360° Fisheye Indoor Camera - Why We Made Fisheye & What We Have Done

Reolink Fiona

TL; DR
This post mainly introduces fisheye cameras, the differences between our fisheye cameras and those on the market, the difficulties in developing fisheye cameras, and how we have adapted to overcome these difficulties.

Hi, all

We came out with many new products in the first quarter, among which the fisheye camera is the most distinct and refreshing. You'll also wonder why we came out with a fisheye camera. Besides enriching our product line, we would like to provide you with additional information to learn more about this new Reolink product.

What's fisheye camera?

Fisheye cameras get their name from their shape and ability to offer 180° and 360 ° panoramic perspectives of the area they are monitoring. The image from the fisheye lens is hemispherical or wide panoramic, which produces strong visual distortion. It is pretty much like when we see through a door's peephole, just like the effect of a fisheye.

What are the differences between fisheye camera and other cameras?

1. Larger FOV
The general fisheye cameras in the market are usually equipped with a short focus lens (f: 1~2mm) and a sensor that can create a larger image than the lens's so that the field of view of fisheye can reach or even exceed 180°. Compared to rectilinear lens cameras, fisheye lenses can provide a 360° panoramic view to cover a vast area without blind spots.

2. Less Cost
Not only can fisheye cover the monitoring area in all directions to achieve no-blind spot monitoring. If bullet cameras were to be used, three or four might have to be installed to provide the same level of coverage. A PTZ camera could provide 360° of coverage, but not in a single view. And, while multisensory cameras could supply both, their feature set puts them at a price point that smaller operations may not afford.

3. Ease of Use & Installation
Fisheye supports three ways of mounting(Ceiling/Wall/Desk). These installation methods and their discreet appearance make it a good tool for indoor use. Its 360° panoramic monitoring feature can achieve the same monitoring effect as several cameras. It saves cost and reduces the troublesome installation steps for multiple cameras. What's more? The fisheye camera can be installed in various indoor locations, such as homes, shops, halls, factory.

What's hard in Fisheye development?

The ultra-wide-angle lens has both advantages and drawbacks. While it provides a 360° panoramic view, it also brings strong distortion. This distortion will make detect people more challenging for our AI model. Yet, the short focal length of the traditional fisheye lens will also lead to low effective pixels(low resolution). We focus on these issues in our following fisheye development.

What did we do to iron out these difficulties?

1. Resolution: Through repeated selection and testing, we choose a 1.98mm focal length lens that matches a 1:1 large target area sensor. Such a combination can reach a higher effective resolution, which means that compared with the same 6MP Fisheye products in the market, our fisheye can get better clarity at a distance of within 5 meters.

2. Software Support: The warped and circular fisheye images make the AI recognition less accurate and harder to recognize. Thus, we adopt LDC technology (Lens Distortion Correction.) to optimize the fisheye images and make them less distorted. The distortion-free images make it easier for accurate human/motion detection.

3. Develop Preview Modes: Besides the standard panorama and two-split screens, our fisheye can expand warped images into four-split screens, five-split screens, and other display forms. The five-split screen allows you to see distortion-free images even on the NVR. You can also watch the distortion-free view via the multiple preview modes through Reolink App/Client, which adds more fun in surveillance. You can also drag parts of the screen to get the best vision.

We can't wait for you to experience more details at its 360 all-around views with fisheye! Feel free to comment here. We are listening.