The Milesight website states that Milesight is a “new player in the market” and that they supply “high quality standard products” by “only specialising in the manufacture and R & D of HD Network cameras, VMS and NVRs”. The particular model reviewed here is a 3MP indoor / outdoor fixed PoE dome camera with a motorised 3mm to 10.5mm lens and capable of H.265 compression. The dome is ingress protection rated to IP66 and has an impact resistance of IK10. ONVIF profile S is supported.
Features
The first impression is of a well-built dome of solid construction and that much thought has gone into the practicalities of installation. The main dome body attaches to a ceiling / wall fixing plate that is first fixed in place and then the dome clips onto this with a small anti-clockwise rotation. A grub screw in the dome base prevents unwanted removal. The clear dome cover is held in place with three captive Torx screws. With the dome cover removed a single captive thumbwheel screw releases the hinged interior of the dome to give access to the connections. There is sufficient tension on the hinge mechanism to prevent the camera module swinging while released from the base. This hinged construction leads to the “clam-shell” description that is given to the design. A short removable lanyard links the bowl to the main body.
On this model the only connections are an RJ45 socket for the PoE enabled network link and a two-pole pluggable screw-terminal connector for the optional 12v DC power. These connectors are on a small sub board that has a 2 pole connector for the microphone which is mounted in the camera casing and a 10 pole connector providing all connections into the globe-shaped dome electronics module.
The lens has a spring-loaded felt surround to ensure a good light-seal with the outer bowl to prevent any IR light spill over. Three high intensity IR LEDs are sited below the lens with a light sensing unit to the lens left hand side.
In the back of the globe section is a Micro SD card slot that can accommodate up to 64GB cards and a reset switch.
A single hex screw clamps the globe in place and when loosened the globe section can be rotated and tilted in the correct position for the scene to be viewed before re-securing.
As is often the case some of the specification information such as sensitivity needs careful consideration as it is quoted at 0.002 Lux colour and 0.001 Lux B/W; these are not representative of real-world acceptable image quality but a potential level of detection within a scene.
Software
The supplied Milesight memory stick was organised with four numbered folders and various subfolders:
- Support – Datasheet, Troubleshooting, User manual, Quick Start Guide, Training material.
- Starlight IPC video – 13 x mp4, 5 x AVI and 19 x JPG images.
- Search Tools – User manual, Software.
- VMS Lite – Empty folder.
Apart from the empty VMS Lite folder, the rest of the memory device provided some very good support information and all in English. The provision of documents in Microsoft Word format along with pdfs is helpful as is the inclusion of some training material in PowerPoint format. Although not included on the memory stick, the VMS Lite software is available as a free download from the Milesight website.
The Smart Tool software is used for initial camera and NVR setup and includes calculators for bandwidth and disc usage.
Read the full review in the September 2016 edition of PSI magazine
