What to Look For in Surveillance Cameras When Buying

Your concern about your home security will drive you to find the best surveillance cameras in the market. Surveillance cameras work efficiently day and night and can help you monitor events through your smartphone or computer when you are far from home or business. They use Wi-Fi-based connections to operate.

With surveillance cameras, you can backup information directly to the cloud and archive your files any time you want. They are compact, with plenty of features and can hardly be noticed. Surveillance cameras offer high-resolution views of any location under their range.

Here are some of the features and specifications to look for when purchasing surveillance cameras.

The Type of Camera

Surveillance cameras are available for use indoors and the exteriors. Exterior surveillance cameras are weatherproof and sturdy enough to deal with the elements of weather such as snow, rainfall, and sunshine.

Surveillance cameras are featured with audio recording, motion and face detection, night vision auto zooming, and live streaming functions to assist when there is motion detection. You should choose your surveillance cameras based on your security needs.

The Camera Quality

Camera quality is the most crucial factor to consider when purchasing a surveillance camera. A camera with quality recording capabilities can help to record every detail of the event, including a clear face of the intruder or burglar. High-end cameras record details that can be used as evidence by the authorities. Most surveillance cameras offer HD recording of the events.

The Source of Power Supply for Your Camera

Surveillance cameras are categorized according to their source of power supply. They are available with in-built battery and those that need a wired power supply or both. Those with battery power have a long battery life, which is rechargeable and can last for hours or even days. They come in handy when there is a power outage.

Wired power supply surveillance cameras do not need much attention, and they come with hassle-free operation. The in-built power supply and their compact design make them discreet and hard to be noticed.

The Surveillance Camera’s Recording Angle

The purpose of purchasing surveillance cameras is to have much coverage area with a single camera. With an excellent viewing angle, there will be no blind spots, and the burglar will not have any loophole entry.

Most surveillance cameras have revolving lenses that allow them better coverage of approximately 360 degrees viewing using a single camera.

Night Vision Capability

Surveillance cameras provide top-notch night vision that helps in security monitoring. They can pick images that appear in low-light conditions or even those found in complete darkness. Night vision image quality varies depending on the distance of the event to the camera.

Remote Access

Surveillance cameras are often connected to Wi-Fi internet. This provides property owners with the ability to view the camera footage remotely through their smartphones or home computers. Live streaming of events to your phone is also possible. They can also store data in a cloud-based server for security purposes and future references. The cloud-based servers are secured with the user’s credentials.

Your surveillance cameras can be configured to send alerts through emails, SMS, and MMS when triggered. With both mobile and web access, it is easy to access information from anywhere.

How Video Footage is stored

Some surveillance cameras store all recorded footage in in-built flash memory cards or external storage drives that come with them. Other models have excellent security, which takes the images and saves them to the cloud. When looking for the best camera, always define your way of storing essential pictures and videos.

Here are the few storage options to consider:

Memory card storage

Find out if the surveillance camera has memory card storage where recordings can be stored. All images and footage will be saved on the memory card to allow you easy access without any configuration settings or expenses for cloud storage.

Cloud storage

Cloud storage may come with wireless surveillance cameras. The storage space can be limited for a given time or be availed at a subscription fee. But you can also save files in your Dropbox by configuring the camera software to connect to your remote storage.

Computer Storage

You can opt to save and store your videos or pictures on your computer using the web or program feature. You will have more storage capacity but only if your computer remains on.

Phone Storage

Find out if you can save and store your videos and pictures on your tablet or phone using the camera’s app. If the mobile app allows you to view videos and images on your mobile device, it’s probably possible to download and store them on your device.

Conclusion

Purchasing a surveillance system requires proper planning and careful planning and assessment beforehand. You have to understand what you want in your camera, its capabilities, and the available features.