IQinvision made a stop in Oak Brook, Illinois, this evening as part of their "Sentinel Roadshow," where the company is going to various towns to exhibit their new Sentinel Series of network cameras. IQinvision is advertising their IQeye Sentinel Series as the first "All-Weather Megapixel Network Camera that is entirely Power over Ethernet." These cameras are not on the market yet, but the company is taking orders and will be shipping in July.
Representing IQinvision were Lisa Bradshaw, regional sales manager; Paul Bodell, vice president of sales and marketing; and Jason Spielfogel, product marketing manager. Bodell gave a brief overview of the company and then Spielfogel delved into the Sentinel Series' product details.
The Sentinel Series of network cameras aim to be rugged outdoor cameras that are easy-to-use and install. They're tested to work in a temperature range of -22 degrees F all the way up to 122 F; and by drawing only 6 watts of power, these cameras can be powered completely by Ethernet cabling. (There's also an AC/DC power option.)
One aspect of the camera that caught my attention was when Spielfogel pointed out that as soon as the camera is closed up after maintenance, it has a gasket on the inside that automatically seals it for IP 66 weather rating. You can still go ahead and put the screws in to make sure it doesn't get knocked around or something, but as soon as the camera is closed it's sealed (with or without the screws). I thought that bit of engineering showed off both the camera's ease of use and ruggedness.
It will be interesting to see what the reports are after the Sentinel Series of network cameras have been in the field for a year or so. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on IQeye.
-Greg
