6 Awesome Security Camera Features
Looking for a security camera? Don’t start shopping until you’ve read Tech Talker’s list of 6 must-have (and pretty awesome) security camera features.
Listen
6 Awesome Security Camera Features
Hey, everyone! This week, in my second episode on security cameras, I’m going to be focusing on some of the top features you should look for when you are shopping for a security camera system..
As a reminder, last week we discussed the 3 main types of cameras on the market. If you haven’t already listened to it, go check it out now, because it’s jam packed with information that would be useful to know for this episode, too.
Now, here are the 6 top–and pretty cool–features to look for in a security camera:
Pan-Tilt-Zoom
First up is Pan-Tilt-Zoom, or PTZ. This feature is exactly what it sounds like: it lets you control the direction of your camera side-to-side and up and down, and gives you the ability to zoom in. This feature is great if you want the ability to see / scan a large area, then zoom in on areas of interest.
Oftentimes, you can even automate this action so that your camera will pan back and forth, capturing a very large area. Cameras that do this are a little bit more expensive than a static camera (which doesn’t move), but if you need something to replace multiple static cameras, they could be well worth the price.
The zoom feature is also great–and often overlooked. This allows you to zoom into areas of interest and get greater clarity in places where a static camera may have a limited view. These types of cameras are best if they are being actively monitored by someone.
Night Vision/ Infrared (IR)
Night vision is probably one of the best features on any security camera. After all, not having this feature limits your viewing to only day time (unless you have well-lit conditions.) This is generally not a very expensive feature, but it is a pretty incredible one.
Infrared security cameras have small LED bulbs that emit an infrared light. This light is only visible to cameras, and not to the human eye. This is pretty neat because you could be in a pitch black room, unable to see your hand in front of your face, and yet the camera will easily pick up everything around you!
These LEDs will produce a faint red glow, which generally can’t be seen too easily. But if you are trying to conceal your camera, this might be something to keep in mind.
Wireless
I almost always recommend hard wiring your cameras, in order to reduce interference. However, there are many situations in which having a wireless camera makes sense. For example, there could be areas that are too hard to get a wire to, or there might be a remote location you want to monitor. In these circumstances, a wireless camera is the way to go.
Generally, WiFi-equipped cameras will connect directly to your wireless router, so the range they will have will depend on your router–so you may want to update it. (Check out my episode on upgrading your router here.) Wireless cameras are also great because you can set them up pretty easily, and move them around if you don’t like where they are. Granted, you’ll still need to provide the cameras power from somewhere, but that generally isn’t too hard.
Motion Detection
My favorite feature of modern camera systems is the ability to detect motion. This is an awesome feature because you can go about your day, and the cameras will notify you when they pick-up motion, either through email, text message, or push notification.
Some systems will even give you the ability to select certain areas in which to detect motion. This is great if you have a walk way, door, or other area where you only care if one portion of the frame moves. Note that this added feature is often not readily advertised, so you’ll probably have to consult user reviews to find out if it’s on a particular camera.
Just keep in mind that these motion detection systems are not intuitive: they only check for motion in one frame to the next, and they aren’t “aware” of the scene they are looking at. For example, my front yard motion detection goes off every time a shadow from the tree moves across the ground. They also love to go off when bugs fly up close to them–which is awful, because on the screen the bugs can appear huge enough to trigger an alarm!
App Review
Many systems come with a mobile app that will allow you to view your cameras remotely. These apps will also let you receive notifications and snapshots of motion, making it easy for you to keep an eye on your house or business from anywhere in the world.
Some cameras also come with features that allow you to record video from a camera directly to your device. They might even have the option to move your cameras remotely, if they have PTZ. I’ve remotely controlled my cameras from the other side of the country by using these apps. An extra tip: if viewing camera footage remotely, be sure to do so while on WiFi, so you don’t chew through your data plan!
Smart Recording
Last, but not least, is the ability for smart recording. Normally, security systems will just continuously record video 24/7–which means you could have days and days of boring footage in which nothing happens. Instead of wasting a ton of space recording nothing, smart recording will only record motion or some other actual event. This will greatly limit the amount of recording time you’ll actually need to store. Using smart recording allowed me to retain a month of video, for example, when I would have only been able to record a few days using “dumb recording!”
Well, that’s it for today! Be sure to check out all my earlier episodes at quickanddirtytips tech-talker. And if you have further questions about this podcast or want to make a suggestion for a future episode, post them on Facebook QDTtechtalker.
Until next time, I’m the Tech Talker, keeping technology simple!
Security cameras, router, and smartphone photos courtesy of Shutterstock
