The Impact of good Security Surveillance Camera Placement
Security surveillance cameras are everywhere but many of them just don’t give the images you would expect, resulting in a bad name for the security industry. The newer IP cameras with HD 720p resolution or higher has improved this but there are still way too many systems that are installed with fundamental mistakes.
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.
Following are three basic guidelines that if you follow will result in an amazing improvement in your surveillance footage.
Don’t expect the camera to do two roles Security surveillance cameras are able to provide a tight shot for facial recognition or an overview of what is happening. It is uncommon to be able to achieve both from one camera.
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.
CCTV is not rocket science. But it is a science.
Do you ask for professional advise, only to find they have no real experience. I found this guy gave good advice for my security camera design.