Arecont Vision today announced the availability of the world's first 12-megapixel 180° panoramic dome camera with true Wide Dynamic Range (WDR).

In addition to its superior performance under challenging lighting conditions, Arecont Vision's new 12-megapixel WDR 180° panoramic camera is 57 percent smaller than previous SurroundVideo models. Arecont Vision's WDR technology delivers a dynamic range of up to 100dB at full resolution and without lowering the frame rates. By combining long and short exposures in the same field-of-view, WDR maximizes the amount of detail in both bright and dark areas of a scene. The WDR performance of Arecont Vision cameras represents an up to 50dB improvement (300X) in dynamic range compared to non-WDR cameras.

"Our panoramic cameras render pan-tilt-zoom cameras obsolete by covering a full 180° field-of-view with high resolution, allowing users to zoom-in for details," said Raul Calderon, Senior Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Product Management, Arecont Vision. "Adding WDR to the panoramic view has resulted in a camera unlike any other on the market."

Arecont Vision megapixel technology delivers superior image quality and reduces overall system costs by covering larger areas with fewer cameras. Four 3-megapixel WDR image sensors inside the SurroundVideo WDR 180° camera each provide 2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution for a total resolution of 8,192 x 1,536-pixels. The SurroundVideo WDR 180° panoramic camera's dome housing is IP66 environmentally rated and IK10 vandal resistant. The camera is ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) conformant.