Possibilities

Would you know what to look for when selecting one or more cameras for home surveillance? As there are a few options to choose from, it stands to reason that you should have an idea of the possibilities before rushing to place your order.

A good place to start from is making up your mind as to the purpose of your surveillance, and the kind of lighting that will be available at the time of operation. Remember that most of times cameras should be operated unattended.

We already affirmed elsewhere that the main purpose of a Home Surveillance System is essentially for deterrence, as it is quite reasonable that a burglar will stay clear of any object suspected of being able to collect proofs.

Identification of a person committing a crime though may be quite difficult, if it cannot be restricted to a small group of known subjects.

A different purpose is that of controlling the behavior of caretakers that need not be positively identified because you know them. In this case a simple camera is all you need.

Depending upon the amount of light available on the scene you may be compelled to opt for black and white if illumination is not sufficient to support color picture taking.

The capability to change orientation or to zoom in, to enlarge the view of interesting details, is generally too expensive an option to be considered. It may be useful only if the images are to be examined by an observer in real time.

A fixed focus camera whose field of view does not change is probably a satisfactory choice for most of usual applications, provided the general area to be surveilled is included.

The sensitive element, called sensor or imager, is possibly the heart of the camera.
It is characterized by the technology describing its make-up (that should not worry the user), and by its physical area.

Video signals can be transmitted either through a coaxial cable (the most common way) or by radio (wireless). The first option is quite rigid and may require drilling holes in the wall and fixing the cable at intervals along its path.

The other option is much easier at installation and when the need arises to move the emplacement. However radio transmission may be prone to interferences that can degrade picture quality.

The external shape of the camera is mostly a question of aesthetics and of personal preference. So called bullet cameras have a straight form pointing directly to their field of view.

Dome cameras are enclosed in a semi-transparent plastic bowl that may fit nicely in indoor space. The exact direction the camera is pointing at is hidden from view, which can be an advantage for surveillance.

To make an informed choice, the interested person should get familiar with the basic concepts of surveillance technology and should examine critically the characteristics of the different options.

This examination however should not paralyze the final decision because any choice, even if not the best, is far better than no selection at all.

By: Elia Levi

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Spy pen cameras are one of the many types of hidden, wireless cameras. Like spy camera glasses, spy pen cameras are most useful when you want to carry out an investigation without the knowledge of anyone seeing you. The camera in this case is hidden in the pen, which actually doubles as a real working pen. You can keep the pen on your person, on the desk, or even write with it—all while the camera captures the image you are focusing on and transmits it.

Spy pen cameras should satisfy the requisites of a mini hidden camera. Size and weight are obvious characteristics. The cameras should have good resolution, range, and battery life and should operate under poor lighting conditions.

The pen camera usually has a transmitter, which transmits the images. At the other end, you can have a receiver that receives the transmitted images and stores or records them. You can also attach it to a monitor so that someone else could be watching the images in another room.

Spy pen cameras could also be still cameras that have the memory to store a specified number of images, which can later be downloaded onto your computer. A cleverly concealed camera inside a working pen makes it the most innocuous yet the most powerful weapon one can have. With up to 180 feet of transmission range and minimal illumination, undercover assignments are a breeze.

A mere click of the pen and it begins transmitting. Whether in your shirt pocket or on the desk or in your hand, you would still transmit live images to the receiver that may be up to 180 feet away.

The possibilities with a spy pen camera abound. Even if you are not a professional investigator, pen cameras could be of use to you. You could take it to meetings, scan and capture documents, or even use it to record what your spouse said to you.

By: Thomas Morva

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