subject: Buy Security Cameras with the Right Lenses [print this page] Buy Security Cameras with the Right Lenses
Whether you are looking for wired or wireless security cameras, it is important to have some patience and put in some time and effort to find the right ones. You may be ready to spend a lot of money, but don't just look at well known brands of security cameras to ensure the security of your home. You may select the most expensive unit and still not find what you're seeking. Paying a lot does not necessarily mean that you'll get the product best suited for your needs.
There are several important technical issues to consider when evaluating wireless security cameras. It's important to think carefully about the areas you'd like to secure; consider their overall size and lighting conditions. You may also want to decide if you will use a DVR or computer to record and view captured footage. Perhaps you'd like to save on energy costs. If this is the case, it's easy to set up security cameras in combination with motion detectors and flood lights. In this type of installation, the camera only records when a motion sensor has been tripped. If you're dealing with low light conditions, you can remedy the situation by implementing some automated flood lights that are linked to motion detectors. Then, just like the first example, the lights and camera would only come on when the motion detectors were set off.
Many cameras come with different lenses. These cameras are generally classified by the focal length of the lens. This is measured in millimeters and, therefore, you will find lenses denoted as 5mm, or perhaps 50mm focal lengths. The focal length basically indicates the total viewing area that wireless security cameras can capture. The smaller the focal length, the wider the angle of view will be, with such lenses able to capture up to 180 degrees. Conversely, lenses with longer focal lengths provide narrower fields of view. Cameras with such lenses, though, can zoom in on distant objects.
When you are buying cameras, you want to ensure that you have picked the right lens. Unfortunately, you won't find a great deal of variety in wireless security cameras. If you want to cover a lot of space in front of the camera and don't want to bother about objects that are positioned 20 to 25 feet away, then choose an ultra-wide angle lens; that is, a camera that has a focal length of 5mm or below. However, if you want to observe things a bit more distant, select cameras with higher focal-length lenses, such as a 50mm lens.
