The D-Link DCS-6315 is an external vandal resistant true day/night network mini-dome featuring colour night vision for colour images in low light conditions down to 0.1 Lux. The unit uses a 1/3” progressive scan CMOS image sensor providing a maximum resolution of 1280 x720 pixels. The lens is a 2.8-12mm vari-focal auto iris with an aperture of F1.4, providing 28° to 90° horizontal angle of view. The camera has an environmental rating of IP68 and an IK-10 vandal resistance rating. A 1.4m cable tail provides connections for network, power, alarm input/output, audio input/output and camera reset button. Within the dome housing is a micro SD card socket for localised recording.
Power to the ONVIF compliant unit may be via the supplied 12VDC PSU or directly via PoE.
Out of the box the DCS-6315 is supplied with a multilingual quick installation guide covering physical mounting and the software set-up wizard (supplied on the accompanying CD). The unit is ready for direct surface mounting using a baseplate, but pendant and wall mounting brackets are also available. The unit comes configured for rear cable entry but the camera body has a removable section (secured with a single screw) to allow surface cable entry from the side. The supplied cable length is a generous 1.4m, so should be sufficient to pass through most walls etc.
D-Link has chosen to locate the factory rest switch external to the camera housing so reasonable access to the cable connections will be required should this be needed at any time. General build quality of the unit is good and the baseplate mounting is effective.
The installation CD provides a detailed user guide for the camera and related software including the D-Link Camera Set-up Wizard and D-ViewCam (a surveillance software package for managing, viewing and recording up to 32 cameras). Having installed the Set-up Wizard on our PC, the camera was quickly discovered on our network and its default IP address displayed. The unit is configured for DHCP but will assume its default address if no DHCP server is detected at power-up. Network settings for the camera may be configured from the Set-up Wizard and the camera web-browser accessed directly via the ‘Link’ tab.
A full user manual is available on the installation CD and this provides an explanation of all aspects of the camera hardware and step by step configuration via the web-browser. Upon logging into the camera webpage, you are presented with the Live View tab initially, from where several actions (including ePTZ, snapshots, video clips, audio and alarm outputs) may be selected. Within the Setup tab, notes are provided on the right hand side for each of the settings to be configured which are useful for users new to the camera.
Navigation within the browser is quite easy and the configuration options on offer are comprehensive. A total of three simultaneous video profiles may be configured at up to 30 fps using H.264, MPEG4 or MJPEG. Image resolutions are dependent upon the aspect ratio selected with up to 1280 x 720 for 16:9 widescreen or 1024 x 768 if using 4:3. Three privacy masks and multiple motion detection zones may be configured.
Events may be configured to operate on a schedule, motion, alarm input or system reboot. Video clips or snapshots may be saved to network servers or locally via the onboard micro SD socket which currently supports SDXC cards up to 64GB (FAT32 format).
The camera is equipped with IR Led lighting effective at up to 15m. This may be configured to operate automatically (synchronised with the IR Cut Filter), on a time schedule or manually enabled/disabled. Note however that when the weather shield is attached to the camera, use of the IR LEDs can result in reflections on the video, depending on the camera angle set.
In summary, the DCS-6315 is a 1.3 Megapixel camera of good rugged build quality and suitable for all environmental conditions. Whilst it doesn’t have an exhaustive list of features, all the essentials are there and the unit offers a good level of configuration without being over complex.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
