The bench test 1: Shape of things to come

What our experts say…

Here's something to ponder upon. Why are most video surveillance cameras shaped like thin rectangular boxes?

There is no compelling reason for them to be that shape nowadays. It's a tradition, born out of necessity when the core component inside a video camera was a long thin 'vidicon' imaging tube. They disappeared more than a quarter of a century ago so it is difficult to explain why the shape has lingered on for so long.

It could be argued that the distinctive and universally recognised form works as a visible deterrent and that such a simple shape is relatively easy to manufacture, but the fact remains video cameras don't all need to look like that anymore. Maybe it's time for a change?

That's not to say there haven't been several brave attempts to break the mould over the years, and there's no signs of this inertia at the bottom end of the market. Form often follows function in the design of 'domestic' CCTV cameras, which for the most part are based on simple one-piece modules resulting in some interesting and unusual shapes.

But perhaps there is a change in the wind?

The Genie C535 shows that it's possible to produce a camera that meets the key needs of the mainstream surveillance market, specifically high quality video, the facility to use standard off the shelf manual and auto iris lenses and a recognisable profile, and yet it looks nothing like a 'proper' camera.

Nevertheless the C535 is a highly sophisticated design boasting the kind of features that as recently as a year or so ago would only have been found on high-end models.

At the top of the list is a 1/3-inch Sony Hyper HAD CCD image sensor with a 752 x 582 pixel array, giving a claimed resolution of 530 lines.

Day/Night operation also gets top billing, though in this instance it is a reference to an impressive low-light sensitivity figure of just 0.002 lux in black and white mode.

However, this is achieved largely through image processing (gain-up and slow shuttering) and without the benefit of a switchable IR cut filter.

Normal low light sensitivity in colour mode is a fairly conventional 0.3 lux. There's more heavyweight processing going on behind the scenes in the shape of a four-stage digital noise reduction system, adjustable electronic shutter, backlight compensation and gain control but the real surprises are built-in motion detection and privacy mask systems.

It also has a user-programmable title facility and a peculiar picture 'mirror' function. The case couldn't be much simpler. It's a small, almost square box with a back focus adjustable lens mounting collar on the front (C/CS) and a couple of threaded mounting bosses top and bottom.

On the rear panel there is a BNC socket for the video output, a standard 4-pin auto iris socket, a red LED power on indicator, a pair of spring terminals for the 12VDC supply. The controls are a slide switch for selecting DC or Video auto iris operation and a cluster of 5 buttons for the on-screen menus.

Inside at the front is a single PCB containing the CCD image sensor and its associated processing and control circuitry. Behind that, mounted on a pair of pillars, is a second PCB handling the power supply, input and output connections and the OSD buttons.

The two boards are connected by a rather untidy-looking cable loom, but apart from that the standard of construction excellent.

The cast-alloy front panel and pressed steel rear cover provide the electronics with a high degree of protection, though not necessarily from the elements. It will still require a weatherproof housing if it is to be used outside.

Setup and operation

Pressing the Set button opens the main menu with eight options labelled Lens, Shutter, White Bal, Backlight, AGC, DNR, Sens-Up and Special. The Lens menu switches between Manual and DC/Video operation; the DC option has a sub-menu for adjusting 'brightness'. Shutter has three mode options, 'FLK' (flickerless) 'ESC' (Auto - so why didn't they call it that?) and Manual. The latter has 14 high-speed settings (1/50 to 1/120,000 sec) and 12 'slow speed' settings (x2 to x120).

The White Balance menu switches between ATW (Auto Tracking White Balance), AWC (Auto White Balance Control) and Manual settings. ATW is for general use, AWC allows the installer to set WB using a reference white card and Manual has adjustments for red and blue levels. Both the Backlight and AGC menus have 'low', 'middle', 'high' and Off settings. Selecting any AGC mode other than off enables the DNR function which then has its own low, middle and high options. AGC also enables the Sensitivity-Up menu with Auto or Off settings. The Auto setting leads to a sub menu for presetting slow speed shutter range.

Selecting the Special menu brings up another set of sub menus, this time for setting camera ID (1 line of 15 characters); Colour (On or Auto switching to B/W in low light); Sync (internal or external line-lock); Motion Detection, Privacy Mask, Mirror and Sharpness.

The Motion Detection system is based on four manually sizeable and positionable targets or 'Areas' that can be expanded or contracted to occupy as much or as little of the screen as required. When movement is detected a warning message appears on the screen and blinks for a few seconds afterwards. The same firmware is used to generate four opaque Privacy masks.

The onscreen menus are reasonably easy to navigate though some operations are a little idiosyncratic and require practice. On the whole, though, it has been well thought out, needing only occasional reference to the well-illustrated instruction booklet.

Performance

Image quality is mostly very good, thanks to a pukka CCTV lens and the top-notch Sony image sensor, which together produce a crisp clear image in a wide range of lighting conditions. Resolution on our sample was a just a shade below the manufacturer's figure. Exposure control is fast and well controlled and it copes well with both gradual and rapid changes in lighting level. Colour accuracy in auto mode is fine and it strayed only slightly with a yellowish caste when subjected to fluorescent light.

As light levels fall the processing systems start to kick in and at this point image quality starts to deteriorate quite rapidly with a significant increase in noise and mush and the inevitable blurring brought about by the slow shuttering. Even so, it is capable of producing a coherent image with very little light but the headline figure of 0.002 lux should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Mechanical stability is excellent and a thorough pummelling from the Security Installer rubber mallet failed to disrupt the video output.

What the manufacturer says ...

The high performance Genie C5351/12 day/night colour camera is stylishly housed in a compact casing and features a Sony 1/3 inch colour super HAD CCD image sensor and powerful DSP intelligent chipset.

The camera boasts an array of highly useful features including automatic day/night selection, four programmable privacy zones, selectable electronic shutter control, gain control, white balance and back light compensation; all accessed via the built-in 'on screen display' (OSD) menu.

Since low light levels introduce both random and fixed noise onto video images the C5351/12 incorporates Genie's innovative Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) technology - with four levels of adjustment - to significantly reduce this noise, produce a high signal to noise ratio and prevent ghost effects. As a result, enhanced levels of identification are possible in low light - such as the recognition of vehicle registration plates. Additionally, recorded file sizes are reduced by up to 40 per cent when using JPEG compression and a massive 70 per cent when using MPEG compression.

Suitable for use in a wide range of CCTV applications, the C5351/12 camera provides 530 colour TV lines and is capable of operating in lighting conditions down to 0.3 Lux (Colour) 0.1Lux (B/W). Using the Sens-Up feature, a form of frame integration, it's possible to achieve camera sensitivity of 0.002 Lux.