Amid budget constraints, end users constantly look for ways to “do more with less” with their security equipment, and multisensor cameras, those with multiple lenses housed in a single unit, can be an ideal solution.
Amid budget constraints, end users constantly look for ways to “do more with less” with their security equipment, and multisensor cameras, those with multiple lenses housed in a single unit, can be an ideal solution.
End user entities, especially large enterprises, typically encompass multiple areas. These include lobbies, elevator vestibules, hallways, meeting rooms and parking lots. There are also industrial areas such as loading docks and warehouses. To have all these places covered, a large number of cameras are needed, and inevitably that will add to the company’s cost. This is where multisensor cameras can come in handy and save end users money.
Take a parking lot, for example. In the past, pan-tilt-zoom cameras were used to cover a parking lot 600 feet wide, but it was often the case that the camera didn’t capture the area where incidents occurred. A better solution would be to deploy four 5-megapixel cameras that would leave no blind spots. But in terms of cost, that could be tremendous.
“With four individual 5MP cameras, you can cover a 600-foot-wide parking lot with good pixel density. The four cameras appear to cover the lot completely and satisfy your requirement,” said David Owen, President of OCOM Sales, in a webinar held by Arecont Vision. “This will require four cameras, four cable runs, four PoE ports, and four license fees. The total would be a list price of approximately US$6,400.”
With a multisensor camera with four 5-megapixel sensors, that changes everything, bringing the cost down significantly. “This layout will require one camera, one cable run, one PoE port, and one license fee, making it less expensive, and cost saving is gained without losing 5-megapixel quality,” Owen said.
The individual sensors could be selected and arranged based on the user’s needs. In one example, a hospital uses a multisensor camera with four 3-megapixel sensors: one with a 2.8-millimeter lens, one 8 millimeters, and two 16 millimeters. The sensors can be independently placed in any orientation around a circular track. The wide-angle lenses are used to cover the lobby and front entrance areas, while the tele-focal lenses are for two hallways. According to Owen, the solution replaced the hospital’s former single 3-megapixel camera that was not able to cover the hallways. In the process, the facility was able to do more with less and gain more value for the money spent.
OCOM Sales is a partner of Arecont Vision. Among other companies with multisensor cameras are Axis, with its P3707-PE and Q3708-PVE cameras; and Dallmeier, whose solution was deployed at a famous German racetrack.