CCTV lenses

	Senview’s TN0409A-IR has a unique design that allows both visible light and IR rays to be focused on the same image surface to realize dual-purpose day/night vision.

Product development zooms in on focal length, quality control, light access and higher resolution.

As CCTV lenses from mainland China become more sophisticated, the country’s lens manufacturing industry gets a tighter grip on the global market. The once import-oriented industry is now the third largest manufacturing base in Asia, strengthened by a steadily growing export business. Fujian province’s experience in military optical operations has made it the biggest production hub of CCTV lenses in mainland China. It now hosts approximately 30 active lens companies.

The full range of CCTV lens products is available from makers in the region. C and CS mount types using 1/3in and 1/4in formats are common in mainstream models. Makers of entry-level units are enhancing focal length and quality control. Most manufacturers are developing IR lenses, using IR coating technology to improve light access. Some makers are also designing aspherical lenses to be able to provide high-resolution, smaller and lighter units for the high-end markets. Typical high-resolution models support up to 1Mpixel.

Mainland-made CCTV lenses are generally quoted at half the price of Japan-made models. Basic fixed focus and fixed iris units from China start at $2, while varifocal lenses can go for as high as $20 per unit. IR and high-resolution models sell for more than $30 per unit.

Companies interviewed for the report export at least 60 percent of their total lens output, and produce about 30,000 units to more than a million units per month. Depending on the products, makers can deliver in three to 25 days.

The rise of CCTV surveillance and technology transfer from leading lens manufacturing regions, such as Japan and South Korea, have driven the growth of the CCTV lens industry in mainland China.

In the mid-1990s, mainland China merely depended on imported CCTV lenses from Japan and South Korea. Before 1999, the Japanese brand Avenir accounted for 70 percent of the domestic market of CCTV lenses. Attempts by local suppliers to develop their own versions only resulted in second-rate Avenir imitations. At the turn of the millennium, just as doors started to open for the CCTV industry in China, advanced technology and equipment were introduced from Japan and Germany, resulting in significant improvements in both quality and quantity of CCTV lenses.

Today, mainland China is a major manufacturing base of CCTV lenses, next to Japan and South Korea. Mainland-based CCTV lens makers now claim more than half of the domestic market and export an average of 45 percent of their output to other regions. More than 100 companies in mainland China actively manufacture CCTV lenses, 20 of which are considered industry leaders. These include Fujian Forecam Optics Co. Ltd, Jilin Dongya Optical Co. Ltd and Fuzhou Senview Optics Co. Ltd. Fujian province is regarded as the largest manufacturing base, specifically the cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou.

Fujian’s CCTV lens industry traces its roots to military optical operations in the 1960s. The province now hosts around 30 active makers and a mature chain of R&D, production and OEM service specialists, as well as sales and transport companies. Some Japan-based lens manufacturers, such as Tamron, have also set up facilities in the province to reduce manufacturing costs and boost competitiveness.

	FS-LVA0266DMTVIR from Keekoon is an IR varifocal model with full optical glass lens.

Mainland China offers the full line of CCTV lenses, including fixed focus, varifocal, fixed iris, manual iris, auto iris, IR, pinhole, aspherical and high-resolution models. Mainstream products are available in C or CS mount types, with 1/3in or 1/4in format. Makers of entry-level units are focusing mainly on enhancing focal length and improving quality control. “Generally speaking, there is still a wide gap between China-made and Japan-made CCTV lenses in terms of quality control. We are still working on quality control improvements to provide better products,” said Angelique Lin, sales manager of Forecam.

Forecam’s RV 03508M is a varifocal CS mount lens that uses 1/3in format and features 3.5mm to 8mm focal length. It has F1.4 aperture, 80° to 36° horizontal viewing field and dimensions of Ф33x45mm. Weighing 90g, the unit has focus, zoom and iris functions that can be manually adjusted and locked.

Fuzhou Keekoon Electronic Co. Ltd’s fixed focal and fixed iris lens, model FS-LF02520, has a 2.5mm focal length, F2.0 aperture and a horizontal viewing field of 104.7°. The product is a CS mount lens with 1/3in format. It weighs 25g and measures Ф30x18mm.

Fuzhou Senview Optics Co. Ltd provides several fish-eye lenses, including model TN0242AC. The C mount lens supports 1/3in format, F2.0 aperture and a focal length of 2.4mm. Measuring Ф34.5x45mm and weighing 60g, the model has DC auto iris and a horizontal viewing field of 185°.

Zhengsheng Photoelectric Instrument Co. Ltd has designed model ZS0358AB with partial plastic housing to reduce its weight. The CS mount lens features 1/3in format, 3.5mm to 8mm focal length with manual zoom and F1.4 aperture. It also comes with DC auto iris and 95° to 44°35’ horizontal viewing field. It measures Ф54x45mm and weighs 75g.

All interviewed makers said that they can provide OEM/ODM services according to buyers’ specifications.

Given the growth in IR camera output and exports, IR lens currently tops makers’ R&D agenda. Makers adopt coating technology to optimize light access in certain ranges.

Forecam’s RS 2811M.IR has IR coating. The CS mount lens adopts 1/3in or 1/4in format, and has 2.8mm focal length and F1.1~close aperture. Its horizontal viewing field is 91.6° to 68.7° for a 1/3in model, and 68.7° to 51.52° for a 1/4in model. It has 8.1mm back focal length (BFL) and weighs 75g.

Senview’s varifocal IR lens, TN0409V-IR, also uses IR coating to optimize both visible light and IR rays (ranging from 400nm to 950nm). It uses 1/3in format and has M12x0.5 mount and F1.8 aperture. Focal length of 4mm to 9mm is manually adjustable. The model has manual iris function, optional DC auto iris and 0.2m minimum object distance (MOD).

Senview has also released new IR lenses with built-in IR LED design. Its new model, TN0618DNL, has 13 built-in LEDs that operate on 850nm wavelength with 15m effective distance. The CS mount lens has 1/3in format, 6mm focal length, F1.8 aperture and 51°38’ horizontal viewing field. It measures Ф54.6x25mm, weighs 105g, and features 7.2mm BFL.

	Model RV03509M (Titanium) from Forecam is an aspherical varifocal lens with 3.5mm to 9mm focal length and F1.2 aperture.

High-resolution CCTV lens is quite popular in mainland China. Typical high-resolution models support up to 1Mpixel. Senview’s C mount model TN0814AC-HR supports 1Mpixel resolution with 1/2in format and 8mm focal length. It has F1.4 aperture, DC auto iris, 46° horizontal field of view and 0.3m MOD. It measures Ф32x45mm and weighs 72g.

Forecam has also launched several high-end high-resolution models with 3Mpixels, such as EV0816MC-HR. The C mount lens comes in 1/4in, 1/3in and 1/2in format models with 8mm to 16mm focal length and F1.6~ close aperture. Weighing 85g, the product features manual zoom, adjustable focus and iris, 9.96mm BFL and a minimum of 0.3m MOD.

Keekoon and Zhengsheng Photoelectric both said they have already released their respective high-resolution lenses. One of the technologies adopted by mainland makers to provide higher resolution, particularly in dimly lit environments, is aspherical technology.

Aside from enhancements in resolution, the technology also enables the production of smaller and lighter lenses. Because of its cost, aspherical technology is considered a high-end feature. To date, only a few China makers have mastered this technology. “The manufacture of aspherical lens is very difficult, and requires huge capital investment and considerable experience. Only a few mainland China makers are adept at manufacturing aspherical ‘plexiglas.’ Manufacturing aspherical glass lens is even harder,” said Joe Huang, manager of Fuzhou Keekoon Electronic Co. Ltd. “In terms of optical performance, plexiglas still does not come close to real glass,” he added.

Plexiglas is one of the trade names of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), a thermoplastic and transparent plastic—commonly called acrylic glass—often used as an alternative to glass. PMMA is noted for its transparency; breakage-, weather- and chemical-resistant features; easy handling and processing, and relatively low cost.

Forecam has unveiled a series of aspherical lenses. One of them is model RV03509D, an aspheric varifocal lens with CS mount and 1/3in format. It has a manually adjustable focal length of 3.5mm to 9mm, and an aperture of F1.2 to F360 with DC auto iris. Its horizontal viewing field is 77° to 57°, and MOD is 0.3m. The product weighs 66g. Forecam said the product can provide high resolution and image quality over the entire focal length range.

Senview, on the other hand, is still developing aspheric lenses targeted for release within the year.

Mainland China CCTV lens makers boast a better price-to-performance ratio compared with other Asian manufacturing centers, due mainly to lower labor, raw material and manufacturing costs. China-produced lenses with the same quality as their Japan-made counterparts are generally quoted at half the price of Japanese lenses.

Makers claim that lens prices are currently at their all-time low as a result of intense price competition in recent years. A basic fixed focus and fixed iris lens is sold at around $2, while an auto iris lens is priced not lower than $6.

Varifocal lenses range in price from $5 to $20, while IR and high-resolution models sell for more than $30 per unit.

Senview sales manager Susan Wu, however, warns buyers of critical price differences even among CCTV lenses with the same specifications.

“The raw material used, quality control and manufacturing processes performed will all affect the final cost (of the product),” Wu stated. “Buyers should pay more attention to product quality than on price difference.” She cited as an example two auto iris lenses with different motors. Both models may be the same in terms of some specifications, but one has a Japan-made motor, while the other has a China-made motor. Lens makers project stable prices in 2008.

The CCTV lens manufacturing industry on the mainland has a thriving export business, with close to half of total output shipped to overseas markets. Some CCTV lens companies have also expanded their product lines, and profited from serving the CCTV camera and DVR segments.

Senview exports 90 percent of its output mainly to the US, South America and Eastern Europe. All its products meet CE and RoHS requirements. The company can produce up to 30,000 CCTV lenses per month and deliver orders within 10 to 15 days. Senview projects a 50 to 60 percent growth in sales in 2008.

With 50 years manufacuring experience, Forecam is undeniably one of the leading CCTV lens suppliers in mainland China. The company currently operates a 15,000sqm factory with eight production lines. It can manufacture 15 million lenses, 2 million prisms and 1.5 million telescopes—all CE-approved and RoHS-compliant—per year.

Keekoon’s 2,000sqm factory houses more than 100 workers who can produce up to 100,000 units of CCTV lens per month. The company exports 60 to 70 percent of its monthly output to Europe and the US. It can deliver orders within three to 25 days.

Zhengsheng Photoelectric offers CCTV lenses, CCD cameras, speed domes, quad processors, DVRs and security product accessories. The company has a maximum monthly capacity of 30,000 units.