Speco HT-B10X Security Camera
Whether or not you have security issues at your building, this bullet has your name on it. Bullet camera, that is — a type of compact, cylindrical video camera that's also known as a "lipstick camera" (for its shape, not because it highlights your lips with lovely color). Us, we prefer to think of it as a "rolling-pin camera," since it can metaphorically clobber any miscreant caught under its watchful eye.
Less expensive that more fully featured security cameras — and let's face it, we're not talking about protecting the Federal Reserve here — bullet cameras are fairly unobtrusive and great for small spaces. This particular model has a weather-resistant housing, making it good as an outdoor eye. It can also shoot at night, down to a claimed 0 lux. We're not sure there is such a thing — it's kind of like absolute zero — but one reference says 0.25 lux is a full moon on a clear night, and you get 0.0001 lux when it's moonless and overcast.
The HT-B10X has 10X optical zoom with 3.8-38mm motorized, auto-iris, varifocal lens; OSD (onscreen-display) operation; and can run on both 12V DC and 24V AC power. The manufacturer, Speco, sells only through authorized distributors and says it won't honor the warranty of "any Internet or mail order product sales" — but then it doesn't list any distributors on its Web site, so the company may be more trouble than it's worth. Still, after 48 years in the business, it's got a good reputation, so you decide.
Speco Technologies • 7760 Merrimac Avenue, Niles, Ill. 60714 • (631) 957-8700 • toll-free (800) 645-5516 • info@specotech.com