i-PRO WV-U22550-F3L 5MP Indoor Vandal Dome Camera
The i-PRO WV-U22550-F3L is a purpose-built 5MP indoor vandal-resistant dome designed for institutional and commercial surveillance where physical durability and reliable night-vision capability are non-negotiable. This camera delivers high-resolution capture with integrated infrared illumination extending to 28 meters, making it practical for corridors, lobbies, stairwells, and high-security indoor spaces where intentional tampering or accidental impact is a real risk.
Key Features
- 5MP Resolution (2560 × 1920): High pixel density on a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor means forensic-quality detail for facial recognition and license plate reads in institutional settings. When coupled with H.265 compression, you reduce storage footprint by roughly 40–50% compared to H.264—a material factor when recording 24/7 across dozens of cameras on a fixed-budget NVR.
- IK10 Vandal Rating: The reinforced polycarbonate dome housing absorbs direct impacts up to 20 joules without lens or image degradation. Deploy with confidence in high-traffic institutional environments, detention facilities, or retail spaces where intentional destruction or casual contact is commonplace. This rating eliminates the need for external protective cages in most indoor applications, reducing installation time and ongoing maintenance risk.
- 28-Meter IR Illumination (30 IRE): Built-in 850nm IR LEDs cover the full depth of most institutional spaces without external lighting. This is critical for after-hours monitoring in dark corridors and unlit storage areas, and eliminates the operational cost and maintenance burden of external IR floods. You do not need to pre-wire additional power for supplementary lighting.
- Advanced Low-Light Performance: 0.11 lux in color mode and 0.004 lux in black-and-white operation with extended shutter means you capture usable images in near-total darkness. This dual-sensitivity approach balances color detail in dim but lit spaces against pure luminosity when IR activates, reducing night-vision artifacts and color washout in transitional lighting.
- Fixed 3.2mm Lens, F2.0 Aperture: Wide 108° horizontal field of view optimized for institutional lobby and corridor coverage. Fixed focal length eliminates the latency and mechanical wear of motorized zoom, making it ideal for stationary monitoring points where the coverage area is predetermined. No zoom drift or autofocus hunting on fixed scenes.
- PoE Powered, Class 0 Budget: Single Ethernet connection delivers both power and data. Draws minimal wattage via standard 802.3af PoE, so it will not strain a typical commercial PoE switch's power budget. This simplifies cabling discipline, reduces installation time, and minimizes the risk of accidental power supply disconnections that can result in video gaps.
- H.265, H.264, and MJPEG Codec Support: H.265 is the intelligent default for 24/7 recording on bandwidth-constrained networks or when you need to maximize storage density. H.264 ensures broad legacy VMS compatibility if you run older systems or mixed-vendor environments. MJPEG is useful for motion-triggered recording or forensic frame extraction without transcoding overhead.
- Automatic Day/Night Switching with IR Cut Filter: Mechanical IR cut-filter operation optimizes color accuracy during daylight and transitions cleanly to monochrome with IR illumination at dusk. This automation removes the need for manual mode switching and ensures consistent image quality across a 24-hour cycle without operator intervention.
- Built-in Microphone: Two-way audio support enables real-time communication or acoustic verification of events captured on video. Useful for entrance lobbies, help desks, or secure rooms where voice authentication or emergency alerts are required alongside video evidence.
- microSD Card Storage: Local edge recording provides redundancy if the network connection or primary NVR fails. Essential for critical institutional deployments where zero video loss is a requirement. Typical card capacities range from 64GB to 512GB depending on bitrate and retention needs.
- IP42 Environmental Rating: Rated IP42, which means dust and light water spray are not an issue, but this camera is indoor-only. If you need outdoor durability or full rain enclosure, specify an outdoor-rated variant from the i-PRO lineup.
Integration and Compatibility
The WV-U22550-F3L (often searched as WV U22550 F3L) supports ONVIF protocol compliance, making it compatible with any standard network video management system. The camera integrates cleanly into existing IP camera deployments and works with network video recorders that support H.265 decoding. Codec flexibility ensures backward compatibility with systems running older H.264-only infrastructure.
When to Choose a Different Model
If your deployment requires outdoor durability or extreme temperature operation (below –10°C or above 50°C), consider an outdoor-rated variant from the i-PRO catalog. If you need motorized zoom, pan-tilt capability, or a higher megapixel count for long-range forensics, evaluate higher-resolution or PTZ models in the same family. For very-low-bandwidth edge deployments, confirm that your NVR or recording appliance supports H.265 decoding before defaulting to it; if legacy VMS support is mandatory, pre-configure H.264 as the primary codec.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the WV-U22550-F3L suitable for outdoor or semi-outdoor installations?
A: No. The IP42 rating covers light dust and splash, but this camera is designed for indoor use only. Outdoor deployments require a higher IP rating (IP66 or IP67) and extended operating temperature range. Consult the i-PRO outdoor camera line if you need exterior coverage.
Q: What is the actual power consumption of the WV-U22550-F3L?
A: The camera draws Class 0 PoE power, typically under 13W. This sits comfortably within the 15.4W budget of standard 802.3af switches, so you can provision it on any commercial PoE infrastructure without additional power modules.
Q: Does the 28-meter IR range cover the full 108° field of view uniformly?
A: The 28m @ 30 IRE specification is the nominal range for useful IR illumination at center field. Coverage falls off toward the edges of the 108° horizontal view. For long-distance identification or corner coverage, mount multiple units rather than relying on a single camera to cover the full depth of a space.
Q: Can the WV-U22550-F3L record locally on microSD if the network is down?
A: Yes. The built-in microSD card slot allows edge recording as a redundancy layer. If the NVR or network connection fails, the camera continues recording to the card. Once connectivity is restored, you can retrieve the edge footage to fill gaps in the central recording system.
Q: What VMS platforms are compatible with the WV-U22550-F3L?
A: The camera supports ONVIF protocol, making it compatible with any standard network video management system—Milestone, Genetec, exacqVisionPro, Nx Witness, and others. Confirm H.265 codec support in your VMS if you plan to use that compression; if your system is H.264-only, the camera will fall back to that codec without issue.
Q: Is the lens fixed, or can it be adjusted after installation?
A: The 3.2mm lens is fixed and non-motorized. Once installed, the field of view cannot be changed electronically. However, the fixed design means no mechanical latency, no autofocus hunting on static scenes, and reduced maintenance. Plan the coverage area carefully during site survey before ordering.
Marty AllisonPerspective based on aggregated IP Security Depot and affiliated engineering team experience.
The WV-U22550-F3L hits a specific institutional sweet spot: it trades motorized zoom and outdoor ruggedness for bulletproof IK10 vandal tolerance and a zero-fuss fixed lens. If you're provisioning a detention facility, courthouse, or high-traffic retail corridor where cameras will be within arm's reach of hostile actors, the reinforced polycarbonate dome and 20-joule impact rating eliminate the cost and maintenance headache of external cages. The 28m IR range is adequate for most institutional hallways—don't expect long-range identification at the far end of a 50-meter warehouse, but for corridors and lobby coverage, it handles the job.
Technical Highlights:
- H.265 Default Codec: 40–50% storage reduction vs. H.264 on 24/7 recording. On a 16-camera system recording for 30 days at 5MP, that's a difference between 10TB and 5TB—material cost and NVR footprint savings. Switch to H.264 if legacy VMS mandates it, but H.265 is the right choice for modern deployments.
- IK10 + IP42 Combo: You get impact resistance without the thermal stress of outdoor temperature swings. Indoor-only operation means no heating/cooling power waste, and microSD edge recording handles network dropouts without rolling your NVR backward.
- 0.11 Lux Color + 0.004 Lux B/W: The dual-mode sensitivity is the real operational win. Institutional spaces often have marginal lighting—a hallway lit by exit signs or a stairwell with security lighting. The camera maintains color in these conditions, then seamlessly drops to monochrome when IR takes over. You avoid the bracketed, washed-out look of force-feeding color IR.
Deployment Considerations:
- Fixed 3.2mm lens means zero focus hunting on static scenes, but it also means no zoom. If your site survey reveals ambiguous coverage zones, plan for multiple units rather than trying to stretch a single camera to do two jobs.
- The 108° field of view is wide—good for lobby turnstiles and corridor runs, but it concentrates detail in the center 20 feet. Beyond 15–20 meters, facial recognition becomes hit-or-miss. Overlap mounting or secondary higher-MP units may be necessary for investigative-grade detail at distance.
- PoE Class 0 power is a strength, not a limitation—nearly any commercial switch will feed it. But confirm your cabling run supports 100m Ethernet; if you're at the distance limit, budget for an injector or midspan rather than extending beyond spec.
Deploy the WV-U22550-F3L in corridors, lobbies, and stairwells of institutional buildings where you need vandal tolerance and reliable night vision without the complexity of zoom, pan-tilt, or outdoor weatherproofing. It's a workhorse for high-traffic, high-risk indoor spaces where the threat is impact and tampering, not distance or environmental extremes.
