Keep Your Business Safe: Security Camera Buying Guide

The foot traffic coming in and out of business, food, or retail establishments can be undoubtedly heavy. Hence, it’s practically impossible for several people to monitor everything and everyone at all times.

This situation is where security cameras or surveillance cameras can be beneficial. Whether you’d like a discreet setup or want everyone to know they’re being monitored, there are plenty of options available to determine the right product for your needs and business.

When looking for surveillance cameras, there are several features to consider. For a little help, here are the key elements to look for security cameras. Take a read!

Lighting

A lot of surveillance cameras available today are equipped with the low-light infrared feature. This feature allows the system to record clear footage even in low-light or dark conditions. However, it will depend on the security cameras built-in infrared LED to record clear footage covered by darkness.

Opt for a surveillance system that contains more IR LEDs. The more IR LEDs, the surveillance system can better record clear footage at night.

Resolution

When selecting a surveillance camera, consider the resolution. You need a security camera that can record footage in 720 HD to get a clear-cut image. For this reason, an IP camera is the ideal option. You can stop cutting corners once you’re confident that your surveillance camera will provide you with an identifiable and clear image.

Models

In business security cameras, you’ll come across a wide variety of models. However, the most common security systems used in business areas are pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, dome cameras, and bullet cameras.

These models have special remote-control abilities to fine-tune or calibrate the field of vision. Hence, relying upon the need of security you require, you must pick which camera types will be appropriate to your current system.

Also, there are wireless security cameras available in the market today. They’re easy to install and set up. Read reviews for the best wireless cameras to know more about them.

Weatherproof

If you plan to install the security system outside your company, then ensure you get models that are weather-resistant or weatherproof. When you fail to check this feature in the surveillance system, chances are, dust or water will damage the quality of your footage. As such, ensure that the security system you’re going to purchase has an excellent weatherproof feature.

Storage

Before you buy a surveillance camera, you must determine how much storage capacity you need. Take note that the storage capacity you require relies on several factors, such as the number of security cameras in your system, the resolution of each camera. Plus, how long you want to keep the recorded footage, and the amount of archived footage you want to keep.

When there are plenty of security cameras recording footage in a high-resolution, then the footage will consume more storage space. Nevertheless, you can overwrite the oldest footage once it reaches the capacity of the system by setting a video recorder.

However, if you’re not cautious in doing this, the surveillance system may overwrite archived footage that you’ve consumed with it. Thus, if you want to operate a large surveillance system that has high-quality security cameras, you need to increase the storage capacity of your video recorder through several online tools that’ll aid you in gauging how much storage capacity you’ll need.

Audio

Depending on your security needs, an audio recording could be an essential feature. Most security cameras today can pick up audio, while others don’t. What’s more, is that some surveillance systems have a two-way talk feature.

This feature allows a person who’s monitoring the camera from the system to communicate with the individual on the other side of the field of vision of the camera.

Frame Rate

This feature is essential for a security camera. If the frame rate is higher, the smoother the video recording will be. Keep in mind that a video is just a series of still images combined to make a motion picture.

With that said, we can say that the frame could be the most crucial feature. If it comes in low capacity, then the still images will result in low-quality, unclear footage. Therefore, you need to think of the frame rate per second of the surveillance camera you’re planning to buy. The standard frame rate is thirty per second.

Cloud Storage

For the most part, recorded video footage is kept in the cloud storage other than your video recorder. The cloud storage will give you extra storage volume and remote access to your videos.

You must ensure that uploading of large-sized video files must use up all the available bandwidth. Or else, it’ll slow down your network. The most significant advantage of keeping your recorded videos in the cloud storage is that even if your hardware gets tampered, stolen, or damaged, you can still access your archived videos.

Takeaway

The predominance of digital technology has made business owners intensely conscious of the security threats they face. But, it’s only as vital for them to know the physical risks that endanger their business. Thus, thanks to security cameras, protecting your company has never been easier.

Author's Bio:

Tyler Pack is a real estate consultant and journalist, with a passion for smart home technology. He is keen on writing about home and property security, and cybersecurity.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.