PTZ Dome Security Camera

With the increase in crime in recent years there are many people that are turning to security camera systems to help protect their assets, possessions, and property from becoming stolen or damaged. Security camera systems are available in a large range of types, shapes and sizes, although a popular type of camera system that can be purchased is the PTZ security camera system. But what is a PTZ camera system?

A PTZ security camera system is a pan, tilt, and zoom camera that is different from a fixed dome camera in the way that it, unlike fixed cameras, can move up, down, left and right, and are able to zoom in and out promoting high versatility within an application. Due to their high versatility and flexibility, a PTZ camera system requires a receiver (although some PTZ dome camera systems usually feature an integrated receiver) and keyboard to operate the pan, tilt, and zoom functions when in operation. By use of the keyboard a PTZ dome can easily be programmed to provide high monitoring and viewing over an area and is able to utilize alarm triggers to automatically move the camera where it is required to view. Because of the high versatility of the PTZ dome camera is can be programmed by the operator to, for example, sweep an area every 10 minutes to ensure there is no suspicious activity taking place. However, with the integration of devices such as door contacts, motion detectors and alarms, it is easier to alert the camera to automatically reposition itself into place to provide automatic viewing of the high risk location.

With pan, tilt, zoom dome camera systems the total zoom capacity is usually a combination of the optical zoom and the digital zoom. This usually works by the use of electronics that uses the optical zoom for lens motion, and the digital zoom to zoom in and out of a specific object. The security camera’s total zoom is then calculated by simply multiplying the optical zoom by the digital zoom to conclude the zoom total.

Because of the nature of where PTZ domes are placed in everyday life, like the fixed security dome cameras they also feature a smoked or obscured dome colored appearance that helps to deter passersby from seeing whether they are being watched or not. The use of PTZ dome cameras over traditional pan/tilt/zoom security cameras can have several major advantages. Because of their unique dome shaped appearance they are able to generally feature a rotation of 360° allowing for them to view in any location, even straight down, by the use of an auto-flip function. The auto-flip function enables the camera to automatically rotate when an object passes below it and ensures that the person or object is viewed upright on the monitor viewing screen. This helps to keep constant monitoring of objects without having to be slowed by images that are unclear or not in the right position.

There are many different types of pan, tilt, and zoom dome cameras that are available to purchase and these may include day/night, weatherproof, and vandal-proof domes. Day/night domes are generally used for 24/7 surveillance monitoring because of their unique design. These domes are usually able to capture color images during the day and black and white images when the location becomes dark or night-time falls. Weatherproof domes are used for outdoor locations that may be exposed to many changes in the weather conditions. These types can handle most types of wet conditions and help to protect the camera to ensure it monitors at high standards every day. Vandal-proof dome camera systems are generally used in high risk locations where vandalism takes place against the camera itself. These types of PTZ domes are usually able to withstand most types of vandalism such as rock throwing, and may be able to be linked to an alarm system when the dome is spray-painted or the viewing is obscured by an object.

With the high versatility of these camera systems they are able to be mounted in almost any location with the combination of different dome mounts. These dome mounts can be recessed or pendant mounts. A recessed mount is designed to hide the whole camera apart from the dome section. These are usually situated and installed in tile ceilings or drop ceiling and sometimes may be seen in locations including banks, schools, airports, or commercial businesses where high amounts of people may be present on a day to day basis. A pendant mount is designed to hang from the mount arm similar to a pendant on a necklace. These can provide high support for the selected dome camera and can also offer a high capacity for viewing over an area.

Choosing a PTZ dome requires some thought. When purchasing one you need to make sure it is properly suited to the location and the conditions it will face, for example, outdoor or low light locations. Choosing a dome camera that features a high resolution rate can help to increase the clarity and clearness of the images. The resolution is usually measured in TV lines with standard resolution being between 300-400 TV lines and high resolution being between 400-600 TV lines. The more TV lines there are the clearer the image will become.

Overall a PTZ dome camera system can provide unlimited surveillance recording in most locations. They are reliable, well adaptive, and deliver time and time again within any location.