Panasonic System Communications Company of North America on Jan. 13 announced the immediate availability of its new i-PRO Ultra 360 panoramic indoor (WV-SFN480) and outdoor IP66 rated weather and vandal-resistant (WV-SFV481) fixed dome 360-degree cameras offering ultra-high resolution, ultra sensitivity, ultra intelligence and ultra toughness.
The WV-SFN480 and WV-SFV481 are the first of a series of models based on Panasonic’s new, ground-breaking 12 megapixel sensor and 4K Ultra HD engine. The cameras produce a 9MP (3K x 3K) Fisheye image at 15fps and a 4MP Fisheye image at 30fps to capture crisper edge-to-edge images that deliver virtually the same resolution and coverage area as four conventional 720p security cameras, thereby increasing system efficiency.
The new half-inch 12MP image sensor delivers high-sensitivity at less than 0.4 lux for sharp images in color and black-and-white. In the event the IR cut filter is removed to gain higher sensitivity under low light, the Super Chroma Compensation (SCC) feature preserves the full-color rendition. In addition, a first-of-its-kind Auto Back Focus (ABF) structure for an HD 360 degree camera was designed specifically for its single-focus lens, ensuring both models automatically achieve optimal focus in day or night environments.
The Ultra 360 cameras are designed to be highly flexible, supporting various display modes such as Fish-eye, Single Panorama, Double Panorama, Single PTZ, Quad PTZ, and Quad Stream modes. The cameras support simultaneous streaming of both Fish-eye and de-warped images so that the system can allow the full image to be recorded while concurrent users can utilize additional streams with different display configurations. The cameras support multi-user virtual pan, tilt and zoom in Quad PTZ mode, allowing different views of the full image—at the same time—on live streams or while playing back recorded video, further increasing flexibility.
They are also equipped with advanced analytics capabilities providing business owners with valuable insights into the movements of their customers and employees. Available in March 2015 as an add-on to Panasonic’s WV-ASM200 Surveillance Software Suite, the cameras’ Heat Mapping capabilities can aggregate a history of movement in a scene and overlay a color heat map indicating both traffic patterns and dwell time in a single easy-to-understand view. Additional analytics include a 12-virtual-line, bi-directional “people counting” function to assist in quantifying the movement of people in a scene. These new analytics capabilities are ideal for generating insight into floor behavior in retail environments, ultimately helping to improve customer service and in-store marketing as well as enhance loss prevention efforts.
The Ultra 360 cameras’ on-board processor has the ability to encode up to two H.264 streams simultaneously and offers two JPEG modes. In addition, the Ultra 360 cameras feature edge-ready recording with a single SDXC memory card slot, offering flexible record modes including alarm-recording and backup-recording in the event of a network failure.
The Ultra 360 WV-SFV481 model features an anti-shock vandal resistant IK10 rated chassis that also meets IP66 standards for dust and water resistance and is EN 50155 compliant for on-vehicle applications, making it well suited for installation in vehicles such as buses and trains.
The WV-SFV481 and WV-SFN480 are immediately available through authorized Panasonic resellers at an MSRP of $2,431 and $1,924 respectively. Features such as Heat Mapping and some other analytic functions will be available as a software upgrade in March 2015.
