IP Camera Learning blog

Evaluation: Y-cam Bullet IP security camera

February 22nd, 2010 by James Drinkwater

Y-cam have made a name for themselves recently by providing feature-rich entry-level IP cameras at affordable prices. They are also one of the few IP camera manufacturers to fully embrace infrared monitoring.

Now Y-cam is releasing the Y-cam Bullet and we have managed to get hold of one for testing. The Y-cam Bullet is an outdoor-quality network IP camera which offers Wi-Fi connectivity, on-camera microSD card recording and true night vision surveillance using switchable infrared-cut filter and built-in infrared LED lighting.

Initial impressions

The Y-cam Bullet looks a lot more professional and well-built than the previous models in the range. The metal casing looks sturdy and well protected from the elements, with cables exiting the casing via a large waterproof connection. The stand of the Bullet looks sturdy and should stand up to high winds.

What’s in the box?

• Y-cam Bullet camera with detachable sunshield
• Wall, ceiling or desk-mountable stand
• Detachable wireless antenna
• Mounting screws and dowels
• Allen key for stand adjustment
• Power Supply with EU, US and UK connections
• 1m cat5e cable
• Quick start guide in six languages
• Setup CD with search and Multi-live management software

Key Features

Casing

The casing of the Y-cam Bullet is metal and feels very sturdy. It is designed for outdoor use, coming fitted with sunshade and large cable gland at the rear. The casing is IP66 rated so should stand up to the elements without a problem.

Day-night functionality

As stated earlier, Y-cam have always fully embraced infrared lighting with their Y-cam Black and Knight cameras. However, these cameras have not been true day/night cameras due to a lack of a switchable IR filter.

Switchable infrared-cut filters control whether infrared light can hit the image sensor of a camera. In daylight conditions the filter remains closed preventing infrared light from hitting the sensor while during the night the filter opens so that all light is captured. Previous Y-cam models had no infrared filter which meant that they were able to detect infrared lighting in low-light conditions but during the day the infrared lighting would affect the colouring so that most images had a pink tinge and greens appeared as purple. The new Bullet is the first Y-cam to be fitted with a switchable infrared-cut filter offering true day/night use.

In addition to the infrared-cut filter, there are also fewer infrared LEDs on the new Bullet camera compared to the Y-cam Black and Knight but the new lights are a lot bigger. Similarly to the Knight and Black, however, the infrared lights on the Bullet are not covert and a red glow is visible from the LEDs when they are switched on. We have taken some shots to compare.

Image 1: Y-cam Bullet image during the day

Image 2: Y-cam Bullet in 0 lux conditions with LEDs turned off

Image 3: Y-cam Bullet in 0 lux conditions with infrared LEDs turned on

Images were taken from MJPEG streams at 640×480 resolution with 90% quality. You will see from this the quality of footage provided by the bullet is good for a VGA quality camera. We did notice quite a bit of artefacting (squares in the footage caused by compression) but on the whole the image quality is good enough to identify a person at 10 metres.

We then compared the images to a Y-cam Knight mounted in the same location.

Image 4: Y-cam Knight in 0 lux conditions with LEDs on

You will see that although there are more LEDs on the Knight, they are nowhere near as powerful. For outdoor, low-light security surveillance in scenarios such as pub and club entrances, car park security and site perimeter surveillance we would really recommend the Y-cam Bullet.

We also took a look at the camera in an outdoor scenario to observe how the camera copes in the real-world.

Image 5: Y-cam Bullet outdoors with LEDs on

The quality of footage outdoors is really exceptional for a camera at this price point. The images are crisp and clear and provide clear definition of objects in view. The camera also seems to expose the image well, providing an even gray scale across the entire image.

One thing we did notice is that the camera is quite susceptible to glare from other lights.

Image 6: Y-cam Bullet outdoors with on-coming car

This is a common problem with low-light IP cameras but shows how limited the camera can be with lights pointed directly at it. However, this can be reduced or eliminated by moving the camera to a more suitable location and angle. For example, if you are looking to record number plates with the Bullet, rather than recording head on where you have to contend with headlights you can mount the camera pointing in the opposite direction to catch the number plate on the rear of the car.

One feature that would have been advantageous on the Y-cam Bullet is a varifocal lens. Although the lens from the image is sharp, a varifocal lens with adjustable zoom would have allowed the camera to provide higher detail at greater range. This decision may have been down to the limit on the distance that the infrared LEDs are effective.

Wireless

Similar to all Y-cam cameras, the Y-cam Bullet also features support for 802.11b/g wireless connections. With the lack of quality external wireless IP cameras on the market, we think the Y-cam Bullet will be very popular for entry-level outdoor applications.

We tested the wireless functionality in our office building to see what sort of range we could get. We were able to pick up a good signal from a standard wireless router behind three concrete walls but were unable to connect after the fourth. This was at a distance of around 15 metres.

Power over Ethernet

Another new welcome addition to the Y-cam is Power over Ethernet support. Power over Ethernet essentially combined the data and power signals so that they can both be transmitted through the same cable. This saves time and money for installation as cabling requirements are reduced and does not require a power source close to the camera location. With a camera at this level, PoE support is really essential to make larger, multi-camera installations easier to deploy.

Easy Setup

Those who are familiar with the simple setup process of other Y-cam cameras will be pleased to know that the initial setup of this camera is identical. Setting up only takes six steps and all settings are controlled from the cameras web interface.

Keeping the setup of these cameras relatively simple will be key to its success and means that installers who are new to IP should be able to quickly and easily install a large system without a great deal of prior knowledge.

Two-way audio

Whereas the other cameras in the Y-cam range feature one-way audio, where viewers can listen to audio from the camera’s location but not respond, the Y-cam Bullet features two-way audio.

The two-way audio feature lets viewers listen to audio from the camera’s location through the web interface and to send audio back to be output by the camera using a microphone connected to the monitoring computer.

Most two-way audio systems do not have any audio input/output hardware on the camera itself and require additional microphone and speaker to function. The Y-cam bullet features a built-in microphone which lets you listen to audio without having to purchase any additional equipment.

The inclusion of the microphone inside the camera casing is handy for those who are looking for a quick setup, but I would question not having an additional input for an external microphone. Cameras such as these are often mounted quite high and pulling any form of usable audio from a built-in microphone may be difficult.

Although you can listen to audio in most Internet browsers, the functionality to send audio to the camera has been limited by the use of ActiveX components which will only function in Internet Explorer. As such, two-way audio is only available on the Windows platform, leaving Mac and Linux users with only one-way audio listen-in.

MicroSD card recording

A recent addition to the Y-cam range is microSD card recording. A large number of manufacturers are adopting edge-based video recording rather than centralised image storage.

The ease of setup and use of the recording functionality on the Y-cam Bullet is one of its best features. There are four different types of recordings which can be made; Video on alarm, snapshot on alarm, continuous video recording or snapshot recording. All of these can be used simultaneously to cover different events.

To start recording you enable the type of recording you require and set the relevant image and frequency settings. Once done, the camera will record. You can even monitor stored files directly from the web interface. To back data up there is also a function built into the camera which will systematically copy all stored footage to a remote FTP server so that should anything happen to the camera or data stored on the microSD card, the captured footage is still secure.

From a usability point of view things really couldn’t be simpler. With support for microSD cards up to 8GB in size, the Bullet can replace centralized video recording servers or act as a backup if network recorders are disconnected. We really like the simplicity of the SD recording facility as it will enable quicker system set up for installers and potentially cheaper systems for end users.

Recording Options

In addition to the microSD card function mentioned above, there are other recording options available. The Bullet features internal FTP and Email clients which can transfer images to remote servers via the internet.

All Y-cam cameras also come with Multi-live monitoring and recording software. This is an easy to use application for the Microsoft Windows platform which can monitor and record footage from up to 32 separate Y-cam cameras. For Mac computers, the Bullet is also compatible with the SecuritySpy surveillance application.

Should a stand-alone system be required, the Bullet is also compatible with QNAP recording servers. These are available with a range of hard drive capacities and can store footage from other manufacturers alongside the camera, providing easy integration with third-party cameras.

The recording flexibility of the Y-cam Bullet means that installers have a range of storage options available and can specify the ideal solution for each installation rather than being tied to a single platform or application.

Mobile Phone Viewing

There is also support on the Y-cam Bullet for mobile viewing. This allows an Internet-enabled mobile phone or PDA device to view footage from a camera when it is accessible from the internet. When logging in you have the option to view static JPEG images or a 3GPP stream which can be played in VLC based media players or QuickTime.

The mobile viewer offers footage at reduced resolutions and image rates which suit the limited bandwidth rates associated with mobile communications which should help to reduce monitoring costs.

What it doesn’t have

Although the camera does have a wide range of useful features, there are features not included that we think really should be.

As stated earlier, the lens on the Bullet has a fixed focal point on it which will limit the detail you can capture of remote objects. The camera would have been more flexible to different locations with a varifocal lens.

We also noted that there is no system log available in the Bullet, similarly to the rest of the Y-cam range. Although this is a small feature, it is often essential to know that your system is configured and is functioning correctly. Adding a system log would make setup and management of the camera far easier.

With previous models, Y-cam spent a lot of time making sure that the camera was PC, Mac and Linux compatible, even producing Mac-based search software to locate cameras without a PC. But as shown earlier, although you can still hear audio from the Y-cam bullet outside of Internet Explorer, you cannot send audio to the camera, limiting it substantially.

The camera also does not feature a power LED. This can be either a feature or an oversight depending on your view. On one side, when we first powered the camera it was difficult to tell whether it was actually on and required us to cover the light sensor to turn on the infrared LEDs. This may make it difficult to tell if the camera is functioning correctly. Conversely, if you can’t see that the camera is offline other people can’t either. This means that even if there is a problem with the camera it will still act as a deterrent.

Final Thoughts

There is a real need in the IP camera market for outdoor cameras which offer a high level of functionality at an affordable price. We feel that the Y-cam Bullet offers value for money by providing features such as Power over Ethernet, Wi-Fi connection and built-in infrared lighting at around £300.

The image quality of the camera, although comparable to other VGA quality cameras in the market in daylight conditions, is truly exceptional in darkness. This level of detail from a relatively inexpensive, feature rich camera should appeal to most small to medium sized enterprises looking to deploy an effective low-light surveillance system.