DRE480IBV - 480 Line IR Varifocal Bullet Camera

The good things about this camera are as follows: - The camera body appears sturdy. - The price for the vari-focal camera is in line with others. - The rain / sun cover is nice and sturdy but that goes back to the camera body. The bad things: - Its a heavy camera. (remember the sturdy body) - There were no instructions for the two adjustment knows on the lower part of the camera but you can figure it out. - The adjustment knobs do not have any marks to reference when focusing. Nor are there any little clicks that you could count. - In my camera the IR is aimed a little low. The lower picture is great but not the top of the picture. The top of the pic is a house that is about 50'. I see it just fine but maybe not the details of a person. - When adjusting the focus in the semi cold (40 deg.) When you turned the knob, it would usually, rotate back a little when you let go. This makes fine adjustments nearly impossible. Wait on warmer weather if you can. - Lastly, while it will focus at 10' well enough to see a second hand. It will not focus at 50' well enough to see details of a person. Is that really a negative? No other camera of this type can see that well either! The focusing is a bear on top of a ladder in the cold. Without reference marks you have to guess at your adjustments. I made pencil marks to use as a reference. I gave this camera 4 stars because of its ruged body. Otherwise it is only a three because of the price and the issues mentioned.

Positives: Sony makes good stuff. The resolution is excellent, especially at night, much better than the cheap $70 ones that burn out in a couple of years. The camera is a little heavy but the mounts are very solid and easy to adjust, much better than the thumb screws on the cheaper cameras although you have to fiddle with a tiny allen wrench. Lots of big IR LEDs allow for excellent images at night - that's when you will notice a huge difference between the cheaper cameras and this one. Rated at 70 feet, I could see clearly and sharply much further, at least 100 feet. (This was a replacement camera, so I didn't need a power supply.) Negatives: This camera is expensive, especially if you're buying 12 of these babies (I only bought one as a replacement for a failing camera). The instructions don't mention what those 2 knobs on the bottom do (distance and focus) - I mean you would really like to know what they do before you get up on the ladder and install it! Most people will keep it on max distance - turn both knobs full clockwise. The color is not accurate (no adjustment) and everything is tinted yellow during daylight. Overall: I was pleased enough to wish that my other 11 cameras were all of this kind, and I plan to replace them with this one as they inevitably fail. You won't be sorry purchasing this camera. Don't waste your money on the cheaper cameras - you will be disappointed.

The only issue we have is that you get a halo effect, or ring of light, with what we assume is the infrared bouncing back off the protective glass cover at one end of the zoom, as it is only apparent at night. But that might happen with any camerea, we don't know. I will say the guys at DSC were great, and I ordered a third camera before we knew we could get 10% off for writing this review!

Excellent quality camera and great price. The picture quality was great and vivid. I will definitely buy from you guys and I encourage people to buy this camera.

great long range IR camera