What are you using the camera for?

Before you choose a camera, you need to be clear on what you are using it for. There are many different uses for a CCTV camera. Certain cameras are better suited to certain uses. Below is a list of some common uses.

• Detection
• Identification ⁄ Recognition
• Observation
• Covert
• Financial Diligence. (monitoring construction sites, machinery assets etc...)
• Lower insurance costs, reduce fraudulent claims
• Promotional ( allow visitors to view other activities across a venue or tourist site)
• Health and Safety
• Remote maintenance ( monitoring machinery for preventative maintenance )
• Deterrent
• Legal (i.e. Liquor licensing, Gambling Laws, Due diligence)

What determines the quality of a cameras recorded footage?

There are many factors that impact image quality, the most important include:

• Quality & features of the cameras on-board CCD/CMOS & digital signal processor
• What type of CCTV technology you use. i.e. IP, HD-SDI, Analogue
• Lighting conditions
• Type of lens used
• Bitrate setting of encoder
• Quality of the manufactures implementation of codec
• Mounting location of camera
• How camera is framed up for its intended purpose
• Quality of cables and cabling
• Environmental conditions
• Resolution used

Real world compromises

In the real world there are always compromises that will affect the quality of your CCTV solution. You should be aware of the cost that these compromises have on the final outcome:

• The budget you give your surveillance systems has a bearing on the quality of equipment & final outcome
• You can't control all lighting conditions but they can often be improved
• Recording at lower bitrate/resolutions does increase retention period but gives you poorer quality footage
• Mounting the camera to utilize existing cable runs does reduce cost but can reduce the quality & effectiveness
  of its intended purpose
• The number of cameras can be reduced by framing up a wider area but doing so often reduces the effectiveness of its intended purpose

Note: Some surveillance companies offer motion only recording or low bitrate recording which does reduce the cost of the system but won't give you the result you require. Camvex recommends 'continuous' AND 'motion' or just continuous, because we have found motion only recording often misses vital sequence of events leading up to an incident or misses the incident all together. Camvex also ensures that the image resolution is given an adequate bitrate to maintain the quality of the recorded footage.

Reading Specifications

Don't be fooled by many cheaper CCTV camera manufacturers stating they use one of Sony's imaging sensors chip in their camera. Sony is one of only a handful of companies that manufacture CCD camera chips themselves. Many manufacturers do use Sony CCD's in their cameras but most do not offer the entire imaging solution, which consist of 3 major components which are;

• The type of CMOS or CCD image sensor being used.
• The type of DSP (Digital Signal Processor) which processes each image
• The Lense

Examples of Sony's imaging technologies can be explored by clicking this link ->

The video below demonstrates how Sony test and specify the lighting characteristics of their cameras

IP Cameras, what's the difference?

IP cameras, although more expensive, offer many benefits over traditional analogue cameras, these include:

• Higher Image resolution
• Inbuilt Video Analytics ⁄ Motion Detection
• Integrated wireless options
• Scalable for future growth ( Plug into an existing network outlet)
• Eliminates cabling cost if you already have a PC network
• Easy integration onto Intranet or internet
• Easier remote access capability
• HD IP cameras better match modern display ⁄ monitor resolutions & ratios
• Option for on-board video storage
• Dual encoding ⁄ streaming options

PTZ cameras what's the benefit?

There has been tremendous growth in PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) cameras over the past few years. This is due to clients realizing the flexibility they get from a PTZ camera over 'fixed' cameras. Advancements have been gained in both PTZ technology and improved user interfaces. Some of these benefits include:

• Ability to 'track' people over distance (if monitored live)
• Use one camera to monitor multiple areas
• Touch interfaces make it easy to zoom in on a designated area of interest
• Schools use PTZ's to monitor large external areas i.e. playgrounds, fields
• PTZ's are often use to remotely monitor equipment
• PTZ's can be integrated into door sensors (i.e when a door opens the PTZ goes there)
• Up to a massive 36X optical zoom
• Dual encoding ⁄ streaming options.