Sony SNC-CX600 review

Sony’s compact SNC-CX600 is an all-in-one camera for discrete surveillance in small offices. It has a top resolution of 720p, a passive IR (PIR) sensor, an integral microphone and speaker, two bright-white LEDs for illumination and a microSD slot for local recording.

Sony SNC-CX600 review: features and setup

The camera is PoE-only, so you’ll need a compliant network switch or injector. We powered the camera from our HP ProCurve 2626-PWR switch and a standard PowerDsine injector.

Sony’s SNC Toolbox utility discovers the camera and provides quick access to its web interface, plus options for modifying its network address and upgrading firmware. It takes over from Sony’s audio tool for uploading VOF files to the camera, linking them to an alarm and playing them over the speaker.

Sony SNC-CX600 review: performance and testing

The camera has a wide, 120-degree horizontal coverage, and its live view is impressive. A slightly soft focus means images aren’t pin-sharp, but colour quality and contrast are good, while motion at the top 30fps is conveyed smoothly.

The control panel lets you set the window size and capture JPEGs or AVI recordings to the local PC. Three streams are supported for H.264 or MJPEG, and resolutions range from 720p to 320 x 184 for mobile viewing.

Alarm functions are extensive: you can link actions to the PIR, motion detection, face detection and camera tampering. A video motion filter (VMF) can detect objects entering and leaving, or objects added to or removed from the area under scrutiny. Actions include emailing images, recording to the microSD card, playing voice alerts on the camera’s speaker and turning on the LEDs. The latest firmware adds support for FTP and HTTP servers, but not NAS appliances.

The PIR is effective up to 7.6m, but the LEDs are only good for 3m. Speaker volume is low, but loud enough to alert an intruder. For motion detection, you can create four inspection windows and link each one with up to three VMF settings.

Sony SNC-CX600 review: verdict

The SNC-CX600 combines good image quality with a great range of alarm functions. You may need to buy a PoE injector, but it’s still good value, and ideal for monitoring a range of small-office environments.

Thanks to NetworkWebCams for supplying the Sony SNC-CX600 for review