3. Types of CCTV Camera you should know

In our previous blog, we have discussed the history of CCTV cameras & surveillance systems. If not, then can click here and read the same or guide yourself through the blog page for the complete blog post menu. We have lots stored in there.

Before directly jumping to the different types of CCTV cameras let’s 1st understand a few kinds of stuff. This would only make your life easy and put less strain on your head. Just kidding here!!!

To ease the flow in a much-defined manner. Let’s break the blog into 3 parts:

3.1: It Will consist of Types of CCTV Cameras (the main focus will be on its look and feel).

3.2: Will consist of the way it operates (Analog, IP, Wireless, etc.)

3.3: Will consist of the different features of CCTV camera (Varifocal, Thermal, Night Vision, etc).

In this blog post we are focusing on 3.1 so let’s get started.

Basically, there are 5 types of CCTV cameras whose names are mentioned below. The names of these cameras are mainly defined based on the similarity of their looks with a real-life object or functionality. The 5 types are:

1. Dome Camera
2. Bullet Camera
3. C-Mount Camera
4. PTZ Camera
5. Fish-Eye Camera

Let me explain the same one by one in detail:

1. Dome CCTV Camera:
   1. The name itself tells you that this type of CCTV camera has a dome shape look. The only difference is that the dome is in an inverted form. Most of these cameras are designed for internal use only but nowadays you get them for external use too. Based on the space, focal length, lighting, and risk conditions you may get different Dome CCTV Cameras for:
      1. Indoor purpose: Such cameras can be used for Indoor surveillance to keep an eye on internal activities like home, office, etc.
      2. Outdoor purpose: Such cameras are used in small external spaces where the focal distance is usually small like personal car parking, small shops, etc.
      3. Night-vision: Such cameras have the capability to detect objects in very low lighting or pitch dark conditions. They have infrared sensors circled all around the lens.
      4. Vandalproof: Those places which are risky in nature and have all the possibility of someone vandalizing or tampering with the CCTV cameras are called Vandalproof. They basically have a metal base and vandal-proof polycarbonate dome for protection. They are mainly installed into Police cells, banks, etc.

Dome Cameras were designed in such a way that it can be installed easily on any ceiling. This made it very difficult to install on the sidewalls and doesn’t have a tri-axis motion. Thus the birth of Bullet Cameras.

2. Bullet Cameras:
   1. Have you ever seen a bullet of a regular pistol? If not then I would advise to just google it and see it yourself. If you reduce the scale of a bullet camera then it would resemble a pistol bullet. Thus it got its name called Bullet camera which is used for video surveillance with usually fixed or manually adjusted focal length. Based on its focal length the length of the camera increases by a few inches. These cameras are very easy to install on any walls due to their tri-axis mounting base and their body make differs based on weather conditions which are either Plastic or Metal.

As Bullet cameras had a good focal length, their lens couldn’t be changed as and when needed or support upgrades in technology. Thus the birth of the C-Mount Camera

3. C-Mount Cameras:
   1. As per Wikipedia: A C-Mount is a type of lens mount commonly found on 16 mm movie cameras, closed-circuit television cameras, machine vision cameras, and microscope phototubes.
   2. These types of cameras are blucky in nature and have lots of parts to be installed before mounting them on a wall. Due to this, it’s easily visible to people passing by. Basically, a Bullet Camera lens can cover a distance of around 40ft but a C-Mount can cover a very long distance based on the lens type used in it. This can go beyond 100’s of feet. Because of this variable lens capability, C-Mount camera could support technological advancement in lenses.

Due to its variable focal length feature zoom-in and zoom-out was something that can be easily controlled remotely but it lacked pan and tilt functionality. Thus the birth of the PTZ Camera.

4. PTZ Cameras:
   1. The full form of PTZ is Pan, Tilt & Zoom. Unlike C-Mount cameras which can be remotely zoom-in & out, PTZ cameras can be remotely Pan (moving in the left or right direction), Tilt (moving in up and down direction) & Zoom (zooming in and out) on or towards a subject. Like C-Mount cameras, PTZ too has a long-range focal length and can easily track the entire range of motion of a subject in its field of view.
   2. They are mainly used in live monitoring of various activities happening in public places like Banks, Railways, Airports, Roads, etc. Because of this unique PTZ feature focusing on a pen lying ideal on a huge airport floor was also possible and can be controlled from anywhere through software.

Even though it can be moved in all directions, PTZ’s field of view was limited and can’t capture 360-degree footage all in one go. Thus the birth of the Fish-Eye Camera.

5. Fish-eye Cameras:
   1. Again as per Wikipedia: A fisheye lens is an ultra-wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion intended to create a wide panoramic or hemispherical image. Fisheye lenses achieve extremely wide angles of view. Instead of producing images with straight lines of perspective (rectilinear images), fisheye lenses use a special mapping (for example equisolid angle), which gives images a characteristic convex non-rectilinear appearance.
   2. In short, an ultrawide hemispherical view a fish can achieve from beneath the water, thus Fish-eye. An angle of view which a Fish-eye camera can achieve basically starts from 100 degrees and can go up to 360 degrees. Because of its wide-angle capabilities achieved through the single camera, the focal length of the lens is short i.e. less than 20ft. This type of camera can be used in open auditoriums where the complete field of view needs to be captured in one go.

Hope things are clear up till now because in the next blog (blog 3.2) the ride is a bit confusing. But don’t worry Vayak Global’s expert engineers are always there to help you. If you are interested to know more or are looking to install one at your place, feel free to connect with us (Enquiry page) or write to us at support@vayak.in. Until then be safe and keeping monitoring.