The IP Camera Store and IP Cam Blog

Look, No Wires!

Recently launched by Axis, the new variant of their Axis 211 model fills a gaping hole in the IP camera market by offering true native wireless connectivity both indoors and outdoors. The Axis 211W when bought as an outdoor bundle includes both an indoor wireless antenna and a large outdoor wireless antenna to give a wide range of installation possibilities.

Wireless outdoor cameras are something we get asked for on a regular basis and until now it’s not been achievable with ease, so it’s with excitement that we take a closer look at the Axis 211W and see if the wireless connectivity is worth all the fuss…

1. Accessories

First let’s take a look at what you get when you purchase the Axis 211W Outdoor Bundle Kit:

• 1x Axis 211W Wireless network camera
• 1x Indoor PSU for use with normal 13A sockets (UK version tested)
• 1x Generic stand for indoor wall, ceiling or desktop mounting
• 1x Indoor wireless antenna
• 1x Videotec Verso outdoor housing
• 1x PSU for use in outdoor housing/installations
• 1x Cable managed wall bracket for outdoor housing
• 1x Outdoor wireless antenna
• 1x Cable for wireless antenna connection

It also comes with and installation guide and CDROM containing installation tools, camera software and user manual, MPEG-4 licenses (1 encoder, 1 decoder), an MPEG-4 decoder (Windows only), free 1-channel recording software called Axis Camera Station One and a 3-year manufacturer’s limited hardware warranty.

The only thing missing which you may need if you plan to power the camera using PoE is a PoE midspan. But considering the camera comes with an indoor and outdoor power supply and the fact you may already have a PoE-enabled switch this is not a huge deal. This is the biggest and most complete outdoor bundle we’ve seen from Axis, or any other manufacturer so far.

2. Installation

The thing to note here is that this camera has been designed for ease of installation and provides a wide choice of installation options.

To power the camera you have four choices

• You can power it using the supplied indoor power adapter. Input: 240V Output: 9V 1.7A
• You can power the camera using the supplied outdoor PSU which fits into the housing. A mains supply is required to be fed to the housing using this method.
• You can power the camera through the data cable using the Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard.
• You can power it using the alternative method through the terminal block. (see the manual for more information on how to do this)

Of course, most people who buy the outdoor bundle will run a mains cable to the housing and use the PSU inside the housing to step-down the voltage appropriate to the camera. It is nice that there are many options provided, especially the addition of an indoor power supply which enables easy configuration of the camera before it’s installed into position. This is crucial for those tests prior to install that you should be doing and to check for faults. You don’t want to find out there’s a problem after you’ve installed it all.

3. Configuration

As always with Axis cameras their initial configuration procedure is simple and easy to use and is consistant across their camera range.

The camera comes with a setup utility on the included CD-ROM which will enable you to perform the initial setup of the network information. This is easy to use, works very well and is a good initial starting point for any new user.

Should you wish to dial into the camera and use the camera’s own setup pages to perform the initial configuration then the default details are as follows:

Default IP address: 192.168.0.90

The camera has no default username or password. These must be set on first use.

Axis also offer a free dynamic DNS service for users who wish to view their cameras from the internet but have a dynamic IP address allocated to them by their ISP. See www.axiscam.net for more information, or see our blog entry on how to register your camera with Axiscam.net.

The only downside to setting up the camera is the lens appears to be the same as is supplied on the Axis 211. It’s a Tamron 3.0-8mm Vari-focal DC-Iris CS-Mount Lens and these have proven to be a little fiddly to set up in the past. Just remember that before focusing the lens you should enter the camera setup pages and in the exposure settings turn off the DC-Iris before initially focusing the lens. This will ensure a sharper focus of your subject matter when you turn it back on. You’ll need a steady hand and plenty of patience to get this right.

4. Wireless

This is the first camera from Axis to natively support wireless IEEE802.11b/g networking outdoors. The camera comes with a small internal antenna for use indoors or a large external antenna for outdoor installations. These can be swapped over on the back of the camera with very little difficulty.

The wireless works very well. We tested both indoors and outdoors using the respective antenna and never had a dropped signal.

Indoors we tested through walls and doors at ranges of up to 30m and outdoors at a range of at least 50-60m and found no problems.

Look at the picture below for an indication of the distance the camera achieved without any loss of signal:

Using a standard domestic wireless router in the office (a BT branded 2-Wire 2700HGV) we took the camera to the far away building opposite and pleaded for a power socket. They kindly agreed (thanks Pie Cuisine) and we stood there at the back door where the red square is indicated and were still able to achieve a steady and strong signal. We estimate the distance to be at least 50-60m which is excellent.

Enryption Methods

All the standard wireless encryption protocols are supported including WEP, WPA/WPA2-PSK and WPA/WPA2-Enterprise.

5. Viewing

The Axis 211W is a wireless static camera capable of streaming images simultaneously as JPEG images or in MPEG-4 mode. This is useful for streaming fast moving video in a web browser while simultaneously transferring high quality JPEG images to a storage device.

The Axis 211W supports the following resolutions delivering 30 frames per second across each one:

• 640×480
• 480×360
• 352×288
• 320×240
• 240×180
• 176×144
• 160×120

Image Quality

The camera comes with a DC-Iris CS mount lens. 3.0-8.0mm, F1.0

Horizontal viewing angle: 27°-67°

Sensor: 1/4” Micron progressive scan RGB CMOS VGA

Image quality is identical to an Axis 211 as this is essentially an Axis 211 with the added wireless capability. Axis 211 images are reasonable but can always be improved with a higher-quality lens.

See below example image from the Axis 211W:

The usual image settings can be adjusted in the camera:

• Compression can be set from 0-100
• Brightness/Contrast can be adjusted 0-100
• Colour level can be adjusted 0-100
• Sharpness can be adjusted -2 to 2
• Various presets to adjust the white balance. Choose from several indoor or outdoor presets or automatic
• Various settings for exposure
• The image can be rotated 180 degrees. Choices are 0 or 180
• Text such as date/time and logos/messages can be applied to the image

Low-Light Behaviour

The camera performs adequately in low light. It will operate as little as 0.75 lux F1.0 but has no day/night capability and is not infrared sensitive.

6. Viewing Technology and Compatibility

The camera tested came installed with the latest firmware which is version 4.40.

On Internet Explorer the camera gives the following options for video streaming:

• ActiveX
• Java
• Quicktime
• Server Push

Using ActiveX is the best method when viewing through Internet Explorer as you gain all the additional functionality which Axis have embedded into their own plug-in such as full screen mode and joystick support.

On Mozilla browsers the camera gives the following options:

• Java
• Quicktime
• Server Push
• Still Image

The camera runs fine across all browsers types although some additional functionality such as, full screen mode and joystick control is only supported using the ActiveX component, Axis Media Control (AMC). For Mozilla range of browsers the video stream is managed by a Java applet.

7. Audio

The camera supports 2-way audio meaning that you can listen in to sounds where the camera is positioned and also issue orders or instructions to people or intruders in the cameras vicinity. Great for door entry systems or as a deterrent for trespassers.

Can work as one-way audio with the viewer only listening in on sounds or audio can be turned off completely.

Audio specification: Full/Half duplex (1 or 2-way) Monaural output. Compression: AAC LC8 – 32kbit/s, G.711 PCM 64kbit/s, G.726 ADPCM 32 or 24kbit/s.

The camera comes with a built-in microphone. An external microphone can be attached using the mic/line input port. For two-way audio support the camera would require external active speakers which would plug into the line-out port on the back.

8. Events

The Axis 211W, like all Axis camera products, offers a comprehensive alarm management system. Images can be transferred in a number of ways including FTP and email and can be triggered using:

• Input sensors
• Manual triggers
• Motion detection
• Audio
• On boot

Pre-/Post-alarm buffering included allowing the capture of images before and after an alarm has been triggered. Buffer size up to 36MB allowing approx. 5 mins of VGA resolution video a 4fps.

9. Extras

The Axis 211W comes with a free 1-channel recording application, Axis Camera Station One. This is a fully featured application with no time constraints, though limited to one camera only.

This product comes with the Manufacturer’s 3-year Limited Hardware Warranty

10. Conclusion

The Axis 211 is a popular camera providing a reasonable cost-effective outdoor solution. The Axis 211W does the same job but with added wireless functionality and the audio features from a 211A.

This is going to prove an extremely popular camera. I think we get asked for an outdoor wireless IP camera every day, and every day we have to tell customers that there is no real, easy solution for them. There is now.

We were impressed with the strength and range of the signal. We tested the camera using only a standard 2-Wire 2700HGV BT Home Hub branded Router and could achieve a strong signal over 50m away outdoors without line of sight. When we tested indoors the camera performed well over distance and through doors and rather thick walls (some steel reinforced - we’re in an old police station) to the point we couldn’t actually make it drop the connection at all without running out of office space.

Comparable Products

We do not have any comparable products to this. The closest product would be a Sony SNC-RZ25P or SNC-RZ30P with the optional wireless network card tucked into the compact flash card slot. However, this solution is not native wireless and can’t really be compared to the Axis 211W because it lacks the power or efficiency of a native wireless model and can’t perform anywhere near as well.

The Axis 211W is truly a unique product and should make a lot of people very happy.

11. Links

For more information please see the following:

Axis 211W Wireless Static IP Camera

Axis 211W Wireless Static IP Camera - Outdoor Bundle

| Digg this | Trackback