In addition, the technology enables cameras to offer the unique capability to identify objects as much as 20° above the camera horizon making these cameras also suitable for uneven terrain. The Sharpdome technology includes Axis’ unique Speed Dry function, a function that quickly removes water drops from the dome glass to provide sharp images in rainy weather. It also simplifies dome cleaning, allowing for more efficient methods such as high pressure cleaning.

The new camera series is being marketed as one of the industry's most compact and fastest PTZ dome cameras. They provide 30x optical zoom with up to HDTV 1080p resolution, lightfinder technology and wide dynamic range (130dB) to handle difficult lighting conditions and support electronic image stabilisation—useful for getting smoother video in windy conditions.

“City surveillance, critical infrastructure and retail are just a few examples of scenarios where top performance HDTV image quality and high scene fidelity at all angles of view are extremely important,” says Erik Frännlid, Axis’ Director of Product Management. “By bringing the Sharpdome technology into the new Axis Q61-E Series, we can offer a compact and robust PTZ camera for reliable identification in HDTV that fits in most environments, plus we meet the system operators’ requirements to efficiently monitor the area above the horizon.”

Axis Q61 Series cameras are the first PTZ cameras with the innovative lightfinder technology that provides excellent colours in low-light environments. Axis Q6114-E offers lightfinder and HDTV 720p resolution and Axis Q6115-E features HDTV 1080p resolution. Both models offer full resolution in 50/60 frames per second.

To assist the operator the cameras offer advanced gatekeeper, a feature that makes the camera automatically pan, tilt and zoom to a preset position when motion is detected in a pre-defined area and then it continues to track the detected object.

The two camera models in the Axis Q61-E Series can be installed either indoors or in challenging outdoor environments. The durable PTZ network cameras withstand extreme climate changes thanks to arctic temperature control that allows the camera to function at -50 °C (-58 °F). In addition, the cameras support automatic defog, which, when activated, automatically detects fog in the scene and digitally filters it out of view to provide clearer video.

The cameras are compact, nearly half the size of the existing Axis Q60-E Series and blends in seamlessly in any environment. To meet specific mounting needs they can be combined with Axis’ existing range of mounting brackets. Furthermore, the casing can easily be repainted in a colour that meets the customer’s requirements.