needed good dark vision on the camera. This one has it. The ability to move it and zoom remotely is also a great advantage. I found the picture quality to be very sharp in daylight and although it's not quite as good at night it is the best I've seen on any surveillance camera. The focus adjusts quite well in the zoomed out position but not quite perfect in the zoomed in position. I love the presetable positions which makes it possible to move the camera quickly to a previously established view point.
The case as well as mounting bracket are made of cast metal and feel extremely durable. It was easy to assemble and hook up and even comes with a 100 foot cable to complete the job. The only part I had to supply was the cable connector to connect it to the video in port on the TV monitor.
The only feature that I could want that it doesn't have (at least I haven't found it yet) would be the ability to mount the camera in an upside down position so the camera can tilt up instead of down and then flip the image on the monitor so it doesn't show the object upside down. As it is I had to mount it with the best view available for my unusual application and live with the fact that it doesn't pan horizontally because of the way I have it mounted. If it had that feature it would expand it's usability even further.
I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a high quality surveillance camera. It's taken me a while to get this reviewed for several reasons.
Firstly, my local alarm company wanted $600 to install it at my house (I declined by the way)
Secondly, I had no DVR to attach it to, I purchased and recommend Q-See QS494-5 4 Channel H.264 Smart Recording DVR with Pre-Installed 500 GB Hard Drive, Black
Thirdly I wanted an ideal location.
It has two different mounting brackets, that's a good thing, as using the bracket as shown in the main picture would require attaching to a brick wall.
Using the other bracket, it can be located under any roof overhang, the range may be a tiny bit less but it works.
It comes with 100ft of cable for channeling from outside to inside, and that cable carries power and signal.
So what next, well you can attach it to your PC or best and recommended, into a compatible DVR.
It's a lot of work, and you need to spend money probably twice as much again as the unit cost, that's not a complaint, you just need to know that before you buy.
Once it's in, well it's very nice.
It's early days for me so this part of the review is scant, picture, zoom, ability to use with phone, PC, laptop or over a network great.
I guess you could just buy the camera and try and it on it's own, I think you need the other stuff, and a professional installation.
Note when looking for a professional installation, most audio companies also install alarm systems.
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