Outdoor surveillance cameras can have a huge range of different uses. First and foremost, they are used for security.
When correctly positioned near access points to a building, they can protect homes and businesses by capturing offenders on camera, providing vital evidence which could even lead to prosecution. Security cameras also act as a powerful deterrent, planting enough doubt into a would-be burglar or vandal’s mind that they leave your property alone.
There are other uses for outdoor cameras too, including deterring or catching fly-tippers and preventing anti-social behaviour.
Are your cameras tough enough to withstand the weather?
You can’t just place any old camera outdoors, though, as most are only designed for indoor use. After a few heavy rainfalls, ordinary surveillance cameras will start to malfunction. Leave them outside, and they’ll quickly become unusable.
You need to choose a specialist outdoor surveillance camera that is up to the task and designed to be used in the wettest, windiest and toughest of conditions. But which camera to go for? What kinds of features should you be looking for? Let’s take a closer look at a specific example, this hard-working and hard-wearing Outdoor HD Day and Night Camera.
IP54 Grade Waterproofing
This camera is absolutely bursting with brilliant, useful features, but one of the most important is its casing and design. It is IP54 waterproof, a grading used to mark products designed to be used in extreme and outdoor conditions. IP stands for Ingress Protection against moisture, dust and dirt. Look out for cameras that are marked IP54 rather than just offering a vague promise of waterproofing, as the latter is likely to let you down.
Battery Power
Another important feature of outdoor cameras is how they are powered. There’s not always the option to plug into mains power, whereas a battery-powered camera is much more portable and versatile. You need to ensure the battery life is up to the job.
On the Outdoor HD Day and Night Camera, you benefit from an enormous six months standby time when using ordinary Duracell AA batteries. Standby mode works alongside the motion detection function, so the camera will only spring into action when motion is detected. This camera has a range of sensitivity settings for motion detection, so it won’t be wasting battery life on passing cars, cats or items blowing in a strong breeze.
Night Vision
If you’re spending good money on a quality, high-performance outdoor camera, you need it to be working round the clock. This camera is integrated with 44x invisible infra-red LEDs, which provide incredibly clear images even in near-total darkness. This is incredibly useful when you consider that most of the activity you try to detect or prevent (i.e. burglary, vandalism, anti-social behaviour) happens under darkness.
On a final point, the Outdoor HD Day and Night Camera also have a camouflaged appearance. It won't blend in when placed on the side of a building, so it can still act as a deterrent, should you wish. However, it virtually disappears when nestled in trees, bushes and other outdoor surroundings.