2 thoughts on “Toshiba IK-WB16A 2 Mega Pixel IP/Network Camera with PTZ, PoE, 3.6mm Lens, 1600×1200 Resolution and Free Recording Software”

1. 36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

   
   0.2 lux in low light – a full moon on a clear night, January 14, 2011

   By 

   FlyingPolarBear (Fullerton, CA USA) –
   
     
   
     

   This review is from: Toshiba IK-WB16A 2 Mega Pixel IP/Network Camera with PTZ, PoE, 3.6mm Lens, 1600×1200 Resolution and Free Recording Software (Electronics)

   Right now this is one of the best network cameras out there in this price range (this is the cable version; see the -W model for wireless). The new Panasonic MOS sensor has better quality (especially in low light) but this Toshiba with a CMOS sensor goes to a much higher resolution. CCD has the best color dynamic range, Panasonic MOS is best in low light, and CMOS is just cheaper to fabricate in a tiny space.

   Some details about low light sensitivity: This camera goes down to 0.2 lux (full moonlight) which is pretty good, but not 0.001 as the other review stated (0.001 is a pitch black moonless suburban sky). As a comparison, the Panasonic BB-HCM715 ranges from 0.3 lux to 0.04 lux with color night view mode enabled. The Canon VB-C60 will reach 0.2 lux. It appears that 0.2 lux is the magic number below which it is hard to improve light sensitivity without software-based image enhancement.

   Here is a table of lux values to give an idea how how much light you need to pick up a decent image:

   Illuminance – Example
   0.0001 lux: Total starlight, overcast sky
   0.002 lux: Moonless clear night sky with airglow
   0.01 lux: Quarter moon
   0.27 lux: Full moon on a clear night <– THIS CAMERA —
   1 lux: Full moon overhead at tropical latitudes
   3.4 lux: Dark limit of civil twilight under a clear sky
   50 lux: Family living room
   80 lux: Hallway/toilet
   100 lux: Very dark overcast day
   320-500 lux: Office lighting
   400 lux: Sunrise or sunset on a clear day
   1,000 lux: Overcast day; typical TV studio lighting
   10,000-25,000 lux: Full daylight (not direct sun)
   32,000-130,000 lux: Direct sunlight

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2. 23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

   
   good camera, for a fair price, but I have expected more…, September 25, 2010

   By 

   Evgueni Tchirkov (Cucuta, Colombia) –

   Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: Toshiba IK-WB16A 2 Mega Pixel IP/Network Camera with PTZ, PoE, 3.6mm Lens, 1600×1200 Resolution and Free Recording Software (Electronics)

   Well, I have purchased this camera, since it is a replacement for IK-WB15A, and it is not available any longer… I`ve had a good experience with toshiba cameras (IK-WB15A and IK-WB21A, which I consider best in class), and this one is not an exception. The camera has modern, even futuristic look, it is aesy to install and comes with all accesories. 2 MP sensor, delivers great image (great quality and great (huge) size, asl well), under normal light conditions (daylight), under low light consitions, the image become pretty noisy, which is not good. IK-WB15A and 21A have and exceptional sensitivity (0.001 lux, if I`m not mistaken), and great image, even in almost completely dark invironment… Sure, IK-WB15 had a CCD sensor, and this time they used CMOS, which is good, but not at night… Toshiba has choosen a huge image, but they have sacrificed the quality… Also I miss optical zoom… I think, that Megapixel images are good, but they are not so practical for surveillance purposes, since they are huge, or mercyless compression must be used in order to save some disk space… I think an 1280×800 is more than enough, but there is nothing like an optical zoom and good sensitivity for low light conditions…
   returning to the camera: a good point is a software supplied with the camera: of course it is not Milestone, but it is good, and it is free…
   Trying to resume all this:
   Pros:
   * 2 MP sensor, with good image quality under day light
   * Dual streaming
   * Dual power supply: PoE or 12VDC
   * Free software included
   * Bi directional audio

   Cons:
   * Low image quality under low light conditions
   * Digital zoom only
   * PTZ respose time is longer than previous models (even over ethernet)
   * The software included seems to work with this model (IK-WB16A) only

   Conclusions:
   This camera is a good value for a fair price, despite some flaws and “downgrades” Toshiba has added to it

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