How to Choose Your CCTV Security Camera
The guide below is a quick reference sheet to quickly go through some of the CCTV terminology when it comes to choosing the correct SECURITY CAMERAS for your CCTV installation
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First you need to choose the correct style of camera for your installation , basically you can group cameras into probably three broad styles , first is the bullet style , which is generally the shape most people can identify with when they think of CCTV SECURITY CAMERAS. The next group is dome cameras , which is the more modern style of camera , the last group is PTZ, which is also generally dome-shaped but is designed for the more professional installation due to the advanced features of being able to control it via a keyboard with a joystick . So the standard out feature of the bullet camera , is the ease of the installation - mount the camera in the required location than position camera by twisting left or right or up & down to get the required view , also with BULLET style cameras and future camera positioning changes are straight forward. However the biggest draw back with these cameras is the ease they can be vandalised or tampered with – i.e with a long enough pole the camera can be forced into looking into a blind spot . Also people can see the direction of the camera , so are able to work out the camera view thus any blind areas when approaching it .
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The next style of camera is the dome , this can be split into two additional styles , first the most modern style of camera – this been the EYEBALL DOME , obviously named after it’s close resemble to an eyeball , these are the most vandal proof , coming in hardened materials , also designed to withstand any attack from the front , once installed these are very hard to tamper with , but in most cases they can be adjusted to provide the required , due to the eyeball design , one draw back certain users have stated , when the camera goes infrared in low light this alerts any intruders of a camera in that direction
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The next  style dome , is the standard vandal dome , the plus points of this design is first the ability of being able to make the connections direct inside the base – this is usually not the case when using EYEBALL DOMES , unless they are supplied with specific installation rings , usually eyeball domes need additional plastic enclosure to house the camera terminations.Â
 EYEBALL RING BASE
Another feature of the standard vandal dome , is it is a lot harder to identify the direction the camera is facing inside the tinted plastic dome , but the negative point of these cameras , is with the design having a 3 – axis gimble , it is not as flexible as an eyeball camera with its positioning & adjustment of its view
Final camera type is the PTZ (PAN/TILT/ZOOM) – these cameras are the most advanced & hardest to install , so are generally the most expensive of all cameras , these cameras are generally designed for the more professional , retail / business solutions . The major features of these cameras , is the ability to adjust the direction the camera is facing , zoom in & out – etc , this can be achieved by various ways , the most poplar is by keyboard/joystick , other supported ways is via PC applications or by controls on front of the DVR .