The video surveillance industry has an unfortunate reputation for producing surveillance images that are almost useless. With HD cameras becoming common in the industry, the results are improving but there are still common mistakes people make.
The most common mistake made in a CCTV system is expecting the camera to do too much. I believe this is influenced by CSI style TV shows that give the impression the police can do anything to enhance the footage.
If you follow these rules of thumb when determining the location for each CCTV camera you install, the results will give you an image quality that you can work with.
Each camera should do only one job. A camera can either be used for an overview OR recognising a persons face. It is vary rare to be able to achieve both and get a good result.
Have a narrow area that people have to walk through. If you want to know who came into or left you premises, force them to wall through a narrow area such as an isle, door or passage that is around 3 mtrs wide. This will allow you to place a security camera to get a really tight shot of their face, which is what we need. From the chin to the top of the head needs to be at least 88 pixels. You can then have one or more cameras giving the general overview to monitor behaviour, knowing you have their face recorded.
Do not mount the cameras too high A camera mounted high and looking down is only good for an overview. There is no point in having a CCTV camera at a choke point for face identification if it can only see the top of the head or the brim of a baseball cap. An angle of 20 degrees or less is ideal.
There are many other aspects that can improve the image quality such as the camera quality, the recording resolution and lighting but each is a subject of it's own and can be found on my website that provides a comprehensive range of tips and tutorials on CCTV.
With a little guidance, you can expect great results form you security cameras.
The most common mistake made in a CCTV system is expecting the camera to do too much. I believe this is influenced by CSI style TV shows that give the impression the police can do anything to enhance the footage.
If you follow these rules of thumb when determining the location for each CCTV camera you install, the results will give you an image quality that you can work with.
Each camera should do only one job. A camera can either be used for an overview OR recognising a persons face. It is vary rare to be able to achieve both and get a good result.
Have a narrow area that people have to walk through. If you want to know who came into or left you premises, force them to wall through a narrow area such as an isle, door or passage that is around 3 mtrs wide. This will allow you to place a security camera to get a really tight shot of their face, which is what we need. From the chin to the top of the head needs to be at least 88 pixels. You can then have one or more cameras giving the general overview to monitor behaviour, knowing you have their face recorded.
Do not mount the cameras too high A camera mounted high and looking down is only good for an overview. There is no point in having a CCTV camera at a choke point for face identification if it can only see the top of the head or the brim of a baseball cap. An angle of 20 degrees or less is ideal.
There are many other aspects that can improve the image quality such as the camera quality, the recording resolution and lighting but each is a subject of it's own and can be found on my website that provides a comprehensive range of tips and tutorials on CCTV.
With a little guidance, you can expect great results form you security cameras.
About the Author:
I was designing a CCTV system when I found Tim's site. It really helped me understand what I was doing.
