Surveillance cameras are becoming a very popular item in today’s IT market. There are cameras for home use, for businesses both small and large, and for almost any application where it can be useful to have a record of what happened at a particular moment.
I have participated in opportunities for cameras in a wide range of applications: Elementary schools, High schools, College campuses, parking lots, car dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, local police stations, jails, courthouses, hotels, personal home security, and the list goes on and on and on.
Here are some questions I commonly ask when presented with someone looking for a surveillance camera.
What are you doing? Or what is it that you want to look at or see with the camera? Knowing the environment and situation someone wants to survey is the starting point to selecting a camera.
Is this for indoor use or outdoor use? Simply put, an indoor only camera cannot be used outside (well, should not be used outside. I suppose you can do whatever you want with a camera once you buy it, but don’t be surprised when it gets destroyed by the elements).
Is there a particular form factor that is required or desired? There are many different form factors of IP cameras; dome, cube, box, bullet, etc. In some situations it may not matter while in others it may matter a great deal. Going over the available options and features can help to get the right form factor for the job.
Are there temperature considerations for the environment where the camera will be placed? I live in southern California and the climate here does not come near to fluctuating as much as it does in other areas of the country. I have sold cameras for use in about every area of the country. Suffice it to say that an outdoor camera for use in Minnesota in January will require a much lower temperature rating than a camera in southern California in January.
These are some of the basic questions for starting a conversation on IP Surveillance. For more information on surveillance cameras check out our IP Surveillance 101 blog series or request out IP Surveillance 101 Poster.