You will have asked yourself many times how to choose the video surveillance security cameras and the best outdoor lights and what are the most important features to consider when choosing the system that best suits your needs.
Once you have chosen the recorder and the technology you just have to decide the camera, but which one to buy?
The questions you need to ask yourself before choosing your video surveillance camera are mainly four:
- What is the place to keep under control? Internal or external?
- What is the budget to be used for the purchase?
- What is the precision of the camera you are looking for? Do you want to analyze faces and small details? Or do you want a broader overview?
- Will the cameras be visible or hidden?
Models of video surveillance cameras
BOXED cameras
These cameras are often used in the past and can only be used indoors with the advantage of being able to change the optics installed on it. Boxed cameras In order to be able to install this type of camera outdoors, it is necessary to use adaptable containers supported by heaters or cooling fans. This type of cameras are very little widespread lately, their TRUE advantage is the possibility of using different types of optics, very far from those usually available on the market.
BULLET cameras
The Bullet camera is perhaps the most widespread in the world of video surveillance. It is defined Bullet (bullet) for its shape, the main advantage of this camera is the immediate association as a video surveillance camera, making the idea of the controlled area clear. It is usually a camera placed outside, which is why it is essential to protect it from atmospheric agents such as rain and snow, in fact it is often supported by a “hat” that can protect the device from water or sunlight, this to prevent it from being blinded or wet.
Where possible, it is recommended to take a camera with a “hat” that can be repositioned forwards or backwards as needed. Another aspect concerns the illuminators which can be of different types, depending on their power, in fact they increase or decrease the shooting area. Finally, it is appropriate to evaluate the need for the joint. A camera can have a joint articulated on 2 or 3 axes, usually the two axes allow you to position the camera on the vertical or horizontal, the third axis allows a complete 360 ° rotation.
When to use the bullet camera? When you want to clearly understand the resume point and if it is required to use it outside where the optics must remain covered.
DOME cameras
The domes are cameras typically used indoors but positioned in a protected area they can also be suitable outdoors.
Why indoor?
There are 2 main dome models:
- the “EYEBALL”
- and normal DOME
Due to their characteristic, they are unable to protect the lens from dust or rain, as a result, if placed outside, the glass would easily be covered with dust, or worse, with rain, drastically reducing the yield of the shot, this is the main reason why a dome camera is NOT used outdoors or at least is NOT directly exposed to light or bad weather. They are often used in refueling stations because they are small and easy to place under their covers. In addition, the DOME, in the presence of mirrored or smoked glass, has the great advantage of NOT letting the target position know exactly, in this way the attackers will not see exactly the framed area and any hidden corners.
A particular model of dome cameras is the one with Fisheye fixed optics , which allows a panoramic view of 180 ° or 360 °.
Discover all our DOME cameras!
All the cameras presented now also exist in “MOTORIZED” mode. This typology can be structured on 3 axes, hence the abbreviation PTZ:
- PAN: horizontal movement both to the right and to the left
- TILT: vertical movement both upwards and downwards
- ZOOM: lens shift and focal control
DOMESTIC cameras
Domestic cameras They are ALWAYS IP cameras, typically with shapes as in the photo, and depending on the models also provide for the possibility of rotation on the Vertical and Horizontal axes (PT, Pan & Tilt), they can be reached remotely through an application and are ideal in those conditions servants where we want to see what is happening at home in the event of an alarm. It is NOT always possible to connect them to a recording system, many have a memory card on board to record the event (detected by the motion sensor).
PTZ cameras
Best PTZ outdoors camera usually have a particular shape related to the movement and rotation they can perform. The PTZs have a partially protected lens which guarantees less maintenance, some of them also have a squeegee useful for cleaning the same. The ptz have technical characteristics usually very advanced compared to normal cameras such as a particularly powerful zoom and illuminators for long visions. They are very useful cameras in large areas because they allow the programming of well-defined routes, called patrols, which guarantee more targeted shots and therefore greater control of a given area. In recent years PTZs have been used more and more both for the advanced functions that characterize them such as video analysis and for the size of the area they can capture. The greater diffusion of these products in recent times has allowed a lowering of costs, a point in their favor;
MICRO CAMERAS
Micro cameras are ideal for being hidden anywhere thanks to their small size. These cameras support different types of technologies and differ in resolution, optics and functionality, characteristics to be evaluated according to the purpose of use.
Despite their small size they can make high definition audio and video footage. Micro cameras can be placed outdoors, indoors and inside moving objects such as vehicles or bags.
They operate on battery or DC power supply, can be equipped with SD slot or internal memory and allow you to start a recording with a button or remote control.
The disadvantages are largely due to the Privacy aspect which must be assessed from time to time to the current limit in terms of resolutions, but the latter aspect has recently been largely overcome. In the micro cameras there are different “lenses”, which allow a narrower or wider vision depending on the installation point, the one in the photo is of the “PINHOLE” type which allows you to expose the only hole in the lens in a visible way,
CAMOUFLAGE cameras
The camouflaged cameras have the same circuitry as the “micro cameras” inside but are simply integrated in boxes with different characteristics (in the photo an alarm sensor, with the “hole” present where the recording takes place). By their nature, this type of cameras should never be used in the workplace and in the public sector, as they are not legal in terms of legislation, also in this case there are different resolutions and characteristics according to the needs,
The characteristics of video surveillance cameras
The resolution of the cameras
One aspect to keep in mind when purchasing a camera is the resolution of the recorded images. Choosing a video surveillance camera means taking into account the number of vertical and horizontal lines, today you will find resolutions up to 12Megapixels, a good resolution to be able to clearly detect what is happening goes from 1 to 2 Megapixels, then for long distances or for large areas it is recommended to go further.
The sensitivity of the cameras
This feature measures the minimum amount of light needed to record an image, the higher the sensitivity the lower the light needed to obtain high resolution videos.
Of fundamental importance is the light condition in which the area to be recorded is located. Just to answer the various brightness problems, you can choose Day / Night video surveillance security cameras in Chicago with filter, IR illumination with artificial infrared, cameras with Starlight function (or starves, if you like) that guarantees excellent performance in shooting with minimum lighting and cameras with WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) technology capable of recording details even in critical backlight conditions.
If we have not yet clarified your doubts or need technical support, we at Getstealth are always available and ready to provide detailed information.
