Russian-made TV cameras: market positions.

It is no secret that most companies involved in technical security equipment today came from the Soviet defense industry. Enterprises working for the defense industry had an advanced production base for that time and, undoubtedly, the best scientific and technical potential in the country. Therefore, when the conversion happened, specialists began to look for points of application of forces. The security industry was close, understandable, and in many cases did not require special re-profiling. In fact, an engineer who had been involved in high technology all his adult life was not very interested in designing frying pans.

Actually, this is how the market for technical security equipment began in our country. Gradually, a division occurred between those who manufacture products and those who work with imported equipment.

Nevertheless, speaking about this sector, it can be stated that Russia produces very good equipment, which in many respects is not inferior to foreign analogues. These include technical means of perimeter protection, and components of fire alarm systems, and access control and management systems.

But our topic is cameras for security television systems.
What can be said here? Russian cameras for security television systems appeared at a time when there was no such diverse range of imported equipment on the market. The demand for cameras was very high, it probably exceeded the supply at that time by several times. Therefore, manufacturing companies had the opportunity not only to earn money, but also to invest in the development of production, to gain a foothold in their segment. According to experts, cameras made in Russia successfully compete with foreign products.

And not only in price. Russian manufacturers have a number of undeniable competitive advantages.
For example, availability of products in stock and the possibility of prompt delivery of equipment. Even the fact that the supplier company has its own production attracts the client. Because he knows that if the cameras fail, they will be repaired not by the tenth intermediaries, but by the manufacturers themselves. And the manufacturer, in turn, can quickly respond to market needs: replenish the line of cameras, make custom-designed equipment, etc.

Or take such a crucial issue as warranty and post-warranty service. Naturally, a Russian manufacturer by definition has more opportunities to do this efficiently and promptly.

Most Russian TV camera manufacturers have very serious quality control of their products. For example, ours includes quality control of components, electrical training of the video module and its testing on a vibration stand, testing of the product for leaks, and checking for moisture inside the case. And the percentage of defects is, accordingly, very low. All this attracts customers. You must agree that the fact that most customers come to us on recommendations is in itself very indicative. Yes, CCD matrices and other electronic components are imported. But the design of the cameras is unique. All circuitry is Russian. In many cases, vandal-proof design is used, the cameras are completely sealed, which also have very wide ranges of temperatures, illumination, etc.And you must agree that these are serious competitive advantages. The demand for domestic highly reliable cameras of Russian manufacture that exists on the market today is satisfied by Russian manufacturers. The total demand is naturally much higher, so many foreign brands are successfully promoted.

What problems are holding back the development of Russian production?
The first of them is electronics. The backwardness of our electronics has long been a commonplace, and no one has tried to overcome it for a long time. In the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that anything will change. The production of modern electronics requires huge investments. It is easier, cheaper and more efficient to buy electronic components abroad. Which is what Russian manufacturers do. And, therefore, they fully enjoy all the delights of working with our customs, and are forced to include in the cost of the final product not at all low customs duties. All this, of course, does not contribute to the development of Russian production.

For these reasons, Russian-made cameras occupy the mid-price niche. While producing products that are more reliable than most Asian manufacturers, we still cannot always compete with them on price.

In general, the competition of Russian equipment with imports is a separate topic. For example, until recently, many market participants did not take the products of Chinese companies seriously. Everyone knew that cheap, but not very high-quality equipment was supplied from China. Now the situation is changing before our eyes. This was very well demonstrated by the latest safety exhibitions. Chinese manufacturers are moving forward by leaps and bounds, successfully learning to work in the Russian market.

The competition is, in fact, very high. But the market capacity is large, and again, Russian manufacturers were the first. They have a certain advantage. How long will this last? It is difficult to say. The expansion of Asian manufacturers, who still make not very high-quality equipment, but take mass production and low prices, is a factor that cannot be ignored.

And leading European manufacturers have very serious plans for the Russian market. It is no coincidence that many of them already have their representative offices in Russia and the CIS countries. It is difficult to make any forecasts.

One thing is clear: despite all the existing problems, Russian production of television cameras for CCTV is a fact that our competitors cannot ignore.

Video cameras of the MVK-08 ARD (BaytErg) series
Black and white video cameras for outdoor installation without hermetic housings and heating devices, with effective operation in a wide range of illumination, with virtually no upper limit. Lenses with automatic aperture adjustment ARD «Computar» with a focal length of 2.6 to 12 mm. The cameras have a shockproof powder coating, additionally equipped with a 400 mm bracket.
Various versions of the MVK-08 ARD video camera are possible:
MVK-08 ARD (255) high sensitivity: MVK-S. 255 video module, 1/3” Sony Exview HAD CCD matrix, resolution 450 TV lines, threshold sensitivity on the matrix 0.001 lux.
MVK-08 ARD (409) high resolution: MVK-S. 409 video module, 1/3” Sony Super HAD CCD matrix, resolution 580 TV lines, threshold sensitivity on the matrix 0.01 lux.
MVK-08 ARD (259) high resolution and sensitivity:MVK-S video module. 259, 1/3” Sony Exview HAD CCD matrix, 580 TVL resolution, 0.001 lx matrix sensitivity threshold.

Germikom RX-5 (KomKom)
CCTV cameras with built-in infrared illumination. The video cameras combine a completely sealed thermal housing with a Germikom video module and two built-in IR illuminators. This series has a Russian patent.
Infrared spotlights provide illumination of the object of observation at a range of up to 50 m in the absence of light or insufficient illumination. The spotlights are switched on automatically by a signal from the built-in photo sensor. The Germikom RX-5 model is equipped with a 1/3 inch SONY EXview HAD video sensor, forming an image with a sensitivity of 0.003 lux and a resolution of 600 TV lines. The RX-5 series of video cameras uses a video module with a varifocal lens with ARD, allowing operation in conditions of constantly changing illumination of the object.

VNC-743-H3 (EVS)
The main advantages include ultra-high sensitivity (0.00003 lux), resistance to overexposure, high resolution (570 TV lines), adaptive clarity corrector, wide range of supply voltages (from +9 to +15 V), built-in lens-type switch. Along with high-quality images during the day, the camera allows for sensitivity approaching the sensitivity of night vision devices with generation 1, 2 and 2+ image intensifiers. Such sensitivity in cameras became possible due to the development of signal integration modes over an area (a unique function implemented only in EVS cameras) and a time integration mode.

VOCORD NetCam Digital Network Cameras
The VOCORD NetCam series of cameras includes both conventional video camera models (models L and H) and specialized cameras – IR cameras for shooting in low light conditions and cameras with a linear sensor.
Applications: high-resolution video surveillance and video analysis (license plate recognition; traffic monitoring and analysis; face detection and recognition; motion detection; detection of abandoned objects).
Video sensor resolution: from 1 to 5 megapixels. Maximum resolution: 2592 x 1944 pixels. Frame rate at maximum resolution: 27 fps. Lens mount: CS-mount, via adapter: C-mount, Canon EOS EF. Canon EOS EF lens control: aperture, focus. Control interface: RS232/RS422/RS485.
LAN interface: Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 1000 BASE-T). Power supply over Ethernet (PoE): IEEE 802.3af, class 0, from 0.4 to 12.8 W

Video cameras with zoom for long-range surveillance systems of the BS7 series
Focal length f up to 1200 mm.
Video cameras with motorized zoom of the «BS7» series are designed for operation in normal and difficult climatic conditions at extended industrial facilities where high-quality television images with high detail are required.
Zoom ratio 12x/15x/18x/20x/22x/26x/35x/40x/45x/55x/60x. f up to 1200 mm.
In order to obtain high-quality television images with high detail, the TV cameras have the ability to remotely and automatically change the characteristics and operating modes of the «TV camera — zoom» module.
It is possible to control the lens modes:

• scale and focus;
• aperture operating mode «automatic — manual»;
• focus drive speed;

Control of TV camera characteristics to obtain high-quality images.
The camera has an automatic focusing unit designed to work with various types of long-focus motorized lenses, eliminating the need for manual focusing when changing the distance to the observed object. There is also a controller for controlling the automatic focusing unit with an RS485 port.