Review on 📷 SMTAV High-Speed PTZ Camera with 30x Optical + 8X Digital Zoom, 3G-SDI & HDMI Output, H.265 Support for Video Conferencing by Larry Allen

I'm new to PTZ cameras. I've never set up, used, or bought one, but I have a good app for a fixed ceiling-mounted remote PTZ camera in the office, so I decided to jump in. After much reading, the SMTAV 30x was my camera to start with. because it got more bang for your buck. At first I was concerned that the camera wasn't shipped immediately, but it actually came a day earlier than stated. I've only bench tested the camera so far and it appears to work as advertised and lives up to many of the positive reviews, although some of the reviews were a little dated. (It took me a while to write this as I felt it needed ongoing review.) The included manual is short but good enough, but if you need more you can probably get the PTZOptic 30 manual download as it seems very similar. I was able to connect the camera to a non-POE network router and test it on a laptop via WiFi. Of course there is a slight delay, but after logging in, the built-in web services worked fine. I also tested it with OBS after downloading the PTZOptics plugin and it worked really well. It also worked well with VLC over rtsp. Maybe a little smoother in the native SMTAV app. No matter where I looked, monitor, browser, OBS, VLC, the image quality was amazing. As a beginner who can't compare this SMTAV PTZ camera with anything, I'm impressed with my test so far. The optics are surprisingly clear. The native zoom and 2X-8X zoom are amazing. Many configuration options are easy to navigate and change. Colors are great under lights in my environment, but probably not the best in low light. In a dark room with only my laptop's screen lit, I increased the brightness and adjusted the contrast, and given the low light, it was pretty damn good. (So it probably just depends on what/where you're shooting.) You can just shoot vertically or horizontally and it works great. As well as many other settings. Very easy. Again, I only tested it in an HDMI and IP environment. I was planning on using 3G-SDI due to the possibility of higher resolution, but I think HDMI will suffice for my needs. (I'll probably play around with SDI later, but I don't really have SDI hardware and may need to upgrade to HDMI and USB anyway.) My final test, which I hope to complete soon, is checking the channel. Stream to four devices simultaneously over my POE GB network. I keep my fingers crossed. All in all it's a fun project and of course everything is supported by the SMTAV PTZ 30X optical camera. After just a few days of testing and comparing this product to other 30x PTZ cameras for the price, I would give it a thumbs up! Not sure what is required for your project but I like this camera for my project. I will update later. TO UPDATE. I installed a camera on the ceiling of my dental office in the operating room to record video/images for educational purposes. The ceiling mount was fairly straight and easily mounted to the ceiling and cameras. The zoom ensures perfect recording and image quality. I ended up connecting the camera to my gigabit POE router, mainly for power but also for surfing over IP in the office. If necessary, I can also use it for video conferences with OR staff via ZOOM. (Although I didn't connect a microphone, which I never got to work in my test environment via the camera's line-in port.) Since there is some latency in IP transmission, I chose HDMI-USB for display in the operating room. This was done using an HDMI to USB video adapter. In the operating room with a Win10 PC, it allows me to use the native OS camera app to take photos/videos. I can change the frames of an image using the preset camera settings on the remote control. The latency over HDMI to USB is very low, maybe 1/2 second or less. Since we rely on CT images for on-screen display, I didn't want to switch from one video source to another. Using a USB graphics card allows me to stay in a Win10 environment and switch from one window to another when needed. Again, let me be clear. The image on the chair May 7 is very clear and sharp given the angle. When zooming in to capture the headrest, it becomes very sharp and you can count the seams on the headrest. When you sit back in your chair and snap photos of your teeth, the image is just as sharp, clear, and perfect. I turned on the digital 2X to get a little closer. Clear again. In the office, I can connect to the camera directly from the browser and have full control over the camera. I can use VLC to observe the camera or use OBS with the PTZOptics plugin to control the camera and record with one or more cameras. It's all damn cool, very clear everywhere. So overall I'm very happy with the camera and found the whole experience easy, even for a video novice! (Of course, I had to watch a few YouTube videos to speed things up, so there's a time investment for beginners.) Given my short couple of weeks with this camera, I'd recommend it to anyone. I assume that this will also cover a certain distance in time. Hope this helps you!