Tuesday, May 26, 2009

CCTV Security Camera Guide

By Adam Togo

There are a few basics about CCTV security cameras when deciding to protect your home and family. CCTV cameras come in two forms. They are either CMOS or CCD cameras and are differentiated by the image sensor. CMOS based cameras are cheaper but produce a lower quality image than the CCD camera.

To find the best camera to fit your needs, the first step is to identify what purpose you intend the security camera to serve. For example, a camera to monitor general crowd movement is a much lower requirement than if you need a camera that can pinpoint a face in the crowd.

There is a difference in cameras designed for indoor versus outdoor use. There are additional durability standards that the camera would need to ensure it survives the harsh conditions, unlike an indoor security camera.

The overall size of your security system, including the number of cameras you will need, will determine your spending ceiling. If it was just one camera you might spend a little extra for extra features, for example higher resolution. But across a 20 camera system that little extra you spend per camera will definitely add up to some serious money. Your budget will directly impact your buying decision and needs to be sufficient for the right cameras to adequately serve your needs.

One determinant in what kind of camera you need is the lighting conditions of the area you will be monitoring. A high quality camera that was not designed for low light environment is useless if the lighting is insufficient. If you do require low light recording, there are several options available.

If you're going to need to monitor night scenes consider a black and white camera as they will deliver sharper images in low light. If you want 24 hour surveillance consider a day/night outdoor security camera.

There are also dedicated night vision cameras for true low light recording. The minimum amount of light required for the camera to record properly is measured by the LUX rating. A camera of lower LUX rating requires less light and a rating of 0 means the camera is designed for complete darkness.

A cameras resolution measures the sharpness of the image the camera will capture; higher resolution, higher quality image. Entry level cameras start at resolutions of 330 lines upward to 400 lines in higher quality cameras.

There are more advanced monitoring systems that allow for panning and zooming the camera but for many a standard recording device will suffice. Most people will use a digital video recorder, or DVR to record directly onto a harddisk.

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