The Axis Q60 series is the crown jewel of the Axis lineup. An HD 1080P PTZ speed dome with 20X optical zoom and great image quality not only during the day, but also using available light at night. Previously I reviewed their 720P PTZ Dome, the P5534-E so we mounted the two side by side to you show you the difference between the two. The Q6035-E outdoor-ready PTZ dome provides HDTV coverage of large areas, great details when zooming in, and high-speed pan/tilt performance.
Main Features
• HDTV 1080p 30 fps as well as HDTV 720p 60 fps
• Day/night and H.264
• 20x optical zoom
• Wide Dynamic Range (WDR)
• Outdoor-ready with Arctic Temperature Control
• Active Gatekeeper and tour recording
• High Power over Ethernet
• MicroSDHC card slot for local storage
• Remote storage to NAS via Edge recording
First, so that you are not in total sticker shock by the end of this article, dependable, quality PTZ cameras are not cheap and 1080P PTZ cameras are rare. This one is no exception at a street price of about $3,800. The P5534-E previously reviewed has a street price of about $2,800 but has half the resolution. I’ve included some side by side shots that may help in making a decision between the two.
The way PTZ cameras work in surveillance is you set preset positions of scenes that you want the camera to capture. Once you setup these preset positions, you start the guard patrol feature that stops at each point at a preset interval. When live viewing the camera, you use these presets to quickly get the camera to an area you want to look at. There’s a second or two lag as the camera pans, tilts, zooms and refocuses at each preset, but it’s the fastest that I’ve ever used. To show you a typical guard patrol, I put a few minutes of video on YouTube. To see the quality of 1080P, makes sure you chose the video setting to play back at 1080P.
In addition to the guard patrols, active Gatekeeper enables AXIS Q6035/-E cameras to automatically move to a preset position—to zoom in, for example, on a license plate—when motion is detected in a pre-defined area, and to track the detected object. I tried the Gatekeeper feature briefly and it did trigger of a person moving and tracked them.
The P6035-E, like many outdoor PTZ cameras uses more power than the standard PoE switch/injector can put out, so it comes with a special high powered injector that can handle the camera’s 60W requirement. This not only runs the motors to pan, tilt, zoom and focus the camera, but also powers a fan and heater allowing the camera to perform not only where the camera is currently in New Jersey, but in Arctic climates as well.
The camera has the ability record to its internal SD card storage or remotely to networked storage (NAS) that Axis calls Edge Storage. It can record continously, events via motion detection, triggered by external inputs or via a record button on the live view screen. You can play the recorded files from the camera or download them to your computer. I’ve been able to play the downloaded video on a Macbook or Windows PC using native players. It splits the videos into 1 minutes chunks by default but this can be changed to longer periods in the camera’s settings. When downloaded to my PC, the files were large, about 100MB per recorded minute which is not unusual for 1080P cameras. The Axis web interface works from several browsers I’ve tried including IE and Safari.
Here’s some images from the camera. As with other reviews, clicking on the small image will display the full sized image that came straight from the camera. Also as with other reviews, I set the maximum shutter speed to 1/30th of a second as this represents a good compromize between low light capability and motion blur.
To see how well the zoom works, I’ve included some images at different zoom rates starting with 5X
And 10X
and 15X
and finally, at it’s max optical zoom of 20X
This is a side by side shot daytime shot between the Q6035-E and teh P5534-E so you can see the difference between 1080P and 720P.
Now onto the night images. These were taken with just available light, no illuminators were used. It’s tough to use illuminators as you would have to cover such a large area it’s not feasible. If you do need illuminators, I would recomend you put them in spots as needed and not try to cover a large area with them.
Another night shot. The noise reduction is effective but still preserves detail.
This is a side by side shot nighttime shot between the Q6035-E and teh P5534-E so you can see the difference between 1080P and 720P.
The setup interface is traditional Axis which is a pretty clean and comprehensive interface. It has additional features that provide the PTZ functionality. This is the “live view” screen that you see when you first connect to the camera. From this screen you can pan/tilt by clicking on portions of the screen. A small red arrow shows you which way it’s going to go.
This is where you configure the PTZ preset positions
This is the setup screen for motion detection
The conclusion is this camera is great for people that want the capabilities that only a 1080P HD PTZ camera can provide and are not shy about spending the money to get the quality and features they want. There’s no substitute for pixels or image quality. At 20X optical zoom combined with 1080P resolution, you can see things you may have not thought possible.
The pluses for this camera are;
• HD 1080P Resolution with 20X optical zoom
• Fast, powerful pan/tilt/zoom capabilities
• powered by PoE+, only a single Ethernet cable powers and connects this camera
• Invaluable for patrolling large areas
• Very good low light performance
The shortfalls of this camera are;
• May be expensive for home use
Recommended for;
This camera work well if you need to do surveillance on large areas like parks, parking lots, sport arenas where the 1080P resolution and 20X optical zoom will let you count nose hairs on a suspect on the far end of a Walmart parking lot.
Nice camera and review. Will add it to my shopping list when I win the lottery.
I don’t blame you, I would sleep with one eye opened if I won the lottery.
Thank you for your great reviews. I like the axis ptz’s and hope to buy one (the more cheaper one) after building up more budget. Have done some recent acquisitions that involved some decent spending. Based on your reviews I have bought 2 Avtech Avn80x camera’s and like them so far. I also recently bought 3 Axis M3114 VE’s (cap/no-cap regular/no-cap 2mm). In addition I have a 207W and a M1011W. I’m currently installing everything at a vacation home (home + barn and +10 acre land) and want something that keeps an eye on the place and also records the video. In addition to the existing outdoor axis’ I thing I will add potentially 3 more outdoor cams (likely axis as I like the quality) and potentially a few more indoor cams.
For the recording, I ordered the Qnap vs2008l and installed it this past weekend. Although I have a bit of knowledge on installing computers it has not been easy to set everything up so that it records and that gives me access from afar. Still need to wrap my head around port forwarding etc. Therefore, so far I have only been able to set up regular cam updates to ftp. Will do some homework and read manual of router so that during next visit to weekend home I can finish what I started.
I am a bit dissapointed in the qnap as it listed the m3114 on their website but when I installed the qnap, the camera was not on their software. Software with most recent firmware did have the m3113 but that one has lower resolution. Have contacted qnap but no reply so far.
Thinking of returning qnap (amazon is fantastic) but then the question is what are the alternatives.. Interested in axis camera station but then I wonder on what should I put it (NAS/network server). I liked the idea of the qnap as I can easily hide it somewhere on the property. More difficult with actual server. Do you have any suggestions?
Could you please write a review on the options available to record video from ipcams? It is quite confusion on what options are available out there as some nas have option to record, some don’t and there is the axis camera software and don’t quite know on what I can install that.
Since at home I have all ACTi cameras, I’ve been happy with their NVR software. I’ve used BlueIris in the past, but because it does video motion detection on the PC, it really slows down bad after a few HD cameras. I will reach out to a few vendors to see if they will lend me their product to try out. What I would look for is software or NVR that lets the camera trigger the motion detection, works with a wide variety of camera brands, has a good web interface that can be accessed from all browsers (PC & Mac)and remote access via IOS/Android devices. If you know of any, let me know and I’ll contact the vendor.
Thank you for quick reply. As stand alone it appears that Qnap and Synology are leading the pack for stand alone NVR’s that cover a mix of camera brands. Iomega also has something but reviews were not so good. I have not had sufficient time to really take a look at the Qnap software but it should hook into the motion detection of the camera but not sure. Synology offers a free licence for one camera but needs additional licences for extra camera’s which deterred me from getting it as it’s not so easy to return. It is easier than buying another Qnap if you reach max amount of camera’s per NVR. As for mac I think that synology and Qnap both don’t support mac well. I tried connecting to qnap nvr with my mac air but was not successful but then again not much time to test out. Installation was done with PC laptop which went well. I am intrigued with Axis software as axis also offers a trip line thing which seems pretty cool. Axis software for 10 camera’s is expensive though.
As always, execellent review. As others out here may or may not know, I had the pleasure to run these cameras side by side. I’ve been running the Axis P5534-E for just over a year and never had any problems. It is rock solid.
The Q6035-E has been running for about a month and during the initial testing we ran into a problem with ghosting while running h.264. Axis support had beta firmware to fix this problem which we installed and it corrected the problem and also corrected a problem if you use the SD card functionilty. In other words, Axis support was very responsive when problems were brought to their attention.
The Q6035-E as well as the P5534-E cameras are serious cameras that cover target areas in great detail. If your needs are to just monitor your front door of your home from 10 feet away to ensure the mailman drops the mail neatly into your mailbox, these are not the cameras you want. An Axis M1114-E may be a better choice if you want to stay in the AXIS family. However, if you need to cover large areas closeup as well as far away, need powerful zoom to see details from far away, must sweep the entire area continuously and clarity as well as high resolution is a must, then the Q6035-E is the camera for your needs.
As already pointed out, the P5534-E and Q6035-E are very expensive cameras for serious needs and these cameras can’t be compared in quality and performance to the low end el-cheapo no-name cameras that claim to be better, but fail to deliver. This is why the police come to me for video when anything happens in my neighborhood since the camera system in the bank next door as well as the camera system in the shopping complex and the gas station fail to deliver reliable and high quality video when they get robbed. A quote from the FBI after they reviewed my video when the bank next door got robbed – “the bank’s cameras are totally worthless”. When the local newspaper posted an image of the bank robber at the teller’s station, it looked like an ink blob at best. The police detectives in my town mentioned several times that my cameras (all AXIS) are much better than the cameras in the stores and better than the police cameras. (There are several police PTZ cameras mounted on roof tops in the bad areas of my town).
John
New Jersey
Great review, I just found your blog on CCTVForum.com, and I already subscribed.
Thank’s for your work!
Hello! Thanks for the site and the insight to these cameras. I am wondering if this is the ultimate camera to give the most lifelike picture over a network. I have a home entertainment company and a client I have wants to be able to see their view from Lake Tahoe on their 55″ TV in the SF Bay Area. I have been looking at IP cameras (Vivotek, Fostek) and even though a still picture looks ok, the moving picture leaves much to be desired. Before trying Axis myself, would you say they give such a lifelike picture that on a 55″ TV it would look like you’re looking out a window? That’s my client’s request. You sound like you know what you are talking about, any help appreciated.
Thanks!
The 1080P image from this came will look awesome on a 55″ TV, but maybe overkill unless you want the PTZ capability. One of their fixed domes like the P33 series that can do 1080P will look great. Also Mobotix, like their D14 dome would also produce picture postcard crisp pictures.
What you need to see live video from a 1080P camera is an internet connection on the lake side that has about 1-3MP Upload speed to see it between 10-30FPS per camera. Of course on the SF side, you’ll need a fast enough download internet connection but that’s easier to do. Also, you’ll need a PC with an HDMI port to view the live video through a web browser on the TV. You can use an inexpensive Atom based nettop like Zotac ZBox.
Thanks for your reply! Yeah, I know “bandwith is everything” when it comes to live streaming. I’m also noticing there’s some new HD cameras that run over 3G/4G. Any experience with them? I would trust a 4G wireless cam over 3G on paper but the network isn’t there yet. Pretty soon we’ll be able to put a camera anywhere, just add solar panel. Once again thanks for the reply.
Brickcom has cameras with 4G built in, just add SIM. Check out the review I did on that camera, it has awesome WiFi that can easily go miles in a clear view path or use 4G.
I also am looking for a “video wall” solution, to view the ocean from our other property. (Initially, the “wall” might just be an old PC with dedicated monitor that sits at the corner of my desk:)
Thus outdoor, maybe even a wiper – wide field of view, ability to look into sunset. However I don’t need resolution for the strict purpose of making out license plate detail – just enough to capture the grandeur of the space, ideally at ~30fps. We have good internet there, so ideally the cam would not require a computer on site – it should speak IP directly. IR emitters seem nearly completely useless, as this would be aimed out at the empty backyard and then the ocean. I’m completely new to this, so any recommendations / tips are greatly appreciated!
I can’t decide if PTZ is important or not. If the field of view is wide, I think this becomes less important – what’s exciting to watch is the overall panorama, only rarely would we want to zoom into particular features. If there was a no-compromise option at a good price point where adding PTZ wasn’t a budget-buster (<$1k), perhaps that'd be great icing on the cake.
Glad I found your site, thanks!
great and usaeful,thankS:)
I bought this camera two months ago and here is my opinion.
Quality of construction, finish and parts are excellent. PTZ functions are also excellent. Image quality is stunning except for ghost image when the camera is pointing at the horizon and is zoomed at maximum. In most instances this is not a problem.
What is really deficient is the software driving the camera. Many desirable functions are impossible to implement, like zooming in on a detected moving object. Motion detection is often unreliable. Moving object following is a joke. On windy days, when trees are moving, the camera starts to look everywhere except where it should. There is no feedback to the user on what is going on like if a motion was detected or recording is taking place.
At night, the camera will follow the light reflection on the plastic globe instead of following the object.
Support people are trying their best but are unable to fix some bugs I found and programming deficiencies.
Lastly, the video format, a free Linux standard, is imbedded in 7 or 8 deep directories. Not many video players are able to use it.
I tried it on Windows 7 and Mac OSX. It works on both with minor differences in window appearance.
I hope they fix this software for an otherwise fine product.
Thank you for this review I am looking for a good camera for to cover 400 feet distance all around. This seems like a good fit however I don’t like that the gatekeeper auto track doe not seem to work well. I am going to try to order this one and maybe the bosh autodome 800. I heard that has a really good autotrack feature.
Thank you for the reviews very helpful.
First of all thank you for all great reports. I have just one question though. In your review you write:
– Axis Q6035-E: Very good low light performance
– Axis P5534-E: Mediocre low light capability (http://www.networkcameracritic.com/?p=172)
Then in your youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr5aBgUTJ-0), you say: “We tested the Q60 and P55 side by side, same exposure setting, same angle, same time and they both performed equally in low light, just the resolution difference.”
Now, how do both cameras really perform in low-lights situations – well, mediocre?
How do they perform against Panasonic SC385 or SW395. Those Panasonics are a direct competitor so it would be great if you could provide some side-by-side tests of these cameras against it. Or at least for the future – as you do test a camera, take at least some of the images against the same background and motive and roughly the same lighting conditions as a reference. Then everybody could see right away, ah ok, that’s the image of the Panasonic at 1 lux roughly and that’s the same image of Axis at 1 lux roughly.
Keep up the great job.
The P55 underwent some firmware upgrades that improved it’s performance, common for a new product to improve over time. The reason I tested the PTZ cameras elsewhere from where I live because of the curvature of the street and trees it’s difficult to show value for a PTZ.
I see. Thanks for this note.
If good low-light performance is a must, would you go with the Axis P5534-E or rather with the Panasonic SC385\SW395? I know it’s impossible to tell without having them side by side, but would just like to hear you opinion as I’m deciding between those two now. Each has their own strengths and shortfalls.
Axis P5534-E:
+ Seem to be well build. The housing isn’t too big.
+ Has a 3 year warranty.
– Power consumptions is unclear. The Axis Specs just say 30W max and 37W max – it’s unclear to me when those values apply.
– It has a CCD sensor. This should be good for low-light situations. Though it seems all new Axis models now have CMOS sensors, so Axis is probably slowly abandoning CCD.
— The seam line on the dome. Its biggest shortfall.
Panasonic SW395:
+ Seems to be a nice camera with a somewhat higher resolution than P5534-E
+ Only requires 24W power with heather on.
– Its housing is huge. I know you suggested to go with SC385 and the Panasonic outdoor dome housing (you probably meant POSM5V?). The problem is I can’t find POSM5V in Europe so I’m stuck with SW395 and its big housing for outdoor usage.
– Has it any warranty? No infos from Panasonic about this.
Do you think any of these cameras is capable of producing images like this in low-light – the first sample should be an Axis, but nobody knows which model:
I would wait a little longer and go with the ACTi KCM-8211 coming out in March. It will have the same great sensor from the KCM-5611 that has very low light performance, be 1080P and be priced at less than the P55. The biggest issue I have with the P55, and I noted in my review is they have a dome defect where you see a thick white line along the edge of the dome glass when you pan/tilt up to level with the camera at the upper range. If you mount them in say on an eave of a garage or shop at 7-8′ high, you will run into this, not when looking up close, but as you zoom in on something in the distance, you will likely hit this problem. They fixed it for the Q60 series a while ago, not for the P55. The issue I had with the Panny PTZ is they can have good low light performance, but with very slow shutter speeds to the point the camera is useless for surveillance. Imagine if you increase shutter speed to 1/2 second, obviously you can’t record faster than 2 frames per second, probably less, and anything moving faster than a house will be blurred. When you decrease the shutter speed to say a comfortable 1/30th of a second, the camera had very poor low light capability.
An off the wall choice is the Dahua SD6982, 1080P, ability to rotate/pan the lens endlessly (no other PTZ camera I’ve see does this and if you ever had a PTZ and rotated to it’s limits and then wish you can go a little further without rotating it all the way around the other way), staged IR illuminators good for a rated 100m that can lightup something close or far away as the lights come on in stages. I’ve seen this thing and about a block away, it lights up the area like daytime. Also, dirt cheap, maybe a grand shipped.
You are really kind, thanks. ACTi KCM-8211 indeed seems to be the best match for what I need. Let’s hope it will come out soon. Maybe Geovision GV-SD200-S could have similar characteristic too. It’s been on the market for several months now, though I couldn’t find any night-shots with it and it lacks PoE too..
“Imagine if you increase shutter speed to 1/2 second, obviously you can’t record faster than 2 frames per second,”.. yes, yes. I know and understand that.
I own the Q6034-E, and agree with comment about the software deficiencies of Gatekeeper and Auto-Tracking.
In lieu of updates to the firmware, does anyone have, or know of, work-arounds or tips in making the promise of these facilities somewhat obtainable?
Thanks!
Is the ACTi KCM-8211 able to be purchased yet? I see them for sale online at a number of places but I read somewhere that you said they weren’t really in stock. Any plans to do a review on one?
Thank you.
Would live to do that soon. Just because stuff is for sale doesn’t mean its available, for example I bought an E44 weeks ago but just got it. Don’t know if it’s available yet, may be.