Re: Security Camera questions

[<umar@xxxxxxx>]

Quoting David Claxton <UKHA@xxxxxxx>:
Hi David  - I dont know much about switchers, and so I will let someone
else comment on that

> Security cameras. I assume I should be looking at Resolution and Lux
> figures
> to work out the quality of the camera, but what is a good resolution
and
> what is a good Lux? (some of the cameras on the above mentioned site
> have
> 'Min. Illumination 0.05 Lux at f1.2' what's the f1.2 mean?)
>
> I know someone mentioned they were buying a colour camera which
switched
> to mono when there wasn't enough light. Any reviews, pointers to
example

I bought some colour cameras from Maplins - £119 incl VAT and
delivery - they come with the housing and are waterproof (IP65 rated I
think). In low light they switch to B&W, and have 12 IR leds built in -
so even in complete darkness you get a picture. However mine are positioned
above PIR lights and so generally the lights come on and the picture
switches to colour. They give 380 TV Lines resolution, which is medium
quality - high resolution cameras can give 480 lines and above I think. You
get what you pay for generally.

The next stage is to look at how/what you record. If you are using up to 4
cameras a quad splitter will take the feeds from 4 cameras and show all 4
on a screen - this can then be sent to a timelapse video recorder/ suitably
adjusted TIVO and you get a recording of up to 4 cameras. A colour quad
from Maplins costs around £170.B&W are much cheaper

If you have more than 4 cameras then you are into the realms of
multiplexers which cost several hundred pounds.

My security camera knowledge is basic, but I hope the above helps.

Umar



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