AXIS PTZ Camera Installation Guide

To find Axis devices on the network and assign them IP addresses in Windows®, use AXIS IP Utility or AXIS Device Manager. Both applications are free and can be downloaded from axis.com/support.

For more information about how to find and assign IP addresses, go to How to assign an IP address and access your device.

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1. How to Set Up PTZ Camera Activation NVR
2. What is Speed ​​Dome Camera (PTZ) How to Control

You can use the device with the following browsers:

*To use AXIS OS web interface with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Experimental Features and disable NSURLSession Websocket.

If you need more information about recommended browsers, go to AXIS OS Portal.

1. Open a browser and enter the IP address or host name of the Axis device.If you do not know the IP address, use AXIS IP Utility or AXIS Device Manager to find the device on the network.
2. Enter the username and password. If you access the device for the first time, you must set the root password. See Set a new password for the root account.
3. The live view page opens in your browser.

1. To make sure that the device has its original Axis firmware, or to take full control of the device after a security attack:
2. Reset to factory default settings. See Reset to factory default settings.After the reset, secure boot guarantees the state of the device.
3. Configure and install the device.

1. Type a password. Follow the instructions about secure passwords. See Secure passwords.
2. Retype the password to confirm the spelling.
3. Click Create login. The password has now been configured.

The device password is the primary protection for your data and services. Axis devices do not impose a password policy as they may be used in various types of installations.

To protect your data we strongly recommend that you:

• Use a password with at least 8 characters, preferably created by a password generator.
• Don’t expose the password.
• Change the password at a recurring interval, at least once a year.

This section includes instructions about configuring your device. If you want to learn more about how certain features work, go to Learn more.

There are different exposure mode options in the camera that adjusts aperture, shutter speed, and gain to improve image quality for specific surveillance scenes. Go to Settings > Image > Exposure and select between the following exposure modes:

• For most use cases, select Automatic exposure.
• For environments with certain artificial lighting, for example fluorescent lighting, select Flicker-free.Select the same frequency as the power line frequency.
• For environments with certain artificial light and bright light, for example outdoors with fluorescent lighting at night and sun during daytime, select Flicker-reduced.Select the same frequency as the power line frequency.
• To lock the current exposure settings, select Hold current.

Your camera uses visible light to deliver color images during the day. As the available light diminishes, you can set the camera to automatically shift to night mode, in which the camera uses both visible light and near-infrared light to deliver black-and-white images. Since the camera uses more of the available light it can deliver brighter, more detailed, images.

1. Go to Settings > Image > Day and night, and make sure that the IR cut filter is set to Auto.

To reduce noise in low-light conditions, you can adjust one or more of the following settings:

• Adjust the trade-off between noise and motion blur. Go to Settings > Image > Exposure and move the Blur-noise trade-off slider toward Low noise.
• Set the exposure mode to automatic.
• Note

  A high max shutter value can result in motion blur.

• To slow down the shutter speed, set max shutter to the highest possible value.
• Reduce sharpness in the image.
• Note

  When you reduce the max gain, the image can become darker.

• Set the max gain to a lower value.
• Open the aperture.

• To reduce motion blur in low-light conditions, adjust one or more of the following settings in Settings > Image > Exposure:
• Move the Blur-noise trade-off slider toward Low motion blur.
• Note

  When you increase the gain, image noise also increases.

• Set Max shutter to a shorter time, and Max gain to a higher value.

• If you still have problems with motion blur:
• Increase the light level in the scene.
• Mount the camera so that objects move toward it or away from it rather than sideways.

Dynamic range is the difference in light levels in an image. In some cases the difference between the darkest and the brightest areas can be significant. The result is often an image where either the dark or the bright areas are visible. Wide dynamic range (WDR) makes both dark and bright areas of the image visible.

Image without WDR.Image with WDR.

1. Go to Settings > Image > Wide dynamic range.
2. Turn on WDR.
3. Use the Local contrast slider to adjust the amount of WDR.
4. If you still have problems, go to Exposure and adjust the Exposure zone to cover the area of interest.

Find out more about WDR and how to use it at axis.com/web-articles/wdr.

To verify that a defined part of the image contains enough pixels to, for example, recognize the face of a person, you can use the pixel counter.

1. Go to Settings > System > Orientation.
2. Click .
3. In the camera’s live view, adjust the size and position of the rectangle around the area of interest, for example where you expect faces to appear.You can see the number of pixels for each of the rectangle’s sides (X and Y), and decide if the values are enough for your needs.

You can create one or several privacy masks to hide parts of the image.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy mask.
2. Click New.
3. Adjust the size, color, and name of the privacy mask according to your needs.

You can show the pan or tilt position as an overlay in the image.

1. Go to Settings > Overlay and click Create overlay.
2. Select Text and click Create.
3. In the text field, type #x to show the pan position.Type #y to show the tilt position.
4. Choose appearance, text size, and alignment.
5. The current pan and tilt positions show up in the live view image and in the recording.

To learn more about different pan, tilt, and zoom settings, see Pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ).

If there are parts of the scene that you don’t want the camera to reach, you can limit the pan, tilt, and zoom movements. For example, you want to protect the privacy of residents in an apartment building, which is located close to a parking lot that you intend to monitor. To limit the movements, go to Settings > PTZ > Limits.

A guard tour displays the video stream from different preset positions either in a predetermined or random order, and for configurable periods of time.

1. Go to Settings > PTZ > Guard tours.
2. Click +.
3. To edit the guard tour’s properties, click .
4. Type a name for the guard tour and specify the pause length in minutes between each tour.
5. If you want the guard tour to go to the preset positions in a random order, turn on Shuffle.
6. Click Done.
7. Click Add to add the preset positions that you want in your guard tour.
8. Click Done to exit the guard tour settings.
9. To schedule the guard tour, go to System > Events.

This section includes instructions about configuring your device. To learn more about how streaming and storage works, go to Streaming and storage.

1. Go to live view and select H.264.
2. Go to Settings > Stream.
3. Do one or more of the following:
4. • Turn on the Zipstream functionality and select the desired level.
   • Turn on dynamic GOP and set a high GOP length value.
   • Increase the compression.
   • Turn on dynamic FPS.

1. To store recordings on the network, you need to set up your network storage.
2. Go to Settings > System > Storage.
3. Click Setup under Network storage.
4. Enter the IP address of the host server.
5. Enter the name of the shared location on the host server.
6. Move the switch if the share requires a login, and enter username and password.
7. Click Connect.

To record video you must first set up network storage, see Set up network storage, or have an SD card installed.

1. Record video
2. Go to the live view.
3. To start a recording, click Record. Click again to stop the recording.

1. Watch video
2. Click Storage > Go to recordings.
3. Select your recording in the list and it will play automatically.

You can create rules to make your device perform an action when certain events occur. A rule consists of conditions and actions. The conditions can be used to trigger the actions. For example, the device can start a recording or send an email when it detects motion, or show an overlay text while the device is recording.

To learn more, check out our guide Get started with rules for events.

1. Go to Settings > System > Events to set up a rule. The rule defines when the device will perform certain actions. Rules can be setup as scheduled, recurring, or for example, triggered by motion detection.
2. Select the Condition that must be met to trigger the action. If you specify more than one condition for the rule, all of the conditions must be met to trigger the action.
3. Select which Action the device should perform when the conditions are met.

This example explains how to set up the camera to start recording to the SD card five seconds before it detects motion and to stop one minute after.

1. Make sure that AXIS Video Motion Detection is running:
2. Go to Settings > Apps > AXIS Video Motion Detection.
3. Start the application if it is not already running.
4. Make sure you have set up the application according to your needs. If you need help, see the user manual for AXIS Video Motion Detection 4.

1. Create a rule:
2. Go to Settings > System > Events and add a rule.
3. Type a name for the rule.
4. In the list of conditions, under Application, select AXIS Video Motion Detection (VMD).
5. In the list of actions, under Recordings, select Record video while the rule is active.
6. Select an existing stream profile or create a new one.
7. Set the prebuffer time to 5 seconds.
8. Set the postbuffer time to 60 seconds.
9. In the list of storage options, select SD card.
10. Click Save.

This example explains how to display the text “Motion detected” when the device detects motion.

Make sure that AXIS Video Motion Detection is running:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > AXIS Video Motion Detection.
2. Start the application if it is not already running.
3. Make sure you have set up the application according to your needs.
4. Add the overlay text:
5. Go to Settings > Overlay.
6. Enter #D in the text field.
7. Choose text size and appearance.
8. Create a rule:
9. Go to System > Events > Rules and add a rule.
10. Type a name for the rule.
11. In the list of conditions, select AXIS Video Motion Detection.
12. In the list of actions, select Use overlay text.
13. Select Camera 1.
14. Type “Motion detected”.
15. Set the duration.
16. Click Save.

This example explains how to connect a speaker to the camera and set it up to play a warning message when the camera detects motion in a restricted area.

• Required hardware:
• Active speaker with built-in amplifier and connecting wires

1. Physical connection:
2. Connect the audio wire to the speaker from the line out pin of the audio connector.
3. Connect the grounding wire to the speaker from the GND pin of the audio connector.

1. Add audio clip to the camera:
2. Go to Settings > Audio > Output and click .
3. Click Upload new clip.
4. Browse to locate your audio clip and click Done.

Create a rule:

1. Open the device webpage for the camera.
2. Go to Settings > System > Events.
3. Go to Recipients and add a recipient.
4. 1. Go to the device webpage of the speaker that has the audio clip stored on its SD card.
   2. Copy a link to the audio clip.
   3. Return to the device webpage of the camera.
5. Go to Rules and add a new rule:
6. 1. Under Condition, select Video motion detection.
   2. Under Action, select Send notification through HTTP.

Shock detection allows the camera to detect tampering caused by vibrations or shock. Vibrations due to the environment or to an object can trigger an action depending on the shock sensitivity range, which can be set from 0 to 100. In this scenario, someone is throwing rocks at the camera after hours and you would like to get a video clip of the event.

1. Turn on shock detection:
2. Go to Settings > System > Detectors.
3. Turn on shock detection, and set a value for the shock sensitivity.

1. Create a rule:
2. Go to Settings > System > Events and add a rule.
3. Type a name for the rule.
4. In the list of conditions, under Device status, select Shock detected.
5. Click + to add a second condition.
6. In the list of conditions, under Scheduled and recurring, select Scheduled event.
7. In the list of schedules, select After hours .
8. In the list of actions, under Recordings, select Record video while the rule is active.
9. Select a Camera.
10. Set the prebuffer time to 5 seconds.
11. Set the postbuffer time to 60 seconds.
12. Select where to save the recordings.
13. Click Save.

1. Turn on audio:
2. Go to Settings > Audio and turn on Allow audio.
3. Go to Input > Type and select your audio source.
4. Edit the stream profile which is used for the recording:
5. Go to Settings > Stream and click Stream profiles.
6. Select the stream profile and click Audio.
7. Select the checkbox and select Include.
8. Click Save.
9. Click Close.

1. Use a can of compressed air to remove any dust or loose dirt from the device.
2. If necessary, clean the lens with a soft cloth dampened with lukewarm water.

A capture mode is a preset configuration that defines how the camera captures images. The capture mode setting can affect the camera’s field of view and aspect ratio. The shutter speed can also be affected, which in turn affects the light sensitivity.

The lower resolution capture mode might be sampled from the original resolution, or it might be cropped out from the original, in which case the field of view could also be affected.

The image shows how the field of view and aspect ratio can change between two different capture modes.What capture mode to choose depends on the requirements for the frame rate and resolution of the specific surveillance setup. For specifications about available capture modes, see the product’s datasheet at axis.com.

A privacy mask is a user-defined area that prevents users from viewing a part of the monitored area. In the video stream, privacy masks appear as blocks of solid color.

The privacy mask is relative to the pan, tilt, and zoom coordinates, so regardless of where you point the camera, the privacy mask covers the same place or object.

You’ll see the privacy mask on all snapshots, recorded video, and live streams.

You can use the VAPIX® application programming interface (API) to hide the privacy masks.

You can create several privacy masks. The maximum number of masks depends on the complexity of all the masks combined. The more anchor points in each mask, the fewer masks you can create. Each mask can have 3 to 10 anchor points.

Overlays are superimposed over the video stream. They are used to provide extra information during recordings, such as a timestamp, or during product installation and configuration. You can add either text or an image.

A guard tour displays the video stream from different preset positions either in a predetermined or random order, and for configurable periods of time. Once started, a guard tour continues to run until stopped, even when there are no clients (web browsers) viewing the images.

Decide which compression method to use based on your viewing requirements, and on the properties of your network. The available options are:

Motion JPEG

Motion JPEG, or MJPEG, is a digital video sequence that is made up of a series of individual JPEG images. These images are then displayed and updated at a rate sufficient to create a stream that shows constantly updated motion. For the viewer to perceive motion video the rate must be at least 16 image frames per second. Full motion video is perceived at 30 (NTSC) or 25 (PAL) frames per second.

The Motion JPEG stream uses considerable amounts of bandwidth, but provides excellent image quality and access to every image contained in the stream.

H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10/AVC

H.264 can, without compromising image quality, reduce the size of a digital video file by more than 80% compared to the Motion JPEG format and by as much as 50% compared to older MPEG formats. This means that less network bandwidth and storage space are required for a video file. Or seen another way, higher video quality can be achieved for a given bitrate.

The Image tab contains camera settings that affect all video streams from the product. If you change something in this tab, it immediately affects all video streams and recordings.

The Stream tab contains settings for video streams. You get these settings if you request a video stream from the product and don’t specify for example resolution, or frame rate. When you change the settings in the Stream tab, it doesn’t affect ongoing streams, but it will take effect when you start a new stream.

The Stream profiles settings override the settings from the Stream tab. If you request a stream with a specific stream profile, the stream contains the settings of that profile. If you request a stream without specifying a stream profile, or request a stream profile that doesn’t exist in the product, the stream contains the settings from the Stream tab.

Bitrate control helps you to manage the bandwidth consumption of your video stream.

Variable bitrate (VBR)
Variable bitrate allows the bandwidth consumption to vary depending on the level of activity in the scene. The more activity, the more bandwidth you need. With variable bitrate you are guaranteed constant image quality, but you need to make sure you have storage margins.

Maximum bitrate (MBR)
Maximum bitrate lets you set a target bitrate to handle bitrate limitations in your system. You might see a decline in image quality or frame rate as the instantaneous bitrate is kept below the specified target bitrate. You can choose to prioritize either image quality or frame rate. We recommend that you configure the target bitrate to a higher value than the expected bitrate. This gives you a margin in case there is a high level of activity in the scene.

Average bitrate (ABR)
With average bitrate, the bitrate is automatically adjusted over a longer period of time. This is so you can meet the specified target and provide the best video quality based on your available storage. Bitrate is higher in scenes with a lot of activity, compared to static scenes. You are more likely to get better image quality when in scenes with a lot of activity if you use the average bitrate option. You can define the total storage required to store the video stream for a specified amount of time (retention time) when image quality is adjusted to meet the specified target bitrate. Specify the average bitrate settings in one of the following ways:

• To calculate the estimated storage need, set the target bitrate and the retention time.
• To calculate the average bitrate, based on available storage and required retention time, use the target bitrate calculator.
• 1. Target bitrate
  2. Actual average bitrate
• You can also turn on maximum bitrate and specify a target bitrate within the average bitrate option.
• 1. Target bitrate
  2. Actual average bitrate

AXIS Camera Application Platform (ACAP) is an open platform that enables third parties to develop analytics and other applications for Axis products. To find out more about available applications, downloads, trials and licenses, go to axis.com/applications.

To find the user manuals for Axis applications, go to help.axis.com.

To reset the product to the factory default settings:

1. Disconnect power from the product.
2. Press and hold the control button while reconnecting power. See Product overview.
3. Keep the control button pressed for 15–30 seconds until the status LED indicator flashes amber.
4. Release the control button. The process is complete when the status LED indicator turns green. The product has been reset to the factory default settings. If no DHCP server is available on the network, the default IP address is 192.168.0.90.
5. Use the installation and management software tools to assign an IP address, set the password, and access the device.The installation and management software tools are available from the support pages on axis.com/support.

You can also reset parameters to factory default through the device’s webpage. Go to Maintenance > Factory default and click Default.

Axis offers product firmware management according to either the active track or the long-term support (LTS) tracks. Being on the active track means continuously getting access to all the latest product features, while the LTS tracks provide a fixed platform with periodic releases focused mainly on bug fixes and security updates.

Using firmware from the active track is recommended if you want to access the newest features, or if you use Axis end-to-end system offerings. The LTS tracks are recommended if you use third-party integrations, which are not continuously validated against the latest active track. With LTS, the products can maintain cybersecurity without introducing any significant functional changes or affecting any existing integrations. For more detailed information about Axis product firmware strategy, go to axis.com/support/firmware.

Firmware is the software that determines the functionality of network devices. When you troubleshoot a problem, we recommend you to start by checking the current firmware version. The latest firmware version might contain a correction that fixes your particular problem.

To check the current firmware:

1. Go to the device interface > Status.
2. See the firmware version under Device info.

1. Download the firmware file to your computer, available free of charge at axis.com/support/firmware.
2. Log in to the device as an administrator.
3. Go to Maintenance > Firmware upgrade and click Upgrade.
4. When the upgrade has finished, the product restarts automatically.

You can use AXIS Device Manager to upgrade multiple devices at the same time. Find out more at axis.com/products/axis-device-manager.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, try the troubleshooting section at axis.com/support.

When setting up your system, it is important to consider how various settings and situations affect the performance. Some factors affect the amount of bandwidth (the bitrate) required, others can affect the frame rate, and some affect both. If the load on the CPU reaches its maximum, this also affects the frame rate.

The following factors are the most important to consider:

• High image resolution or lower compression levels result in images containing more data which in turn affects the bandwidth.
• Rotating the image in the GUI will increase the product’s CPU load.
• Access by large numbers of Motion JPEG or unicast H.264 clients affects the bandwidth.
• Simultaneous viewing of different streams (resolution, compression) by different clients affects both frame rate and bandwidth.Use identical streams wherever possible to maintain a high frame rate. Stream profiles can be used to ensure that streams are identical.
• Accessing Motion JPEG and H.264 video streams simultaneously affects both frame rate and bandwidth.
• Heavy usage of event settings affects the product’s CPU load which in turn affects the frame rate.
• Using HTTPS may reduce frame rate, in particular if streaming Motion JPEG. 
• Heavy network utilization due to poor infrastructure affects the bandwidth.
• Viewing on poorly performing client computers lowers perceived performance and affects frame rate.
• Running multiple AXIS Camera Application Platform (ACAP) applications simultaneously may affect the frame rate and the general performance.

Contact support at axis.com/support.

This product supports SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.

For SD card recommendations, see axis.com.

 SD, SDHC, and SDXC Logos are trademarks of SD-3C LLC. SD, SDHC and SDXC are trademarks or registered trademarks of SD-3C, LLC in the United States, other countries or both.

• The control button is used for:
• Resetting the product to factory default settings. See Reset to factory default settings.
• Connecting to a one-click cloud connection (O3C) service over the internet. To connect, press and hold the button for about 3 seconds until the status LED flashes green.

RJ45 Ethernet connector with Power over Ethernet (PoE).

4-pin terminal block for audio input and output. See Product overview.

For audio in, the left channel is used from a stereo signal.

2-pin terminal block for DC power input. Use a Safety Extra Low Voltage (SELV) compliant limited power source (LPS) with either a rated output power limited to ≤100 W or a rated output current limited to ≤5 A.