CCTV Cameras are the number one option when it comes to protection and surveillance. Home, business, or office – whatever your concern is, you want to know what’s happening around there. And thieves and robbers are not stopping. For military interests or criminal investigation, from safety to privacy – everything is valuable and vulnerable at the same time. In these times of global and local turbulence, you must be equipped with proper security. Out of the house for a long time? Your pet and kids are not safe anymore. CCTVs are a great solution to such concerns.
But when buying a CCTV Camera you can not just go to the store and get one just like that. There are thousands of brands with hundreds of features in the market and not all of them offer the best value. On top of that, not all of them are equally potent and will barely suit your specific needs. So you need to know everything about CCTV Cameras before you visit the shop or order online. And in this article, we are going to walk you through the way.
How are CCTV Cameras Categorized?
Well, it depends on how you want to. Nonetheless, we generally divide them by their look and use cases. Such as – for nighttime surveillance, you NEED a Night-Vision CCTV Camera. Next, where are you going to use that? If outside of the house you need it to sustain in dust, heat, and rain. Hence it needs to be weatherproof. So which one will meet your use case? Let’s learn the basic types first and then we will dive into the features.
Types of CCTV Cameras –
We’ve categorized CCTV Cameras into types based on shapes and their most-suited use case scenarios. Which are:
Dome Type: The dome shape of its outer shell makes it look very deterring to burglars. Due to a super blending look with the environment but still very visible, it sends a clear sign to potential criminals. The dome shape makes it confusing where the camera is pointing so potential thieves and offenders remain on a constant alert. Dahua makes some of the best dome-type CCTV cameras in the world. For more than 15 years this brand is leading the CCTV industry.
Bullet Type: The name suggests its shape. Usually mounted to walls and entrance points and outdoors. The reason is that as they do not move at all and have a very direct look, these cameras are ideal for the sentry of outer posts. You can mount them beside your grand entrance and at corners where you need to scare off thieves and announce your authority. These cameras can cover a very long distance and are usually weatherproof. So, they can be used outdoors in rain, storm, scorching heat, or snowfall.
Pan-Tilt-Zoom: The CCTV that everyone is afraid of. These are called PTZ cameras which feature manual control of the camera in the desired direction. Situations like surveillance, overwatch, and live traffic control are done with CC cameras like these. You can pan left to right, move the camera up and down and also zoom in or out to get the best picture with these CCTV Cameras. These can be used to keep eye on specific, valuable items and to stop potential serious crimes.
Fisheye Camera: They are also called eyeball cameras. This is the most versatile of the CCTV Camera family. Why? They can look at the place from a top position and users can see every crease and corner of the place. Mounted ideally at the ceiling center, these cameras can record 360-degree panoramic views. We can almost say from a framing perspective, these are the allrounder in coverage.
Features To Look For When Choosing A CCTV Camera
Now that we know what CCTV Camera works best at which place, we would like you to know the features they have to offer. Read to the end so your CCTV Camera choice becomes seamless.
- Storage: The first thing you should keep in mind is storage. Based on your storage, your CCTV Camera backup may dramatically change. If you are using a mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD) you should be safe for years and more. If you are using a very big server you have nothing to worry about. Typical CCTVs use a Digital Video Recording (DVR) method to store data. In the DVR mode footage is first recorded in the analog signal, then it travels through a coaxial cable and finally converts to a digital signal, before permanently resting in non-volatile storage like HDD or Server.
- Resolution: Next, what you should consider when choosing your security camera is the resolution. CCTV Cameras have come a long way and today they offer resolutions in megapixels. From below 2 Megapixels to beyond 8 Megapixels are available to buy. You must choose the resolution based on the process these cameras record video footage.
- Wide Dynamic Range: Cameras don’t see the world as our eyes see. Sensors are easily fooled when exposed to extreme contrast. Think of a scene where the camera is looking at a frame with a very bright light in the background and a very shadowy figure in the front. In such a case, nothing is very visible. The wide Dynamic Range (WDR) in a sensor intelligently analyses the contrast and adjusts the contrast to portray a visible picture to the user. This is very important for good surveillance in detecting and identifying persons or objects. This technology is becoming widely popular in modern Cameras.
- Night Vision: CCTVs are mostly used for nighttime security and to refer to upon something unexpected happens. Infra-Red rays are projected from around the CCTV Camera lens to the subject and the ray bounces back to the camera sensor, making the camera capture footage that is invisible to the human eyes in the dark. This is one of the crucial features that can make all the difference. Keep in mind the more IR laser points around the camera lens, the better your camera should see at night.
- Motion Detection: This is a great feature for static scenarios where nothing much is expected to move. Such as garage, basement storage, etc. With a motion sensor, the camera can detect movement in the surveillance spot and will send you an alert to your controller. Consider this for your necessity.
- Sound Detection: Same as motion detecting, a sensor is attached inside the CCTV Camera body. Any unwanted sound gets detected and an instant alert is sent to the owner. This way the place under CCTV coverage is more secure even if the burglar succeeds in avoiding appearing in front of the camera.
- Two-Way Audio: Your necessities can extend even up to the real-time situation at your home, business, or office. You may have a kid in the house or a pet alone. You are away for the whole day. In this case, you would be delighted to know your kid and/or pet is safe at the house. If you get a CCTV Camera with two-way communication, you can not only see them but also hear and talk to them from away. A microphone and speaker in the CCTV Camera allow you to enjoy this feature. This also helps deter criminals instantly and prevent serious harm or damage.
- Apps: Today, CCTV Cameras feature very advanced apps and software to access, control and view stored footage in the server or a cloud server. You can also see a live feed of the place and also set a siren or scare off potential criminals. Consider a CCTV Camera with good software and make sure it is user-friendly.
We have reached the end of our article for today and we hope you are ready to make your choice for the best CCTV Camera according to your needs, and ease of operation. You can look up this website where the CCTVs discussed are available to buy, and get professional opinions and suggestions before you make the ideal choice.
