Thanks to the ever-changing social and law and order scenario all over the world, installation of CCTV is not just restricted to commercial complexes and public places. Even households are installing state of the art CCTV, surveillance cameras to keep an eye on their premises, even when they are away from home.
The presence of CCTV setup in homes is not regarded as an act of vanity anymore. It is a necessity these days. However, before opting for a CCTV surveillance system, people must look for certain factors. This is needed to make sure that people do not purchase a setup that falls short of the requirement, or something too expensive and sensitive, which is not needed at all. Let us look into some of these factors.
Choosing the right lens
Lens, needless to say, is the most crucial component of a camera. It is the ‘eye’ of the camera, which ‘sees’ everything. Technically speaking, it is the lens, which gathers the light for its sensor. Whatever the users see or record on any DVR or other recording device ‘comes’ via the lens. Hence, while selecting the CCTV surveillance camera, one should emphasize the quality of the lens.
The lens needs to be powerful enough to see the faces of people clearly, and even the most minute details of objects, ranging from the number of a car to, say, the mark of a cut or bruise on one’s face, irrespective of whether it is day or a dark, moonless night. Better quality lenses are more helpful than the higher output resolution. This is because the output gets restricted by the input, no matter how high it might be. On the other hand, the lens determines the quality of input.
Looking for the right sensor
This is another factor that needs to be taken into account. Digital sensors are not all equal. They vary mainly on two aspects, and these two aspects need to be considered while evaluating the technical specifications of a CCTV, surveillance camera. The first of them is the type of sensor, while the second one of the size of the sensor.
Most of the sensors of CCTV cameras are either Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor or CMOS or charge-coupled device or CCD. CMOS is cheaper than CCD, and it also uses lesser power than the CCD. However, the hindrance is that the CMOS is not a sensitive as the CCD cameras and cannot produce as clear an image as the ones with CMOS do. This can pose a serious threat when detecting minute details like identifying a face or a number plate of a car.
The other factor that needs to be considered is the size of the sensor. The larger the sensor, the more the amount of light it will process, and the more the amount of light, the better the quality of the image produced. A larger sensor of a CCTV surveillance camera not only can gather more light; in the process, it gives more data to the Digital Signal Processing or DSP to work with. This is particularly helpful when less capable and weaker processors are used in low-cost cameras.
Opting for the right output resolution
One of the most widespread cameras is the number of horizontal TV resolution lines that can deliver in its output. Or in other words, it is simply the output resolution, and this needs to be considered. While it is always nice to have a high output resolution camera, the output ultimately depends upon the DSP. Hence, the lens and the sensor must match the output resolution. Otherwise, the resolution is clearly wasted.
Last but not the least, the type of CCTV, surveillance cameras also need to be taken into account, though it is a separate story altogether.
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