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Selecting the Right Security Camera

Application-

First thing to ask yourself is what you intend to use a security camera or camera system for. Are you interested in real-time viewing, store surveillance (which means recording and storing video footage), one particular room in a house, access doors for an office building, etc.

Color vs. B&W-

How important is it to have camera images in color? Black-and-white security cameras generally have greater sensitivity at low light levels and thus are cheaper than equivalent color cameras. Nowadays though, you can get cameras that have infra-red LED’s that will record in color during the day, and switch to black and white at night under infra red lighting. Not to mention that with the advent of new technology and sensors, it really isn’t much of a price gap between color and B&W cameras.

Indoor vs. Outdoor-

If the camera is mounted outdoors, be sure and get an appropriate enclosure for the environmental conditions likely to be encountered. This can include rain, snow, heat, cold, sun glare, humidity and corrosive atmosphere. There are also a few cameras that don’t require a separate housing to protect them against most climate situations, including the ones used most commonly by companies like TriStar.

Fixed Lens vs. Zoom Lens-

Fixed-lens cameras are much cheaper than zoom lenses. Ask yourself how important it is to be able to remotely zoom in or out on a scene. Also, keep in mind that you have to zoom in real time to get the image you want with the best quality. Zooming in in real time is called using optical zoom. Zooming in on a scene from a recorded image is called digital zoom, and that is available in certain software packages with digital recorders. Ask your adviser if that is something you would be able to do.

Fixed Mount vs. Pan-Tilt Camera/Mount-

Similar to the zoom lens issue, ask yourself how important it is to be able to move the camera up, down, or side to side. Also remember that when you pan and tilt a camera, you are sacrificing blind spots to catch certain areas. Ever seen one of those movies where a spy or ninja or thief watches a camera move around and times his movements to that of the camera? Exactly.

Note: One pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera can replace the job of several fixed mount, fixed lens security cameras, but each has its benefits and downsides. And while the Zoom Lens has to be built into the camera itself, you can get cameras that have pan-tilt function, or just buy a mount that will pan and tilt with a regular camera inside it.

Open vs. hidden camera-

Do you care if the security camera is visible or is it important that the camera not be seen, i.e. is ‘covert’ operation important?

Real-time vs. later viewing-

Do you need to be able to view camera images in real-time (live) or is storing images on a digital video recorder for later viewing acceptable? Or maybe you want both? This isn’t so much related to the camera as it is to the video processor/recording unit. Maybe next time we can go into more detail about DVR’s and Time Lapse VCR’s.

Local viewing vs. remote viewing-

Do you want to be able to view images from anywhere, anytime? This would mean getting a network IP camera that can be accessed over the Internet. Or you can get a Digital Video Recorder that ties in to a remote server that you can access. You would need to get a high-speed internet connection at your location too. Once again, one of the many functions of those DVR’s I want to get into later on!

This entry was posted on April 6, 2007 at 11:42 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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