Sony Generation 6 Camera Review

The Sony SNC-VB600 is Sony’s sixth generation of IP camera and comes with a list of specs as long as your arm: HD 720p resolution, PoE, SDHC card slot, full duplex audio, Focus Assist — I could go on and on. The jewel in the crown here is Sony’s unique 60 fps technology that its top G6 cameras have, effectively twice the refresh rate of a real-time camera.

720p HD resolution
We found the quality of the images to be excellent. As soon as we plugged in the camera we noticed crisp and vivid colours, and a very sharp image without any adjustment. Internal lights are no issue (flickering), and when pointed outdoors, it coped with varying conditions very well. With a bit of focus adjustment, we could make out grass fibres and the detail of leaves on the trees. The grain of our wooden floor was visible also.

This certainly ranks at the very top of the 720p section of the market alongside the other premier brands. The remote focus button is excellent, whether pressed on the camera itself or whilst dialled into the camera via its web interface — simply point the camera, click, and you get a brilliant focused image. Although not the first manufacturer to implement this feature, it is definitely a welcome addition.

130dB View-DR (dynamic range)
From reading specs on the market at the time of this review, the 130dB dynamic range from Sony is the top ranking spec out there.

The camera has cracking performance at the extremes of lighting conditions. We purposely positioned the camera in situations to create shadow and darkness, and the camera performed admirably. Luckily we were testing during a typical British spring day, meaning we had pockets of glorious sunshine, cloudy spells, and darned right grey moments thrown in.

This mixture of weather gave us very bright sunshine and very dark shadows, so it allowed us to see the camera adapting in real-time without any adjustments — it was certainly impressive. At the brightest moments, I stood in front of the window so the camera would be looking at an object directly into a light source, and it coped very well. My face was not at all in shadow (some might say unfortunately).

During twilight and later into the evening, with the blinds drawn and lights off, we had a very dingy test room, and the camera still displayed quality images. We positioned the camera in our office with the light at 0.3lux and it performed well. We made out some excellent details in the room. When pointed outside with even less light, as we would expect less detail was visible; however basic items such as buildings, windows, and trees could still be seen. Without doubt, the camera has excellent low-light performance.

DEPA video analytics
There are a number of very good analytics built into the Sony SNC-VB600, including tamper detection, virtual fence line, virtual trip wire, missing object, people counting, and anti-loiter options, as well as audio analysis. We can configure a number of these to a decent level of detail, enabling us to create intelligent detection systems, in conjunction with our high-quality visual image.

The camera also allows us to use these as triggers at the recording end. Whether we use Sony’s own NVR and software, or we use a VMS (in this test we used SeeTec), we can, in effect, create alarm events within our footage to enable more efficient playback. We can even use the alarm triggers to do something intelligent on the system, such as use a virtual trip wire event to arm the intruder and alarm systems.

Additional features
The camera also has some great additional features: SDHC Card slot, full duplex audio, terminal I/O.

The SD card slot allows for up to 32GB cards to be used — fantastic! This allows for ample hours of recording in HD if an event such as alarm or network link failure. The camera also supports Po, which these days is a necessity, not a luxury. The camera supports full duplex audio, allowing an external microphone and speaker to be used, another useful addition.

The VB600 also comes with 2x alarm inputs and 2x alarm outputs (contact engage and contact disengage). This is extremely useful if the camera is used externally with a housing and may be linked up to PIR detectors; it is also useful if you want some basic integration with other systems, such as intruder alerts.

60fps refresh rate
The jewel in the crown of the Sony G6 cameras is its 60 fps refresh rate. Before turning this on, we were already impressed with the crisp images from the camera. When we enabled this feature, we were even more impressed.

We were able to see every movement of an object, such as dropping a ball from a first story window to the ground, without any form of blur or judder. Sony markets this feature as being critical for applications such as casinos (sleight of hand and other attempts at cheating). While that’s true, this feature has potential for more applications. Any environment with fast-moving objects would benefit, as the detail gained is superb.

The downside, as you might guess, is the network usage. When enabled, we noticed a rather large spike in bandwidth being eaten by the camera. Whereas there was a mean 2 Mbit/s bandwidth at 30 fps, we noticed a jump of over twice as much. Certainly this feature would need to be used in applications where the security system is on a dedicated network, and if used at enterprise level, we would definitely advise a fibre backbone just to be safe.

It really is a worthwhile feature though. When you see an image with almost zero blur and judder, you have a eureka moment — just like seeing a BluRay for the first time when all you are used to is standard definition. It is quite something.

The verdict
This is a video surveillance camera produced by one of the top brands in the market and comes with a massive list of specs and hype to match. It doesn’t disappoint though.

The camera is equipped with all the basic features we expect and need as well as some new features that are not gimmicks but add to the value and quality of this product.

In essence, we have an HD camera that supports two-way audio, has PoE, alarm in/outs, and supports SDHC recording. It does all of these things very well, so that alone would allow it to compete with the other A-list brands. Bolted on to this we have video analytics, remote focus, the widest dynamic range going, and a 60 fps refresh rate, unlike anything else in the market.

The only downsides we can point to is the aesthetics of the camera and its extreme low-light performance against another market leader, Axis.

Visually, the camera is a creamy grey with black trim at the front. While from a security point of view it is fine, more and more we find architects and consultants disliking products purely because of their colour. Other cameras, of a more silver, white, or black persuasion, could be considered more aesthetically pleasing. While colour does not at all have anything to do with the performance of this great camera, it is worth noting for those who bid on construction projects.

As we mentioned previously, performance in low light and varying light is excellent. However, it is worth noting that for those who want to know the very top market leader in every field, we have found the Axis Lightfinder technology enables its cameras to produce quality colour images in pretty much pitch black. We are yet to find another brand that can match Axis for this particular feature. What is worth noting is, for pure low light performance, Sony definitely matches Axis. In monochrome, the level of detail produced by both is excellent; it is just with the extra software feature that Axis has set the bar extremely high.

Overall the VB600 represents an excellent package of the latest technology, with some forward-thinking features. The build quality is excellent, and the visual performance is right up there with the very best in the market.

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