The bench test 2: Delivers the goods

What our experts say …

It doesn't happen very often, but the LG LVC-SX703 is one of those all too rare video security products that just works. To be fair we see very few actual faults these days, but it's a pleasure indeed to be able to take something out of its box, plug it in and run through the entire configuration procedure without once having to refer to the instruction manual.

Of course it can be argued that a hooking up a surveillance camera to a power supply and monitor is not exactly rocket science, and that is true for the vast majority of them, but the SX703 isn't one of your bog-standard fit-and-forget models.

The feature list is quite long, so please bear with us. In no particular order the SX703 variant we're looking at here is a day/night colour camera with switchable infrared filter. It has a multi-lingual on-screen display, user-definable ID and title displays, extensive manual and automatic exposure and picture controls, a built-in motion detection system with alarm output, eight user-definable privacy masks, electronic zoom, a variety of special effects and provision for external remote control using RS-485 protocols.

Sony is responsible for the 1/3-inch interline CCD image sensor (440k effective pixels), which yields a claimed resolution of 540 lines. Low light sensitivity is down to 0.001 lux in monochrome Night mode, and 0.01 lux in colour Day mode. Other points of interest include fittings for C/CS type lenses, with DC or Video controlled auto iris and it can be powered from a 12 VDC or 24VAC supply.

It looks different too - the two-tone grey/black housing with its gently curved contours should blend in unobtrusively with most contemporary decorative styles, and in spite of all the electronic trickery it's no larger than most regular general purpose cameras, measuring just 67 x 59 x 127mm (without the lens). It's also surprisingly light too, tipping the scales at only 250g.

The lens fits into a threaded collar on the front of the camera. The image sensor chip is mounted on a sliding platform, for back focus adjustment, via a large thumbwheel protruding through a slot on the top of the case. Immediately behind that on the top of the case is one of two mounting points (the other one is on the underside). On the right side of the camera body there is a recessed socket for the auto iris lens and next to that a small sliding cover that opens to reveal a cluster of five buttons and a slide switch for setting auto iris lens mode. The buttons are used to navigate around and change settings on the on-screen display, but more on that in a moment.

On the rear panel there is a screw terminal for the power supply connections, a BNC socket carrying the video output, an LED power-on indicator and a six-way spring terminal for RS485 communications, the alarm relay and something called a Multi Input Terminal. The latter is not as grand as it sounds; in fact it's an option for an external switch to control the camera's 'Hot Key' function. The factory default is set to day/night switching but it can be configured to switch one of six special picture effects, which we will be looking at in more detail shortly.

At first glance the plastic outer casing appears quite thin and flimsy and it provides comparatively little protection against the elements, but general build quality is not an issue on this camera. Inside it's built like the proverbial brick outhouse with all of the PCBs (there are five of them) mounted on a very sturdy steel chassis, which also helps to dissipate heat.

Setup and operation

Pressing and holding the centre button on the concealed control panel for a couple of seconds brings up the camera's menu display with nine main headings and Exit. The first one is for language selection, with a choice between English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian.

The next menu item is used to set up the camera's numeric ID and this is followed by Exposure, which leads to a series of sub menus. These are used to set picture brightness, AGC mode, shutter (auto or manual, 10 steps 1/50 to 1/5000th sec), Flickerless mode, backlight control (BLC) and wide dynamic range (WDR) settings.

Incidentally, we remarked earlier that there was no need to refer to the instruction manual; this is just as well with entries like this: 'The WDR camera is state of the art to enlarge the screen profit effectively... In short it revives both the indoor and outdoor status as they are clearly', which must set a new standard for meaningless gobbledygook...

The White Balance menu is next on the list with manual or auto-tracing mode selection and manual adjustment of red and blue levels. Following that is the Day/Night mode menu and this can be set to auto, day, night or external switching using the previously mentioned Multi Input Terminal connection.

On the Motion Detection menu there is a sensitivity control and area selection; it is quite basic and there are just five pre-set areas, covering the top and bottom thirds of the display and blocks on the left, centre and right of the screen. On the next menu up to eight Privacy Masks can be positioned and resized anywhere on the screen. Commendable though it is, it's a little odd that the same firmware wasn't used for the motion detection system, which would have made it a lot more useful.

The penultimate menu is called Special and this covers a lot of ground. The first option is Effects and this is the facility that can be assigned to the Hot Key, allowing the user to remotely switch on or off the following picture effects: Negative, B/W, V-Flip, Mirror, Rotate and Freeze. That's followed by a digital zoom (approx 8x), setting the title display (up to eight alphanumeric characters), Title on/off, Hot Key selection, Sync (internal or external), phase shift and pixel mapping, which seeks out and cancels the effect of defective pixels. The last item on the main menu is an option to reset the camera to its default condition.

Performance

So far so good, and the SX703 is not about to blot its copy book with substandard picture quality - quite the opposite in fact, and in good natural light the image is crisp, clean and packed with fine detail. Picture noise is negligible though needless to say there's a noticeable increase as light levels fall, but it's progressive and well controlled and it switches to Night mode well before the image looses integrity.

The auto exposure system is reasonably responsive and can be safely left in charge in all but the most extreme conditions. The manual backlight and WDR controls proved to be a little cumbersome - there are almost too many things to fiddle around with - but given time and patience it should be possible to find a suitable setting for most tricky lighting situations.

The camera's white balance system accurately tracks changes in colour temperature and has a very fair stab at dealing with tube lighting, with only the slightest tinge of yellow. Again, unless there is an overriding need to do otherwise it can be left in the auto mode. Day/night changeover is quite relaxed. This is almost certainly deliberate to avoid spurious switching, but when it does, it is fast and smooth.

As expected the camera is very solidly built and it resisted all attempts with the Security Installer rubber mallet to upset the picture.

What the manufacturer says ...

The new LG LVC-SX703PC high performance Day/Night colour camera offers a leap forward in camera technology and delivers a range of advanced features.

Housed in a stylish two-tone casing that complements any installation location, the LG LVC-SX703PC is fitted with a Sony 1/3-inch colour super HAD CCD image sensor and incorporates a powerful intelligent DSP chipset.

Features include: selectable DC/Video/ELC iris lens control with auto, push auto or manual white balance control, advanced integral motion detection (MOS isolation relay out), changeable day/night filter, wide dynamic range (WDR) by dual shutter, digital slow shutter, on-screen display (OSD) menu, CS Mount (C mount using adaptor ring), eight area privacy zone masking and remote control via RS-485 serial communication.

The camera is suitable for use in a wide range of CCTV applications and is designed to provide clean, noiseless and reliable pictures; its signal to noise ratio being greater than 52dB (AGC off).

The LG LVC-SX703PC has a resolution of 540 TV lines - producing high quality colour images during the day and switching to monochrome when light fades - and is capable of operating in lighting conditions down to 0.01 Lux (Colour) 0.001 Lux (B/W).

Power supply requirements are easily taken care off with auto sensing of either DC 12V or AC24V enabling quick and easy installation in a wide range of environments.