Camera for outdoor video surveillance

It is no secret that many objects require round-the-clock monitoring of everything that happens around the building. Most of the protected objects also need video recording of what is happening. To the aid of modern private security companies come the whole complex for the implementation of outdoor video surveillance, deployed around the perimeter of the object. Outdoor CCTV camera has ceased to be a means of luxury. From a narrow-profile gadget, it has become quite popular device that can afford almost any average user.

The difference between an outdoor surveillance camera and ordinary models

Outdoor camcorders are different from their counterparts, intended for shooting indoors.

Housing protection

The first thing you pay attention to when buying a camera for outdoor surveillance is the degree of security of its enclosure. This is one of the most important aspects. The gadget will have to keep a round-the-clock watch in conditions of sudden changes in temperature and humidity. The higher the number, the better.

Actual for most models is the American standard of protection against dust and moisture IP66 / 67. Most manufacturers in the development of new models are equal to him.

Sensitivity

Another extremely important parameter for external observation. The fact is that the ratio of interference and signal is always better indoors with stable lighting, which is why lights are not uncommon for many models of cameras for external surveillance. For no light and noise suppression advanced technologies are used that significantly increase the cost of equipment. In budget models for protection from light at the cylindrical chambers serves as a visor. It is good to appreciate the need for a clear picture and the range of the lens sight before making a purchase. In the case of monitoring a small area that is surrounded by a fence, the most ordinary external camera is quite suitable.

Operating temperature

In winter, the operating conditions of equipment may differ from summer. In particular, the lens may lose tightness and mist. To avoid this and the camera is not "blind", you must choose devices with a high temperature threshold. As a rule, this indicator is equal to -40 for negative temperatures and +50 for positive. Of course, the higher the temperature the gadget can withstand, the higher its price will be.

What are outdoor cameras by type of connection

Select a video camera for outdoor surveillance can be on several key parameters. Since there is no single, generally accepted division of this type of device, they are conventionally divided according to the principle of connection to the control unit, as well as the type of construction.

Analog cameras

Analog video cameras are the very first type of cameras for video recording. They appeared in the pre-digital era and to this day continue to be popular due to its availability and ease of operation. Despite the fact that the analog principle of transmission and signal coding is obsolete, as is the method of transport (coaxial cable and twisted pair), it is still in demand. Many office centers are adopting analog systems. The reason is simple - they are cheaper.

The obvious disadvantage is the need signal encoding and decoding at the time of its receipt on the control unit and hard disk or cloud storage. Installation specialists complain about poor backward compatibility with more modern models. If you need to connect a digital camera to a system based on analog information transfer devices,You will need to solve the problem with a lot of adapters and look for appropriate software to solve this problem.

Digital models

The logical continuation of technology, which can be called the next generation. Digital systems are easy to connect, they are more unified. A significant plus is current softwarewhich is supported at the developer level, patches and hotfixes are constantly being released. As a result, there is no need to look for specific drivers. Support at the software level allows you to significantly unify the installation process. The control unit is arranged differently, because it does not have to decode the signal from analog to digital, it transmits it to the storage in digitized form.

The price of such devices is much higher than analog systems, which can be attributed to the minuses. The obvious advantage of the digital type is the ability to use optics instead of the outdated twisted pair.. This factor affects the transmission distance of the signal from the optics to the receiving unit. Of course, this aspect will have an effect on the price of both the monitoring kit and the installation itself.

Wireless devices

Wireless cameras for video surveillance are the most advanced solution. Most often in their roles are Wi-Fi camcorder. Oddly enough, but this type is suitable for the organization of external video surveillance the least. The reason is quite simple. The wireless image transmission system is rather unstable and depends on many factors. For example, if one of the Wi-Fi repeaters is restarted, the entire chain attached to this port will suffer. Such a binding makes this type of video surveillance is very moody. And if you consider that outdoor video surveillance has severe requirements, then the wireless type should be considered as a purchase with extreme caution. Positive factor is complete absence of wires.

Type classification

According to this criterion, there are three main types of street surveillance video cameras.

1. PTZ cameras. Rotary model is very useful for observing the corner area.In addition, such a device can be equipped with a sensor to track movement. In this case, the device itself will respond to movement in the frame and track the source of movement if it disappears beyond the limit of the lens view.
   

2. Dome camera. A dome camera may have a viewing angle of 180 degrees. This option allows you to take a panoramic shot (360 degrees). Convenient, but not always functional. However, this technology is today one of the most popular models for external video surveillance on the market. Such a gadget will find its consumer in the field of private video surveillance (shooting roofs, or panoramic fixing the perimeter).
   

3. Cylindrical chamber. The scope of a cylindrical video camera is not limited only to external observation. This format of the device is very popular when deploying video surveillance indoors. The popularity of such a form factor is easy to explain, thanks to its durable case and special visor, the model acquires an additional margin of safety. A cylindrical chamber can be considered anti-vandal, because it has a sturdy casing that is quite difficult to damage.The disadvantage of this type is the large size of the device, which is why it is difficult to hide it from prying eyes.
   

IP cameras are often cylindrical. Due to the elongated shape of the case, it can accommodate not only high-quality optics, but also quite powerful hardware stuffing.

Color or monochrome camera - which is better

Color cameras for outdoor surveillance are mainly used for face recognition in places of large concentrations of people. It is the presence of colors helps to distinguish details and details that are not available in a black and white picture. To carry out outdoor monitoring of the room or perimeter, in most cases, you can limit yourself to a monochrome camera, it will be cheaper, and installing the entire video surveillance system will take much less time.

Useful features

Even if there is a certainty with the type of camera, its form, recording format and approximate cost, you should pay attention to a number of useful features.which are often present in a particular model.

Light sensor

Many brands of camcorders have this useful sensor. In essence, it represents night mode. If it is dark outside and the light level is minimized, the sensor transmits a signal to the board, after which the IR light turns on. The sensor itself is a photodiode, which is mounted near the lens of a video camera and a special relay switch. The relay is triggered when the light level changes. A very convenient feature that allows for round-the-clock monitoring with acceptable video recording quality.

Microphone

An important function, which, however, is not much in demand in the market. Most often, low demand is due to the price, which is somewhat higher for a model with a built-in microphone than without it. The functionality of the device significantly expands, in some cases, you can set the intentions and other details of the incident and its participants. Of course, an audio recording will be a more weighty argument in court than a simple video. The downside of this technology is big need for a place to store information: video with audio track superimposed on it takes up much more space on the hard disk.

There are models with a built-in microphone, as a rule, of average quality, and cameras with the ability to connect an external microphone to deploy better sound recording

Write to memory card

A very useful feature that most useful for portable cameras. Most often, the internal memory of the device is only enough to install software. Large amounts of persistent storage are needed to store data. Today, almost all digital and wireless models support writing to a memory card. Analog cameras lack support for memory cards, because they transmit a signal not in digital form.

P2P

Devices using cloud technology. The peculiarity of such a device is that it transfers data to the server, and not directly to the memory card. This technology has its pros and cons. For example, some data may be compromised by hacking account. In addition, for the expansion of space in the cloud storage you have to pay, and this is in addition to the monthly subscription for using the service.Convenience is that you can watch the object at any time, because the smartphone is available to almost every modern person. Another thing is that any disconnection of the Internet will instantly “blind” the camera, and, if the recording is not duplicated on the physical media, the broadcast will be wasted.

Zoom

Zoom in an outdoor video camera is needed to enlarge individual sections of the image. As you know, when approaching the picture, it falls into pixels. The more indicators of digital and optical zoom will be, the more you can zoom in and zoom in on the image. The camera for surveillance can be with a forced zoom, both digital and optical, or variofokalnaya. The latter is equipped with a lens in which the lenses are arranged in a certain order. With this arrangement, it becomes possible to change the distance of the focus and angle of view manually, forcibly. A convenient mechanism will not greatly affect the cost of a video surveillance system.

Ahd format

AHD camcorder is a relatively new standard that allows for quite clear pictures from analog models. If, for a number of reasons, the choice was on the analog line of equipment, then you should think about purchasing equipment that supports this particular standard. Analog High Definition is initially supported by only one manufacturer. Now this is a conglomerate that includes several brands, but the freedom of choice still remains very small. Some users may be repelled by such a binding. In general, the support of this format is a great opportunity to improve the image on analog equipment without resorting to a serious modernization of the entire system.

Motion Sensor

The function of the software. In the case of motion detection on the screen, a special software module is activated and follows the instructions given by the operator. The camera can start recording archiving, activate an alarm, give a signal to its owner, if it has a receiving device, and also follow the movement if the device is mounted on a mobile stand. Some models emphasize movement on separate operator alarm monitorengaged in tracking the situation manually.

Software can highlight individual features and focus on them. For example, you can set certain parameters by which the motion detection sensor will be activated: a blue T-shirt, a red cap, etc.

To avoid false positives, cameras equipped with a motion sensor, equipped with a special "screen-mask"covering the unwanted area of ​​the frame, after which it becomes “blind” for movement of any kind. It is necessary for the signal source to go beyond the limit of the “mask”, as the sensor will immediately work. This is a very convenient solution. Capturing movement is useful in most cases of video surveillance, so you should initially consider options equipped with such a sensor.

Infrared light

The mechanism that activates the night shooting. Far from all the cameras are endowed with this option, even those that offer night video recording. It should be noted that the use of IR illumination significantly improves the quality of night shooting.. This option is equipped with monochrome cameras. There are models that shoot a color picture in the afternoon, but with the onset of a predetermined time of day they switch to monochrome. A very useful feature for outdoor video surveillance.In the first place, such a backlight allows, if not to eliminate the glare, then to substantially correct them. This is possible due to the fact that the recording is carried out in the infrared range, less sensitive to noise, interference and flashes of light.

Ability to switch day / night modes

The function is inextricably linked with the above. When the predetermined time comes, the software algorithm sends a command to the sensor, which switches the lens to the night video mode. As a rule, the ability to work in two modes implies the presence of IR illumination. In addition, even a color video camera for outdoor surveillance can work in this mode. A very useful feature that is better to have in stock.

WDR

Last in the list, but not by value, the parameter to which you should be guided when choosing a device. Wide Dunamic Range is light intensity rangewhich she can fix. Simply put, this is the parameter of maximum and minimum illumination at which video recording is possible. The wider the range of this parameter, the better.

The best manufacturers

Zodicam - a well-known brand, already sufficient time present in the market of equipment for video surveillance. It represents both case and classical types of cameras in several configuration options. Flexible pricing, simple and clear line of models make the company one of the most famous in Russia. The company's policy is focused primarily on the budget and medium market segments.

Security Camera Zodikam 3832-PTZ

Orient - one of the oldest companies engaged in the production and production of video cameras. Orient products are represented in many countries of the world and are in widespread demand everywhere. Several models of the brand won prizes in well-known ratings and reviews of specialized publications. The company is synonymous with quality and affordable prices. One of the most interesting and modern solutions for today. The model range includes a wide range of cameras and additional equipment for building a full-fledged network of outdoor video surveillance, including models with high-resolution support.

Camera Orient AHD-55w-SH24VZ-4

IVUE - popular technology brand,betting on the introduction of the most modern and advanced developments of the industry. It is precisely “Ayview” that is a constant innovator in the release and implementation of new functions. The equipment occupies a serious market share due to high quality products, a wide dealer network and an optimal client support and maintenance program. If there is a need to buy a modern video camera with a recording and at the same time fit into a modest budget, then you should pay attention to this brand.

IVue NV433-P Security Camera

Conclusion

Outdoor surveillance camera is relevant and popular gadget. It is distinguished from the classic camera by several important parameters, on which particular emphasis is placed. It will not be difficult to purchase an outdoor video surveillance camera, just take into account the basic parameters and determine the intricacies of operation.