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WV-CS600 MINI-DOME COMBINATION CAMERA & ]
WV-CU151 SYSTEM CONTROLLER
COPY
WHAT OUR EXPERTS SAY...
Integration is the key feature on the
Panasonic WV-CS600 mini-dome combination camera. Traditionally camera systems
of this type are built using components sourced from a variety of
manufacturers, which may or may not have been designed to work with one
another. That is not an issue with the WV-CS600, the low-light colour camera,
its motorised mount and the WV-CU151 controller blend together seamlessly, functioning
as a single entity with no suggestion of compromise or corner-cutting, either
operationally, or in terms of performance.
The clearest evidence, that the camera and
controller were designed to work together, is the comprehensive set of camera
adjustments, that can be remotely accessed from the WV-CU151. Once the camera
is in position it’s unlikely there will ever be any need to take the lid off,
(not that it’s an option -- it is incredibly difficult to dismantle), which has
to be good news for busy installers. Available adjustments include setting up
the camera ID, exposure system, backlight compensation, high-speed shutter,
automatic gain control, low-light sensitivity, external synchronisation, white
balance, motion detection, auto focus plus a range of specialised camera
functions.
It is a compact and relatively discreet
design, measuring just 130 x 195mm, the transparent dome accounts for around
one third of it’s height. The rest of the housing is made from die-cast alloy,
giving it considerable strength and offering a high degree of protection
against impact and mechanical shock. Inside the dome the camera and motorised
pan/tilt mount -- apart from the lens -- is hidden from view by a black
dome-shamed shroud.
The camera is supplied with a quick-fit
ceiling mounting plate -- held in place by four fixing bolts -- that locks the
camera into position with a simple twist-fit action. A fall prevention cable
fits between the camera and mounting plate, to support the camera in the event
it becomes detached from the mount. There are two external connections, that
feed through a large hole in the centre of the mounting plate. These are for
the mains power feed, and the video output cable, which also carries telemetry,
to and from the control unit.
Under manual control the camera pans through
a full 360 degrees, (3 degrees per second), there are no end stops, at least
none that we could find. The lens tilts through 90 degrees, moving at 1.5
deg/sec. There are no blind spots, the camera covers the entire field of view
from a ceiling-mounted position. The camera has auto/manual focus, and a 10:1
power zoom. It uses a 0.3-inch CCD that has a low light sensitivity of 2 lux;
this reduces to 0.6 lux in the low-light setting (integration or slow-shutter
mode), in 12 pre-selectable steps. Resolution on the 752 x 582 pixel array is
quoted at 480-lines.
Motion sensing, backlight compensation and
auto-tracking white balance set-up are carried out using a 8 x 6 reference grid
of squares, each of which can be enabled or disarmed, so that it acts as a
sensor, for each particular function. Manual white balance adjustment has
presets for fine-tuning red/blue balance and the high-speed shutter can be set
to one of 8 speeds, between 1/50th and 1/10,000th second. The motion detector
option has a test mode, that shows activity (change in brightness) by blinking
the affected squares on the grid, sensitivity can be adjusted, and the VCR
recovery time -- if enabled -- set between 1 and 60 minutes. Camera idents are
assembled from a standard uppercase international character set, with letters
and numbers selected one at a time. Needless to say it’s a slow and tedious
business.
The WV-CU151 system controller is housed in a
sloping cream-coloured console. The top panel is dominated by a centre-biased
joystick, mounted on the right side. Next to that there’s a numbered digital
key pad, and on the left side there’s another bank of ten buttons covering
focus, zoom, plus various control and set-up functions. The main power on
switch is located in the to left hand corner. On the back panel there are four
BNC sockets for the video/telemetry feed to the camera, monitor video out, and
external video genlock in/out. Next to that there’s a switch to enable the
built-in alarm sounder, and a four-way connector block, for the alarm
connections. The entire connector panel can be removed, and replaced so that it
faces downwards, to simplify connections when the console is mounted in a rack
or desk. A captive mans lead emerges to the left of the BNC sockets.
A large number of control options are
available from the WV-CU151, in addition to all of the camera set-up functions,
including manual or automatic panning. Up to 64 positions can be memorised for
up to two cameras. Each position can be given a separate designation or ident.
As well as pan/tilt position, it also stores zoom and focus information,
exposure settings and a dwell time, used when it is in the auto-pan mode. To
move the camera to a preset position a one or two digit number is entered into
the keypad, followed by the ‘posi’ button. Under programmed control pan and
tilt speeds are increase dramatically, to 240 deg/sec and 120 deg/sec
respectively. Auto panning moves at the more sedate manual control pace. The
camera’s ‘home’ orientation can be any one of the 64 memorised positions.
Camera data -- for two devices -- can be uploaded and stored in the controller.
Manual pan/tilt, via the joystick, is proportionally controlled; very small,
fine movements are possible with gentle pressure on the stick
Alarm functions, activated by the camera’s
motion sensor, causes a display to appear in the top right hand corner of the
monitor screen; this is also the
default position for the camera ident, so care needs to be taken with its
positioning. The alarm display text can be changed, (white with black border or
black with white border) using a DIP switch behind a panel on the base of the
console. Additionally this sets the alarm reset contact (O/C or pulse) for a
recording VCR. The alarm output terminal is an open collector, rated at 16V DC/100
mA or less. The fourth alarm contact is for the recover signal, from a
time-lapse VCR.
OPERATION
With all of the camera and control functions centred
on the WV-CU151 the initial set-up should be very straightforward, however, the
menu-controlled on-screen display systems can be quite hard going, and it’s
easy to make mistakes. It’s not particularly responsive, and some operations
appear to be somewhat convoluted. It’s not especially intuitive either, though
with practice it becomes easier. Fortunately, once the installation has been
completed it will need only occasional fine-tuning. Nevertheless, it’s worth
bearing in mind that presetting and naming more than half a dozen camera
positions, defining backlight compensation, white balance and motion sensor
zones can easily turn into a job for life...
Normal day-to-day operations are a lot
easier, though some functions appear to be very slow, ‘relaxed’ might be a
better word for it. Manual iris adjustment, for example, takes an age -- over
30 seconds from full open to fully closed. However, the focus and zoom
functions are very responsive; the servo motors are fairly quiet in operation,
though there is a constant whine from a cooling fan inside the camera housing.
PERFORMANCE
The camera, or at least its operating system,
is reasonably familiar territory, and performance is in line with similar Panasonic
models we’ve seen in the past year or so. Resolution on our very well used test
sample was within a whisker of the stated 460-lines, it seems fair to assume
that on a good day, under ideal conditions, it should perform as advertised.
Low light sensitivity is good too, in fact the only blot on an otherwise
spotless copy-book is white balance. The auto mode doesn’t cope at all well
with tube lighting, producing a distinct green-yellow caste. Manual adjustment
can help but colour fidelity under artificial light is always something of a
compromise. In good natural light the
auto white balance system performs well.
Colour accuracy takes a dive in poor light,
though at and around the minimum sensitivity figure all colours merge into a
murky grey. In the gain-up and low-light modes the image becomes very grainy
indeed, slow-shuttering produces a characteristic slow-refresh, jerky
image.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
The initial set-up routine is quite
laborious, though it does cover a lot of ground, and considering it will normally
only have to be carried out once, it’s not a real concern. Build quality is
outstanding, it looks and feels like a precision instrument. Normal operation
is faultless and installation should pose no problems whatsoever. Video performance
is well up to the kind of standard we’ve come to expect from Panasonic; all together
a most impressive piece of kit
PRODUCT ASSESSMENT
Design and design features ****
Circuitry and components *****
Ease of installation and wiring *****
Range and variety of functions ****
Accompanying instructions ****
Technical advice and backup ****
Value for money ****
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Ó R.Maybury 1997 183
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