Cameras are the heart and soul of your video system. Costs and features vary greatly, so make sure you match your need to the camera…
1. Analog Cameras: Analog cameras have been around for decades, and prices have come down drastically in the last several years. Unfortunately analog cameras only deliver an image with a resolution of 640×480 pixels. This is a relatively low quality image by today’s standards. If you need to look at a large area or zoom in on your image (live or recorded) you will not have very good image quality.
2. IP and Mega-pixel (MP) cameras: IP cameras have also been around for a while, but have been historically very costly and the digital recorders needed to record them has always had difficult time keeping up. In the last fews years, IP cameras have begun to overtake analog cameras for everyday use. The prices continue to come down and the technology gets better every year. Megaipixel cameras come in many flavors with a variety configurations. Panoramic and 360 degree cameras are very popular, cover large areas, and deliver excellent picture quality. The newest generation of mega-pixel cameras give you the ability to use one camera to cover a large area where you would have needed 4-6 analog cameras in the past.
3. Pixels: It is important to understand pixels to pick the right camera for your application. Your smart phone probably has a camera on it capable of taking 8 mega-pixel pictures or better. One mega-pixel is 1,000,000 pixels. The analog cameras we discussed above generate an image with 307,200 pixels (640×480=307,200). You can get mega-pixel video cameras from 1 MP up to 10 MP or more. With MP cameras you can create an image 20x better than with analog cameras.
4. Lighting: Mega-pixel cameras are excellent for outdoor applications like parking lots. Be sure to remember that you want your cameras to work at night as well as during the day, and you will need adequate lighting for a good picture at night or you will be disappointed with the video quality at night. There are cameras that perform well in low light conditions but they can be expensive. Be sure to pay more for a good picture if your lighting is poor…
Picking a Vendor: Pick a vendor that has used IP and Mega-pixels cameras for a while and has a relationship with a digital recorder vendor. Ask for references from customers that use a robust system they have sold them and see how long some of them have had those systems; ask about service support. Don’t be afraid to ask to see a demo of how a specific camera works..if they are hesitant to provide you may have the wrong vendor.
Good luck – be safe and secure!
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