CARTAWICK DESIGN

5 out of 5 star review

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I have three copies of this camera and they seem to be of good quality, and have been reliable so far - with one exception: Six of the IR LEDs stopped working in the most recent one that I purchased - right at the 30-day mark. Even so, the illumination still is fairly strong. (I have seen this sort of failure with many other IR illuminators, either of the stand-alone type or integral in cameras. Apparently, there is some inherent design issue with this type of illuminators, that frequently leads to partial failures).

Some of this camera's notable characteristics and their pros/cons are:

* The most obvious characteristic is the overall silver color of the housing (where many cameras are finished in black). The silver color tends to make the camera quite conspicuous - especially if the sun or other spot light source glints off of it. This can be a pro or a con, depending on the intended use: Being conspicuous can help it serve as a deterrent to crime. On the other hand, if semi-covert surveillance is desired, this conspicuous camera probably isn't suitable (unless the surroundings of the mounting site happen to be silver-colored, or at least lighter colored).

* The IR illumination is quite strong, and easily illuminates an area of up to 75'-100' adequately for the camera to "see" well in the dark. This may be a disadvantage for some applications, though, because the intense illumination tends to "over-expose" areas that are closer than 50' or so from the camera, causing the nighttime image to be rather "washed-out". So, these cameras may be more suited for use in larger areas than for close quarters.

* The image from all of my cameras is somewhat out-of-focus in the 50'-100' range. It's not clear whether the focus can be adjusted (and I have not been able to reach the seller to inquire about this). This lack of sharpness is a bit annoying, although not a major problem in my application - but it could be a problem in applications that hope to identify criminals, read license plates, etc.

* The color rendition during daylight mode seems to be generally accurate.

* The top visor can be adjusted about 1-1/2" front to back, unless the top mounting hole is being used (which restricts the positioning of the visor). The visors on my cameras all fit somewhat loosely, which may allow them to shift a bit over time due to wind, vibrations, etc. It might be possible to snug them up by bending the sides towards each other a bit, but I didn't try it for fear of cracking the extrusion.

* As indicated above, the mounting stem can be inserted vertically either at the top or bottom rear of the camera, allowing some flexibility in mounting arrangements. However, many cameras (including other JOOAN models) have the "top" mounting hole in the back end of the camera rather than on top. Having the hole in the upper rear of the camera allows the camera to be mounted closer to any overhead obstruction (such as a ceiling, etc.) than would be the case with the top mounting hole on this camera, which needs 1" or more between the top of the camera and any overhead obstruction. This, combined with the large-diameter mounting plate, means that this camera has to be at least 2" or 2-1/2" below the overhead obstruction (rather than nearly tight to it). This can be an issue in some mounting circumstances, especially if the site does not allow use of the underside mounting hole instead.

* The somewhat unusual dual-ball mounting system allows extreme range-of-motion as far as adjusting the camera's orientation relative to the mounting surface. The downside is that it almost requires three hands to hold everything in alignment while installing the camera onto the mounting plate and tightening the two screws (whose heads are on opposite sides of the arm, which only adds to the difficulty of keeping things aligned while tightening (especially if you can't see both sides in order to insert the Allen wrench into the respective screw heads). Also, if the screws are not tightened quite securely, the position may "droop" over time - due to slippage under the weight of the camera from thermal expansion/contraction, vibrations, etc.

* The mounting baseplate is about 3" in diameter, which likely adds stability to the mount. On the con side, the large diameter prevents the base "stem" from being mounted closer than about 1-1/2" from any adjoining wall or ceiling. Also, it causes problems for mounting the baseplate to any curved surface (such as a light pole).

* The base "stem" is mounted to the baseplate through a single, slightly over-sized, hole in the center of the baseplate, and is secured by a hex nut on the front and another on the back of the baseplate. Before mounting the baseplate, be sure to securely tighten these nuts... in fact, it would be a good idea to add a pair of lock-washers, one between each nut and the baseplate, in order to ensure that the stem does not come loose when mounting, and adjusting the aiming of, the camera. (When mounting all three of my cameras, the base "stem" seemed secure when I mounted the baseplate, but then came loose easily when I attached the bracket/camera onto it, leaving the camera flopping around loose. It is virtually impossible to re-tighten the nuts while the baseplate is mounted because it requires a wrench or pliers on each side of the baseplate... so, if the stem comes loose, you basically have to dis-mount everything and start over. Ensuring that the stem is tightened *before* mounting it should avoid this needless horsing around).

Overall, I like these cameras for my particular application... and the only reason that I did not give them a five star rating is because of the mostly minor disadvantages mentioned above.