The bench test 2 : Hidden depths

You might be excused for thinking that, in common with most advances in security and surveillance technology, network cameras would make everyone's life a little easier.

Mostly they do, and IP cameras eliminate the need for costly, unreliable and awkward cabling by utilising existing computer network and Internet infrastructures. Images can be viewed on ordinary desktop PCs using standard web browser software, so it should all be plain sailing...

Usually it is, but then there's always the exception that proves the rule and in this instance it's the Axis 225FD. This innocent looking fixed dome has to be one of the most fiendishly complicated cameras we've seen in a very long while. To be fair it is simple enough to setup and it will run quite happily straight out of the box on the factory defaults, but woe betide anyone not well versed in the intricacies of networking, HTML and compression codecs, who strays into the murky depths of the setup menus. More about those in a moment.

From the outside it looks uncontroversial, as are the specs and main features, so let's get those out of the way. The camera is a day/night type with a motorised IR cut filter behind the lens that flicks out of the way when the camera switches to black and white night mode. The 2.8 - 5.8mm manually focused, DC controlled auto iris lens has a simple tele/wide facility.

Behind that is a 1/4-inch Sony progressive scan CCD image sensor with a low light sensitivity of 1 lux in colour (day) mode and 0.2lux in black and white (night) mode. The resultant image, which is displayed in a browser window in VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels), at 30 frames per second using either M-JPEG or MPEG 4 compression (or both, when viewed on two different PCs).

The camera as two alarm inputs and one output, the latter tied into the camera's motion detection system. It can be powered by an external mains adaptor or, where available, by Power over Ethernet. The housing is weatherproofed with an IP66 rating, it's designed to be vandal resistant and a built-in fan and heater means it's capable of operating in a wide range of environmental conditions.

It is very sturdily built and the two-part case is made from cast alloy. Beneath the tough plastic transparent dome, which is held in place by 4 tamper-resistant bolts and secured with a rubber anti-drop loop, is the camera module. This is attached to a simple pan/tilt mount, which allows the camera to pivot through around 170 degrees and rotate through 360 degrees.

The camera body can also rotate in its holder through 350 or so degrees so the image can be inverted – handy for bench testing. There's also a facility to rotate the image, in 90 degree steps, in the setup menu. Once the camera has been aligned it is fixed in position using a pair of knurled locking screws and a locking collar on the base.

Underneath the camera are two PCBs that between them handle the camera's image processing, alarm, communications and power supply functions.

Setup and operation

With very simple mounting requirements and only two connections to be made (one if Power over Ethernet is used) installation of the 225FD should be virtually painless. In order to view the live image from the camera or access the setup menus it is necessary to enter the camera's IP address into a web browser. If it is not known, or has been changed, a small utility, supplied on the CD that accompanies the camera, seeks it out on the network.

Following the password and PIN code requests the live view appears in the browser window. Clicking the Setup link opens the first page of the camera's very extensive menu system. There are five main headings: Basic Configuration, Video & Image, Live View Configuration, Event Configuration and System Options.

For most users the first and hopefully one of the only points of contact with the camera's inner workings will be the Basic Configuration menu. This is split into five sub-menus: Users (access permissions), TCP/IP (basic network settings), Date and Time Setting, Video and Image (resolution, compression, frame rate, saturation, brightness, contrast, sharpness and camera title and overlays) and Focus (disables auto iris).

Reasonably straightforward

Most of it is reasonably straightforward, though for some reason brightness, saturation and contrast adjustments are made unnecessarily complicated because changes cannot be viewed using the 'Test' function, which displays a live image in a separate browser window.

From this point onwards it all starts to get a bit involved. The Video and Image menu repeats the camera setup controls from the Basic Configuration menu but there are two additional sub-menus for setting up overlays and privacy masks and advanced camera functions. Up to three masks can be displayed but getting them into position can be a nightmare, as the X/Y coordinates and size values have to be entered manually, without reference to a live display. It's incredibly difficult to do and nigh on impossible to get it right first, or even second or third times, so be prepared for a lot of messing around.

The Advanced Camera Settings menu lead to two sub menus, the first for adjusting white balance, exposure control, exposure area, IR cut filter, backlight compensation and low-light behaviour. Again it is difficult to judge the effect of any changes, as they have to be made then saved before they can be viewed on a live display. The second submenu covers MPEG4 configuration and this contains some highly detailed settings that we suspect very few users will have come across, let alone need to worry about (ISMA compliance, GOV structure, bit rate control and priority...).

The Live View Layout menu has four sub menus and the first of them, Layout, delves deep into the appearance of the browser display window with the option to insert custom hyperlinks and show or remove various custom function buttons. HTML Examples is next on the list and this provides configurable samples of HTML code for inclusion on web pages; it's very impressive but is it really necessary? The External Video and Sequence Video sub menus are used to set up multi camera systems.

Event Configuration has four sub menus and once again they provide access to some highly specialised features, though in amongst the exotica there's the motion detection options, which most installers and end users will probably want to investigate. Areas of interest are defined by resizable motion detection 'windows' which can be placed anywhere on the image. Each window is configurable in terms of the size of objects it responds to and sensitivity. Also included are a 'History' bar graph and an 'Activity' display which give a real time visual indication of movement inside the target window.

Finally there is the System Options menu, and this covers a lot of ground including security settings, repeats of the 'Basic' Time and Date and Network settings menus but with extra sub menus, Ports and Devices (I/O port & RS485 configuration), LED Settings (behaviour of the camera's on-board indicator LED), Maintenance (factory reset, default settings, backup setting and firmware upgrades), Support (troubleshooting guide, Server report log and web links to Axis support websites) and last but not least the ironically named 'Advanced' menu, which opens a Script Editor that allows the intrepid user to tinker with the camera's innermost functions and system files.

Performance

For all of its complexity and the opportunities for fine-tuning the image that appears on the screen is surprisingly ordinary.

The main limitations, of course, are the VGA resolution and data compression, imposed by network operation. Nevertheless there is a fair amount of detail in the picture, though the scene does need to be well lit to get the best out of it; as light levels fall the image quickly becomes increasingly coarse and colours, already fairly muddy, become even more subdued, until the camera switches to black and white Night mode.

At that point the image sharpens up appreciably and remains bright and with good contrast until once again low light brings up the noise levels and the picture descends into a noisy mush.

Internal reflections from the dome are there if you look for them but they are no worse than normal and only apparent when the dome is subjected to direct sunlight.

Physical stability is good and it proved to be largely immune to the maltreatment meted out by the SI rubber mallet

What the manufacturer says ...

The Axis 225FD Fixed Dome Network Camera is a professional level Fixed Dome Network Camera. Its discreet, vandal-resistant and outdoor-proof design provides maximum protection in tough environmental conditions. The built-in heater and fan protects against low temperatures misting of the glass. The compact and cost-efficient design enables easy and flexible installation with tamper-proof mounting on wall or ceiling.

It allows for versatile adjustment by panning, tilting and rotating the varifocal lens to any camera angle desired. The camera supports Power over Ethernet (IEEE 802.3af), eliminating the need for a power outlet and reducing installation costs. In addition, the consolidation of power gives higher reliability if connected to a central Uninterruptible Power Supply. The Axis 225FD also offers a comprehensive set of network security features such as multi-level password protection, IP address filtering and HTTPS encryption.

The Axis 225FD features an automatically removable infrared cut filter, which enables colour video in high and low light conditions as well as IR sensitive black/white video at night. Thanks to the high-quality lens, progressive scan CCD sensor and advanced image processing, this camera delivers crisp, clear images even of objects moving at high speed in the dark.