What are CCTV Cameras? Explaining the basics

Surveillance has become very popular in today’s age and not only for catching criminals but for many other purposes as well. So if you need surveillance, a CCTV (closed-circuit television) camera system is the way to go.

Usage

A CCTV camera can serve as a deterrent to prevent crime, it can document traffic, and it can actively monitor. The camera itself helps to detect any activity in your home, or in companies, and in case a crime occurs, you have a recording of it as evidence. When it comes to monitoring, a CCTV system can give you live feeds if you want to monitor patients, employees, and so on.

Necessary Components

If you want to get full use out of a CCTV camera, then you will need some additional equipment. Along with the camera, you need a monitor, transmission method and a recording device. The images that are caught by the camera are sent to the monitor either via wireless network or cables. The final product or image is then displayed on your monitor. An essential part of the whole system is a recording device which consists of a hard drive or a video recorder. Its purpose is to save the footage for later use as evidence or so it can be reviewed at a later time.

Camera Features

There are many CCTV camera lenses that you can get. However, it is best to choose one according to your needs. The three types of lenses you’re going to run into are a normal, wide angle and a telephoto lens. The difference between them is, of course, in their performance and price. The cheapest one is the fixed focal length lens which is also the simplest one because it can’t zoom in or change focus. Overall, lenses that can zoom are always more expensive.

Types of CCTV cameras

According to their purpose, there are different types of CCTV cameras. For example, if you need entrance surveillance, it doesn’t need to be hidden so the camera can be larger. If it’s an outdoor CCTV camera it needs to be carefully placed. In addition to this, you have to buy the one that can survive different weather conditions. On the other hand, if you need a camera that is hidden it is best to get the so-called ‘’nanny-cam’’ which is very discrete.

Camera types

Before getting a surveillance camera, you have to know which camera is used for which purpose. First of all, there are dome-camera models designed to monitor clothing stores and similar businesses. These are normally installed in a place where the exact angle of the camera isn’t apparent or is hidden. This enables the device to record when shoplifters think that the camera is not looking. A different type of camera would be a wall camera which is pretty visible. Moreover, some models have various options such as zoom features, infrared vision, or they might even be impervious to bullets. A completely different type is the hidden cam which is small, hard to detect, and often seen in spy movies.