san diego entertainment calendar: How to Use Security and Surveillance Cameras for Home or Business

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

How to Use Security and Surveillance Cameras for Home or Business

Outdoor Security Camera New innovations in technology have produced many creative methods to provide securitysystems for homes and businesses. Advances in wireless technology have led to hundreds of new types of security equipment and cameras. Before investing in business or homesecurity systems, it?s important to do some thorough research on what is available on the market.

The first point you should consider is what kind of security you need. Do you need securityfor daytime, night time, indoors, outdoors or any combination of the four? Some night-visioncameras may give a good image for purely monitoring purposes, but may not have any recording facilities.

Bullet cameras are ideal security equipment for both businesses and home securitysystems. They are relatively low cost, easy to install and discreet. Some cameras are just two inches long and resemble the shell casing of a bullet, hence the name. Intruders find bullet cameras hard to spot. They make use of CCTV technology and are available in blackand white, colour or infrared applications. They can be used inside a building as well as outdoors.

The infrared security camera has infrared LED lighting installed around the lens. These LEDs allow the camera to capture a good image when there is no ordinary light at all to a distance of about 25 feet. There are also new camera designs that offer a day and night applications. These contain a chip with extra-sensitive imaging properties and can capture a good image in poor light without using infrared LEDs. These are efficient cameras foroutdoor use, as infrared cameras are not very good in outdoor installations. The infrared beams from the LED lights can reflect from any glass surface.

If you want to see further than 35 to 40 feet, c-mount and cs-mount cameras can be the best options. These are usually used with high-speed video cameras and are often installed in public or government facilities. The terms ?c-mount? and ?cs-mount? refer to the type of lens used and its distance from an image sensor in the camera. A c-mount lens is used with a large image sensor while a cs-mount is used for a compact image sensor.

A security camera for outdoor use has to be durable. To judge the camera?s durability, lookfor its IP (Ingress Protection) rating. A liquid IP value of 1 protects against dripping water, an IP of 4 protects against splashing water and an IP of 8 protects against immersion in water depths above one metre. If the camera does not have an IP rating, look for any description such as ?weatherproof? or ?outdoor?.

All security cameras can be either wired or wireless. Although wireless cameras have lots of flexibility, they are subject to interference from local wi-fi signals, baby monitors andcordless phones. Video feeds in a wireless system can be intercepted easily. It is important to check with the manufacturer whether the system is encrypted or not.

It?s worth remembering that there are some legal limitations of security systems. You cannot record a conversation with any other person without his knowledge. It is also technically illegal to install a camera in a room in your house without letting those people that come into your house know that it is there.

Businesses and households require different types of surveillance cameras. Features designed for business applications could be too expensive for domestic security systems. The key to good security is also its cost effectiveness.

Susan Desusa is a content writer associated with many technology related groups and communities. She is passionate about writing on electronics, gadgets, technology like home securitysystems etc.