May. 20, 2024
Setting up a security camera system can be confusing and expensive. This guide will help you choose the right IP cameras for your business.
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Key Takeaway:
What type of IP camera is best for a business?
The best IP camera for a business depends on its specific needs and security goals. Some factors to consider include:
Security is essential for a business of any size.
You want to keep your employees safe and your insurance premiums low.
But setting up a camera system can be expensive and confusing – even if you hire an installer.
Setting out on this project with some insight can help you set up your own system or work with an installer.
This guide is going to go through everything you need to know about buying IP cameras – from what’s on the market, to what you need to make them work.
An Internet Protocol (IP) Camera is a digital video camera that sends and receives data via a network, such as a LAN or the Internet. Usually, these cameras will have their own IP addresses.
As with most technologies, IP Cameras come with their own vocabulary. Knowing some of the key terms can help you understand what’s on offer.
Closed-Circuit TV: The older, analogue way of running surveillance cameras.
Digital Video Recorder: A device that converts analogue video to digital and stores it on a hard drive after compressing the footage. DVRs must be wired to the cameras.
Ethernet: A standard technology for transferring data and power in a Local Area Network
Field Of View: The area covered by the camera. Some cameras have a narrow field of view, others wider. Each type of Field of View will have a specific function.
Frames Per Second (FPS)/Frame Rate: The Speed at which images are captured or displayed. Films usually show at 24fps, whereas live sports and security cameras will show at 60fps.
Internet Protocol (IP): A way of transferring information. Data is divided into packets, which are sent to specific IP addresses.
IP Address: Unique address of a network device, such as a computer or camera.
Lux: A standard measurement for illumination.
Megapixel (MP): A standard unit of measurement for pictures. The higher the number of megapixels, the larger the picture and the better the resolution will be.
Motion Detection: An application used by IP Cameras to detect movement in the camera’s view. This usually triggers events, like recording, video streaming, or automating an IoT device.
Network Video Recorder: Takes video footage from a network to record and store on a hard drive. NVRs can receive footage through wires or wirelessly.
Power Over Ethernet (PoE): Technology which transmits enough power for a small device through an Ethernet cable
Resolution: How much detail an image can hold. The higher the resolution, the better quality the picture and the more detail you will be able to see.
IP cameras look and operate in the same way as traditional cameras. Except the data is transmitted digitally via a network, through ethernet cables or WiFi – which often means a higher quality picture for a lot less money.
As they transmit the images digitally, it allows for analysis and machine learning to be applied to the footage. Most mid-level cameras will have motion detection and event alerts as standard, allowing you to be immediately notified if something is happening in shot. Higher-end cameras have Number plate recognition, face detection, object counting and more.
Most IP Cameras take advantage of Power over Ethernet, which is a technology that can power devices using Ethernet cables – the same cables that will transmit the video data. Which means you only need to run one cable to the camera and you won’t need an electrician to connect it to the mains.
The first step in any buying journey for cameras is working out what you want to monitor and why.
Take a walk around your property and look at the areas that need to be monitored.
Think: “If a break-in or incident were to happen, what information would I need to give to police to catch the people who did it?”
It’s a horrible thought, but it’s one that needs to be asked.
Usually, it’s how they got in, who they are, and what they did.
An obvious place to start is the front door. Do you need a camera on the outside or inside? Or Both? Where would a camera need to be?
If you have a car park in front of your property, would a camera be needed to monitor the car park?
You also need to protect your team too. If your business has a public-facing staff, then having a camera that has a clear view of them and their work areas will be paramount.
You should also speak to your staff and any local patrol officers. They may notice things that you haven’t.
There are a million cameras on the market. All have varying degrees of quality, functionality and performance.
While it might be tempting to blow all your money on the most expensive cameras your budget can buy, it’s not actually the most practical approach.
So here are a few things to consider when buying an IP Camera.
The vast majority of IP cameras offer HD recording at 60fps. This will give you a high enough resolution to identify the details of the video.
A low-end IP Camera will be around 2MP, which is a decent amount for general surveillance.
But if you need detail, for faces or number plates, then a 12MP camera will be a better option.
Cameras have different fields of view for different purposes. Sometimes, you need a wide-angle to see general comings and goings, such as an overview of a warehouse or car park. Other times, you might need a small area, such as a doorway or safe.
Most IP Cameras will allow you to view video footage in real-time from a computer. But some cameras enable you to view the footage from a tablet, phone or another device away from your business in real-time. This means you can watch events unfold from wherever you are – or check-in for peace of mind.
Most security cameras are designed with certain conditions in mind. Not every camera will be suitable for outside. Always check to see if the camera is designed for outdoor use. For any camera in a public space, you’ll also want to get Vandal or Tamper-proof casing.
Most crimes will happen at night. So you’ll want to make sure your camera can see. Many cameras have a night vision setting.
These night vision settings usually rely on Infrared, which means you should avoid putting them behind glass. Glass causes the infrared to reflect and distort the vision of the camera, if not blinding it completely.
The UK has strict laws when it comes to security and surveillance cameras. Most laws are designed to keep the balance between surveillance and privacy invasion.
By law, you must:
For a full list of legal requirements, take a look at the Gov.UK website
The dome cameras are the most used. These can be used indoors and outdoor. The cameras have a small field of view, but because of the design, it’s difficult to tell where the camera is focused. They are brilliant as deterrent cameras.
These cameras usually come with a tamper or vandal-proof casing, making them a great choice in many locations.
The most iconic style of cameras. As they are instantly recognisable, they act as a great deterrent. They are most commonly used in outdoor settings and usually have a strong casing.
They have a fixed focus point with a small field of view so you may need multiple cameras.
Cube cameras are discreet cameras designed for Indoor use. The field of view varies, depending on what area you are looking to cover. These cameras are perfect for meeting rooms or offices.
There are many camera brands on the market. But you’re going to want reliable cameras. So knowing some of the top brands on the market is going to be key to your success.
Axis have been the leading camera brand for many years. They were also a big player in the move from analogue to IP. Since they began in 1984, Axis has sold over $1.2 billion in cameras. They have a high-quality range with state of the art technology.
TRENDnet is an award-winning provider of security equipment. They provide high-quality but cost-effective solutions that are trusted by small-to-medium businesses all over the world.
Ubiquiti is a powerhouse of network technology. Their name is already synonymous with network systems, and they are making their name in Cameras now too. Their cameras come with unlimited free use and remote accessibility as standard.
D-Link offers end-to-end IP camera solutions for SMBs. Their high-quality and reliable cameras integrate perfectly with their range of switches, routers and firewalls, giving you a seamless solution.
Ezviz is perfect for monitoring smaller areas, such as shops, office buildings, and home offices.
There are a few questions that you should ask yourself when buying a camera. Here are a few considerations to help you choose.
Most cameras will be marked as Indoor or Outdoor. Some might be designed for both.
If you are redesigning an entire network, you might want to keep all cameras exactly the same. This can make it easier to perform maintenance, manage warranties and train people to use them. If this is the case, then you’ll want a selection of cameras that work both inside and outside.
If you are happy to run different types of cameras, look for ones specifically for outside or inside. Cameras designed for external use tend to be more rugged so that they can cope with adverse weather conditions. Indoor cameras tend to be lighter and slimline to suit indoor areas.
Cameras are a brilliant deterrent for crime. For example, crime has decreased by 51% in car parks using CCTV surveillance, as seen here. If you’re looking for a visual deterrent, then picking the most prominent, bulkiest bullet camera is going to be a great shout.
If you are looking for something more ambiguous, then a Dome camera might be for you. While they have a single focus point, it’s difficult to know which way they are pointing.
If you need something a little more discreet, such as for inside a listed building or an event space, then a smaller cube camera will be more suitable.
Some cameras come with covers, to help disguise them even more. Just remember that you still have to tell people they are on camera, even if the cameras are discrete.
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By working out what kind of area you need to cover, you can work out which camera you need. For example, a single camera with pan, tilt and zoom capabilities can cover a large area. Operators can zoom in to activities that interest them.
However, you might need a much more focused camera, in which case a camera with a small field of view will be better.
Smaller rooms will need a lower resolution unless the room is considered a high-security room. Offices, corridors, and other small spaces will need a lower-resolution camera. Outdoor or large rooms will need a higher resolution in order to pick up more details.
As lower-resolution cameras are cheaper, you can save a lot of money by keeping high-resolution cameras where you need them most.
Will your camera need to work at night? If yes, then you’ll need to make sure the camera has night-vision capabilities. If your camera is going to be in a well-lit area, or only needs to work during the day, then you can forgo this requirement.
Features:
Features:
Features:
Features:
Features:
Not necessarily.
In the old days of CCTV, having a Digital Video Recorder was vital. But as IP technology grows, having a separate video recorder isn’t always necessary.
If you have a small setup with one or two cameras, then you can probably get away with storing the footage on an SD card in the camera. Some IP Cameras have SD card slots, and storage on these cards is increasing all the time. 1TB cards are already on the market, which is ample space for a few days of recording.
If you have a bigger network of cameras, then an NVR can make the storage process simple. Many integrate well into existing networks and help pull everything together. Many NVRs allow viewing to happen through the NVR via a HDMI cable, so you don’t even have to have a dedicated computer.
The surveillance industry is growing all the time. There are always new brands and new technologies on the market, along with new legislation.
The Comms Team is happy to help with any questions you have regarding your setup. Either browse our range of cameras or contact our experts for more information.
Telescope eyepieces focus light that is collected by a telescope, so you can observe a sharp view of the object that the telescope is pointing at. It may seem like a small link in the chain, but it has a huge effect on your telescope's optical system, and finding the right eyepieces will greatly enhance its potential. A great telescope is useless without a quality eyepiece to go with it!
With so many options to choose from, selecting the right set of eyepieces for you and your telescope can seem a little tricky. This guide offers some insight and explanations on different eyepiece types, specifications, and how it all ties together to get the best possible views of the cosmos!
Magnification is the most important specification of any eyepiece, and will tell you how zoomed in the view that your eyepiece & telescope has. Magnification varies based on both the telescope and the eyepiece you use, so it's not a constant number. We can use the focal length of both the eyepiece and telescope to determine the magnification with the following formula:
Magnification = Telescope Focal Length (mm) / Eyepiece Focal Length (mm)
For example:
Note: When using your telescope at different powers, you generally have a choice of a small, sharp, and bright image at lower magnification; or a larger, yet blurred and dim image at higher magnification. The reason being is that the telescope gathers a fixed amount of light, and at higher magnifications, the same amount of light is being spread over a larger area, resulting in a dimmer image.
You might have already concluded that a smaller telescope won't give as magnified of a view as a larger one. But why is that? Telescopes have a limit of how much magnification they can provide when paired with an eyepiece. This is limited by two factors: 1) your telescope's aperture, and 2) the conditions of the sky when you're observing.
Your telescope's aperture is the main factor in what decides how much magnification you can use. This is known as Maximum Useful Magnification, and you may see this as a specification on telescopes. There is a simple formula to determine the Maximum Useful Magnification of your telescope:
Maximum Useful Magnification = Telescope Aperture (mm) x 2
You can also take the aperture in inches and multiply it by 50 to get the same result. So, for example, if you have a telescope with an aperture of 200mm (8"), your Maximum Useful Magnification is 400x. Therefore, if your telescope has a focal length of 2000mm, you can use up to a 5mm focal length eyepiece.
Now, this comes with an asterisk. This number is the Maximum Useful Magnification, assuming your sky conditions (atmospheric seeing) are perfect. Atmospheric seeing is how still or unsettled the atmosphere around you is. When atmospheric seeing is poor, the turbulent air will blur the view and cause the moon and planets to look wobbly:
Credit: Damian Peach
When atmospheric seeing is good, the stable air will allow for a much clearer and sharper view of the moon and planets:
Credit: Damian Peach
Most of us are not privileged to live under such perfect sky conditions, and more often than not, it is far from perfect. For that reason, it is usually best to start observing with your longest focal length (lowest power) eyepiece first and work your way up in magnification until the view starts to degrade, and then find the eyepiece that hits the sweet spot. This is why it's so important to have an arsenal of eyepieces to use so you can get the best views based on the ever-changing conditions of the night sky!
To get the best views no matter what the sky conditions are like, one single eyepiece won't do the job. Instead, it's best to have a range of eyepieces from low, medium, and high power magnification eyepieces for your telescope. Take a look at the different eyepiece ranges below with examples of what magnification they provide. At a minimum, we recommend having at least three eyepieces: one low power, one medium power, and one high power eyepiece so you can observe anything you would like to. If you don't have the budget for three separate eyepieces, a zoom eyepiece can be a good choice in a pinch, but won't provide as much sharpness and clarity as individual eyepieces can. If you're looking for a quality set of eyepieces for an affordable price, check out the TPO eyepieces here.
Ultra-short focal length (2-4mm) eyepieces provide very high power magnifications and are best for observing the planets and the moon on shorter focal length telescopes. It isvery rarethat the atmospheric seeing conditions will allow you to use these eyepieces on a longer focal length telescope since they're very high power.
Short focal length (5-10mm) eyepieces provide high power magnifications and are best for observing the planets and the moon on medium focal length telescopes. It is rarethat the atmospheric seeing conditions will allow you to use these eyepieces on a longer focal length telescope since they're high power.
est for Deep Sky Objects and the Full Disc of the Moon
Medium focal length (10-20mm) eyepieces provide medium power magnifications and are best for observing larger deep sky objects and the full disc of the moon on most average telescopes. It is somewhat commonthat the atmospheric seeing conditions will allow you to use these eyepieces on a longer focal length telescope since they're medium power.
Long focal length (20-30mm) eyepieces provide low power magnifications and are best for observing larger deep sky objects and the full disc of the moon on almost all sized telescopes. It is common that the atmospheric seeing conditions will allow you to use these eyepieces on a longer focal length telescope since they're low power.
Very longfocal length (30mm & longer) eyepieces provide verylow powermagnifications and are best for observing the largest deep sky objects and even terrestrial objects onalmost all sizedtelescopes. It is verycommon that the atmospheric seeing conditions will allow you to use these eyepieces on a longer focal length telescope since they're very low power.
An eyepiece's Apparent Field of View (AFOV) is expressed in degrees (°). It is how much of the sky is seen edge-to-edge through the eyepiece alone. AFOV's range from narrow (25° - 30°) to an extra-wide angle (80° or more).
An eyepiece's true field of view is the angle of sky seen through the eyepiece when it's attached to the telescope. The true field can be calculated using the following formula:
True Field = Apparent Field / Magnification
For example, suppose you have an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 2000 mm focal length and a 20 mm eyepiece with a 50° apparent field. The magnification would be 2000 mm / 20 mm = 100x. The true field would be 50/100, or 0.5° - about the same apparent diameter as the full moon.
Eye Relief refers to the distance between your eye and the eyepiece lens when the image is in focus. Eye relief is traditionally in proportion with focal length: The shorter the focal length, the shorter the eye relief. However, some of the more modern eyepiece designs provide long-eye relief regardless of focal length, which is especially beneficial to those who wear glasses. If you like to keep your glasses on while using a telescope, the eye relief of an eyepiece is an important specification to consider (we recommend looking at long-eye relief eyepieces).
Exit pupil refers to the size of the bundle of light rays coming out of the eyepiece. Exit pupil size (in inches) can be calculated by:
Exit pupil size (mm) = Telescope aperture (mm) / Telescope magnification
or
Exit pupil size (mm) = Eyepiece focal length (mm) / Telescope f-ratio
In order for all the light rays to enter your pupil, the exit pupil must be smaller than the pupil of your eye. A young person's fully dark-adapted eyes may have 7 mm-wide pupils. As you age, the maximum pupil diameter decreases. For middle-aged adults, the practical maximum is closer to 5 mm.
At the other end of the scale, magnifications that yield an exit pupil in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, empty magnification begins to set in, depending on the quality of your telescope and your eyes. In other words, this much magnification starts to degrade the image you see.
A Barlow lens increases magnification on your telescope's eyepiece, usually by a factor of 2x or more. So if you use a 2x Barlow with a 20mm eyepiece, it effectively becomes a 10mm eyepiece but at the cost of some reduced clarity and sharpness. The idea is that two eyepieces and a Barlow will give you the flexibility of magnification of four eyepieces, and will give higher magnifications with less powerful eyepieces.
When shopping for eyepieces, you may see that eyepieces come in a variety of sizes like 1.25", 2", and others. One easy way to make sure you buy the right size eyepiece is to check your telescope's manual or online specifications for what size focuser it has. If your telescope has a 2" focuser, it can accept 2" eyepieces and accessories as well as 1.25" with an adapter. If it has a 1.25" focuser, it will only be able to accept 1.25" eyepieces and accessories. Bigger isn't necessarily better for eyepieces, so don't worry if your favorite eyepiece only comes in 1.25" size! Once you've figured out which sized eyepieces your telescope can accept, head to one of the links below to shop the right size for you:
Consider the focal length of your telescope to make sure the eyepiece will give you a good magnification
If you wear eyeglasses while using a telescope, pay attention to the eye relief specification of different eyepieces, as ample eye relief can improve comfort and ease-of-use while wearing corrective lenses.
Depending on your observing goals, consider the apparent field of view of your eyepiece choices.
If versatility is paramount, consider a zoom eyepiece or Barlow lens to increase the number of possible magnifications to use.
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